Archived decisions

                      ITEM 8

    AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY - FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE held at the Fire Brigade Headquarters, Eastleigh on 5 November, 2003

PRESENT:

    Councillors P.R.C. Hutcheson (Vice-Chairman in the chair); Mrs. E.S.M. Barron; M.F. Cartwright; J.E. Coles; Mrs. P.G.E. Holden-Brown; D. Horne; S. Letts; R.H. Price; R. Smith; Mrs. M.D. Snaith; J. Stocks; M.J. Woodhall.

56 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest made by Members under this item.

57 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10 July, 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

58 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations under this item.

59 2002/03 BUDGET UNDERSPEND

The Committee considered the report of the Treasurer and the Chief Fire Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) detailing the constituent authorities' responses to the Authority's request to retain the value of all its underspendings in 2002/03 during 2003/04. The Committee noted the Treasurer's view that the 2002/03 underspend of £655,000 had to be paid back to the constituent authorities in line with current rules and accounting practice. However most members felt that the Authority should retain the underspend and apply it towards their level of reserves to stand them in good stead for the time when precepting arrangements began, expected to be in April, 2004.

RESOLVED:

That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority:

      (i) That the appropriate supplementary levy be determined.

      (ii) That the underspending of £655,000 on the original 2002/03 budget be retained by the Authority.

60 BUDGET MONITORING 2003/04

The Committee considered the report of the Treasurer and the Chief Fire Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) which explained that, since the budget was set, a number of additional funding pressures had arisen, including the pay settlement of firefighters (and other modernisation issues) and preparation for the introduction of precepting arrangements. The Committee noted substantial new pressures affecting the budget, which totalled some £1.2m. Of this, some £850,000 could be attributed to either increased operational activity (covered by existing formula arrangements) or new factors emerging subsequent to the budget being set (in particular the full extent of new pay awards, although final details were not yet known). It was noted that these included the anticipated costs of the new scheme of allowances for Fire and Rescue Authority Members should they be backdated. The level of allowances and extent of backdating (if any) are subject to the final decision by the Authority at its meeting in December 2003 when it would consider the recommendations on the subject put forward by its Standards Committee. These pressures were of a type which a supplementary levy might be expected to cover. That left some £350,000 of pressures on the budget which would require to be managed downwards. Among the issues of concern to which members drew attention were:

      · The unpredictable timing of retirements and the need therefore to continue with recruitment and training programmes.

      · The overspending in the current year and the extent to which it was reasonable to ask the constituent authorities for a supplementary levy.

      · The costs of the firefighters' pay award (7%).

      · The costs and organisation of Regional Management Boards.

      · The eventual impact of higher members' allowances.

      · The fact that many aspects of the authority's budget were demand-led and therefore uncontrollable.

      These factors all led members to the conclusion that they should do their utmost to preserve the Authority's staffing and financial position in the current year, as the best way of ensuring a properly funded transfer to the new precepting arrangements in April, 2004.

      RESOLVED:

      (i) That the increased starts value of the repairs to Copnor Fire Station and the change in financing of works at B and C Division be approved.

      (ii) That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority:

      That the approach set out in paragraph 3.1 of the submitted report be adopted as follows:

        · The January course should run for an additional 12 firefighters.

        · A decision should be taken at the February meeting of the Authority as to the number of courses required in 2004/05.

        · The first £250,000 of any overspend at the end of 2003/04 should be deducted from the balance transfer due from constituent authorities in recognition of the Fire Authority's desire to spend in advance in order to position itself better for 2004/05 : this would have the effect of adding to the proportion of the new balances requiring to be met from the precept.

61 PROPOSALS FOR BUILDING UP RESERVES

The Committee considered the report of the Treasurer and the Chief Fire Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) detailing the appropriate level of reserves for the Authority to hold when it becomes a precepting local authority from 1 April 2004, and the appropriate means of generating the required level of reserves. The Committee accepted the principles by which the Treasurer and Chief Fire Officer had assessed the risks facing the Authority, leading to a recommended level of reserves of £1.6m with a slightly phased introduction. Members generally felt it was essential for the Authority to secure higher levels of reserves from the outset, in order to ensure that they had adequate financial resources to meet the many pressures on their budget, and to avoid the need for substantial increases in the precept in future years.

RESOLVED:

That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority:

      (i) That it should plan on establishing a reserve of £2m in 2004/05, with constituent authority contributions of £615,000 (less any deduction arising under Minute 60 above).

      (ii) That the level of reserves to be budgeted for be adjusted as necessary in the light of any further information emerging prior to the finalisation of the budget, and in the light of the forward budget position as a whole.

62 BANKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY

The Committee considered the report of the Treasurer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) detailing options for future banking arrangements for the Fire Authority. Members felt that in the first instance Option 2 would provide the best prospect of an orderly transfer to the new precepting arrangements, but they felt flexibility should be retained to look again at Option 3 if circumstances changed in the future.

RESOLVED:

That Option 2 (separate bank accounts but with systems shared with the County Council and jointly administered treasury management) be pursued but without ruling out the possibility of Option 3 (complete separation of the Fire Authority's activity from the systems of the County Council) at some future date.

63 ASSET MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Fire Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the meeting of the Asset Management Working Group held on 27 October, 2003.

RESOLVED:

      (i) That the report of the Asset Management Working Group meeting on 27 October, 2003 be noted.

      (ii) That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority:

      That the business case for the proposed scheme to build a second fire station in the Basingstoke area be re-examined in the context of the Authority's Integrated Risk Management Plan.

64 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That, by virtue of Paragraphs 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the items referred to in Minutes 65 and 66 below.

65 VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PROGRAMME (CONFIDENTIAL)

The Committee considered a confidential report of the Chief Fire Officer (Item 11 in the Minute Book) detailing the vehicle replacement needs for the three years 2004/05 to 2006/07. The report also included a summary of progress for the vehicle replacement programme for 2002/03 and 2003/04. Members felt that they should take the opportunity to examine again the costs and benefits of alternative methods of funding the acquisition of vehicles.

RESOLVED:

That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority:

      (i) That the revised vehicle replacement programme for 2004/05 to 2006/07 as set out in the report be approved, subject to the Asset Management Working Group being asked to review the alternative methods of funding the acquisition of vehicles.

      (ii) That it be noted that the timing of the acquisition of the second key stage 2 schools fire safety vehicle is dependent upon the Authority approving additional funding to crew the vehicle when it considers the revenue budget for 2004/05 to 2006/07.

66 CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY OF IT NETWORK MAINTENANCE SUPPORT (CONFIDENTIAL)

The Committee considered the confidential report of the Chief Fire Officer (Item 12 in the Minute Book) detailing the contract for the maintenance and support of The Services Information Network.

RESOLVED:

That in accordance with Standing Orders on Contracts (Paragraph 47(2)), approval be given to the letting of a contract to Treysta Services Limited for the supply of IT network support and maintenance.

67 DATES FOR MEETINGS

It was agreed that the morning of Friday 14 November would be reserved for meetings of the Precepting Panel (10.00 a.m) followed by the Asset Management Working Group (12 noon).