Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY held at the Borough Council Offices, Eastleigh on 15th September 2004.

PRESENT: Item 3

Councillors M F Cartwright (Chairman); Mrs A E Bailey; Mrs E Baker; Mrs E S M Barron; R Baulk; K Chapman; E F Gale MBE; P Galton; Mrs P G E Holden-Brown; D Horne; P R C Hutcheson; D A Kirk; P Luffman; R McIntosh; R H Price; R Smith; Mrs M D Snaith; J Stocks; R Williams; M J Woodhall.

260 APOLOGIES

    Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A Bentley; Mrs D Harrison; P A Heath; K House and K P J Searle.

261 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.

262 MINUTES

    The Minutes of the meeting of the Authority held on 14 July 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

263 DEPUTATION

    Pursuant to Standing Order 17, the Authority received a deputation by Mr L Ramsay on behalf of the Fire Brigades Union and by a Miss Faning, a Brockenhurst resident. They spoke of their concerns about a serving retained firefighter at Brockenhurst Fire Station being a member and candidate for the British National Party and asked that he be removed from front-line duties.

    In response, the Chairman read a short statement confirming the Authority's commitment to racial equality and all that this required of the Service, but also to the freedom of speech of an individual affiliated to a recognised political party. The two minority political spokespersons each said a few words supporting the Authority's position.

264 MEMBERS' QUESTIONS

There were no Members' questions under this item.

265 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

    (i) The Chairman was pleased to report that the national dispute had been settled and congratulated Councillor Mrs E.S.M. Barrron who had been appointed Chairman of the NJC for her part in bringing the matter to a successful conclusion. Also, he congratulated Station Officer Steve Hamm on completing his Chartered Engineer examinations. The Chairman took the opportunity to remind Members of the `Awareness Day' being organised at Fire and Rescue Service, Headquarters, Eastleigh on 8 November, 2004.

    (ii) The Authority noted that it was the intention to appoint Councillor R Baulk with specific responsibility for encouraging better communication and liaison between Fire Authority Members. This was in response to a recommendation by the Audit Commission in the Verification Study (Phase 2 Report) in relation to modernisation of the Fire Service. It was noted that Councillor Baulk would be attending future meetings of the Corporate Management Team as an observer.

    (iii) It was with sadness that Members learnt of the sudden death of a former HFRS officer Jan Kitchen, of a suspected heart attack. Mr Kitchen had retired in 2003 having worked in Human Resources at Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters for a number of years. The Chairman also spoke of the death of two London firefighters, Bill Faust and Adam Meere whilst attending a house fire in Bethnal Green, London on 20 July 2004. Adam Meere had lived in Aldershot. Finally, the Chief Officer reported on a recent memorial service in London which he had attended with Councillor K Chapman for fire-fighters and victims who had died in fire incidents.

266 ACTIVITY REPORT

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) highlighting prevention, protection and response activities in each of the newly formed Group Areas.

    The Authority congratulated the Chief Officer on the new style and more detailed activity report. The Chief Officer explained that the new style allowed him to align district and unitary authorities' geographical boundaries with fire service's organisational and management responsibilities and would provide a useful monitoring tool for the future. Some suggestions for additional future information were made including providing information specific to each local authority area and the possible use of graphs to illustrate performance. The Chief Officer noted the points made and undertook to highlight performance in an appropriate way in future reports to the Performance Review Committee.

    RESOLVED:

    That the report be noted.

267 INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLANNING - UPDATE

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the development of the Integrated Risk Management Plan for Hampshire. A detailed presentation was included as part of this item.

    RESOLVED:

    That the Authority endorse the approach taken in developing the Integrated Risk Management Plan for Hampshire and note the progress that has been made to date.

268 PRESENTATION BY LUCY CARTER ON BEHALF OF ODPM ABOUT THE REGIONAL FIRE CONTROL PROJECT

    Lucy Carter on behalf of the ODPM gave a presentation to the Authority on the Regional Fire Control project and its implications for fire and rescue services. Copies of the presentation material were circulated at the meeting (Item 11 in the Minute Book).

    There followed an in-depth question and answer session covering a range of Members' concerns about the project. They highlighted particularly the, as yet, unknown cost apportionment between fire authorities, unproven regional business case and lack of information about the likely location of the proposed nine new Regional Control Rooms. Lucy Carter noted the comments made and was thanked for her presentation.

269 THE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK 2004/05

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) summarising the key points of the National Framework and the role of the Corporate Management Team.

    RESOLVED:

    That the Authority notes the key points of the National Framework as summarised in the report and endorses the role of the Corporate Management Team in monitoring progress against required actions.

270 CORPORATE PLAN - A NEW APPROACH

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the new approach to structuring the Service's Corporate Plan. Members noted that two of the percentage figures in the appendix should instead read `20% reduction in fire deaths and 10% reduction in arson fires by 2010'.



    RESOLVED:

    That the Authority:

    (i) endorses the new approach to structuring the Corporate Plan in order to incorporate the Integrated Risk Management Plan and prepare the Authority's strategy for Comprehensive Performance Assessment.

    (ii) recommits to the overarching aim to `Make Hampshire Safer'.

    (iii) endorses the key objectives of:

      - transfer 2% of resources to protection and prevention by 2008.

      - reduce fire deaths by 20% by 2010.

      - reduce deliberate fires by 10% by 2010.

      - reduce building fires by 3% by 2006.

      - become one of the top performing fire and rescue services in the country.

271 AUDIT COMMISSION VERIFICATION EXERCISE II

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 12 in the Minute Book) on the Audit Commission's Verification Phase II Inspection and on the development of an action plan in response to the Audit Commission's recommendations.

    RESOLVED:

    (i) That the Authority notes the Audit Commission's Verifications Report (July 2004).

    (ii) That the Authority endorses the approach of the Chief Officer to develop and implement an action plan.

272 REGIONAL MANAGEMENT BOARD UPDATE

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 13 in the Minute Book) outlining the key issues arising from the South East Regional Management Board meeting held on 14 July 2004. Members asked the Chief Officer to closely monitor costs involved in Regional Management Board activities.

    RESOLVED:

    That the report be noted.

273 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000: POLICY STATEMENT

    The Authority considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 14 in the Minute Book) seeking approval to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Policy Statement.

    RESOLVED:

    (i) That the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Policy Statement set out as Appendix 1 to the report be approved and adopted.

    (ii) That the Policy Statement be reviewed and updated as necessary on an annual basis.

274 MINUTES OF FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE - 28 JULY 2004

    The Authority received the Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 28 July 2004 and adopted the recommendation on budget monitoring (Item 15 in the Minute Book). On Minute 93, it was noted that Councillor D Horne was to be the Labour Member nomination to serve on the Asset Management Working Group.

275 MINUTES OF THE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE - 8 SEPTEMBER 2004

    The Authority received the Minutes of the Personnel Committee held on 8 September 2004 (Item 16 in the Minute Book).

276 MINUTES OF PERFORMANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE - 8 SEPTEMBER 2004

    The Authority received the Minutes of the Performance Review Committee held on 8 September 2004 (Item 17 in the Minute Book).

    On Minute 71, the Chairman confirmed that the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services at Hampshire County Council had confirmed that the threat of arson is taken into account when undertaking their risk assessments and in fact was a significant feature.

277 NOTES OF COMMUNITY FIRE SAFETY STRATEGIC STEERING GROUP - 14 JUNE 2004

    The Authority received the notes of the Community Fire Safety Strategic Steering Group held on 14 June 2004 (Item 18 in the Minute Book).

278 NOTES OF FAIRNESS AND DIGNITY GROUP - 22 JULY 2004

    The Authority received the notes of the Fairness and Dignity Group held on 22 July 2004 (Item 19 in the Minute Book).

279 FIRE CONFERENCE: 7 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2004 AT THE G.MEX CENTRE, MANCHESTER

    It was noted that there would be a report by the Chief Officer about the Fire Conference to accompany the next bulletin to Authority Members. A note on the Conference had also been prepared by Councillor Mrs A E Bailey and this would be circulated at the same time.

280 CALENDAR OF FUTURE MEETINGS

    The Authority received and noted the amended report of the Clerk (Item 21 in the Minute Book) on the calendar of future HFRA and Committee meetings.

281 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

    RESOLVED:

    That by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded for the remainder of the meeting.

282 APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHIEF OFFICER, HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE

    The Authority considered the confidential report of the Chairman of the Interview Panel, together with a supplementary confidential appendix tabled at the meeting (Items 23(i) and 23(ii) in the Minute Book) about the appointment of a new Deputy Chief Officer HFRS.

    RESOLVED:

    That the Authority adopts the recommendation of the Interview Panel and, subject to a satisfactory medical confirms the appointment of Mr. Dave Curry of Surrey Fire and Rescue Service as the new Deputy Chief Officer for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to take affect within the next three months.

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