Archived decisions

Item 21

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 19 June 2008.

PRESENT:

Councillors: R. Smith (Chairman); I.F.E. Beagley; M.F. Cartwright; Mrs J.K. Frankum; P.R.C. Hutcheson; R.H. Price.

104 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M.G. Cooper; A.D.G. Evans; K. House and D. Simpson.

105 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.

106 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 24 April, 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

107 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations made to this meeting.

108 FINAL ACCOUNTS 2007/08

The Committee considered the report of the Treasurer and the Chief Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) summarising the spending of the Authority in the 2007/08 financial year. Overall, there had been an underspend of £403,000 against the revised budget, however, this included £300,000 that had been set aside for costs related to the implementation of equal pay, which had been delayed until the 2008/09 financial year. Also highlighted were the significant overspends in vehicle fuel (resulting from increased prices), and car allowances, (which were due mainly to temporary additional travelling costs associated with the relocation of firefighters following changes to crewing arrangements at Andover and Winchester Fire Stations. A shortfall in income from the Business Education Team was, attributable to a change of focus from providing fire safety training for large businesses to providing more general education and support to industry and commerce since the introduction of the Regulatory Reform Order. Members' attention was also drawn to the underspends in interest payable (resulting from lower interest rates and less cash borrowing by the Authority), and pensions, (owing to no firefighters having retiring on grounds of ill health).

A number of capital spending variations were recorded, primarily due to some projects being deferred to the 2008/09 financial year, with the result that the capital costs associated with these projects were not incurred.

Members noted the increase in retained firefighters pay and allowances, despite a reduction in the number of incidents attended. It was explained that whilst the retained pay budget is principally driven by the number of incidents, overall expenditure is affected by other activities, such as the co-responder scheme, Home Fire Safety Visits and administrative work. Members requested that a breakdown of the numbers and types of incident attend was prepared.

RESOLVED:

(1) That the accounts for 2007/08, including the utilisation of £252,000 from the Modernisation Reserve and the creation and contribution of £300,000 to a specific reserve to meet the anticipated costs of the equal pay review now expected to arise in 2008/09, be approved.

(2) That the capital payments, as set out in paragraph 3.5 of the Report, be financed.

(3) That the Treasury Management Activities set out in paragraph 4 of the Report and the prudential indicators set out in appendix 3 of the Report be approved.

(4) That the policy on the calculation of Minimum Revenue Provision for 2007/08 set out in paragraph 5.2 be approved.

(5) That there be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority that the policy for the calculation of Minimum Revenue Provision as set out in paragraph 5.2 be approved.

109 ASSET MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP: REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 24 APRIL 2008

Councillor Mrs J.K. Frankum declared a personal interest, due to links between a family member and a property development company in Basingstoke.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) summarising the main items discussed by the Asset Management Working Group at its meeting on 24 April 2008. There had been some difficulty disposing of housing stock, primarily linked to general conditions within the housing market, as well as some property management issues linked to "flying freehold" ownership. The properties affected by this form of ownership had been removed from the market to enable these issues to be resolved prior to remarketing them. The updated Property Management Strategy and Register highlighted that a significant investment would be required to maintain the Authority's built-estate, and that the increasing maintenance burden would become extremely difficult to resolve in the short-term.

Members agreed that a medium-term strategy was likely to be the best suited approach to investment in property maintenance, as it would ensure that the Authority's property was maintained to an appropriate standard whilst managing the financial pressures on the Authority's budget.

RESOLVED:

That there be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority:

(1) That the Authority acknowledges the increasing building maintenance burden is such that it represents a strategic financial risk to the Authority;

and

(2) That the resource implications identified in the updated Property Management Strategy and Register be taken fully into account when the Authority considers its medium-term financial plan and capital programme for 2009/10 to 2011/12.

110 STRATEGIC RISK REGISTER

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the current version Strategic Risk Register. Members were reminded that the Register is presented to full Authority annually as well as to the Committee, in order to ensure that Members are aware of the risks facing the Authority. The high-level risks were highlighted and explained to Members:

05: Failure to identify, interpret, understand, and inform on, demographic and other changes in risk profiles of local communities: This risk resulted from a perceived lack of detailed information on the various communities within Hampshire, which would enable better targeting of prevention work, as well as highlighting potential high-risk areas. A number of strategies were being employed, including the use of geodemographic software and work with partner organisations to facilitate the cross service sharing of information.

06f: Failure to comply with the requirements of the Criminal Disclosure Procedure results in a failure to protect stakeholders and staff: This risk was not linked to any specific incident, but rather to ensure action is taken to establish robust procedures are put in place..

Arising from discussion on risk 06f, Members requested further information on the various Children and Young People projects carried out by the Authority as part of Member training and development.

RESOLVED:

That the current version of the Strategic Risk Register be received and noted.

111 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That the public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the report

112 UPDATE ON INSURANCE MUTUAL (EXEMPT)

The Committee considered the exempt report of the Chief Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) updating the Committee on the current positions of the Insurance Mutual and recent events in relation to it.

[SUMMARY OF AN EXEMPT MINUTE]