Archived decisions

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Performance Review Committee

Item 6

10 October 2003

Programme of Best Value Reviews

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Contact:

David Howells, Director of Corporate Services

Tel: 023 8064 4000 Ext 203

1

Summary

1.1

In the light of proposals contained in the Government's White Paper `Our Fire and Rescue Service' and because of other urgent pressures on staffing resources, the Committee is asked to postpone the best value reviews originally scheduled for 2003/04.

2

Background

2.1

In accordance with the Authority's current programme of best value reviews, the Committee (at its meeting on 19 June 2003) approved draft terms of reference for two reviews covering Support Services and Vehicle Workshops. It was anticipated that these would be completed by 31 March 2004.

2.2

Membership of the review teams was to be confirmed at this meeting with work due to commence immediately.

2.3

Impact of the White Paper `Our Fire and Rescue Service' and Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP)

2.4

Members will be aware from the report presented to the Authority - at its meeting on 17 September - that the Government's White Paper includes a number of wide-ranging proposals aimed at modernising the fire and rescue service. Of particular relevance to Best Value is the comment that:

"... the fire service has been less successful in operating at the right level. The Independent Review of the Fire Service identified large benefits from collaboration between brigades. But, even though such benefits had been identified in previous studies, there has been little evidence that the fire service, as a whole, has pursued amalgamation of fire control rooms, better procurement, collaboration arrangements for vehicle maintenance, or the rationalisation of management and support costs with any real enthusiasm." (Paragraph 4.9)

2.5

There is an expectation (Paragraph 4.17) that `regional management boards' will take responsibility for delivering the following functions in accordance with national policies:

· ensuring resilience to emergencies

· specialist or common services;

· establishing regional control rooms;

· introducing regional-based procurement;

· developing regional training strategies and delivery; and

· introducing regional personnel and human resources management functions

2.6

The Government's commitment to improving performance in the fire and rescue service through structural reform was emphasised by Nick Raynsford in his speech to the Fire Conference in Glasgow on 11 September 2003. In proposing a new national Framework he said it will "...set out specific solutions [for] issues where a national or regional solution is needed to ensure that the fire and rescue service works as effectively as possible."

2.7

These expectations have clear implications for our planned programme of reviews - and for reviews we have already completed (e.g. Control Rooms and Procurement). We also understand that given the delayed implementation date for IPDS, which was originally planned for April this year, the statutory requirement for individual fire authorities to review the training function (already previously postponed by the ODPM) may be removed.

2.8

In anticipation of a requirement to make progress on collaborative working, some regions have already made a start in considering the issues and potential for delivering these functions at a regional or sub-regional level. Within the south-east, for example, inter-brigade working groups have been established to consider each of the six functional areas summarised above. Hampshire is leading on Human Resource Management.

2.9

Given this wider agenda, there seems little point in commencing - at this particular time - our own reviews of support services and vehicle maintenance. Instead, it would make more sense to press for and/or contribute to any regional consideration or reviews of these (and other) functions. This suggestion has been put to our local external auditors and they would support such a stance. The same point was made to Dave Lawrence and David Harper from the ODPM's Fire Service Improvement Team when they visited us last month. They also agreed that it made sense to reconsider the scope and timing of our current programme of best value reviews given this new context.

2.10

The Committee will be aware that - notwithstanding the implications of the White Paper - there are other urgent pressures on our senior managers and leading Members. Notably the need to:

· develop and implement our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP);

· implement the Integrated Personal Development System (IPDS);

· respond to the changes arising from the proposed Regulatory Reform Order (RRO);

· contribute to and/or respond to proposals for changes in the set of Best Value Performance Indicators;

· prepare for the introduction of precepting arrangements; and,

· contribute to/prepare for the development/implementation of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA).

These urgent and higher priority issues would make it extremely difficult to justify the allocation of resources to carrying out the planned best value reviews which themselves will be overshadowed and most likely duplicated by the wider agenda for modernisation. It is therefore recommended that they be postponed and reconsidered in the light of other initiatives being taken on regional collaboration.

3

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

3.1

The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 and considered in the light of the Race Relations (amendment) Act 2000.

Recommendations

1

That the proposed best value reviews of Support Services and Vehicle Workshops (due to be undertaken in 2003/04) be postponed; and that the scope and timing of these two reviews be reassessed in the context of other collaborative initiatives being undertaken by fire authorities in response to the Government's White Paper, `Our Fire and Rescue Service'.

2

That a draft revised five year programme of best value reviews be presented for the Committee's consideration at its meeting in February 2004.

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.

HFRA Performance Review Committee 19 6 2003 - Draft Terms of Reference Best Value Reviews (2003/04) (1) Support Vehicles (2) HFRA Vehicle Workshops

NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

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

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