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Council leaders have ended months of negotiation with central government with a call for more flexibility on LAAs to meet the downturn. The Local Government Association has urged changes to local area agreement targets to reflect the difficult economic climate. The LGA is hoping the Department for Communities and Local Government will allow councils currently reviewing their targets to make them more attainable, given the economic slump. Councils are to submit their first annual review of their LAA targets by the end of this month, and it is hoped Whitehall will allow greater flexibility, particularly around targets relating to housing and unemployment. Chairman of the LGA improvement board, Cllr David Parsons, said: ‘I would like to see something on this fairly quickly. We need to make the targets achievable. The LAA targets were set in different economic circumstances. Some of the LAA targets are achievable, but others are being affected by the economic downturn.' The LGA is also keen to see more targets relating to unemployment, such as ensuring employment support is better integrated with council services such as housing advice, transport and childcare. Cllr Parsons added: ‘I don't think it is going to be easy, but I will do everything I can to get things moving more quickly.' The LGA wants to see the Government supporting the following four principles: * renegotiation of targets to achievable levels * committing to greater flexibility on LAA reward grant * acting to enable more flexible local partnership with stronger powers * making fair use of local performance information in CAA and elsewhere.

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WHITEHALL

Council chiefs call for 'more flexible' LAAs

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