The Compact Commission has called for funding sustainability and more specific referencing to Compact principles in its response to the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) consultation.

The CAA is set to replace Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) from April 2009. While the CPA focuses on services by local authorities, the CAA will look at the public services in an area delivered by councils and their partners including the private and third sectors.

As such, the Compact Commission has said that local public bodies should be assessed on whether they provide sustainable support for the third sector, including full cost recovery. It is also calling for the principles of the Compact to be built into the way local partnerships are assessed, and into the improvement advice given after the inspection.

Helen Baker, interim commissioner for the Compact, said: “We are moving away from a world where individual organisations are assessed and scores are everything. Area assessment is all about partnership, and the Compact offers a strong and positive basis for working together to achieve better outcomes for people. It can be a diagnostic tool for identifying problems in partnership working, and a way of fixing the problem.”

For more on the consultation, visit: www.audit-commission.gov.uk