Inspectors yesterday,  welcomed two independent and robust evaluations of the impact and cost of Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).

CAA results were launched in December 2009 at www.direct.gov.uk/oneplace. It offers a unique picture of social care, health and council performance, and local aspirations for improvement and value for money.

The reviews look separately at the impact of CAA as a whole and the cost of the first year of CAA to councils. The impact review is published by a team from the consultancy Shared Intelligence, the Cardiff University Business School and the pollsters Ipsos Mori. The comparison of costs incurred by councils during CPA (the Audit Commission's "star rating" assessment) and under CAA is by an independent consultancy, the Office for Public Management.

On behalf of the inspectorates Michael O'Higgins, the chairman of the Audit Commission, welcomed the reports:

    'We are pleased that there is widespread support for this new approach to assessing local public services. CAA is a major cultural change for both inspectors and inspected, and we believe it points the way to reducing the cost of inspection and promoting improvement.

    'Clearly we have learned much in year one. Both the inspectorates and those delivering services to the public will now be more familiar with CAA and better able to focus and help reduce the costs of preparation in year two.

    'Our evidence is www.direct.gov.uk/oneplace has already increased the public's appetite for information. It has provided a baseline for those spending public money to monitor their own, and others', progress in driving up standards locally and nationally. Oneplace is now established, alongside Area Scrutiny and Total Place as part of the triangle of initiatives that are giving the public a real view of what is being spent and how much difference it is making where they live.'

The evaluations show a balanced view of CAA. They praise some elements:

    * 80% of people think independent inspection is important and will lead to improvements and there is a widespread welcome for assessing services in the round
    * the emphasis on services available in places, not just the organisations providing them
    * looks at outcomes on local priorities, rather than just evaluating plans
    * the new relationship with the CAA Leads; rather than a one off inspection "event" these 42 people continually liaise with councils and other service deliverers and users and ultimately write the reports that appear on the website. Four in every five who have visited the website or read a Oneplace report say it was written in language they can understand
    * the new focus on partnerships, the report notes CAA has already encouraged local public services to work more closely together
    * indications that the new approach has helped reduce the cost of inspection for larger councils, but not for smaller ones. The overall cost to councils has reduced by at least 15 per cent3

However, they draw attention to lessons to learn from the first year of CAA. The OPM report shows that there is great variation in the costs incurred by similar councils, suggesting they make choices about how much to spend preparing for and responding to inspections.

During year two and beyond, the inspectorates will:

    * use the baseline information from the first year of CAA to ensure future assessment is targeted at those who need it
    * improve joint working across inspectorates and be clearer about how we arrive at our joint judgements
    * ensure councillors are more involved in CAA
    * work with the district councils to reduce their costs