Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Sean Serridge.

Members are asked to consider any pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the agenda.

None received.

In response to a question from County Councillor Clarke in relation to recharging partner agencies for drone deployment, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the service had recently begun recharging in line with National Resilience protocol.

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.

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 4July, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector Andy Cooke had taken the decision to pause publications during the pre-election period which commenced on 25May 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4/24

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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/24

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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6/24

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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7/24

The Deputy Chief Fire Officeradvised 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8/24

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on 18 November 2024 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:    scheduled for 03 February 2025

                                         proposed for 14 July 2025

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.