Archived decisions

Item 18

HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE

MINUTES OF THE FAIRNESS AND DIGNITY GROUP MEETING

HELD AT SOUTHSEA FIRE STATION

ON THURSDAY 13 JANUARY 2005

Present

DCO Dave Curry (Chair)
SDO Charlie House
DO Andy Kettle

Shanti Waas - SHQ
DO Tom Carr
DO Chris Stephens
Cllr Keith Chapman
FF Lud Ramsey
Cllr David Horne
Southsea Fire Station - Duty Crew

Mrs Lee Joss - Minute Secretary

Apologies For Absence

Apologies were received from Cllr M Cartwright, Cllr R Baulk, Sue Brumitt (UNISON), Andy Needham (RFU), StnO Officer Roe (Gosport), DO Mills (Redbridge) and SubO John Hurle.

1

Introduction

DCO Curry welcomed everyone to the Meeting and introduced the guest speakers, Wayne McCollin, thanking him for travelling such a long way, and Lud Ramsey.

2

Guest Speaker - Assistant Firemaster Wayne McCollin, Lothian and Borders

2.1

Wayne gave an interesting and thought provoking talk on his experiences as a black firefighter and more recently, as a Principal Officer within the Service.

3

FBU Black and Ethnic Minority Members School 2004

3.1

Lud spoke about the history of the Black and Ethnic Minority Members Section (B&EMM) and about the School held last year.

4

Open Forum

Unfortunately, the Watch was called out at this time however, DCO Curry thanked Wayne and Lud for their presentations on such interesting subjects. He said that this knowledge was very important when writing Policies for the Service and personnel should continually challenge themselves on these issues.

Fairness and Dignity Committee Business

5

Local Diversity Group - Update

5.1

DO Andy Kettle advised that the Local Diversity Group had only been introduced twelve months ago and its primary objective was to drive forward the Equalities Agenda. The Terms of Reference were currently being reviewed to reflect the role of the group and will be discussed at the next meeting on 20 January. DCO Curry will now be Chairing these meetings. It is envisaged that the LDG will act as a mechanism for monitoring and giving advice on the EIA process, giving guidance on Equality issues and playing a monitoring role on the progress of corporate objectives.

5.2

SDO House felt that there was a lack of knowledge in the organisation on the various Groups, such as the Local Diversity Group. DO Kettle said this matter was being progressed through the new Marketing and Communications Department.

5.3

The Watch expressed concern that standards may be sacrificed and stressed the importance of the right people being employed regardless of ethnicity. DCO Curry assured them that only the right calibre people would be employed however, it was essential to strive for positive action to achieve a better balance in the workforce to reflect the community in which we serve.

6

Revised Race Equality Scheme and Comprehensive Equality Policy Consultation

6.1

Shanti Waas circulated the Equality and Diversity Strategy and explained the consultation process. (Copies of these documents can be obtained from Shanti Waas or DO Andy Kettle.)

7

F&D Committee Revised Terms of Reference

7.1

The proposed Terms of Reference were circulated (Appendix A) and agreed after minor amendment and will be published on the website shortly.

Post Meeting Note :

The Chair of the Fairness and Dignity Committee was discussed at a meeting of the Principal Officers and it was agreed that in the short term, DCO Curry would Chair but in the longer term, the Chair would rotate amongst the Principal Officers of the Service.

7.2

It was agreed that the Membership of the Group should be considered to encourage more involvement from the Service and the Community in order to have a better cross-representation.

7.3

The timings and venue of the meetings should also be considered.

8

Any Other Urgent Business

8.1

Lud Ramsey queried the Service's position regarding the BNP issue. DCO Curry gave attendees some background on this issue and advised that there was no incriminating evidence against the individual concerned and following legal advice, no further action would be taken. The whole incident is being examined by the Service nationally and DCO Curry advised that a Policy was currently being developed which states that individuals would not be employed if their values differed to those of the organisation.

8.2

Lud Ramsey said that as a result of the above decision, ethnic minority groups perception of the Service was not good and action needed to be taken to reassure the community. DCO Curry acknowledged that it would be difficult to recover the situation and said that the Local Diversity Group and the Marketing and Communications Department will look into how to communicate the fact that discrimination is not tolerated in the Service.

10

Date Of Next Meeting

Thursday 14 April 2005 at Basingstoke Fire Station.