Archived decisions

    AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY PERFORMANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE held at Hampshire Fire Brigade Headquarters, Eastleigh on Wednesday 21 April, 2004

PRESENT:

    Councillors: D.A. Kirk (Chairman); Mrs. A.E. Bailey; M.F. Cartwright; K. Chapman; S. Letts.

59. APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs. E.S.M. Barron and J. Stocks.

60. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Fire Authority's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed. There were no declarations of interest declared under this item.

61. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 4 February, 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon:

Minute No. 55 - National Public Opinion Survey : Report of Findings for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service - The Chief Fire Officer reported that a new contract with Opinion Research Services (ORS) had been agreed following a national tendering exercise on behalf of a consortium of most fire and rescue authorities as required under EU directives.

62. DEPUTATIONS

No deputations were received under this item.

63. BEST VALUE REVIEW - DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR HFRS VEHICLE WORKSHOPS

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Fire Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) setting out the proposed terms of reference for HFRS vehicle workshops Best Value Review.

The Committee discussed in detail the approach and methodology for the review and agreed the following amendments to paragraphs in the report:

Paragraph 2.1 - the review team to comprise 8 members in total including:

    · Three x HFRA Members: Councillor S. Letts (or substitute from Labour Group if that proves necessary following the Southampton City Council elections); Councillor R.H. Price (Liberal Democrat Group); Councillor K. Chapman (Conservative Group)

    · Workshops Manager

    · Workshops Chargehand or Workshops Technician

    · Two x User/Customer Representatives: chosen from wholetime station, retained station, officer representative

    · Representative from Performance Review Team : Karolyn Petcher (Mick Gass as substitute).

    Paragraph 2.2 - Membership of the Steering/Consulting Group agreed. It was noted that there would be two external challengers one of whom John Randall (former District Auditor) had already agreed to participate. The other external challenger had still to be confirmed.

    Paragraph 2.4 -     Bullet point 3 to be re-worded to read "Challenge the need and justification for vehicle maintenance to be carried out `in-house'; and challenge why and how individual functions and services are being provided in the way that they are bearing in mind regional collaboration required under modernisation".


    The Committee were advised that the outcomes of the review, if completed by December, 2004 would assist decisions relating to the future development of the headquarters site. It was noted that phase II of the re-development proposals incorporated the business case for the relocation and re-building of vehicle workshops.

    RESOLVED:

    That the Terms of Reference for the review of vehicle workshops be adopted with the amendments as detailed above.

64. ACTIONS TO MEET RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN PREVIOUS BEST VALUE/SCOPING REVIEWS

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Fire Officer detailing progress on the actions taken to meet the recommendations made in the previously conducted Best Value Review of Procurement.

The Committee were informed that funding had now been identified for the appointment of a Procurement Officer and that there were a number of national and regional initiatives underway relating to procurement.

In considering the report it was suggested that a report identifying progress be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.



    RESOLVED:

    (i) That the actions taken towards meeting the recommendations listed in the Best Value Review of Procurement be approved.

    (ii) That a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee identifying progress.

65. BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - QUARTERLY UPDATE, LOCAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND ACTIVITY INDICATORS

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Fire Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) detailing performance for the period up to and including 31 December, 2003.

In considering the report a number of indicators were highlighted. It was noted that in future the quarterly report would concentrate on fewer performance indicators but that the full set would be available on the Hantsfire website.

RESOLVED:

That the Service's performance towards meeting the targets set for each indicator be noted.

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