Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Personnel Committee

Item 5

14 November 2001

Review of Establishment and Ridership Factor for Wholetime Shift Fire Stations

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Contact:

Chris Bacon

Temp/Assistant Chief Fire Officer

Tel: 023 8064 4000 ext 207

1

Introduction

1.1

The 'ridership factor' is the margin by which the establishment of the Service must exceed the number of crew positions in order to meet nationally recommended standards of fire cover. It is expressed as a ratio of the number of personnel required for each 'rider' post.

1.2

The approved crewing policy provides for 5 personnel on the first pumping appliance, 4 personnel on the second pumping appliance and 2 personnel on primary-crewed, special appliances. In theory, this enables `standard crewing' to be achieved on 100% of occasions. In 1999/2000 `standard crewing' was achieved in HFRS on just 65% of occasions based on a ridership factor of 1:1.35 (4^th lowest in the UK) (see Appendix A).

2

Background

2.1

There have been increased difficulties in achieving `standard crewing' for Wholetime shift-crewed fire stations. This affects our ability to achieve the national standards of fire cover and one of the Best Value Performance Indicator targets. A lower ridership factor makes it difficult to cover sickness absence, to allow personnel to attend training courses, and problems in staff being able to take leave. It is well known that training commitments and expectations (often imposed by central guidance from DTLR or Health & Safety Executive) have significantly increased in the last few years. This directly impacts on our ability to achieve standard crewing. Whilst every effort has been made to reduce sickness absence, there have been increases, especially in stress-related illnesses. For these reasons it was decided to review the ridership factor in line with Home Office Guidance to check on the establishment to effectively meet Service needs.

3

Ridership Factor Review

3.1

All shift stations completed a monthly return for the 12 month period ended 31 March 2001. These were carefully monitored and checked for accuracy. The monthly return contained information on leave, sickness, training and other absences. The data was collated using guidance from the Home Office to calculate the ridership factor. The results were subsequently discussed with HMI Staff Officer in June 2001.

3.2

The completed ridership factor table is attached as Appendix B. It indicates that, with an average established rider strength of 564 (Wholetime shift stations only), a ridership factor of 1.43 is required.

4

Crewing Levels (Wholetime Shift Stations)

4.1

Using the ridership factor it is possible to calculate the establishment for each watch at shift-crewed stations. The summary of the calculations is attached as Appendix C. It shows that HFRS is under-established by 8 firefighter posts using a ridership factor of 1.43.

4.2

However, the figures do not tell the whole story. B17 Fareham and B18 Gosport are constantly having difficulty in achieving standard crewing, as they are 1 pump stations with the same commitments for training, leave, sickness, etc., compared to larger stations, but without the greater flexibility and economies of scale that their staffing provides. The result is that other stations have to regularly detach personnel to B17 or B18 in order to try and achieve standard crewing. This adversely affects the supporting stations in achievement of the national standards.

4.3

A reasonable solution is to increase the establishment at B17 Fareham and B18 Gosport by 4 Firefighters per station. This will ease the pressure and greatly assist in achieving the national standards in more communities.

5

Conclusion

5.1

There are various pressures on the existing establishment at shift-crewed fire stations, such that national expectations and standards are not being met. This is exacerbated by the unrealistically low ridership factor. There is a demonstrable need to:

5.1.1

provide 8 additional firefighter posts to support a revised ridership factor of 1.43;

5.1.2

provide a further 8 posts to assist B17 and B18 achieve their specific targets and to reduce the reliance on support from other stations.

These proposals could be phased in over the two years 2002/03 to 2003/04.

6

Financial Implications

6.1

In a full year the cost of additional pay ( plus 'on costs') would be £173,600 in 2002/03 plus a further addition of £173,600 to the base budget from 2003/04.

6.2

There would also be pension implications for consideration in future years.

7

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

7.1

The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Recommendations to the Authority:

That the Committee approve an increase of 16 Firefighter posts as part of the Wholetime shift station establishment as detailed in paragraph 5.1 of the report and that these proposals be taken account of in the budget setting process.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report.

None

NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

2 Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act

File name [HFRA Personnel 14 Nov 01 - Review of Estab.doc]

Appendix A - Ridership Factor

) Attached to hard copy of report

)

Appendix B - Ridership Factor Table