Archived decisions

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority Item .....

15 February 2006

Integrated Risk Management Plan 2006/2008

Report of the Chief Officer

Contact: Deputy Chief Fire Officer Alan House Telephone: 023 8062 6831

1

Summary

This report explains the development and contents of the Authority's Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) 2006 to 2008.

2

Recommendation

That the Authority approves the draft 3 year IRMP.

3

Introduction

3.1

The government expectation on Fire Authorities, as detailed in the National Framework, requires that every Fire Authority produces an Integrated Risk Management Plan and annual action plan. The plan needs to not only have surveyed and quantified the risks in the county, but also determine how we will set about reducing those risks. Specifically the IRMP must address:

- Reducing the number and severity of fires, and in collaboration with other agencies, road traffic accidents and other emergency incidents occurring in the area for which it is responsible;

- Reducing the severity of injuries in fires, road traffic accidents and other emergency incidents;

- Reducing the commercial, economic and social impact of fires and other emergency incidents;

- Safeguarding the environment and heritage (both built and natural); and

- Providing value for money.

3.2

A component part of the IRMP is an annual action plan of the Authority's intentions. Given that the annual action plan inevitably details how the Authority will use its resources differently, there is a requirement to undertake consultation with the public, staff and other key stakeholders. The consultation details are laid out in Appendix A.

3.3

The IRMP continues the themes of last year, separating the plan into 3 main planks of Protecting, Preventing and Responding. These 3 main elements are supported by a section on Resourcing as clearly the delivery of the IRMP cannot take place without the necessary Financial, Human and Information and Communication resources.

4

Key Elements of our IRMP

4.1

A major component of the IRMP is to improve our understanding of the county's risk profile and to improve our intelligence in relation to changing risk trends and patterns. The IRMP is an evolving process and we continue to improve the gathering and collation of risk intelligence to inform the IRMP.

4.2

The key issues are:

- Our aim is every home will have a home safety visit by 2010.

- Our aim is for every pupil to be educated in fire safety by Key Stage 3.

- Our aim is that every household in Hampshire will have at least one smoke detector by 2010.

- Hoax calls are a crime and divert resources from real emergencies. In partnership with the Police, we aim to reduce these by 5% by 2008.

- False calls from automatic detection systems have the same impact on our resources as malicious calls. Working with property owners and users, we will seek to drive these down by 10% by 2010.

- We will offer fire safety protection advice to building developers, owners and users, but will also take action to enforce compliance with regulations when necessary.

- Our target is to attend all emergency calls within eight minutes on 80% of occasions (8/80).

5

Contribution to Corporate Aims, Objectives and Key Tasks

The IRMP is an intrinsic part of the Corporate Plan and as such, directly underpins the Corporate Aims. This is deliberately aligned to national targets and therefore our IRMP contributes directly to our own Corporate Aims and those of the National Public Service Agreement. The corporate objectives are themselves drawn directly from the preventing, protecting and responding elements of the IRMP.

6

Resource Implications

The IRMP has significant resource implications which are described in more detail in the draft plan. It has impact for human resources in terms of working patterns and more flexible use of people. In terms of data gathering and risk analysis, there is already a major ICT project on developing a new risk database. From a financial perspective, it is intended that the initiatives within the IRMP will, in the main, be met within existing resources by transferring resources between the three functions of preventing, protecting and responding.

7

Equality Impact Assessment

The significance of the IRMP to the service we offer to the public means there is clearly a requirement to undertake an Equality Impact Assessment under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act. The purpose of this is to ensure our policies:

-

Eliminate any unlawful discrimination

-

Promote equality of opportunity

-

Promote good race relations

By ensuring we pass these tests, the document and the actions we intend to undertake will be more accessible to the whole community. The final plan will therefore be formally impact assessed before being finally published.

8

Risk Analysis

Failure to produce a comprehensive IRMP can represent a significant risk for the Authority, both in terms of its ability to deliver a coherent service to the public and drive down risk in the community it serves. It would also amount to a failure in its statutory duty which would lead to government intervention and have a significant adverse impact on our reputation.

9

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

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

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.

The Fire and Rescue National Framework 2004/05

The Fire and Rescue National Framework 2005/06

Note: The list excludes:

(1) Published works

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