Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA)

Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) for fire and rescue authorities helps them improve the management of services they deliver to local people. CPA is an assessment, at the corporate level, of how well the authority is being run. It does not give an opinion on how well the fire service responds to emergency incidents.

The CPA process was initially introduced for local government in 2002 to give people a single overall judgement on how well their local council performs and delivers services. The corporate assessment element of CPA is now being adapted to show how well fire authorities manage their service.

CPA of fire and rescue authorities is undertaken by the Audit Commission. The Audit Commission is an independent body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively, to achieve high-quality local and national services for the public.

By publishing CPA scores, the Commission aims to:

Fire CPA reviews have been conducted at each fire and rescue authority in England using a team of specially trained staff between January and June 2005.

The CPA results and reports for the five fire and rescue authorities that form WMRMB can be accessed via the links provided below. In summary, all fire and rescue authorities of the West Midlands region have been rated as - 'GOOD.' Collectively, this result indicates that WMRMB is the best performing region in England. To underpin the CPA results achieved WMRMB is now undertaking a regional review of operational performance assurance processes to develop and implement a regional methodology to operational assurance.