Contact: Andy Kettle Telephone: 02380 644000 x3223 [email protected]

1

Summary

1.1

The paper sets out how Operational Assessment (OpA) sits within the Audit Commission's (AC) new assessment framework for the Fire & Rescue sector.

1.2

This paper provides a summary report of the judgements we have made for our own OpA arising from the application of the Chief Fire & Rescue Advisors Unit (CFRAU) Fire & Rescue Operational Assessment toolkit that was published in April 2009.

2

RecommendationError! Bookmark not defined.

2.1

That the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee note the content of this report.

3

Introduction Error! Bookmark not defined.and background

3.1

OpA sits within the Audit Commission's new assessment framework for Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) (please see appendix A). The assessment itself has been developed by key stakeholders within the Fire & Rescue sector, and published jointly by Communities and Local Government (CLG), the Chief Fire & Rescue Advisors Unit, (CFRAU) and Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA).

3.2

Every Fire and Rescue Service in England is required to undertake their own self assessment using the OpA toolkit and arrange for it to be reviewed by an Improvement and Development Agency (I&DEA) accredited peer. Once the OpA has been peer reviewed the Audit Commission will accept it as evidence for service delivery aspects of future Organisational Assessment (OA) which is part of the overall CAA framework.

3.3

Service Delivery were tasked with leading the assessment process and compiling the evidence, however there have been significant contributions from all of the directorates in producing the final assessment document.

4

Our Assessment

4.1

The OpA toolkit contains seven Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE), each of which are broken down further into between 3 or 4 `key areas'. OpA requires us to make judgements about our current performance against `descriptors' in relation to `key areas' for each of the 7 KLOE's. These descriptors include `Developing', `Established' or `Advanced'. There is also a requirement for us to consider any examples of notable practice.

4.2

We have developed a template to capture our assessment evidence and make a judgement against the descriptors for each of the KLOE key areas, and we have also included a section within the template identifying areas for improvement that need to be fed into our improvement planning processes. A copy of this document is attached.

4.3

A brief summary of our OpA is set out below:

KLOE 1. Community Risk Management - this KLOE has 3 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Developing' in all 3 areas.

KLOE 2. Prevention - this KLOE has 3 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Established in all 3 areas.

KLOE 3. Protection - this KLOE has 3 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Advanced' for planning and implementing a defined strategy and `Established' in the remaining 2 Key Areas.

KLOE 4. Response - this KLOE has 3 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Established' in all 3 areas.

KLOE 5. Health & Safety - this KLOE has 4 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Established' in all 4 areas.

KLOE 6. Training - this KLOE has 4 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Established' in all 4 areas.

KLOE 7. Call Management & Incident Support - this KLOE has 3 Key Areas and we have described our performance as `Advanced' for having effective arrangements for delivering call management and incident support activities, and `Established' in the remaining 2 areas. A more detailed synopsis of the report is contained in appendix B and a copy of the full report is available upon request.

There were several recurring issues identified for improvement. These included:

- Risk mapping and profiling

- Fully embedding evaluation

- Partnership Management

- Involvement of local citizens in shaping our activities

Work is progressing on the first three points and it will be important for us to give due consideration to the final point in future, and how we fully involve citizens and enable them to participate in shaping our service delivery.

5

Peer Review

5.1

Arrangements are being put in place with the I&DEA to arrange for a formal peer review of our OpA in January 2010. Once the peer review has taken place the Audit Commission will take account of the evidence from the OpA in future Organisational Assessments.

5.2

We are in the process of agreeing arrangements with Devon & Somerset FRS to undertake an informal peer challenge of our respective OpA's, utilising qualified I&DEA peers from within Service Delivery, and it is likely this will be undertaken in late August or early September. Feedback from this process will add rigour to our own assessment and provide us with an opportunity to learn from our colleagues in a different region.

5.3

We plan to refresh and update the assessment prior to the formal peer review taking place in January 2010. We will consider feedback from the informal peer challenge and incorporate any progress we have made.

5.4

The document will then be used as a performance improvement tool and reviewed as a component part of our annual service planning process.

6

Supporting our corporate aims and objectives

6.1

Operational Assessment is mandatory, it will also assist us to understand our own performance in relation to service delivery, confirm our strengths and focus our attention on how we can continue to improve in future.

7

Risk analysis

7.1

There are no specific risks associated with undertaking our OpA, however using the process effectively to drive improvement has the potential to reduce risks associated with individual KLOE's

8

People Impact Assessment

8.1

There is no impact associated with the production of this assessment, however People Impact Assessments will continue to be developed for all the areas of work captured in the assessment.

8.2

The proposals in 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.

9

Sustainability and environmental impact assessment

9.1

There is no adverse environmental impact associated with producing our OpA

10

Resource implications

There are no additional resource implications associated with this report

10

Consultation

10.1

The OpA has been developed in consultation with the Service Delivery management team, and key stakeholders in other directorates.

11

Conclusion

11.1

The OpA will provide us with a baseline assessment within the Audit Commission's new assessment regime under CAA. It is important that we acknowledge our strengths and achievements to date within our assessment, and focus our attention on driving improvement in the identified areas.

12

Background papers

12.1

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:

Our Operational Assessment - A hard copy will be provided at the meeting and further hard / soft copies can be provided upon request.

The CLG Operational Assessment toolkit can be located at - Fire and Rescue Operational Assessment Toolkit - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government

Note: The list excludes: (1) published works; and (2) documents that disclose exempt or confidential information defined in the Act.