Lancashire Combined Fire Authority

Performance Committee

Meeting to be held on 6 March 2024

Performance Management Information For 3rd Quarter 2023/24

(Appendix 1 refers)

Contact for further information – Jon Charters, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO)

Tel: 01772 866801

Executive Summary

This paper provides a clear measure of our progress against the Key Performance

Indicators (KPI) detailed in the Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027.

Recommendation

The Performance Committee is asked to note and endorse the Quarter 3 Measuring Progress report, including one positive and four negative exceptions.

Information

As set out in the report.

Business Risk

High

Environmental Impact

High – the report apprises the Committee of the Authority's progress.

Equality & Diversity Implications

High – the report apprises the Committee of the Authority's progress.

HR Implications

Medium

Financial Implications

Medium

Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985

List of background papers

Paper:         

Date:           

Contact:      

Reason for inclusion in Part 2 if appropriate: N/A

Measuring Progress

Performance Report

QUARTER 3: OCTOBER 2023 – DECEMBER 2023

Introduction

The following pages set out Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s (LFRS) Performance Framework, an explanation of how our Key Performance Indicator’s (KPI) are measured and how we are performing.

The document illustrates our performance across all our KPI’s and where appropriate, by an analysis of the KPI’s which are classified as being in exception, along with an analysis of the cause and actions being taken to improve performance.

Contents	Page (s)
Introduction	2
Table of Contents	3
Explanation of Performance Measures	4
Performance Framework and Indicator Trends	5 – 7
Key Performance Indicators	8 – 47

Table of contents

Explanation of Performance Measures. 4

1.1 Overall Staff Engagement 8

1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime (WT) 10

1.2.2 Staff Absence On-Call (OC) 13

1.2.3 Staff Absence Green Book. 14

1.3.1 Workforce Diversity. 16

1.3.2 Workforce Diversity Recruited. 17

1.4 Staff Accidents. 18

2.1 Risk Map. 19

2.2 Overall Activity. 20

2.3 Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF) 22

2.3.1 ADF – Harm to people: Casualties. 23

2.3.2 ADF – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity) 24

2.4 Accidental Building Fires (ABF) - Commercial Premises. 25

2.4.1 ABF (Commercial Premises) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity) 26

2.5 Accidental Building Fires (Non-Commercial Premises) 27

2.5.1 ABF (Non-Commercial Premises: Private Garages and Sheds) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity) 28

2.6 Deliberate Fires Total: Specific performance measure of deliberate fires. 29

2.6.1 Deliberate Fires – Dwellings. 30

2.6.2 Deliberate Fires – Commercial Premises. 31

2.6.3 Deliberate Fires – Other (Rubbish, grassland, vehicles etc.) 32

2.7 Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSC) 33

2.8 Prevention activities delivered. 34

2.9 Business Fire Safety Checks. 35

2.9.1 Fire Safety Activity. 37

2.10 Building Regulation Consultations (BRC) 38

3.1 Critical Fire Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance. 39

3.2 Critical Special Service Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance. 41

3.3 Total Fire Engine Availability. 42

4.1 Progress Against Allocated Budget 44

4.2 Partnership Collaboration.. 45

4.3 Overall User Satisfaction.. 47

Explanation of Performance Measures

KPI’s are monitored either by using an XmR chart, comparing current performance against that achieved in the previous year’s activity, or against a pre-determined standard - for example: the response standard KPI’s are measured against a range of set times.

The set times are dependent upon the risk rating given to each Super Output Area (SOA), which is presented as a percentage of occasions where the standard is met.

XmR chart explanation (Value [X] over a moving [m] range [R]).

An XmR chart is a control chart used to highlight any significant changes in activity so that interventions can be made before an issue arises. It can also highlight where activity has decreased, potentially as a result of preventative action which could be replicated elsewhere.

Activity is deemed to be within standard if it remains within set upper and lower limits. These limits are based upon the previous three years activity and are set using a statistically derived constant, approximately equivalent to three standard deviations.

An exception report is generated if the upper, or lower, XmR rules are breached.

The following rules are applicable to the XmR charts and define when an exception has occurred:

· A single point beyond the Upper Control Limit is classified as a negative exception.

· A single point beyond the Lower Control Limit is classified as a positive exception.

Example XmR chart: In the example below, this KPI would produce a negative exception for meeting rule 1, as the activity, represented as a dark blue line, for May 2021 (    ) is above the Upper Control Limit (UCL) and a positive exception in September 2021 (    ) for meeting rule 2, being below the Lower Control Limit (LCL).

Performance Framework and indicator trends

The Combined Fire Authority sets the Service challenging targets for a range of key performance indicators (KPI) which help them to monitor and measure our performance in achieving success and meeting our priorities. Performance against these KPI’s is scrutinised every quarter at the Performance Committee.

The following graphic illustrates our priorities and how their respective KPI’s fit within the overall performance framework.

This section also provides an overview of the performance direction of the KPI’s. Each KPI is shown within its priority, with an indicator called Sparkline’s; which are the inset summary charts and indicate the relative direction of travel over the last four quarters. The last point of the chart represents the most recent quarter. Sparkline’s are simple indicative indicators and are not intended to have labelled points or axes.

1.1 Overall Staff Engagement

A written update on staff engagement will be provided on a quarterly basis.

Scope and definition:

Staff engagement is achieved through a variety of activities carried out every day across the service including station visits, digital staff sessions, appraisals, and team meetings. This includes a programme of wellbeing interactions such as workplace toolbox talks, station visits, workshops, and wellbeing support dog visits. All members of staff can raise questions, ideas and improvements on the service’s intranet and staff are regularly involved in testing and trialling new equipment and ways of working. Surveys and consultations are held on specific matters when required such as proposals for emergency cover reviews and working the on-call duty system.

Measurement/update:

From October to December 2023, 23 station and department visits were carried out by principal officers, directors, and area managers as part of our service-wide engagement programme. Seven service delivery briefings were delivered across the Service by area managers and middle managers, and three station visits involving the property and ICT departments took place to engage with members of staff affected by duty system changes as part of the emergency cover review. Forty-six wellbeing interactions were undertaken ranging from wellbeing sessions with crews, to support dog interactions. The service engaged with staff over several topics relating to our fleet and equipment including incident command tabards, appliance tool boxes, and remote control water rescue vessels.

A comprehensive staff survey is undertaken periodically to gain insight from all staff on a range of topics including health and wellbeing, leadership and management, training and development, and equality, diversity and inclusion. The feedback is used to shape future activity and bring about improvements and new ideas. The latest staff survey was launched on 11^th September 2023 and closed on 30^th October 2023.

An engagement index is calculated based on five questions measuring pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration and motivation; factors that are understood to be important features shared by staff who are engaged with the organisation.

For each respondent an engagement score is calculated as the average score across the five questions where strongly disagree is equivalent to 0, disagree is equivalent to 25, neither agree nor disagree is equivalent to 50, agree is equivalent to 75 and strongly agree is equivalent to 100. The engagement index is then calculated as the average engagement score in the organisation. This approach means that a score of 100 is equivalent to all respondents saying strongly agree to all five engagement questions, while a score of 0 is equivalent to all respondents saying strongly disagree to all five engagement questions.

During the survey period, the corporate communications department visited wholetime and on-call crews on 51 occasions to encourage participation in the survey. Five focus groups were held with on-call units by the Service’s independent researcher to obtain qualitative feedback on on-call specific matters, to complement the survey data.

1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime (WT)

Cumulative shifts lost 6.899

The cumulative number of shifts (days) lost due to sickness for all wholetime staff divided by the total average strength.

Annual Standard: Not more than 5 shifts lost.
(Represented on the chart as annual shifts lost ÷ 4 quarters = 1.25)

Cumulative total number of shifts lost:

6.899

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a negative exception report due to the number of shifts lost through absence per employee being above the Service target for quarter 3.

The element of this section of the report refers to sickness absence rates for the period 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023.

The agreed target performance level is 5 shifts lost per employee per year for wholetime staff, which equates to a target of 1.25 shifts lost per employee for year for quarter 3.  The actual shifts lost for the period for this group of staff is 2.65, which is 1.4 shifts over target.  During the same period the previous year, 2.2 shifts were lost which is an increase of 0.45 shifts lost per wholetime employee compared to the same quarter last year.  Cases of long-term absence (over the whole quarter) have decreased by 0.17 shifts from the previous quarter.

Analysis

1,633 wholetime absence shifts lost = 2.65 against a target of 1.25

The number of cases of long-term absence which spanned over the total of the 3 months remained the same at five cases in both Q2 and Q3.

261 shifts were lost during the quarter as a result of the above five cases of long-term absences, this is in comparison to 139 shifts were lost during the previous quarter. These cases account for 0.41 shifts lost per person over the quarter.

There were 26 other cases of long-term absence recorded within the 3 months:

Reason	Case/s
Mental Health	9
Hospital/Post Operative	7
Musculo Skeletal	7
Other absence types (small or single returns)	3

302 shifts lost were related to Respiratory related absences, this includes Coronavirus absence and equates to 0.477 shifts lost per person in Q3, this is in comparison to 101 shifts lost in Q2.

Measures the Service takes to manage absence

The Service has an Absence Management Policy which details our approach to managing absences to ensure that staff time is managed effectively, and that members of staff are supported back to work or exited from the Service in a compassionate way. 

The Human Resources (HR) system iTrent automatically generates monthly reports to line managers and HR Business Partners in relation to employees and their periods and reasons for absence, and these are closely monitored. Where employees are absent due to a mental health, or a stress related condition, they are referred to Occupational Health Unit (OHU) as early as possible. Employees returning to work have a return-to-work interview and stress risk assessment, or individual health risk assessments are completed where required.

The Service has several support mechanisms available to support individuals to return to work or be exited as appropriate including guidance from Occupational Health, access to Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), access to an Employee Assistance Programme and the Firefighters Charity.

Where an employee does not return to work in a timely manager an absence review meeting will take place with the employee and the line manager and a representative from Human Resources. The meetings are aimed at identifying support to return an individual back to work which can include modified duties for a period, redeployment, but ultimately can result in dismissal, or permanent ill health retirement from the service. 

The Absence Management Policy details when a formal review of an employee’s performance levels would normally take place.  In terms of short-term absence, a formal review would take place where an employee has 3 or more periods of absence in 6 months, or an employee has 14 days absent. In terms of long-term absence, a formal review will normally take place at 3, 6, 9 and 11 months. 

A key challenge for supporting operational staff return to work is that the threshold for fitness and return to work for operational firefighters is higher than in other occupations due to their hazardous working conditions.

1.2.2 Staff Absence On-Call (OC)

Cumulative Absence 1.32%

The percentage of contracted hours lost due to sickness for all OC contracted staff.  An individual’s sickness hours are only counted as absent where they overlap with their contracted hours.

Annual Standard: No more than 2.5% lost as a percentage of available hours of cover.

Cumulative On-Call absence, as a percentage of available hours of cover at end of the quarter, 1.32%.

Cumulative On-Call absence (as % of available hours of cover):

1.32%

1.2.3 Staff Absence Green Book

Cumulative shifts lost 6.218

The cumulative number of shifts (days) lost due to sickness for all Green Book staff divided by the average strength.

Annual Standard: Not more than 5 shifts lost.
(Represented on the chart as annual shifts lost ÷ 4 quarters = 1.25)

Cumulative total number of shifts lost:

6.218

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a negative exception report due to the number of shifts lost through absence per employee being above the Service target for quarter 3.

The agreed target performance level is 5 shifts lost per employee per year for Green book staff, which equates to a target of 1.25 shifts lost per employee per year for quarter 3. The actual shifts lost for the period for this group of staff is 2.33, which is 1.08 above target.  During the same period the previous year, 2.38 shifts were lost which is a reduction of 0.05 shifts lost per green book employee compared to the same quarter last year. 

Analysis

During quarter three, October – December 2023, absence statistics show non-uniformed personnel absence above target for the quarter.415 non-uniformed absence shifts lost = 2.33 against a target of 1.25 during the quarter.

There were no cases of long-term absencewhich spanned over the total of the 3 months.

There were eight cases of long-term absence which were recorded within the 3 months:

Reason	Case/s
Mental Health	5
Other absence types (small or single returns)	3

267 shifts were lost during the quarter as a result of the above eight cases of long-term absences, this is in comparison to 322 shifts were lost during the previous quarter. These cases account for 1.38 shifts lost per person over the quarter and increase of 0.21 shifts lost from the previous quarter.

No shifts lost were related to Respiratory related absences, this includes Coronavirus absence. This is compared to 11 shifts lost in Q2. This shows a decrease of 0.05 shifts lost from the previous quarter.

Measures the Service takes to manage absence

Please refer to the Service Absence Management policy detailed in KPI 1.2.1.

1.3.1 Workforce Diversity

Diversity Percentage (Refer to charts)

Workforce diversity as a percentage: Performance measure of how representative our staff are of our communities, to monitor equality and diversity within LFRS.

Combined diversity percentage of Grey Book and Green Book staff. Outer circle represents the current quarter, with the inner circle illustrating the same quarter of the previous year.

Diversity percentage by Grey Book staff and Green Book staff. Counts will include double counts if dual contract between Grey and Green Book.

Characteristic	Diversity	Grey Book	%	Green Book	%
Gender	Female	Grey	9%	Green	59%
	Male		91%		41%
Ethnicity	Other than white	Grey	3%	Green	5%
	White		95%		88%
	Not stated		2%		7%
Sexual orientation	LGBT	Grey	4%	Green	3%
	Heterosexual		55%		58%
	Not stated		41%		39%
Disability	Disability	Grey	3%	Green	3%
	No disability		95%		90%
	Not stated		2%		7%

1.3.2 Workforce Diversity Recruited

Diversity Percentage (Refer to charts)

Workforce diversity recruited as a percentage: Performance measure of our success in recruiting a diverse workforce to monitor equality and diversity within LFRS.

Combined cumulative diversity percentage of Grey Book staff and Green Book staff. Outer circle represents the current quarter, with the inner circle illustrating the same quarter of the previous year.

During quarter 3, there were a total of 49 new recruits.

No further breakdown is provided to prevent the possible identification of individuals due to the small numbers of recruits during certain periods.

1.4 Staff Accidents

Activity 12

This KPI details the numbers of accidents which have involved LFRS staff members at work within the quarter.

As part of our Health and Safety Management System we report and investigate all accidents which occur within LFRS to identify any learning opportunities which can contribute to improving our safety culture within the Service.

As the body ultimately responsible for health and safety performance, this KPI enables Fire Authority members to view LFRS progress on managing health and safety risks within LFRS.

Quarterly activity increased 9.09% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Total number of staff accidents	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	46	12	44	11

2.1 Risk Map

Risk Score 31,170

This indicator measures the fire risk in each Super Output Area (SOA). Risk is determined using fire activity over the previous three fiscal years along with a range of demographic data, such as population and deprivation.

Specifically, the risk score for each SOA is calculated using the formula shown below. Once an SOA has been assigned a score, it is then categorised by risk grade.

The County risk map score is updated annually before the end of the first quarter. Standard: To reduce the risk in Lancashire - an annual reduction in the County risk map score. An improvement is shown by a year-on-year decreasing ‘Overall Risk Score’ value. The inset table below shows the latest count of risk areas against the previous year, along with the overall risk score compared to the previous year.

Risk Grade	Very High	High	Medium	Low	Overall Risk Score
2023 count	15	59	331	536	31,170
2022 count	25	47	333	536	31,576
Direction / % Change

2.2 Overall Activity

Quarter Activity 4,191

The number of incidents that LFRS attend with one or more pumping appliances. Includes fires, special service calls, false alarms and collaborative work undertaken with other emergency services. For example, missing person searches on behalf of the Lancashire Constabulary (LanCon) and gaining entry incidents at the request of the North west Ambulance Service (NWAS).

A breakdown of incident types included within this KPI are shown on the following page.

Quarterly activity decreased 10.68% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Incidents attended	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	13,716	4,191	14,978	4,692

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	1,524	1,531	1,570	1,578	1,445

2.2 Overall Activity Breakdown

Quarter Activity 4,191

Incidents attended by LFRS consist of a myriad of different types. The breakdown below, whilst not an exhaustive list, aims to illustrate how activity captured within KPI 2.2 Overall Activity is split by the different types of incidents.

The chart figures represent the count and percentage each activity contributes to the quarter’s activity, whilst the inset table breaks the incident types down further.

	FALSE ALARM incidents make up 48% of activity, with 66% being Fire alarm due to Apparatus incidents, 31% good intent false alarm and malicious false alarms accounting for 3%.
	FIRE PRIMARY incidents encompass Accidental Dwelling Fires at 38% and are shown later in the report within KPI 2.3.
	FIRE SECONDARY incidents are caused by either a deliberate or accidental act, or the cause is not known. Deliberate fires mainly involve loose refuse and currently account for 51%, with 49% being an accidental or not known cause.
	SPECIAL SERVICE incidents are made up of many different activities, so only a selection of types, such as Gaining entry to a domestic property on behalf of NWAS and Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) can be shown, with the remainder being recorded under ‘other types’. These can range from trapped animals or hazardous materials incidents, to spill and leaks or advice only.

2.3 Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF)

Quarter Activity 175

The number of primary fires where a dwelling has been affected and the cause of fire has been recorded as ‘Accidental’ or ‘Not known’.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding derelict property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity decreased 11.62% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Accidental Dwelling Fires	Year to date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	549	175	604	198

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	61	69	64	71	72

2.3.1 ADF – Harm to people: Casualties

Quarter Activity 10

ADF criteria as 2.3. The number of fire related fatalities, slight and serious injuries.

· A slight injury is defined as: a person attending hospital as an outpatient (not precautionary check).

· A serious injury is defined as: at least an overnight stay in hospital as an in-patient.

Quarterly activity decreased 41.18% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Casualty Status	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
Fatal	2	1	5	1
Injuries appear Serious	9	2	10	4
Injuries appear Slight	19	7	18	12
Total	30	10	33	17

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	3	4	4	4	3

2.3.2 ADF – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity)

Quarter Percentage 90%

ADF criteria as 2.3. Extent of fire, heat and smoke damage is recorded at the time the STOP message is sent and includes all damage types.

The table below shows a breakdown of fire severity at ADF’s, with a direction indicator comparing the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year.

An improvement is shown if the combined percentage of fires limited to heat and/or smoke damage only, the item 1^st ignited or to the room of origin, is higher than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Combined quarterly percentage increased 7.01% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Fire severity	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4	Ç/ò	22/23 Q1	22/23 Q2	22/23 Q3	22/23 Q4
Limited to heat and/or smoke	23%	26%	23%		Ç	24%	26%	21%	19%
Limited to item 1st ignited	15%	17%	15%		ò	13%	12%	18%	14%
Limited to room of origin	46%	42%	52%		Ç	48%	51%	44%	54%
Limited to floor of origin	8%	11%	5%		ò	10%	4%	10%	9%
Spread beyond floor of origin	6%	2%	2%		ò	3%	6%	4%	4%
Whole Building	2%	2%	3%		ó	2%	1%	3%	0%
Combined percentage	84%	85%	90%		Ç	85%	89%	83%	87%

2.4 Accidental Building Fires (ABF) - Commercial Premises

Quarter Activity 56

The number of primary fires where a building has been affected, which is other than a dwelling or a private building associated with a dwelling, and the cause of fire has been recorded as Accidental or Not known.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding derelict property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity increased 1.82% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Accidental Building Fires (Commercial Premises)	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	183	56	196	55

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/20	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	20	20	21	23	17

2.4.1 ABF (Commercial Premises) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity)

Quarter Percentage 79%

ABF criteria as 2.4. Extent of fire, heat and smoke damage is recorded at the time the STOP message is sent and includes all damage types.

The table below shows a breakdown of fire severity at ABF’s, with a direction indicator comparing the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year.

An improvement is shown if the combined percentage of fires limited to heat and/or smoke damage only, the item 1^st ignited or to the room of origin, is higher than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Combined quarterly percentage increased 7.7% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Fire severity	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4	Ç/ò	22/23 Q1	22/23 Q2	22/23 Q3	22/23 Q4
Limited to heat and/or smoke	18%	13%	20%		ó	18%	16%	20%	17%
Limited to item 1st ignited	13%	26%	21%		Ç	21%	14%	13%	22%
Limited to room of origin	35%	34%	38%		ó	29%	38%	38%	42%
Limited to floor of origin	15%	9%	8%		ò	23%	16%	20%	11%
Spread beyond floor of origin	6%	0%	4%		Ç	3%	5%	2%	2%
Whole Building	13%	18%	9%		Ç	6%	11%	7%	6%
Combined percentage	66%	73%	79%		Ç	68%	68%	71%	81%

2.5 Accidental Building Fires (Non-Commercial Premises)

Quarter Activity 13

The number of primary fires where a private garage, private shed, private greenhouse, private summerhouse, or other private non-residential building has been affected, and the cause of fire has been recorded as Accidental or Not known.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding derelict property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity decreased 18.75% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Accidental Building Fires (Non-Commercial Premises)	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	62	13	68	16

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	7	8	7	6	10

2.5.1 ABF (Non-Commercial Premises: Private Garages and Sheds) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity)

Quarter Percentage 0%

ABF criteria as 2.5. Extent of fire, heat and smoke damage is recorded at the time the STOP message is sent and includes all damage types.

The table below shows a breakdown of fire severity at ABF’s, with a direction indicator comparing the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year.

An improvement is shown if the combined percentage of fires is limited to heat and/or smoke damage only, the item 1^st ignited or to the room of origin, is higher than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Combined quarterly percentage decreased 18.8% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Fire severity	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4	Ç/ò	22/23 Q1	22/23 Q2	22/23 Q3	22/23 Q4
Limited to heat and/or smoke	8%	0%	0%		ò	14%	9%	6%	0%
Limited to item 1st ignited	22%	0%	0%		ó	0%	13%	0%	0%
Limited to room of origin	8%	0%	0%		ò	10%	0%	13%	6%
Limited to floor of origin	6%	11%	31%		Ç	3%	13%	0%	12%
Spread beyond floor of origin	0%	0%	0%		ó	0%	0%	0%	0%
Whole Building	56%	89%	69%		ò	73%	65%	81%	82%
Combined percentage	38%	0%	0%		ò	24%	22%	19%	6%

2.6 Deliberate Fires Total: Specific performance measure of deliberate fires

Quarter Activity 363

The number of primary and secondary fires where the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

This is an overall total measure of deliberate dwelling, commercial premises, and other fires, which are further reported within their respective KPI’s.

Quarterly activity decreased 13.98% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Deliberate Fires	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	1,508	363	1,893	422

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	168	168	191	161	153

2.6.1 Deliberate Fires – Dwellings

Quarter Activity 22

The number of primary fires where a dwelling has been affected and the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding derelict property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity static against the same quarter of the previous year.

Deliberate Fires - Dwellings	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	71	22	58	22

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	8	8	7	8	9

2.6.2 Deliberate Fires – Commercial Premises

Quarter Activity 34

The number of primary fires where the property type is a building, which is other than a dwelling or a private building associated with a dwelling, and the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding derelict property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity increased 3.03% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Deliberate Fires – Commercial	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	106	34	89	33

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	12	10	11	14	10

2.6.3 Deliberate Fires – Other (Rubbish, grassland, vehicles etc.)

Quarter Activity 307

The number of primary and secondary fires where the property type is other than a building, except where the building is recorded as derelict, and the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

The majority of deliberate fires are outdoor secondary fires and include grassland and refuse fires. Derelict vehicle fires are also included under secondary fires.

Primary fires are when the incident involves casualties or rescues, property loss or 5 or more pumping appliances attend the incident, and can include large scale moorland fires or vehicle fires which are not derelict.

Quarterly activity decreased 16.35% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Deliberate Fires – Other	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	1,331	307	1,746	367

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	148	151	136	143	175

2.7 Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSC)

Quarter Activity 54%

The percentage of completed HFSC’s, excluding refusals, carried out by LFRS personnel in the home, where the risk score has been determined to be high.

An improvement is shown if:

· The total number of HFSC’s completed is greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year and,

· The percentage of high HFSC outcomes is greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Quarterly activity decreased 3.4% over the same quarter of the previous year.

High risk outcomes remained static against the same quarter of the previous year.

	2023/24		Ç/ò	2022/23
	HFSC completed	% of High HFSC outcomes	Progress	HFSC completed	% of High HFSC outcomes
Q 1	5,682	54%	Ç/ò	5,025	58%
Q 2	5,859	52%	Ç/ò	5,435	60%
Q 3	5,691	54%	ò/ó	5,889	54%
Q 4				5,935	57%

Cumulative year to date activity

2.8 Prevention activities delivered

Activity	Description	Targets for delivery	Data for quarter 3 2023/24
ChildSafe	Fire Safety education package to Year 2 (key stage 1)	Offered to all year 2 pupils	245 sessions delivered to 7,835 students
RoadSense	Fire and Road Safety education package to Year 6 (key stage 2)	Offered to all year 6 pupils	177 sessions delivered to 5,459 students
SENDSafe	Fire Safety education package for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)	Offered to all SEND schools	7 sessions delivered to 130 students
Wasted Lives	Pre Driver information session in workshop or assembly format. Aimed at Year 10 or Year 11 in high school (key stage 4)	Increase delivery aligned to district risk in the academic year 23/24	37 sessions delivered to 5,617 students. 34 in person sessions to 4,972 students. 3 virtual sessions delivered to 645.
Biker Down	3 hour course aimed at Powered 2 Wheel riders covering incident management, first aid and the science of being seen	Deliver a minimum of 12 sessions per year	3 sessions 75 attendees
FIRES	Fire setting intervention delivered to 4-17 year olds. Referrals made by anyone who might work or support the family of a child who is setting fires	Deliver an intervention to all referrals	22 referrals opened prior to Q3 and carried over. 40 referrals received in Q3. 14 referrals closed in Q3. 41 referrals carried to Q4
Partner Training (including care providers)	LFRS deliver a ‘train the trainer’ package to organisations/agencies within health and social care. There are currently 190 preferred partners and 73 standard partners registered with LFRS. Partnerships are reviewed and RAG rated quarterly	Increase the number of partners rated green on the RAG report and continue to review partnerships and provide training	15 sessions 92 staff
Specific education sessions such as Water Safety & Bright Sparx	Education package delivered either virtually or in person to educate about Water Safety, Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), deliberate fire setting etc. Covers key stages 2,3 and 4	Increase delivery	72 BrightSparx sessions delivered in person to 10,946 attendees& 11 virtual sessions delivered to 7,515 students. 5 sessions of Choices and Consequences delivered to 602.
Arson Threat Referral	Bespoke service where a threat of arson has been made. Referrals largely come from the Police.	Meet demand from LanCon	176

2.9 Business Fire Safety Checks

Quarter Activity 862

Business Fire Safety Checks (BFSC) are interventions which look at different aspects of fire safety compliance, including risk assessments, fire alarms, escape routes and fire doors. If the result of a BFSC is unsatisfactory, fire safety advice will be provided to help the business comply with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. If critical fire safety issues are identified, then a business safety advisor will conduct a follow-up intervention.

· The pro rata BFSC target is delivered through each quarter.

A +/-10% tolerance is applied to the completed BFSC’s and the year to date (YTD) BFSC’s, against both the quarterly and YTD targets. When both counts are outside of the 10% tolerance they will be deemed in exception. This enables local delivery to flex with the needs of their district plan over the quarters.

	2023/24				Ç/ò	2022/23
	BFSC completed	Quarter Target	BFSC Cumulative	YTD Target	Progress	BFSC completed	Quarter Target
Q 1	820	625	820	625	Ç	231	n/a
Q 2	876	625	1,696	1,250	Ç	589	n/a
Q 3	862	625	2,558	1,875	Ç	806	n/a
Q 4		625		2,500		962	n/a

Cumulative year to date activity

Top five completed BFSC’s: satisfactory and unsatisfactory premise types.

*Workplaces undefined.

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a positive exception due to the number of completed Business Fire Safety Checks (BFSC) being greater than 10% of the quarterly target, and the cumulative year to date target.

Actions being taken

Crews continue to embed built environment knowledge and understanding. The first of two Built Environment virtual training (BEVT) sessions were delivered in 2023 and the second phase of BEVT roll out due to begin from April 2024.

Protection have delivered the first 5 day-built environment training on the Wholetime (WT) recruits course, preparing them to undertake BFSCs when they arrive on their watches.

2.9.1 Fire Safety Activity

Quarter Activity 5%

The number of Fire Safety Enforcement inspections carried out within the period resulting in supporting businesses to improve and become compliant with fire safety regulations or to take formal action of enforcement and prosecution of those that fail to comply. Formal activity is defined as one or more of the following: enforcement notice or an action plan, alterations notice or prohibition notice.

An improvement is shown if the percentage of audits ‘Requiring formal activity’ is greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year. This helps inform that the correct businesses are being identified.

Quarterly activity decreased 4% over the same quarter of the previous year.

	2023/24										2022/23
Quarter	Fire Safety Enforcement Inspections	Formal Activity	% Formal Activity	Informal Activity	% Informal Activity	Satisfactory Audit	% Satisfactory Audit	Business Safety Advice	% Business Safety Advice	Progress	% Formal Activity	% Informal Activity
1	530	35	7%	380	72%	66	12%	49	9%	Ç	6%	66%
2	590	41	7%	432	74%	73	12%	44	7%	ò	9%	68%
3	452	21	5%	346	76%	67	15%	18	4%	ò	9%	63%
4											5%	76%

2.10 Building Regulation Consultations (BRC)

Building Regulations: If a business intends to carry out building work it must do so in accordance with the requirements of current Building Regulations.

There are two building control bodies that can be used, the Local Authority or an Approved Inspector.

These bodies are then responsible for ensuring compliance with building regulations which generally apply when:

· Erecting a new building

· Extending or altering an existing building

· Providing services and/or fittings in a building

· Altering the use of a building

Purpose of the consultation process: If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) applies to the premises, or will apply following the work, the building control body must consult with LFRS. LFRS then comments on FSO requirements and may also provide additional advice relevant to the building type which may exceed minimum requirements but, if adopted, would further enhance safety or resilience (e.g. use of sprinklers).

LFRS cannot enforce building regulations but can offer observations to the building control body regarding compliance if it is felt the proposals may not comply. In addition to securing a safe premises, an important outcome of the process is to ensure that the completed building meets the requirements of the FSO once occupied, so that no additional works are necessary.

Building Regulation Consultations	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4
Received	262	250	268
Completed within timeframe^[1]	239	243	256

^[1] LFRS should make comments in writing within 15 working days of receiving a BRC.

Actions to Improve

To comply with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Competency Framework for Fire Safety Regulators these consultations must be completed by Level 4 qualified Fire Safety Inspectors. It is the same inspectors who are required to complete intervention work in high risk, complex premises identified by the risk-based intervention program. Consequently, the use of finite resources must be fully co-ordinated and balanced to achieve this and ensure consultation timelines are achieved:

· The implementation of centralising building regulations onto the Community Fire Risk Management Information System (CFRMIS) and assigning dedicated resource to consistently inputting new applications continues to improve our efficiency at responding to the majority within their statutory timescales.

3.1 Critical Fire Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance

Quarter Response 07:24

Critical fire incidents are defined as incidents that are likely to involve a significant threat to life, structures or the environment. Our response standards, in respect of critical fires, are variable and are determined by the risk map (KPI 2.1) and subsequent risk grade of the Super Output Area (SOA) in which the fire occurred.

The response standards include call handling and fire engine response time for the first fire engine attending a critical fire, and are as follows:

· Very high risk area = 6 minutes	· Medium risk area = 10 minutes
· High risk area = 8 minutes	· Low risk area = 12 minutes

We have achieved our standards when the time between the ‘Time of Call’ (TOC) and ‘Time in Attendance’ (TIA) of the first fire engine arriving at the incident, averaged over the quarter, is less than the relevant response standard. Expressed in minutes & seconds.

Critical Fire Response	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Year to Date	Previous Year to Date
Very High (6 min)	05:39	05:45	06:55		05:53	05:43
High (8 min)	05:47	05:53	06:40		06:09	06:27
Medium (10 min)	06:55	06:27	06:44		06:43	06:30
Low (12 min)	09:20	08:26	08:31		08:49	08:39
Overall	07:40	07:04	07:24		07:24	07:15

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a negative exception report due to the critical 1^st fire first appliance average response time to a very high response standard, being above the limit during quarter three.

Analysis

The standard within a very high risk area is 6 minutes. The average time achieved during quarter 3 exceeded this by 55 seconds.

The monthly average response times to very high risk areas are shown below.

October	November	December	Quarter 3
04:47	05:50	09:48	06:55

This shows that only December exceeded the 6 minute average. The average time of 09:48 is made up of just three incidents, of which, two recorded a response longer than six minutes.

The first incident was to an unwanted sofa being burnt in a rear yard. This had a delayed mobilisation due to Northwest Fire Control being unable to find the address location within their system, possibly due to the caller being a child and unsure of the street names.

The second incident involved water in a pan boiling dry. The delay was due the closest pumps (OC) being off the run and the response being made from a neighbouring station area.

Actions to Improve

Response times are constantly monitored and, where they do not meet the target, the reason why is reported on and then scrutinised at regular performance monitoring meetings. This allows for trends to be identified and improvements implemented as necessary.

The first incident demonstrates a difficultly in locating the incident due to the information given by the caller. Although the ability to pre alert gives a general location, identification of a specific address or location is reliant on information given by the caller which, in this case, was challenging to obtain.

In the second incident the nearest fire engines were OC and were off the run at the time of the incident meaning that a neighbouring area provided the first fire engine in attendance. This led to a longer attendance time due to the increased travel distances.

Our OC stations are often situated in remote locations and work is continually ongoing to improve availability through investment by the service in the OC review.

Improvements in ways of working and more flexible ways of facilitating fire engine availability are the focus of this review and will tie into an improvement of attendance times, where incidents occur in OC areas.

3.2 Critical Special Service Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance

Quarter Response 08:34

Critical special service incidents are non-fire incidents where there is a risk to life, for example, road traffic collisions, rescues and hazardous materials incidents. For these incidents there is a single response standard which measures call handling time and fire engine response time.

The response standard for the first fire engine attending a critical special service call = 13 minutes.

We have achieved our standards when the time between the ‘Time of Call’ (TOC) and ‘Time in Attendance’ (TIA) of the first fire engine arriving at the incident, averaged over the quarter, is less than the response standard. Expressed in minutes & seconds.

Critical Special Service Response	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Year to Date	Previous Year to Date
(13 min)	08:27	08:41	08:34		08:34	08:18

3.3 Total Fire Engine Availability

Quarter Availability 88.46%

This indicator measures the total availability of the 1^st fire engine at each of the 39 fire stations. It is measured as the percentage of time the 1^st fire engine is available to respond compared to the total time in the period.

Standard: 90%

Quarterly availability decreased 1.87% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Fire engine availability – WT, FDC, DCP & OC	Year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 3	Previous year to Date	2022/23 Quarter 3
	88.59%	88.46%	89.32%	90.33%

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a negative exception report due to the 1^st fire appliance availability percentage, being below the lower control limit during quarter three.

Analysis

Overall availability across all stations for the quarter recorded 88.46%, which is 1.54% below the 90% standard.

The following table shows the availability by each of the stations designated first pump crewing type.

Crewing	WT	DCP	FDC	OC	Total
Availability	99.30%	99.07%	99.23%	74.60%	88.46%

Whilst all of the Whole time appliances achieved exceptional availability, the 1^st appliance at our wholly On-Call stations contributed to the availability falling below the 90% standard. As such, the exception report will focus on On-Call availability.

On-Call recruitment, development, and retention is a national challenge which has seen a downward trend in availability over several years.

A shortage of staff with the Officer in Charge (OIC), Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) and Emergency Response Driver (ERD) skill is a significant contributing factor to low on-call availability. On-Call Support Officers (OCSOs) are working with station-based staff and management, together with our Training Centre, to support those in development and identify opportunities for staff to acquire these skills earlier in their career.

Breathing Apparatus (BA) is another key factor contributing to low on-call availability and the Service is working towards redesigning the timing of training delivery, to enable demand for this skill to be met more rapidly.

Actions being taken to improve performance

· The Service have invested in a dedicated team to support the recruitment, development, and retention of on-call staff. A Station Manager post responsible for On-Call & Blue Light Collaboration was created in 2023, to lead a team of On-Call Support Officers (OCSOs) and the LFRS project workstreams for on-call improvement. These significant workstreams will enable continuous improvement across all key elements of on-call recruitment, development, and retention.

· The Service are developing a data-driven recruitment and skills-based strategy and a new recruitment and workforce planning tool, the first of its kind, to improve sustainability of on-call fire engine availability.

4.1 Progress Against Allocated Budget

Quarter variance 0.58%

The total cumulative value of the savings delivered to date compared to the year’s standard and the total.

As a public service we are committed to providing a value for money service to the community and it is important that once a budget has been agreed and set, our spending remains within this.

The annual budget for 2023/24 was set at £68.5 million. Spend at the end of December 2023 was £50.5 million, £0.4m million more than budget. The majority is attributable in non-pay including a shortfall on apprenticeship levy funding and a cost increase in repairs and maintenance on operational vehicles earlier in the year.

Variance:

0.58%

4.2 Partnership Collaboration

A written update on partnership collaboration will be provided on a quarterly basis.

Scope and definition:

The Police Force, Fire & Rescue Service and Emergency Ambulance Service are under a formal duty to collaborate under the Policing and Crime Act 2017. The objectives are to improve efficiency, effectiveness and deliver improved outcomes.

To meet the requirements of this duty, the respective blue light services, LFRS, Lancashire Constabulary (LanCon), and North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), have met at both tactical and strategic levels. Through these meetings the collaboration board have agreed and signed a strategic statement of intent. This contains the following aims:

· Improved Outcomes – The collaboration maintains or improves the service we provide to local people and local communities.

· Reduced demand – The collaboration should contribute towards a longer-term strategic objective of decreasing risk in communities and reducing demand on services.

· Better Value for Money – The collaboration produces quantifiable efficiencies either on implementation or in the longer term.

· Reduced inequalities within our communities –The collaboration contributes towards reducing inequalities wherever possible.

Progress for each project is as follows:

Missing Persons (Missing from home)

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS have provided significant support to LanCon with our aerial drone assets, supported by aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU). LFRS Drone Team has also supported other organisations, including the Environment Agency (EA).

LFRS receives around 200 drone requests on average per year from LanCon, with most requests for Missing Persons searches. LFRS have commenced discussions with LanCon in relation to re-charging for some services, given the on-call nature of our drone team, with each deployment having a budgetary impact for LFRS. Nationally, an MoU is being developed between the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and EA to better co-ordinate future drone activity.

The Service also provides an underwater search capability and assistance was recently requested by HM Coastguard. LFRS responded, and the underwater deployment immediately de-escalated the incident, significantly reducing the number of resources required from several agencies, for what would normally be a protracted incident.

Estates and Co-location

This is a long-term workstream which may deliver significant efficiencies and effectiveness where co-location sites are identified.

A set of principles are being developed to identify high level areas of opportunities. Blue Light partners are currently reviewing their strategic property asset plans to identify areas for co-ordinating future development plans over the next 5-10 years.

All Blue light partners are included in the discussions and options in relation to Preston area provision.

First Responder

A trial commenced in 2023 involving LFRS staff volunteering as Community First Responders (CFR) to support NWAS. LFRS staff volunteers undertake an initial CFR training programme at LFRS Training Centre. Once qualified, they can shadow existing CFR practitioners to develop their clinical abilities and build confidence in their newly acquired skills.

Five LFRS staff volunteers are now responding to life threatening emergencies in their communities from the workplace, and administering first aid in the initial vital minutes before NWAS colleagues arrive. During 2023, LFRS responded to more than 80 CFR incidents including unresponsive/collapsed, not breathing, cardiac arrests, seizures, strokes, and choking.

The Service is expanding our support to NWAS on this successful life-saving initiative and 10 LFRS Flexible-Duty Officers (FDOs) are progressing through the onboarding process with NWAS.

Leadership Development

Learning and Development leads from the Blue Light partners are considering leadership development collaboration opportunities.

An analysis of leadership development is ongoing between the three organisations with the Services currently exploring an additional mentorship programme for command and control.

Command Units

The aim of this project is to establish and deliver additional collaborative uses of the command units in LFRS to support effective multi agency working amongst emergency responders. The key objectives are to improve operational effectiveness and in line with LFRS mission; ‘Making Lancashire Safer’.

The new Command Support Unit (CSU) project was listed in this years' Annual Service Plan and seeks to upgrade not only the vehicles but to take advantage of recent technological advances to support operational incidents. On-Call firefighters from Carnforth and Bolton-le-Sands crew the CSU.

As part of the agreed capital vehicle replacement project, two new larger Command Units (CUs) will also be hosted by Fulwood and Blackburn Fire Stations. The CUs boast state of the art technology with 5G and Starlink connectivity.

It is expected that the initial benefits to be realised will be technological advances that will further develop information sharing and situational awareness aligned to improving and embedding the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP). Further scoping and development will be overseen by the Blue Light Collaboration board to ensure opportunities for joint working are effectively co-ordinated and delivered.

4.3 Overall User Satisfaction

Percentage satisfied 98.77%

The percentage of people who were satisfied with the service received from the total number of people surveyed.

People surveyed include those who have experienced an accidental dwelling fire, a commercial fire, or a special service incident that we attended.

The standard is achieved if the percentage of satisfied responses is greater than the 97.50% standard.

75 people were surveyed; 73 responded that they were very or fairly satisfied.

Question	Running Total	Number Satisfied	% Satisfied	% Standard	% Variance
Taking everything in to account, are you satisfied, dissatisfied, or neither with the service you received from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service?	3,492	3,449	98.77%	97.50%	1.30%