Planning Committee
Monday, 15 July 2024, at 10.00 amin the Main Conference Room, Service Headquarters, Fulwood.
Minutes
Present: |
|
|
|
|
Councillors
|
|
|
J Hugo (Chair)
|
|
|
N Hennessy (Vice-Chair)
|
|
|
G Baker
|
|
|
S Clarke
|
|
|
F Jackson
|
|
|
D O'Toole
|
|
|
P Rigby
|
|
|
J Shedwick
|
|
|
J Singleton
|
|
Officers |
|
|
|
S Healey, Deputy Chief Fire Officer (LFRS) S Brown, Director of Corporate Services (LFRS) J Ashton, T/Area Manager (LFRS) T Powell, Area Manager, Head of Service Improvement (LFRS) S Hunter, Member Services Manager (LFRS) L Barr, Member Services Officer (LFRS) |
|
|
In attendance
|
|
|
|
K Wilkie, Fire Brigades Union
|
|
1/24 |
Apologies for Absence
|
|
|
Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Sean Serridge.
|
|
2/24 |
Disclosure of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests
|
|
|
None received.
|
|
3/24 |
Minutes of Previous Meeting
|
|
|
In response to a request from the Chair for an update on the Carbon Reduction Management Plan, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised an update would be brought to the next Planning Committee in November.
Resolved: That the Minutes of the last meeting held on 5 February 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
|
|
4/24 |
HMICFRS update
|
|
|
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer updated Members regarding His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) activity and LFRS planning arrangements.
Round 3 Overview HMICFRS commenced Round 3 inspections in early 2023, the three pillars; effectiveness, efficiency, and people remained the same as Round 2. Likewise, the 11 diagnostics under each pillar which inspectors made graded judgements against. On 27 March 2024 the HMICFRS announced that they were postponing Lancashire Fire and Resue Service’s (LFRS) inspection due to the Service Liaison Lead Dominic Mika leaving the HMICFRS. Although LFRS had not yet received confirmation of the new inspection date, it was anticipated that the Service’s inspection would take place in early 2025. Until LFRS’s new Service Liaison Lead was appointed and to assist with engagement prior to the inspection, an Inspecting Officer from HMICFRS, Viv Horton, had been named as LFRS point of contact. LFRS Service Liaison Officer – Area Manager Tom Powell had met with Viv Horton who would be introduced into the Service over the coming months. The Organisational Assurance Team within the Service Improvement Department continued to track progress against the Service’s previous inspection, monitor national themes and prepare LFRS for it’s Round 3 inspection. HMICFRS had published 16 Round 3 inspection reports. Due to the general election taking place on 4 July, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector Andy Cooke had taken the decision to pause publications during the pre-election period which commenced on 25 May 2024. A summary of the gradings for all 16 FRSs inspected so far in Round 3 were included in the report. In response to questions from Councillor Baker in relation to the service completing a self-assessment and anticipated grading, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that assessments were ongoing with regular visits to stations and departments. The service was optimistic that it would maintain the standard of good in ten areas and outstanding in values and culture. LFRS was innovating and leading in many areas and had made 10 submissions to the Positive Practice Portal (PPP). In addition, AM Tom Powell informed that the feeback from NFCC was that LFRS had provided more PPP uploads than any other Fire and Rescue Service. County Councillor O’Toole queried whether HMI Michelle Skeer would continue to liaise with the new Chair of the Authority. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer confirmed that HMI Skeer had continued to engage with the Service and was confident that she would consult with the Chair. State of Fire Report
On 9 May 2024 the annual assessment of Fire and Rescue Services in England was published. HMICFRS Andy Cooke’s 2023 State of Fire and Rescue report outlined their findings and wider impacts on Fire and Rescue Services.
The report covered four key challenges faced by the sector: • The fire and rescue sector had made some good progress at a national level, but the Government must press ahead with reforms. • Values, culture and the management of misconduct needed to urgently improve. • Fire and Rescue Service leaders needed to take a strategic approach to service improvements. • HMICFRS needed additional powers to continue to make communities safer; recommending that the Government make it a legal requirement for fire and rescue authorities to publish a response to the HMICFRS reports within 56 days.
The report also identified that during the third round of inspections they had seen grades fall in some services in relation to: • Protection • Multi-agency incidents • Values and culture • Getting the right people with the right skills
Positive Practice Masterclass
The Positive Practice Portal provided details about interventions, which had been developed by one or more Fire and Rescue Services to address a particular need, concern or organisational change recognised by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) or HMICFRS as an innovative or positive practice. These practices were in different functional areas and would include operational and non-operational responses, business practices and good ideas.
On 29 April 2024 the HMICFRS held its first Positive Practice Masterclass for Fire and Rescue Services, which was attended by CFO Justin Johnston and AM Tom Powell. The topic was centred around leadership and culture where the HMI shared positive practices they had identified as well as opportunities to learn from each other.
Misconduct within the Fire and Rescue Service HMICFRS thematic inspection of the handling of misconduct in Fire and Rescue Services had concluded. They combined detailed evidence with data provided by all English services in the autumn data return; the staff survey conducted in November 2023 via their research partners Crest Advisory; and the survey and interviews that Crest conducted with people that had left Fire and Rescue Services. HMICFRS would identify key findings and produce recommendations to the sector. The findings were due to be published in June 2024, however, due to the general election publication had been paused. Values and culture in Fire and Rescue Services Values and culture in Fire and Rescue Services remained a focus for HMICFRS, LFRS had already been working proactively in terms of promoting its values and engendering an organisational culture where all employees could thrive. LFRS submitted their report on the progress the Service was making regarding the HMICFRS and NFCC recommendations in relation to values and culture in December 2023. HMICFRS Spring Data Collection LFRS submitted the Spring data return in June 2023. In response to a question from the Chair in relation to sharing information from the Positive Practice Masterclass, Area Manager Powell advised that an overview could be brought to the next Planning Committee in November. County Councillor Shedwick expressed his thanks for the updates provided. Resolved: That the Planning Committee noted and endorsed the report.
|
|
5/24 |
Blue Light Collaboration update
|
|
|
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the report updated on progress of the ongoing workstreams that were being progressed under the Blue Light Collaboration Board. The workstreams were being managed effectively through both the Strategic and Tactical Boards to support and deliver the key workstreams which were: -
i) Missing Persons (missing from home)
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) had increasing experience and could provide local or specialist advice for consideration by Lancashire Constabulary (LanCon). Searches had become streamlined which allowed a more structured and effective approach to locating a high-risk missing person. The Service’s drone development (aerial and sub-surface), for which LFRS had the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) lead role, had further enhanced their capabilities for Missing Person Searches. LFRS had provided significant support to LanCon with their aerial drone assets, supported by an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Further investment in 2023/24 led to the service strengthening sub-surface rescue/ recovery capability of persons, with an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). This asset had been deployed regionally and nationally including Carlisle, Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Birmingham, and Norfolk and had delivered improved outcomes for incident resolution.
LFRS received around 200 drone requests last year from LanCon, with most requests for Missing Persons searches.
In response to a question from County Councillor Hennessy in relation to the Drone Team succession planning, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the team was made up of eight operational staff and several reservists with the team operating on an on-call basis. The drone was deployed with a minimum of two, although it could be deployed with one.
ii) Estates and Co-location
This was a longer-term workstream which would deliver significant efficiencies and effectiveness where co-location sites were identified. A set of principles were being developed to identify high level areas of opportunities. Blue Light partners were reviewing property asset management strategies to identify potential areas for co-ordinating future development plans over the next 5-10 years.
All Blue light partners were included in the discussions in relation to future opportunities. All current locations for each organisation had been mapped, with the focus moving to the understanding of longer-term plans for each service, consideration of site sharing opportunities at existing locations, along with a procedure to facilitate site sharing. The LFRS ‘Preston Area Review’ continued to be discussed and considered with Blue light partners regarding collaboration opportunities for the area.
In addition to the physical estate and site sharing, Blue light partners had identified other areas for learning, development and sharing of information in support of providing efficient and effective estate management within respective organisations.
iii) Community First Responder
A trial commenced in 2023 involving LFRS staff volunteering as Community First Responders (CFR) to support North West Ambulance Service (NWAS). LFRS staff volunteers undertook an initial CFR training programme at LFRS Training Centre. Once qualified, they would shadow existing CFR practitioners to develop their clinical abilities and build confidence in their newly acquired skills.
5 LFRS staff volunteers had been responding to life threatening emergencies in their communities from the workplace and administering life-saving interventions in the initial vital minutes before NWAS colleagues arrived. During 2023, LFRS responded to more than 80 CFR incidents including unresponsive/ collapsed, not breathing, cardiac arrests, seizures, strokes, and choking. This had resulted in many successful outcomes.
The Service had now expanded their support to NWAS on the successful life-saving initiative. 8 LFRS Flexible-Duty Officers (FDOs) completed their 4-day CFR training in July and were also responding to critical medical emergencies across Lancashire.
The Chair ask that it be noted and gave thanks to Community First Responder, Andy Dow, who had saved the lives of two people in two separate incidents.
iv) Leadership Development
Blue Light partners had scoped collaboration opportunities for leadership development. Each Service would host a leadership development event for middle and senior leaders from all Blue light partner organisations, with LFRS hosting the first event in October 2024.
v) Command Units
The aim of this project was to establish and deliver additional collaborative uses of the command units in LFRS to support effective multi-agency working among emergency responders. The key objectives were to improve operational effectiveness and in line with LFRS’ mission; ‘Making Lancashire Safer’.
The Command Support Unit (CSU) project aimed to upgrade the vehicles and adopt technological advancements to support operational incidents. On-Call firefighters crewed a CSU, and as part of the agreed capital vehicle replacement project, two new larger Command Units (CUs) were now operational and had been deployed to several incidents, with excellent feedback received from the firefighters, FDOs, and partner agencies. LFRS continued to demonstrate the unit and software to other fire and rescue services with a visit from Northern Ireland FRS in May, and a further visit from several other FRS’ in June. The Service had also hosted multi-agency familiarisations, including in June for the Blackburn-with-Darwen Emergency Planning Team.
The benefits realised included improved information sharing and situational awareness, aligned to improving and embedding the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP). This successful workstream had transitioned to business as usual.
Resolved: That the Planning Committee noted the report.
|
|
6/24 |
Emergency Cover Review update
|
|
|
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the report updated on the Emergency Cover Review (ECR) 2022-25 implementation, outlining the work that was ongoing and had been completed to date.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) was required to review emergency response arrangements periodically to ensure that provision remained effective and consummate with the dynamic risk profile. This process was a robust assessment of historic data and emergent risk and was delivered in the format of an Emergency Cover Review (ECR).
The changes identified in the ECR 2022-25 reflected the most effective and efficient use of resources for the whole of Lancashire. Lancashire’s Combined Fire Authority (CFA) agreed the proposed changes on 19 December 2022. The changes would result in LFRS:
· Maintaining all 39 fire stations and 58 fire appliances · Maintaining their outstanding response standards · Creating an increase in overall firefighter jobs by eight
An ECR implementation plan was developed with five key workstreams, updates on the workstreams were as follows:
Introduce more resilient and flexible crewing arrangements The changes of duty systems at some stations resulted in the re-introduction of the 2-2-4 wholetime duty system with 24 members of staff, as opposed to flexible wholetime. The Service was still open to introducing flexible crewing arrangements subject to agreement with Trade Unions (TUs). All members of staff affected were engaged with and changes to crewing arrangements were led by people’s preferences in terms of the duty system they wished to work, subject to skill requirements and the demands of the Service. A comprehensive training programme was delivered to meet the training needs analysis due to staff movement and the increase in establishment. Property alterations at Morecambe, Fleetwood and Skelmersdale were completed to accommodate the increase in staff at those stations. Implementation of all the proposed changes of duty systems and establishment numbers, with the exception of Penwortham, took place on 1 March 2024. Optimise emergency cover through dynamic cover software The dynamic cover software continued to be used in LFRS. Control Room Operators at North West Fire Control (NWFC) had received familiarisation on the software utilising the standalone facility on the Lancashire pod. The next phase of the project would see Control Room Operators, over a three month period, continue to use the static pre-defined standby rules whilst considering any variation in movement by utilising the software and recording any differences they would have made. This, along with modelling based on various incident and activity scenarios would provide an overview of the impact of utilising the software instead of the pre-determined standby moves. Following evaluation of these results, it was anticipated that the software would be utilised to determine cover moves based on risk rather than static pre-defined lists. Whilst full consultation with all stakeholders in relation to the dynamic cover software was carried out as part of the ECR process, the Service would undertake further engagement with TUs and staff prior to full implementation. Strengthen our response to climate change emergencies Investing in Four Fire Appliances with Off-Road Capabilities A £500k budget was approved (redirected funds) with projects established and managed through the Service Delivery Change Programme Board. This budget was not additional funding, as the two climate change appliances would replace two standard type B appliances so there was no additional capital investment required. Although the original scoping identified a larger Unimog type appliance, a significant cost increase along with vehicle limitations had resulted in the scope changing slightly to ensure efficiency and value for money. The larger appliance would be a B-type with 4x4 capability, and specifications were being scoped. The second appliance would be a smaller 7 tonne vehicle with 4x4 capability. A similar model had been viewed by the LFRS project team in Leicestershire FRS. Both vehicles would then be evaluated prior to the potential purchase of two further vehicles (one large and one small). Introduce Flood Water Incident Managers and Flood Water Tactical Advisors Incident action plans had been updated to ensure that the Flood Water Incident Managers were informed of any incidents within the water or large area flooding.
One flexi duty officer had been trained as a Flood Water Tactical Advisor and was part of the national resilience capability. A second flexi duty officer was undertaking pre-courses and would attend the nationally accredited tactical advisor course once there was availability.
Strengthen firefighting and rescue capabilities in high-rise and commercial buildings Introduce a 45m Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) Due to delays in the motor industry environment, the anticipated delivery of the new ALP was now December 2024. There would then be a period of familiarisation and training for operational crews prior to the appliance going on the run at Preston in early 2025. Invest in two Additional Water Towers Due to the delays encountered within the motor industry the new appliances were due for delivery during quarter 3 of 2024/25. The first Water Tower was expected to be delivered around September 2024, there would be a period of familiarisation and training prior to the appliances going on the run. They were anticipated to be located at St Annes and Lancaster. Broaden on-call firefighting capabilities to strengthen operational response Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) Driving On Call staff at both Hyndburn and Morecambe had successfully utilised this skill on several occasions by driving the ALP to incidents. Command Support Unit (CSU) The Command Support Unit (CSU) had attended a number of large-scale incidents and successfully supported these over a protracted period. Initially the CSU was crewed by On Call staff from Bolton-le-Sands and Carnforth, however following a trial period, the CSU would be supported by Bolton-le-Sands and Hornby stations. On Call and Specials Review Dual contract staff at Lancaster had been provided with additional PPE for swift water rescue resulting in the On Call appliance being able to support wholetime colleagues at water rescue incidents enhancing the services response. Once delivered, Lancaster and St Anne’s On Call units would be trained on the two new Water Towers which would provide additional resilience. Further work on the expansion of On Call capabilities to other Special Appliances such as the Water Bowser and Foam Unit was currently being explored as part of the On Call review workstream. In response to a query from County Councillor Clarke in relation to how old appliances were disposed of, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that appliances had a 15 year life cycle, after 12 years they were removed from the front line and used at Training Centre or as reserve appliances before being auctioned or donated to Operation Florion charity. It was noted by members that two appliances had been sent over to Ukraine. County Councillor O’Toole remarked that all presentations at the recent Members Strategy Group meeting were excellent. The Chair concurred and empahsised the importance of Strategy Group meetings. Resolved: That the Planning Committee noted and endorsed the report.
|
|
7/24 |
Annual Service Report
|
|
|
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented the report. The Annual Service Report was produced annually by the Service as part of its accountability to measure progress against the items set out as deliverables as part of the Annual Service Plan. These actions were derived from the medium-term strategic goals highlighted in the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP).
The Annual Service Report highlighted a number of key deliverables against the priority areas of: i) people, ii) prevention, iii) protection, iv) response and v) value for money related work streams:
i) Valuing our people so they can focus on making Lancashire safer
· Launched the Lift and Climb mentoring programme. This gave everyone within the service the opportunity to maximise their potential by pairing with a colleague for professional or personal development and parallel, or reverse mentoring. · Embed the Core Code of Ethics alongside the services STRIVE values. These provided guidance on the professional behaviours expected of staff to ensure the workplace was one where everyone felt valued, included, and able to reach their full potential. · Introduced peer support ambassadors who volunteered to raise awareness of mental health problems and challenge mental health stigma in the workplace. · Upgrade fire station facilities. · Improved learning and development systems. · Explored the future of Service Headquarters. · Delivering firefighter pension changes. · A celebration of our people through award ceremonies, Chief Fire Officer personal commendations and from individual and organisational recognition at national level.
ii) Preventing fires and other emergencies from happening
· Joined with partners to introduce a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for parts of Chorley, Darwen and Bolton to prevent wildfires on the moors. · Invested in digital improvements to the service’s home fire safety check (HFSC) service. · Improved evaluation of fire prevention activity. · Strengthened operation risk information by improving the Provision of Operational Risk Information System (PORIS) which ensured crews were given quick and easy access to relevant information relating to operational incidents. · Had a positive influence on children and young adults through the services collaboration with The Prince’s Trust. Throughout the year, the Service conducted 25 comprehensive 12-week programmes, which directly impacted 277 young individuals aged 16-25 across nine Lancashire locations.
In November 2023, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was delighted to be honoured at the Asian Fire Service Association awards. Nominated in four different categories, the service won two awards.
Community Safety Advisor, Faz Patel, won the award for Partnership of the Year for the services Safety during Hajj campaign. This initiative aimed to ensure that Lancashire’s residents could travel to, and around Saudi Arabia, in the safest ways possible and in doing so, enjoy the most fulfilled and rewarding pilgrimage. Station Manager Trevor Jenkins won the Health and Inequalities category for the services initiative together with public health of delivering NHS checks in East Lancashire.
The Services Race and Religion Employee Voice Group and Positive Action Team were both highly commended in the Champion of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and Positive Action categories respectively.
In response to questions from County Councillor O’Toole in relation to enforcing PSPOs, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the service was working with partner agencies to identify individuals and carry out prevention activities where possible. Area Manager Ashton added that there had been a lot of community engagement, signage displayed, and volunteer fire watches used.
In response to questions from County Councillor Hennessy in relation to raising awareness on the work of the Service in the media, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the Service’s Corporate Communications Team promoted work through campaigns, publications and social media posts. There had been multiple TV appearances by staff and, additionally, the Service had a wild fire theme wrapped appliance.
County Councillor Singleton remarked that he was pleased to see Prince’s Trust information included within the report and asked if the service could include details of how many individuals had gained employment or gone on to further education following completion of the Prince’s Trust programme. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that he would find out the details requested. The Chair referenced working with young people from the Prince’s Trust Programme in her job and how the course had positively impacted their lives.
County Councillor Shedwick commended the work of Faz Patel for again, promoting safety during Hajj.
iii) Protecting people and property when fires happen
· Exceeded the Services target for business fire safety checks (BFSCs). In 2023-24, the Service delivered over 3,307 BFSCs in commercial premises across Lancashire, above the target of 2,500 for the year. · Transformed fire protection and business safety. · Strengthen the Service’s fire safety inspection programme to meet evolving standards. · Introduced a new automatic fire alarm attendance policy.
iv) Responding to fires and other emergencies quickly and competently
· New appliances strengthened operational response capabilities. The Service had invested £800,000 in two large incident command units and one smaller command support unit which joined the fleet in 2023-24. · Implemented an emergency cover review (ECR). · Reviewing emergency cover in Preston. · Introduced more resilient and flexible crewing arrangements. · Optimised emergency cover through dynamic cover software. · Strengthen the Services response to climate change emergencies. · Strengthen firefighting and rescue capabilities in high-rise and commercial buildings. · Broaden on-call firefighting capabilities to strengthen operational response. · Invest in the Services Training Centre. · Build four new drill towers. · Implement operational learning in response to national events. · Introduced an underwater drone, a remotely operated vehicle, for search and rescue operations. LFRS became the first service in the UK to introduce this.
The report included a summary of the Service’s performance in relation to responding:
Overall activity · 17,395 incidents attended · 653 road traffic collisions attended (up from 621) · 152 missing person searches (up from 94) · 4,678 fires attended (down from 5,632) · 1,077 gaining entry to property incidents in support of North West Ambulance Service (up from 914)
Average attendance time · Overall - 8 minutes 6 seconds · Critical fire response – first fire engine attendance – 7 mins 30 seconds · Critical special service response – first fire engine attendance – 8 minutes 30 seconds Fire engine availability: – 88.66%
In response to a request from County Councillor O’Toole in relation to statistics for comparison from previous years for the number of incidents attended, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that this could be added but increases should not always be viewed negatively as this would include increased assistance to partner agencies and improved the safety of our communities such as gaining entry. Council Councillor Hennessy added that it may be useful for the type of incidents attended to be broken down into percentages and compared against the previous year. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that changes to the statistics in the report would be requested with Corporate Communications.
In response to questions from County Councillor Singleton in relation to including details of sentences and court results, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that a summary of the number of prosecutions could be included. County Councillor Hennessy added that it was important to note that there may be a court delay in some cases which could distort the figures if from a previous year. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that a summary of the work around the Incident Intelligence Officer (IIO) cases could be added to the report, rather than specific numbers of cases.
v) Delivering value for money in how we use our resources
· Delivering training and development differently. · Review productivity and efficiency. · Replace performance and analysis software. · Collaborate with other public services. · Install CCTV on fire engines and other service vehicles.
In response to a question from the Chair in relation to CCTV having a positive impact on Firefighter Safety, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that all new Fire Engines had CCTV fitted as standard. A pilot of body worn cameras was ongoing with Union support, this allowed evidence to be captured for future use. This pilot had not been rolled out to front line crews yet.
The Chair stated that the service was in a good position and had received national recognition.
The Chair asked if Members could attend the Star Awards. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer explained that the Chair, Vice Chair and Leader of the majority group were invited to attend. County Councillor Hennessy asked that the invitation be extended to all Members. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that it would be dependent on the venue but he could explore that option.
Resolved: That the Planning Committee noted and endorsed the Annual Service Report.
|
|
8/24 |
Business Continuity Planning and Testing
|
|
|
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the report updated on the actions taken for enhancing the Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS).
Progress in Business Continuity Management (BCM) was as follows;
E-Learning Module Development An interactive Business Continuity (BC) e-learning module had been developed for all LFRS staff. This was done on behalf of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) BC group and had become a template for BC e-learning across the fire sector. The module was designed to increase awareness and understanding of BC principles, and ensured that every member of the team was equipped with the knowledge to contribute to continuity efforts.
Higher-Level BC Training Over 80 staff members from LFRS and the North West Fire Control (NWFC) with BC responsibilities had received higher-level BC training. This training focused on advanced BC concepts and practical skills required to write and effectively manage continuity plans.
Operational Level Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Comprehensive BIAs had been conducted at the operational level throughout the service. These BIAs identified critical functions, assessed potential impacts of disruptions, and prioritised resources to ensure swift recovery.
Strategic Oversight and Operational Implementation Business Continuity (BC) had been added as a standing agenda item to the Senior Management Team (SMT) Corporate Planning Board (CPB). This ensured strategic oversight of the LFRS BCMS.
A newly established Business Continuity Group bridged the gap between strategic oversight and operational implementation. This group ensured that BC strategies were effectively translated into actionable plans at the operational level.
BC Integration and Support Structure BC had been integrated into the daily operations of all stations and departments, with BC champions/reference holders nominated to support Business Continuity Plan (BCP) owners. These champions played a crucial role in the BC process, they provided expertise and ensured plans were maintained and updated.
BC Integration with Risk Management The new LFRS risk management procedure had been fully integrated with BC planning. Risks identified through risk management processes fed directly into the BC plans and ensured a cohesive approach to resilience. This integration allowed us to prioritise and address risks comprehensively, making the services BC plans more robust and aligned with the overall risk landscape.
Future Developments were identified as follows;
Standardised Operational BCP Templates Two standardised BCP templates had been created: one for stations and one for departments. These templates would ensure a consistent approach to business continuity across the service, simplifying the planning process and ensuring all essential elements were covered.
Exercise and Testing Suite A comprehensive suite of exercises, including pre-made injects and scenarios based on the highest BC risks, had been developed. These exercises would be used to test and refine the new BCPs, ensuring they were robust and effective in real-world scenarios.
Exercising Tactical and Strategic BCPs In the second half of the year, we would conduct an exercise for tactical and strategic BCPs. The scenarios for this exercise would be determined by the current risk profile of LFRS, ensuring relevance and effectiveness. These exercises would test the services preparedness at both the tactical and strategic levels, providing valuable insights and opportunities for improvement.
Policy and SOP Updates The Business Continuity Policy and SOPs would need to be updated to reflect these changes. This would ensure all documents were aligned with the latest BC practices and strategies, providing clear guidance to all staff.
LFRS had continued to strengthen its BCMS. Through comprehensive training, strategic oversight, and operational implementation, the service was building a resilient organisation capable of maintaining critical services during disruptions. The future developments outlined would further enhance capabilities, ensuring the service was well-prepared to face any challenges.
County Councillor Hennessy requested that it may be nice for officers involved in the reports to be invited to future meetings.
Resolved: That the Planning Committee: i) Endorsed the detailed progress and achievements outlined in the report ii) Supported the outlined future plans for BC, including the implementation of standardised BC plan templates for stations and departments, and the development and use of a comprehensive suite of exercises to test and refine these plans.
|
|
9/24 |
Date of Next Meeting
|
|
|
The next meeting of the Committee would be held on Monday 18 November 2024 at 10:00 hours in the main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.
Further meeting dates were noted for 03 February 2025 and agreed for 14 July 2025.
|