Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Eastleigh on 19 November 2008.

PRESENT:

    Councillors: D.A. Kirk (Chairman); R.J. Baulk; I.F.E. Beagley; K.G. Chapman; L.T. Dunsdon; Sam Payne and D. Simpson.

132 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor L. Hunt.

133 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, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 12 of the Code.

134 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2008 were confirmed as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman.

135 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations made under this item.

136 BEST VALUE REVIEW OF SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS WITH HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

    Councillors R.J. Baulk; I.F.E. Beagley; K.G. Chapman; L.T. Dunsdon; D.A. Kirk; Sam Payne and D. Simpson declared personal interests as elected Members of Hampshire County Council.

    The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the progress made in the review of Service Level Agreements with Hampshire County Council. Whilst the nature of some actions demanded they were on-going, a number of actions had been completed, therefore members were willing to sign off the review as complete.

    RESOLVED:

    (a) That the actions taken in response to the outcomes of the best value review of service level agreements for the provision of various support functions by Hampshire County Council be noted

    (b) That the recommendations be regarded as having been implemented and the review as completed.

137 BEST VALUE REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT - UPDATE ON DISPLAY ENERGY CERTIFICATES

    The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the progress made on the requirement that public buildings with over 1000m2 of floor space contain Display Energy Certificates (DEC's). Members were provided with a copy of a certificate and accompanying advisory report, and informed that the ten buildings to display certificates would have them on display by the statutory deadline. This would enable those buildings to be ranked on their energy performance, and help work towards reducing energy usage. Members were keen for the programme to be extended to cover all buildings in the estate and were pleased to note that training provided to one of the Service's staff enabled them to become a DEC assessor and so save the Service £5,000.

    RESOLVED:

    (a) That the requirement to provide Display Energy Certificates at ten of the Authority's buildings be noted.

    (b) That the opportunity be taken to voluntarily display certificates at all whole time fire stations as a demonstration of the Authority's commitment to measuring and reducing its environmental impact, and that a further report be made to the next meeting of the Committee, prior to a RECOMMENDATION on this item to the Fire Authority meeting on 11 February 2009.

138 FLEET MAINTENANCE CENTRE INTERIM PERFORMANCE SUMMARY FOR THE 1ST QTR 2008/9

    The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) summarising performance at the Fleet Maintenance Centre for the 1st quarter of 2008/09 and the potential for a new fleet maintenance system. Whilst members were pleased that the results showed high performance, they were concerned that the results could not be considered accurate as the current management system continued to have problems. It was felt most important to have a system fit for purpose where human error could play no part and proposed that action be taken before the next meeting of the Committee to rectify this.

    Members were provided with details of new systems available, but were concerned at the cost of these and felt more needed to be done to look at utilising existing systems, to ensure all information could be recorded and human error could be negated. It was therefore decided that a small panel of members should be appointed to oversee an action plan to provide an updated system.


    RESOLVED:

    That Councillors L.T. Dunsdon; R.J. Baulk and I.F.E. Beagley be appointed to oversee an action plan to develop a system fit to report on the performance of the Fleet Maintenance Centre and that a report on progress be made to the next meeting of the Committee.

139 MOBILE WORKING

    The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) evaluating the use of mobile technology by staff in the Community Safety Protection Department. Members were informed that officers were able to produce print documentation (Notification of Fire Safety Deficiencies and Article 31 Prohibition Notices) on site, helping to improve productivity and increase efficiency of resources. Members noted that the level of service provided by staff engaged in fire safety enforcement work had improved as a result of using mobile technology and the flexible working this enabled had led to greater productivity as staff took less time off for sickness and other reasons.

    RESOLVED:

    That the benefits arising from the use of mobile technology in the Community Safety Protection Department be noted.

140 PERSONNEL RESERVE - 12 MONTH REVIEW

    The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) reviewing the Personnel Reserve System. Members were pleased to note that in the first 12 months of Personnel Reserve System movements, an efficiency gain of £189,600 had been made. The success of the system enabled a deficit of 5,000 Home Fire Safety Visits to be made up, and provided essential support to retained stations.

    Members were concerned that the Reserve needed to support Stockbridge and other stations who were experiencing crewing shortages on 217 occasions in the 12 month period. It was explained that Stockbridge and other similar retained stations had a certain demographic that meant many who live there, work away from the village and so it is hard to maintain the crew Monday to Friday during traditional working hours. The benefits of the Personnel Reserve had been realised as it ensured Stockbridge and other similar stations were available for operational commitments.

    RESOLVED:

    That the efficiency gains achieved through the operation of the Personnel Reserve System be noted.

141 BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND LOCAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

    The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 10 in the Minute Book), highlighting performance indicator data for the second quarter of 2008/09. Members were informed that the introduction of the Business Information Report Template would improve future reporting.

    Members were informed that level three of the Equality Standard (BV 2a) was likely to be reached soon after the meeting of the Committee.

    It was reported that the target for the number of serious (primary) fires (BV 142ii) would be reduced to make it more stretching, as the downward trend in the number of primary fires continued.

    The general trend in accidental dwelling fires (BV 142iii) was noted to be on a downward trend, with the spike in the fourth quarter of 2007 caused by one incident.

    Members were pleased to note that the deaths sustained in accidental dwelling fires (BV 143i) were good against target, but emphasised that the aspiration was to achieve no deaths in each quarter.

    A particular highlight was in the injuries sustained in accidental dwelling fires (BV 143ii). This showed dramatic improvements, and was seen as evidence of the positive impact of community safety work.

    Members praised control centre staff for their skill in ascertaining whether there was a real fire, leading to a fall in malicious false alarms, which continued to perform well against target (BV 146ii).

    Members endorsed the use of LPI 20b (average attendance time to emergency incidents), as this indicator was far more inclusive of improvements in attendance times than LPI 20a, which in measuring the percentage of response within the 8 minutes ignored any improvements made in reducing longer attendance times . This is seen as particularly useful to retained attendances, who by the nature of their location can not always get to incidents within the 8 minute target set by LPI 20a.

    RESOLVED:

    That the second quarter's performance be noted and the strategies to meet the targets be endorsed.

142 BEACON STATION

    Members received a presentation from Dave Curry on the Service Delivery Performance Management Group's Beacon Station Award (Item 11 in the Minute Book). This measured each station against performance indicator's that they could influence, such as sickness absence, speed of turnout and number of workplace assessments. The award sought to improve performance at all stations as crews could analyse their performance on VIEWS (performance management system), look to get better and compete against one another.

    Members noted the presentation, and were pleased that the award had already had an impact with crews keen to receive the award and the rewards this led to. Most watches had quicker response times compared with the previous year, and innovative processes for mobilising had been developed as Fire Fighters engaged with the scheme. Members asked that the presentation be given at a HFRA awareness session.

    RESOLVED:

    That the Committee note the presentation on the Service Delivery Beacon Station Scheme, and the presentation be given at a HFRA awareness session.

143 RESPONSE STRATEGY

    Members received a presentation from Kevin Butcher on the Community Response Strategic Plan, seeking to involve members in the development of this strategy (Item 12 in the Minute Book). The focus of the plan would be to challenge the service to better integrate with other Fire and Rescue Services, improve knowledge of community risk, develop new ways of responding to emergencies and improve public and fire fighter safety. This would form a key part of the transition to regional control and the expectation was that the HFRA Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee would be involved in its performance management and evaluation process of its key projects and objectives.

    RESOLVED:

    That the Committee note the presentation on the Community Response Strategic Plan.

144 MEMBER INVOLVEMENT IN FIRE SERVICE ACTIVITIES

    RESOLVED:

      (a) That Councillors D.A. Kirk and S. Payne be appointed to review working arrangements at Winchester Fire Station.

      (b) That Councillors K.G. Chapman and D. Simpson be appointed to work on the Community Response Strategic Plan.