Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority Item

4 June, 2008

Appointment of Committees, Chairmen and Vice-Chairmenships, Deputies and Other Appointments And Updated Terms of Reference For Committees

Report of the Clerk

Contact: Mr. K. Ridout. (01962) 847356.

1 Summary


1.1 This report seeks approval to the proportional allocation of members to the Authority's Finance and General Purposes, Governance, Human Resources, Performance Review and Standards Committees, to the appointment of members and deputies to serve on each, the appointment of their respective Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen and to various other appointments. It also deals with some changes to the terms of reference of Committees as explained within the report.


2 Recommendations


2.1 That, for the purposes of Part 1 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the allocation of seats on the Finance and General Purposes, Governance, Human Resources, Performance Review and Standards Committees of the Authority, be as set out in Paragraph 3.4 of the report.


2.2 That the Authority re-appoint members of the Finance and General Purposes, Governance, Human Resources, Performance Review and Standards Committees and their respective Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen, as necessary.


2.3 That the Authority appoint one member to each of the 13 Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships currently operated by the 11 districts and 2 unitary authorities in Hampshire on the same basis as previously.


2.4 That the Corporate Management Team of leading Members continue as previously; the Team to comprise the Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen of the Authority, Chairman of Human Resources Committee and also a Member of Performance Review Committee, Chairman of the Asset Management Working Group of Finance and General Purposes Committee, two Liberal Democrat Members and the newly to be appointed Labour Member spokesman.


2.5 That the Authority appoint a member to serve on the Local Authority Controlled Company in relation to the governance and management of the Regional Control Centre.


2.6 That the terms of reference for each of the Committees be updated as explained in paragraph 6 of the report and as highlighted in Appendix 3 of the report.


3 Size and Political Composition of Committees


3.1 From 27 February 2008, the political composition of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority changed from 13 Conservative, 9 Liberal Democrat and 3 Labour when Portsmouth City Council appointed a second Liberal Democrat Councillor D. Phillips in place of their existing Labour Member, Councillor D. Horne. Also, recently there has been the Portsmouth and Southampton City Council elections. However, as a result of these elections, there has been no further change to the political composition of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority. It is as at February, 2008, with 13 Conservative, 10 Liberal Democrat and 2 Labour. In relation to Member changes, from the County Council, Councillor K. House replaces Councillor B.D. Dash and Councillor A. Evans replaces Councillor M.J. Woodhall. Portsmouth City Council have re-appointed Councillors A. Fraser and L. Hunt and appointed Councillor D. Fuller in place of Councillor D. Phillips. Southampton City Council have re-appointed Councillors R. Smith and P. Galton and appointed Councillor P. Marsh-Jenks in place of Councillor R. Williams.


3.2 The names of the Hampshire County, Portsmouth and Southampton City Council members now serving on the HFRA appears as Appendix 1.

3.3 The political proportionality of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 applies to the Authority. This requires, inter-alia, that where one political group has an overall majority, that group must have a majority on any Committee. As a result of the current political composition of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority (referred to in 3.1 above), the Authority are able to appoint a further Liberal Democrat in place of a Labour Member on either the Finance and General Purposes, Human Resources, Performance Review or Governance Committees. Alternatively, the Authority may wish to continue as before with one Labour Member seat on each of its Committees as is shown in paragraph 3.4 below.


3.4 The number of seats on the Authority's existing Committees is set out below and, if the Authority support, the continuation of a Labour Member seat on each of its Committees the position over seats will remain unchanged as:-


Committees Conservative Liberal Democrat Labour Group
Group Group

Finance and General
Purposes 6 4 1

Human Resources 6 4 1

Performance Review 5 3 1

Governance 5 3 1

Standards 3 2 1

(plus 3 Independent Members)


4 Appointment of Deputies


4.1 The Authority's Standing Orders normally require each Committee to include one member from each of the constituent authorities. In respect of the two Cities, where they have had only one representative on a Committee, it has been the practice to appoint a deputy. Notwithstanding this, currently there is no Southampton member on either the Performance Review and Scrutiny or Standards Committees and no Portsmouth member on either the Finance and General Purposes or Governance Committees. The Authority may wish to take this into consideration in making their appointments. The former membership of the five Committees, as previously appointed, appears as Appendix 2.


5 Other Authority Appointments


5.1 Corporate Management Team - The Authority has previously agreed that leading members (the Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen, Chairman of Human Resources Committee and also a Member of Performance Review Committee, Chairman of the Asset Management Working Group of Finance and General Purposes Committee and spokesmen for the two minority political groups) would meet as a preliminary sounding board with senior officers to develop polices, plans and recommendations for subsequent presentation to the Authority. This informal working group - called the Corporate Management Team (CMT) - was originally established to make progress with the Authority's Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). It has also been used as a useful cross-party group to discuss and deal with matters of urgency. Also, there is a standing invitation from CMT for any Member of the Authority to attend any of their meetings. It is recommended that the Corporate Management Team continues as before.

5.2 The Authority is asked to nominate 2 Liberal Democrat and 1 Labour Member spokesmen for the minority political groups on CMT.


5.3 Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships - The Authority has appointed one of its members to serve on each of the 13 partnerships currently operated by the 11 district and 2 unitary authorities in Hampshire. They are seen as an important way to achieve and improve the delivery of "joined-up" services to the local community and enable resources to be targeted using the most appropriate skills.


5.4 The Authority is asked to re-appoint members to the 13 Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships.


5.5 Regional Control Centre - Governance and Management - The governance and management arrangements for the future Regional Control Centre is provided by a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC). The Company is composed of Member representatives from each of the nine Fire and Rescue Authorities in the South East as well as a Regional Control Centre Manager. Councillor R.A. Price is currently the HFRA representative on the LACC and the Authority may wish to re-appoint this Member to this position for a further twelve month period.


5.6 The Authority re-appoint a Member representative to serve on LACC.


5.7 Labour Party Minority Spokesman - As a result of Councillor D. Horne no longer being a Member of the Authority, there is a vacancy for this position which the Labour Group are asked to fill and to inform the Clerk accordingly.


6 Updated Terms of Reference for Committees


6.1 The current terms of reference (TOR) for each of the Authority's five Committees appears as Appendix 3 of the report. Also, in bold type has been added several changes to the TOR for consideration and approval by the Authority.


6.2 The proposed changes are aimed at improving the efficiency of the Authority's operations and good practice. Summarised below are the reasons for making these changes. The Committees affected are the Finance and General Purposes, the Governance and the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committees. The Standards Committee will be considering a report at their next meeting on 17 June, 2008 about new regulations for the local handling of complaints about Members who have failed to comply with the Code of Conduct. This will require some changes to this Committee's terms of reference and these will be reported to the Fire Authority on 17 September, 2008.

Finance and General Purposes and Governance Committees - At present the Fire and General Purposes Committee approves, on behalf of the Authority, the Statement of Accounts (SOA). However, it is now felt to be good governance practice for the SOA to be approved instead by the Governance Committee. The required changes to both Committees TOR are shown in Appendix 3.

Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee - At the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee on 5 March, 2008, it was considered by Members to be more appropriate for the Governance Committee rather than Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee to receive and consider progress reports on actions taken to satisfy outcomes and recommendations from external and internal audit reports. The required changes to both Committees TOR are shown in Appendix 3, along with newly proposed TOR for Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee to take account of the Authority's wish for it to undertake post-implementation scrutiny of any major project, scheme or key decision and to deal with progressing the Improvement Planning Register.


7 Equality Impact Assessment


7.1 An impact assessment has been made on the proposals in the paper and shown that they are not discriminatory. They 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.

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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 this report.

N.B. The list excludes:

Published works.


Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

None

Appendix 1

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Membership

Appendix 2

PREVIOUS COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Appendix 3

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Terms of Reference of Committees

FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

· To make recommendations to the Authority as to its revenue budget and capital programme.

· To consider and determine the annual programme for the replacement of vehicles and other major capital schemes.

· To consider and advise the Authority on the financial effects of significant development strategies, plans, major acquisitions, contracts etc.

· AMEND to read "To receive, consider and approve the Authority's final accounts (normally at a June meeting").

· To oversee the use of land and property and other significant resources (eg information technology, communications, vehicles).

· DELETE "To approve the Statement of Accounts alongside the final accounts at its July meeting".

· To deal with any other urgent business that cannot reasonably be held over to the next full meeting of the Authority or else dealt with under the Scheme of Delegation of Standing Orders.

· To deal with such other matters of financial significance that the Authority may refer to it.

HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE

To advise the Authority on all matters of personnel policy in order to ensure the effective utilisation and development of the staff of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

To exercise the powers and duties except where otherwise stated (eg in the Scheme of Delegation) in the following matters:

Establishment, Staffing Levels and Structures

Subject to consultation with other bodies as required by statute, to consider and advise the Authority on overall staffing needs and organisational structures, including:

· the overall allocation of staff to meet specific current or temporary needs;

· variation in grades, remuneration and conditions of service for individual or groups of posts in the establishment;

· periodic reviews of staffing levels and gradings.

When considering these issues, the Committee will have particular regard to the financial implications of any approvals or recommendations made.

Pay and Conditions of Service

To receive reports on nationally negotiated variations to salary levels and conditions of service for all categories of staff and advise the authority of their implications.

To consider, determine or advise on local variations in pay and conditions of service.

To monitor the application of the Local Pension Scheme and Firemans' Pension Scheme.

To monitor all retirements and dismissals made on medical grounds.

Employee Policies

To ensure the introduction and continued application of good employee relations, procedures and practices.

To ensure compliance with the provisions of all employment protection and related legislation.

To act as the Authority's appeal body for all categories of employees and to appoint appeals panels comprising members of the Committee or the Authority as appropriate. (This to include hearing of appeals relating to: individual dismissals and grievances; and collective disputes).

To ensure that good recruitment and selection practices are adopted for all HFRS employees.

To be responsible for the appointment of Chief and Deputy Chief Fire Officers posts.

To approve training and development policies.

To promote and monitor the Authority's equal opportunities and health, safety and welfare policies.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

· To participate in, determine and undertake a programme of DELETE "Best Value" and INSERT "efficiency" reviews with a view to effecting continuous improvements in the way services are delivered, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

· To receive reports and information from officers, members, organizations and individuals as required by the Committee to further its work, and to interview members, officers, staff and comparable organisations as appropriate.

· To monitor and review policy, decisions and the service delivery issues referred by the Authority.

· To identify and make recommendations on any cross-cutting issues in order to optimise the use of resources and improve service delivery.

· To oversee and co-ordinate the preparations of the Authority for add "achieving" best value and compliance with relevant legislative requirements.

· DELETE "to monitor the programme of Best Value Reviews".

· To consider reports on the outcome of reviews and the relevant recommendations and to monitor their implementation on a regular basis.

· DELETE "To agree the annual Best Value Performance Plan on behalf of the Authority and arrangements for its publication".

· To appoint member(s) to individual DELETE "Best Value" and INSERT "efficiency" reviews.

· To recommend specific actions to secure best value for the Authority's services.

· To review performance, budgets and the implementation of the Authority's policies in such areas as the Committee might determine (or be required by the Authority to review) and to formulate recommendations for consideration by the Authority for:-

o the effective performance improvement, and/or

o the reduction or redeployment of expenditure so as more effectively to meet the Authority's ADD "corporate" objectives for the delivery of services to the public.


· ADD "To carry out joint member/officer pre and post implementation scrutiny of any major project, scheme, or key decision taken by the Authority or its Standing Committees".


· ADD "To receive updated reports detailing progress on the Improvement Planning Register".

Notes:

Union representatives are invited to attend meetings of the Committee and with the permission of the Chairman, the union representatives will be given the opportunity to speak on any agenda item.

This Committee was formerly known as the Best Value Committee until 26 September 2001 when it became the Performance Review Committee.

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

On 26 May 2004, the Authority felt that a new separate Committee should be established for corporate governance rather than to add this role to the existing responsibilities of the Standards Committee.

The Clerk was asked to prepare a report on the proposed establishment of this new committee. It was recommended that the new Committee be named the `Governance Committee' and that its terms of reference be as set out in the previous 26 May, 2004 report; that is:

· To adopt, review and amend the corporate governance framework for the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

· To receive and consider reports from the Treasurer on internal audit strategy, planning and delivery.

· ADD "To consider and approve the Statement of Accounts at its June meeting".


· ADD "To receive and consider progress reports on actions taken to satisfy outcomes and recommendations from external and internal audit reports".

STANDARDS COMMITTEE

· To advise the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority on the adoption or revision of a Code of Conduct for both members and officers.

· To monitor the operation of the Authority's Code of Conduct.

· To advise, train or arrange to train members of the Authority on matters relating to the Authority's Code of Conduct and standards of conduct generally.

· To grant dispensation to Members of the Authority from certain specified requirements relating to interest to be set out in the Code of Conduct.

· To deal with any reports from the National Standards Board for England or a Case Tribunal on complaints against members or officers of the Authority.

· To consider and deal with any reports from the Clerk on any matters relating to the conduct of members and officers of the Authority.

· To promote high standards of conduct in the Authority.

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