Comprehensive Area Assessments

photo of firefighter putting water onto a fire

The CAAs, or OnePlace assessments, are new for 2009 and are carried out by the Audit Commission. The assessments aim to judge an area and all its public services as a whole, identifying strengths and weaknesses. There are two CAA assessments in the county - one for Cambridgeshire and a seperate assessment for Peterborough. 

In addition to this, there are also Organisational Assessments, which measure the performance of specific organisations, such as councils and fire authorities. The inspections provide an independent judgement of how well authorities are managed at a corporate level and how well they are delivering their services to the public.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority was assessed in April 2009 and rated as 'performing adequately'.

The authority is assessed on the following criteria. 

  1. Managing Performance
  2. Use of Resources
  3. Managing Finances
  4. Governing the Business
  5. Managing Resources

Overall, the organisational assessment paints a broadly positive picture of progress. Areas where real improvements have been made, such as equality and diversity, the slight decrease in primary and accidental fires and the significant decrease in deliberate primary fires and injuries have all been highlighted.

For further information about the CAA process see the One Place website (this link will open in a separate window).