Archived decisions

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority Item 10

9 December 2009

Error! Bookmark not defined.South East Fire and Rescue Services Regional Management Board: update following meeting held on 7^th October 2009

Report by the Chief Officer

Contact: Dave Curry, Director of Service Delivery Tel: 02380 626832

1

Summary

1.1

The last meeting of the Board was held on 7^th October 2009 and was attended by the Chairman, Cllr Royston Smith. He was accompanied by the Director of Service Delivery, Dave Curry, and the Director of Corporate Services, David Howells. This report highlights some of the key issues discussed at the meeting.

1.2

The Chairman of the RMB, Cllr Brian Cope, welcomed Councillor Royston Smith, Chairman of Hampshire Fire Authority to his first meeting of the RMB. The Chairman also thanked Hampshire Fire and Rescue for hosting this meeting of the RMB.

2

RecommendationError! Bookmark not defined.

2.1

That the report be noted.

3

Local Authority Controlled Company

3.1

The issue of the status of the membership of the Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC) was raised and whether the Directors were the authorities themselves, or were a nominated individual.  Councillor Dransfield clarified the matter stating that the law required at least one Member of the Board should be an individually named person.  Councillor Dransfield suggested that having a Member nominated by name rather than acting as an appointee on behalf of the Authority, clarified the responsibility of the individual sitting on the Board. 

3.2

Following this meeting a letter was sent by the Company Secretary enquiring whether the eight fire and rescue authorities who are corporate directors (including Hampshire) still wish to retain this status, or whether they each wish to appoint a member as a personal director instead. Following consideration, it is not proposed to recommend any change in this respect. The current arrangements afford greater protection to the Authority's representative on the Board against exposure to personal liability arising from the actions and decisions of the Company. These arrangements also reflect the strategic importance of regional working to the Authority overall.

4

Customer Insight Survey

4.1

The Board were given a short presentation on the initial results of a Regional Customer Insight Survey which showed very high overall satisfaction rates across the nine Fire and Rescue Authorities. The Customer Insight Survey uses Mosaic lifestyle categories to provide an insight into the socio-demographics, lifestyles, culture and behaviour of all citizens. This aligns well with Hampshire's own development in this area.

4.2

A survey conducted in 2006 highlighted a varied response to customer satisfaction across the region, but had provided no explanation. The Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) had now provided the results from the Place Survey 2008 which showed that customer satisfaction levels were higher than two years ago, and that there was greater consistency across the region.

5

Progress against the Board's Action Plan

5.1

The Board received a report on the progress made against each of the work areas in the Regional Business Plan 2008/11 during the period July to September 2009. This included community safety, response and resilience, improvement, human resources and training, environment, procurement, and media and communications.

5.2

The Board noted particularly that a framework contract for workwear had been awarded in August 2009 based on blue/black colour uniform. Initial estimated cashable savings were £100k+ over current prices. The contract would result in savings for each FRA. Kent is leading on firekit procurement, which should be finalised in January, and available in April 2010. The Procurement Forum, led by Oxfordshire, would be looking at common fire appliances specifications, property and breathing apparatus.

6

FiReControl and Firelink Projects Update

6.1

Roy Beavis provided an update on the FiReControl project. The South East (SE) Region was well placed to continue with the project and ensure that the risks remained manageable. Work was in-hand to `de-risk' the revised cutover timetable by minimising the effect of the 2012 Olympics, and the FiReControl project technical, political and financial challenges should still be considered as manageable risks. He drew the Board's attention to paragraph 9 of the report, which referred to the support and feedback from the representative bodies and FRAs, and advised the Board that there was now an effective method of engagement in place.

6.2

He reported that the CLG had re-affirmed the Government's and the CLG's commitment to the FiReControl Project. However, alternative options were being considered and this was part of the normal programme management and risk mitigation process. Risks had been identified and it was prudent to consider other plans.

6.3

Roy Beavis further informed the Board of his concerns relating to several incidents of failure in the Thames Valley area. The problem had occurred only in the Thames Valley area and this was unlikely to undermine the whole project; however, it did present a serious issue which needed resolution.

6.4

The Board asked CFO Hood to draft a letter on its behalf expressing the Board's concern about the national implications of similar failures to those which had occurred in the Thames Valley area, and seeking an urgent resolution.

6.5

Councillor Heathcoat asked for further information about the business continuity risks relating to the RCC staffing. Roy Beavis said that the Regional Control Centre (RCC) was located near to two existing control centres in Hampshire and West Sussex and that there had been expressions of interests to transfer from 67 staff. 70 staff would be needed to staff the RCC. Only 36 staff would initially be required for `go-live'. On-going staff consultation was taking place by the RCC and the LACC.

6.6

Councillor Bryant advised that although the Local Government Association Fire Services Management Committee was opposed to the implementation of regional control centres, they would be engaging with the CLG to secure the proper resources for Fire and Rescue Authorities. He was also concerned about the financial implications to individual fire authorities should the cutover date be significantly delayed. CFO Hood reminded the Board that before the SE RCC would go live, three other RCCs would have to be already up and running and that checks and balances would be put in place to ensure their effective operation. Tests for the cutover would be considered at a future RMB `Away Day'.

6.7

Councillor Abraham expressed his concerns about the capability of the Information Technology supporting the project. Roy Beavis said that CLG were confident and EADS were making good progress on the technical solution.

7

Consultation on Fire and Resilience Programme In-Service Management

7.1

CFO Hood informed the RMB that the Government had issued a consultation document seeking views on proposals for the management of functions relating to the Fire and Resilience Programme that will still need to be carried out at national level. The contract for in-service management had significant cost implications for FRAs and it was important that the views of each individual service and the RMB were forwarded to CLG. The draft response had been shared with the Local Authority Controlled Company and the Joint Project Board.

7.2

CFO Cox said that the governance issues were well dealt with in the consultation response, and these should be clearly defined in legislation, however, issues about responsibility remained unclear.

7.3

It was agreed that the consultation response be approved.

8

Equality and Diversity

8.1

James Finch presented a summary of the actions taken to meet the Board's aspiration of all FRAs meeting level 3 of the equality standard for local government across the region by March 2011. The South East Fire Improvement Partnership (SEFIP) had held its second Operational Diversity Conference at Milton Keynes on 23 September. A joint article was being prepared with the Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA) for publication in the Local Government Chronicle.

8.2

Oxfordshire FRS had now been rated as Level 3 against the Equality Standard. This work had been extended to other departments in Oxfordshire County Council that had been viewed by the external assessor as an exemplar of best practice. SEFIP was continuing to support the three remaining FRAs to reach the target.

8.3

A South East Regional Community of Best Practice (CoP) site had been set up through a facility provided by I&DeA to enable information sharing, specifically designed for gay, lesbian and bisexual staff to discuss issues encountered at work and to provide a support network.

9

People Impact Assessment

9.1

There are no issues arising from this report and it is considered compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act 1998, and the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.

Background Information

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:

_ Agenda, reports of the South East Fire and Rescue Services Regional Management Board meeting held 7^th Oct 2009

http://www.sefip.gov.uk/resources.shtml#9