INdividual authorities

Improvement East is committed to supporting individual authorities which are experiencing difficulties and support will be available if there is an identified service failure and/or the authority has an overall score of 1 in any area such as Organisational Assessment, Use of Resources or Managing Performance.

Any authorities which may fall into these categories and wish to apply for funding support are strongly advised to contact info@improvementeast.gov.uk, to discuss their support needs prior to any potential submission.

One of Improvement East's greatest strengths is the willingness of the sector in our region to support struggling individual authorities. We aim to identify any issues early on and to provide support to ensure that there is no intervention by Whitehall at a corporate level in authorities in the East of England.

The basic premise for support to individual authorities is that it should build capacity, not fund day-to-day operational functions. The following criteria is applied to requests for funding:

. Address the needs identified in authority's improvement plan
. Funding can be given for individual post-holders where there is a clear and explicit relationship to the authority's improvement agenda and the post will build capacity within the authority
. Be authority led
. Be self-sustaining beyond the life of the funding
. Demonstrate a commitment through Member/officer time, resources and Chief Officer support
. Not duplicate other initiatives that are funded by other bodies such as CLG and LGA
. Utilise existing material/practice where possible

In addition to meeting these criteria, Improvement East may require the authority to:

Establish an Improvement/Joint Agency Board of key authority Members and officers and key partners including Improvement East - read more on the role of the Joint Agency group or Improvement Board

Work with an Improvement East Chief Officer lead - read more on the role of the Chief Officer lead 

individual authorities currently receiving support:

In 2009/2010 the Partnership directly supported nine authorities and performance has significantly improved in a number of these as evidenced by improved Use of Resources scores.

. Brentwood BC
. Dacorum BC
. East Cambridgeshire DC
. Great Yarmouth BC
. Luton BC
. Norwich City Council
. Thurrock Council 
. Uttlesford DC
. Waveney DC

Improvements have been achieved by utilising Chief Executives and others from elsewhere in the region to support the authorities through change; establishing Joint Agency/Improvement Boards to oversee improvement planning; and accessing support through nationally recognised improvement programmes. Importantly, to ensure that intervention is timely, Improvement East works closely with partners to identify which authorities are, or likely to be, struggling.