Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE held at the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Eastleigh on 26 April 2007
PRESENT:
Councillors: P.R.C. Hutcheson (in the Chair); M.F. Cartwright; R. Smith; M.J. Woodhall.
Also present Stephen Taylor, Charlotte Smith and Russell Reeve from the Audit Commission.
63 APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D. Horne, H. Jones, R.H. Price and D. Simpson.
64 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 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 made by members under this item.
65 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 January, 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
Matter Arising on Minute 59 (in relation to Minute 52):
The Director of Corporate Services updated the Committee on the investigation of longer-term agreements (i.e. a five year buy-in) to the insurance mutual, but concluded that the proposal was not feasible.
66 DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations made under this item.
67 ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER 2006/07
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) introducing the Audit Commission's Annual Audit and Inspection Letter. The Letter was presented to members by the external auditors.
The Committee had a comprehensive discussion on various issues within the Letter. In regard to further training officers confirmed that there was a continual and regular programme for members and middle and senior managers. Work was already underway in identifying specific training needs over the next 12 months. On equality and diversity the external auditors explained that although there was a great deal of commitment with which they were pleased, some performance indicators had yet to show significant improvements. The Committee also discussed embedding Value for Money throughout the Service. The Chief Officer gave details of the Service's intention to include a `managing resources' section in station and group plans which had been discussed and agreed with the Audit Commission. The auditors acknowledged that the Authority's approach and processes for asset management was currently covered by a number of key documents including the important `Condition Survey' of buildings. These would be summarised and integrated in a strategic asset management strategy during 2007/08 and it was anticipated that this would satisfy the auditors' recommendations for improvement.
There was a full discussion on the comments regarding the independence of the Authority's Governance Committee. Members queried the value, applicability and practicality of following the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountancy's (CIPFA) guidance given the constitutional arrangements for combined fire and rescue authorities. The guidance was based on an authority with an Executive Leader and Cabinet system which the Fire Authority did not possess. It was very difficult, bearing in mind the size of the Authority, to ensure that the membership of the Governance Committee was independent from other executive standing Committees. It was also pointed out that the Corporate Management Team (CMT) was not a decision-making body and that all members were welcome to attend its meetings. The auditors recognised the difficulties that were faced by a small authority and would be looking in future to measure the effectiveness and performance of the Governance and Standards Committees, rather than their composition. The auditors also recognised that this was a wider problem faced by all combined fire and rescue authorities and would need to be acknowledged in future audits.
It was noted that minor errors stated to be in some documents submitted for audit purposes were small typographical errors. The printed Letter also mistakenly quoted the Financial Management element of the Use of Resources assessment as being a `2' instead of a `3' (page 12) and in paragraph 43 the second sentence should read "Hampshire is one of the lowest cost non-metropolitan fire authorities in the country at £53.64 per band D property".
The Committee were pleased with the overall results of the Letter which showed the Service to be performing and improving well. Members congratulated all staff on this achievement which provided useful evidence towards meeting the corporate aim of being one of the top performing fire and rescue services in the country.
RESOLVED:
That the Audit Commission's Annual Audit and Inspection Letter 2006/07 be received and noted.
68 USE OF RESOURCES ASSESSMENT
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) introducing the Audit Commission's `Use of Resources Assessment' as part of the Fire and Rescue Performance Assessment 2006/07.
Members went through the Audit Commission's report looking at each theme and its key lines of enquiry for the assessment. This led to a wide-ranging discussion including members' involvement with setting Authority targets, risk management, the register of interests and linking financial reporting to operational indicators.
The Committee also discussed the value of producing summary accounts as the evidence from Hampshire County Council suggested little interest for them by the public. With this in mind the Committee agreed that producing leaflets would be against Value for Money considerations and suggested that the combined Council Tax leaflet already provided the key points as well as the opportunity to incorporate summarised budgetary information to the public. The auditors agreed that making the summary accounts available online and in different languages would meet the standards. They agreed to forward alternatives which had proved worthwhile in other authorities for consideration.
Members again reiterated the difficulties involved in forming truly independent Standards and Governance Committees with an Authority consisting of only 25 councillors. The auditors accepted that they may not have taken into account member training provided by the County Council and the two unitary authorities which supplemented that specifically given by the Service to HFRA members.
The Chief Officer concluded the discussion by praising the open and good working relationship that existed with the auditors and thanking all staff for their hard work.
RESOLVED:
That the Audit Commission's `Use of Resources Assessment: 2006/07' be received and noted.
69 FIRE AND RESCUE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT - NATIONAL REPORT
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) introducing the Audit Commission's report on the national outcomes of the Fire and Rescue Performance Assessment.
Members were very pleased with Hampshire's results which put the Authority within the top ten best performing services as shown in the table of national results.
RESOLVED:
1. That the key messages and comparative scores set out in the Audit Commission's National Report of the Fire and Rescue Performance Assessment be noted.
2. That all staff be congratulated for their efforts in achieving excellent results in the Fire and Rescue Performance Assessment.
70 FIRE AND RESCUE MUTUAL
The Committee noted the oral report of the Director of Corporate Services updating members on the progress of the insurance mutual. It was reported that the steering group, comprising all the partner authorities, was in the process of setting up the directorships for the Fire and Rescue Authorities Mutual Limited (FRAML).
Authorisation from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was currently being sought and the steering group will, in addition, consider seeking the support of Secretary of State under Section 29 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. If all formalities are approved then the company is scheduled to start on 1 July 2007.