Agenda and minutes

The Clerk invited nominations for the appointment of Chair for 2023/24. County Councillor Singleton proposed County Councillor O’Toole which was seconded by County Councillor Yates.  No further nominations were received.  The Clerk held a vote.  All 25 Members present voted in favour. 

The motion was therefore CARRIED and it was:

Resolved: That County Councillor O’Toole be appointed Chair of the Combined Fire Authority for 2023/24.

The Chair invited nominations for the appointment of Vice-Chair for 2023/24. County Councillor Clarke proposed County Councillor John Shedwick which was seconded by County Councillor Kay.  No further nominations were received.  The Clerk held a vote.  All 25 Members present voted in favour. 

The motion was therefore CARRIED and it was:

Resolved: That County Councillor Shedwick be appointed Vice-Chair of the Combined Fire Authority for 2023/24.

Standing item.

CC O’Toole thanked Members for their continued support confirming he was proud to serve the Authority and would do his best in the role of Chair for a further municipal year.  He took the opportunity to welcome back Councillors Jane Hugo, Fred Jackson and Jean Rigby who had been re-elected at their home authorities in May.  He also welcomed new Members Councillor Graham Baker and County Councillor Loriane Cox and hoped they would enjoy their time on the Authority.

Resolved: That the Composition approved by the 3 Constituent Authorities for 2023/24 for the Combined Fire Authority be noted and endorsed, and the new Members appointed by Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council to serve on the CFA for 2023/24 be welcomed.

None received.

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.

The Chair, County Councillor O’Toole presented the proposed Chairs and Vice?Chairs for the Authority's Committees and Working Groups. 

Resolved:

i) That in accordance with Standing Order 5.1(b) of the Authority, the following Members be appointed as Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Committees and Working Groups of the CFA for 2023/24:

Appeals Committee                      Chair                  Councillor J Rigby

                                                         Vice-Chair        County Councillor M Pattison

Audit Committee                           Chair                  County Councillor J Shedwick

                                                         Vice-Chair        County Councillor N Hennessy

Performance Committee              Chair                 County Councillor T Hurn

                                                         Vice-Chair       County Councillor P Rigby

Planning Committee                     Chair                 County Councillor S Clarke

                                                         Vice-Chair        County Councillor J Singleton

Resources Committee                 Chair                 Councillor R Woollam

                                                         Vice-Chair        County Councillor D O’Toole

Member Training &                       Chair                 County Councillor S Morris

Development Working Group     Vice-Chair        Councillor D Smith

Resources Sub-Committee         Chair                 County Councillor S Serridge

for Injury Pensions

Service HQ Relocation                Chair                  County Councillor D O’Toole

Working Group

ii) That the Authority confirmed appointment of the following four Member Champions for 2023/24 as:-

•   Community Safety - Councillor Jean Rigby;

•   Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Councillor Zamir Khan;

•   Health & Wellbeing - County Councillor Andrea Kay;

•   Road Safety – County Councillor Ron Woollam.

The Authority was requested to determine its representation on outside bodies for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Resolved:

i)     That County Councillor D O’Toole, Chair of the Authority be authorised to cast the Authority’s vote at the LGA Annual General Assembly;

ii)    That County Councillors D O’Toole and J Shedwick (as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Authority) be appointed to the Local Government Association Fire Commission;

iii)   That County Councillor D O’Toole, Chair of the Authority can authorise additional representation(s) to either the LGA Fire Commission or the Fire Services Management Committee as appropriate;

iv)   That 2 members of the Conservative Group and 1 member of the Labour Group (County Councillors D O’Toole, J Shedwick and N Hennessy as Chair, Vice-Chair and main Opposition Spokesperson) be appointed to serve as representatives on the North West Fire Forum for 2023/24;

v)    That County Councillors D O’Toole and J Shedwick (as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Authority) be appointed as North West Fire Control Directors for 2023/24.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the CFA held on 24 April 2023 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

County Councillor Hennessy encouraged Members to attend the LGA Leadership Essentials Fire and Rescue training sessions which included gaining an understanding of the fire sector and building safety and provided an opportunity to network with other fire members.

The Clerk advised that the Strategy Day in July would cover training aspects in relation to roles and responsibilities.

In response to comments received outside the meeting from Members who found the IT system complicated when claiming mileage expenses, the Chair advised Members to persevere and seek assistance from Democratic Services Officers if needed.

Resolved: that the proceedings of the Member Training and Development Working group held on 20 April 2023 be noted and endorsed.

A proposal was MOVED by CC Hennessy to commence the full Authority meetings at 11:00am and this was SECONDED by CC Beavers.  The Clerk held a vote which resulted in 11 for and 14 against.  The proposal was therefore LOST. 

Following debate Councillor Hugo MOVED a proposal to start the meetings at 10:30am which was SECONDED by CC Mein.  The Clerk held a recorded vote and the names of Members who voted for or against the Motion and those who abstained are set out below:

For (21)

G Baker, L Beavers, S Clarke, L Cox, M Dad, N Hennessy, T Hurn, D Howarth, J Hugo, F Jackson, A Kay, H Khan, Z Khan, J Mein, S Morris, D O’Toole, M Pattison, S Serridge, J Shedwick, D Smith and R Woollam.

Against (4)

J Rigby, P Rigby, J Singleton and B Yates.

Abstained (0)

The motion was therefore CARRIED and it was:

Resolved: That

i)    the proposed programme of meetings for the Combined Fire Authority for 2024/25 be agreed as: - 

19 February 2024 (Budget setting meeting)

22 April 2024

24 June 2024         (Annual meeting)

16 September 2024

16 December 2024

24 February 2025 (Budget setting meeting)

ii)   full Authority meetings commence at 10:30am

The Clerk presented a report received on behalf of County Councillor Hennessy which detailed key points raised at Local Government Association meetings of the Fire Service Management Committee, Fire Service Management Commission and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champions’ Network meeting.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

Presentation.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Jon Charters advised that the Service expected thousands of Lancashire residents to travel for Hajj (an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia).  Therefore, a unique safety-focused UK initiative had been developed by Faz Patel, Community Safety Advisor, together with colleagues and partners to support people to enjoy the experience and remain safe during and after their journey back home to Lancashire. 

ACFO Charters introduced Mr Patel to share an overview of the ‘Safety During Hajj Campaign’.  The campaign included a 45-minute presentation which added to religious and cultural information developed by scholars to integrate fire safety information and broader safety information such as what to prepare beforehand, health information and how to keep safe in unfamiliar surroundings amongst a huge volume of people in the locality.  

Mr Patel advised that thousands of British Citizens (which pre-COVID was circa 25,000 people) would be travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and would be moving between various locations.  Many would be travelling from Lancashire and the North West. 

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Lancashire Constabulary, Public Health Blackburn with Darwen Council, Lancashire County Council Public Health and the Lancashire Council of Mosques had been working together to produce information to help people from Lancashire make a safe Hajj.  This was important because in 1997 over 300 people lost their lives and 1,290 were injured in a fire at Mina (the largest Tent City in the world).  The fire was caused by exploding gas canisters of cooking gas and fanned by winds of nearly 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents. 

He presented Members with details of the advice provided which included:

·         Educating pilgrims on how to book a Hajj trip (using the official planning, booking and experience platform, Nusuk, ensuring the availability of necessary travel documents, medical and vaccination information);

·         crime prevention at home before travelling and airport protocols / awareness;

·         general safety during Hajj (keeping valuables safe, fire safety including fire escape plans and being mindful of thieves);

·         keeping healthy (getting plenty of rest, protection from the sun, keeping hydrated, avoiding stress and heat, being calm and patient among the crowds and being careful to avoid any accidents);

·         safety in Mina Tent City (included fire escapes, cooking areas and electrical safety);

·         the need to follow instructions from Saudi Arabia Authorities and details of local emergency numbers.

Mr Patel advised that the presentation had been delivered to 12 places within Lancashire and 58 organisations across the western world with positive feedback received.

CC Shedwick advised that he had attended a Hajj Safety launch event on 2 June 2023 at the Jamia Masjid Ibrahim UK Islamic Mission in Burnley which was opened by Lord Wajid Khan (Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj and Umrah).  He commended ACFO Charters, and Mr Patel for leading this initiative.  The presentation delivered at the event was very informative and well received.

In response to a question from CC Yates, Mr Patel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13/23

The Authority considered the Annual Safety, Health and Environment Report for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service covering the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

As the body with ultimate responsibility for staff health, safety and environmental compliance it was important that all CFA Members were aware of performance in this respect. The report therefore provided a summary of overall progress and performance in respect of accidents and near misses, carbon emissions and environmental performance, health and wellbeing initiatives, together with a look forward to planned improvement areas for 2023/24.

The report summarised the arrangements in place to deliver the Service's Safety, Health and Environment Policy and provided a summary of safety, health and environment performance data.  It included the reporting on occupational safety, health and environmental issues that had arisen during the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

External Audit of HSE Management Systems 2023

Since initial certification in November 2011 surveillance visits had been conducted annually with re?certification every 3 years to maintain external certification of the Health and Safety and Environment Management Systems.  In March 2023 the auditor from British Assessment Bureau carried out a surveillance audit against health and safety standard ISO 45001:2018 and environment ISO 14001: 2015.  The scope for both standards was ‘The Provision of Fire, Rescue and Supporting Services across Lancashire’.  This broad scope encompassed all Service activities with audit visits to Service Headquarters, Service Training Centre, 4 fire stations that operated different duty systems together with several supporting departments.  Continued certification was granted without any non-conformance and 1 opportunity for improvement was identified.  Improvement actions during 2022/23 were identified in the report.

Health and Safety Performance

During 2022/23 there were 80 accidents, 96 near misses and 10 RIDDOR events.  The report provided a summary of the total accident and ill-health statistics for 2023/23.  Comparison against the previous 7 year’s performance data showed an overall downward trend from absence following work related injury/illness however the figures reported in 2018/19, 2020/21 and 2021/22 had seen a smaller number of staff away from work for long term absence which related to safety events which had impacted the overall performance. 

Health and Wellbeing

For the fourth anniversary of the introduction of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) a full review of the process was undertaken.  As a result, the procedure was updated and relaunched along with updated leaflets, pull up banners and a new team of trained TRiM Practitioners.  Group Trauma Incident Briefings were trialled and proved effective.  These were formally introduced in August 2022 and now make up one third of the TRiM referrals receive.  With the cost of living a high priority, a series of articles were run that covered financial wellbeing, promotions for over the school holidays, energy reducing tips and recipes (for cooking together, to help reduce social isolation, to help use less energy and to help food budgets go further).  This year the TRiM team and wellbeing support dog team, along with the CFA Health and Wellbeing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/23

At its meeting held 20 June 2016 the Authority adopted a formal Policy on Dealing with Habitual and Vexatious Complaints (resolution 13/16 refers) which was fair and proportionate, yet which did not prevent genuine complaints from being properly investigated and fair and equitable outcomes promulgated. 

On an annual basis the Clerk and Chief Fire Officer reviewed the status of complainants judged to be unreasonably persistent or vexatious and reported this to the Authority.  In addition, each year the Clerk reviewed the Policy, as now presented.  This year’s review concluded that the effectiveness of the Policy was demonstrable, accordingly the Policy remained appropriate, proportionate and effective to the needs of Members, Officers and staff.

During the previous 12 months there had been no complainants judged to be unreasonably persistent or vexatious. 

Resolved: That the report be noted and endorsed.

The concept of Member Champions was introduced in December 2007.  A review of the areas of focus for Member Champions was considered at the Authority meeting held in June 2017 where new areas of responsibility were agreed.  The current Member Champions and their areas of responsibility were:

·         Community Safety – Councillor Jean Rigby;

·         Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – Councillor Zamir Khan;

·         Health and Wellbeing – County Councillor Andrea Kay;

·         Road Safety – County Councillor Ron Woollam.

Reports relating to the activity of the Member Champions were provided on a regular basis to the Authority.  This report related to activity for the period up to 31 May 2023.  During this period all had undertaken their respective role in accordance with the defined terms of reference.

Member Champions went through the detail of their reports and expressed thanks to the officers who supported them in their roles. 

In response to a question raised by CC Howarth, CC Woollam confirmed that the Service was a proactive partner in the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership.

Resolved: That the Authority noted the report and acknowledged the work of the respective Champions.

The report summarised Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service prosecutions pertaining to fire safety offences and set out convictions resulting from arson incidents which had progressed via the criminal justice process.

An update on fire protection and business support was included in the report to provide Members with information on how the Service was adapting delivery whilst developing the workforce to ensure it kept pace with regulatory changes in building fire safety and improve public and firefighter safety.

Members noted that 3,131 Business Fire Safety Checks that had been undertaken to the end of May 2023, with 532 identifying significant fire safety concerns resulting in follow up action by Fire Safety teams which had resulted in both enforcement and prohibition activity thereby highlighting the significant value of this service. 

The new Fire Safety England Regulations 2022 which came into effect in January 2023 had been introduced under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2003 was being enforced by protection officers.  To support the introduction of the Regulations the Built Environment Team had written to all building owners affected by the legislative changes and had hosted engagement sessions.  The website had been updated to ensure premises’ responsible persons could digitally report critical fire safety defects.  This information was then used to update operational risk information for crews.  From April 2023 all residential buildings (at least 18m or 7 storeys and above) must legally be registered with the Building Safety Regulator.  The Service continued to engage with responsible persons to ensure registration was completed and relevant information available.

Members also noted there were 3 arson convictions during the period. 

Resolved: That the Authority noted and endorsed the report.

The report provided Members with information relating to operational incidents of note over the period 1 April 2023 – 31 May 2023. 

Resolved: That the Authority noted and endorsed the report.

Standing item.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that there had been no complaints since the last meeting.

Resolved: That the current position be noted.

The next meeting of the Authority will be held on Monday 18 September 2023 at 1000 hours at Washington Hall Training Centre, Euxton.

The next meeting of the Authority would be held on Monday 18 September 2023 at 10:30am at the Training Centre, Euxton.

The Authority is asked to consider whether, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, they consider that the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, indicated under the heading to the item.

Resolved: That the press and members of the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, indicated under the heading to the item.

(Paragraph 3)

The Chief Fire Officer advised Members of the detail surrounding a nationwide technical issue with the 999-call system the previous day which had been reported in the press.

Resolved: That the report be noted.