Hosted by the Government Office for the East of England, the conference was held to provide regional partners including representatives from Local Strategic Partnership's (LSPs), local authorities, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and police authorites with the opportunity to engage with senior Whitehall representatives about the opportunities and challenges offered by the new LAAs, leading in turm to more effective partnership working throughout the region and better outcomes for local people.
Keynote speakers included Regional Minister for the East of England, Barbara Follett, Brian Hackland, Regional Director for the Government Office for the East of England and Andrew Cambell, Director for Local Strategic Partnerships and Performance at Communities and Local Government.
Barbara Follett said:
"I welcome the chance to hear more about the priorities and ambitions that leaders and stakeholders from the six counties that make up the Eastern Region have for their local areas. These will form the basis of the East of England's new Local Area Agreements, which, I hope, will be in place by June 2008.
LAAs are an invaluable tool in the delivery of public services. They help to join these up and to encourage local solutions to local problems. They have served us well in the past and I look forward to seeing the new ones in place by June 2008. "
