Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from CC Wilkins and CC Stansfield.

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.

Standing item.

ACFO Russel introduced Graham Mossop, Watch Manager at Lancaster Fire Station.  In April 2017 a paper was brought to the CFA that informed Members about the work of the UK International Search and Rescue Team (UK ISAR) and the introduction of a new logistics role that supported the UK Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT).  The UK EMT enabled deployment of a field hospital anywhere in the world and the role of UK ISAR was to support that deployment. 

ACFO Russel advised that WM Mossop had been part of the ISAR team for 14 years with the last 2 years spent training hard to be part of the EMT.  The Service was very proud of the hard work and dedication WM Mossop had shown.

WM Mossop took the opportunity to thank the Combined Fire Authority and the Service Executive Board for their support.  He explained that UK ISAR was a co-operative of Fire and Rescue Services formed over 25 years ago responding to humanitarian disasters and emergencies and providing capacity building across the world.

The UK EMT was a collaboration between: the Department for International Development (DFID), NHS / Public Health England, UK Med, Handicap International and UK ISAR. 

On 17 December 2017 a team was mobilised to Bangladesh to carry out a Medical Needs Assessment, which resulted in the mobilisation of the UKEMT on 24 December 2017.

WM Mossop explained that the mobilisation was to support the rise in Diphtheria cases in the refugee Rohingya community and due to in country medics being diverted to treat patients. The World Health Organisation had requested assistance to further assist UNICEF with a vaccination campaign aimed at vaccinating children between the ages of 6 weeks – 15 years old.

Difficulties included: Travel distances to reach patients as these could be as long as 2 hours each way; procurement of items in the bazaars; waste management; water sanitation and hygiene (WaSH).

WM Mossop assessed: the infrastructure and the treatment centres and highlighted both good and bad practices in relation to WaSH; he liaised with infection control practitioners, generated standard operating procedures and promoted WaSH in line with international operating standards. A simple 4 bin system was introduced to segregate at the point of use, clinical waste, non-clinical waste, sharps and glass. Chlorination of water was addressed with a simpler system using aquatabs being adopted in the health / diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) centres. 

Fire Safety training was given to the Rohingya security guards at all the centres in relation to raising the alarm, evacuation procedures and the use of fire extinguishers.

Training of local clinicians took place which was designed to enable them to continue DAT and associated medical treatments.

The positive outcomes were that; the UK EMT triaged over 3,000 refugees with over 500 being treated for diphtheria; 5,100 refugees across all areas were treated with DAT; antibiotics were provided for mumps and tonsillitis; the UK government donated approximately £2m towards the cost of the massive vaccination programme and over £59m in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62/17

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the CFA held on 18 December 2017 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the North West Fire & Rescue Forum held 24 January 2018 be noted.

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the Audit Committee held 25 January 2018 be noted.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented the report for information.  Members noted that each year at its annual conference, the Local Government Association (LGA) released a conference document which focussed on the current and future challenges of the Fire and Rescue Sector from the LGA Fire perspective. For the current year the document was entitled ‘What will 21^st Century fire and rescue services look like in 2024?’  The document set out its Mission, vision and the rationale for change as well as presenting some ambitions and actions.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented the report for information.  The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 required the Secretary of State to prepare a National Framework for fire and rescue authorities and to keep it under review. 

The National Framework was last published in 2012 and the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, the Rt Hon Nick Hurd MP was consulting on changes cited as needed to embed the fire reform programme and provisions in the Policing and Crime Act 2017.  The Home Office ‘Fire and Rescue National Framework for England’ consultation document was noted.  Consultation began on 27 December 2017 and closed on 14 February 2018.  Given the timescale, the Chairman had considered a response to the consultation on behalf of the Authority and a copy was noted.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented the report for information.  The Policing and Crime Act 2017 set out that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) would inspect and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of fire and rescue authorities in England. In July 2017, HMICFRS extended its remit to include inspections of England’s Fire and Rescue Services. This would assess and report on the efficiency, effectiveness and people of the 45 Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) in England: -

·        Effectiveness: how effective is the FRS at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks?

·        Efficiency: how efficient is the FRS at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks?

·        People: how well does the FRS look after its people?

The HMICFRS’ inspection programme for Fire and Rescue Authorities in England was subject to the approval of the Home Secretary and the consultation to HMICFRS’ inspection methodology closed on 19 February 2018, as now considered by Members.  It was noted that HMICFRS could also undertake further inspections at any time. The HMICFRS’ inspection would be developed with the fire and rescue service and would be designed to promote improvement and to identify all aspects of the excellent work undertaken.  Zoe Billingham was the Lead Inspector for the Fire Service Inspectorate programme, with Matt Parr the Inspector for the Northern Region and David Dryburgh the Service Liaison Lead for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS).  Members noted there would be 3 tranches of inspection, with LFRS being inspected in the first tranche during summer 2018.

An Audit Assurance Team led by Area Manager Tony Crook had been established. The team was based at Service Headquarters and included Station Managers Ian Armistead and Julian Williams and Watch Manager Alex Shaw. The team was responsible for the Service response to the inspection and would support HMICFRS in: the audit and assessment of performance against the Inspection Criteria; overseeing the coordination, analysis and presentation of information to HMICFRS, Service Management Team and the Combined Fire Authority; acting as a key point of contact for LFRS with the inspectorate throughout the entire inspection process and keeping staff informed and updated.

It was noted that LFRS chaired a North West HMICFRS group which aimed to share best practice and consider any lessons learnt from the West Yorkshire FRS pilot. 

It was also noted that the inspection was not aimed at the Governance of Fire and Rescue Services but at tactical delivery, therefore Member involvement would be minimal however, Members would be kept fully informed.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted.

The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England (2012) set out the Government’s high level expectations, priorities and objectives for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA’s) in England.  It placed a requirement on all FRA’s to provide assurance on financial, governance and operational matters.

The Statement of Assurance was considered by Members. It aimed to provide the required accountability and transparency to the people of Lancashire and evidenced that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service continued to deliver efficient, effective value for money services.

This statement sat alongside the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP), Statement of Accounts, the Annual Governance Statement, the Annual Service Plan and Annual Progress Report.  It detailed what measures were in place to assure that the Combined Fire Authority’s performance was efficient, economic, and effective and provided further evidence that LFRS continued to deliver under the expectations detailed within both the National Framework and its own IRMP.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority approved the Annual Statement of Assurance 2016?17 as presented and approved the signing of this by the Chairman of the Authority and the Chief Fire Officer.

The Director of People and Development presented a report informing the Authority that in accordance with the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 a pay policy statement for 2018/19 had been prepared.

The pay policy published data on senior salaries and the structure of the workforce and demonstrated the principles of transparency.

The pay policy statement set out the Authority’s policies for the financial year relating to:

-       The remuneration of its chief officers;

-       The remuneration of its lowest paid employees;

-       The relationship between the remuneration of its chief officers and that of other employees who are not chief officers.

The statement included:

-       The level and elements of remuneration for each chief officer;

-       Remuneration range for chief officers on recruitment;

-       Methodology for increases and additions to remuneration for each chief officer;

-       The use of performance-related pay for chief officers;

-       The use of bonuses for chief officers;

-       The approach to the payment of chief officers on their ceasing to hold office under, or be employed by, the authority, and

-       The publication of and access to information relating to the remuneration of chief officers.

It also included the Authority’s policies for the financial year relating to other terms and conditions applying to its chief officers.

The approval of a pay policy statement could not be delegated by the Authority to a Panel and the Authority’s pay statement must be approved by the 31st of March each year. Any decision under powers delegated to the Authority’s Constitution with regard to remuneration to be taken in 2018/19 would be bound by and must comply with the 2018/19 Statement. The Director of People & Development must be consulted prior to any decision impacting on remuneration where there was any question regarding compliance with the Statement.

In general terms the Fire Authority recognised the terms and conditions negotiated nationally by the National Employers with the National Employees’ bodies for 3 distinct staff groups. These were: i) National Joint Council for Brigade Managers (referred to in Lancashire Fire Authority as Principal Officers) of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (commonly referred to as ‘Gold Book’); ii) National Joint Council for Local Government Services (commonly referred to as ‘Green Book’); and iii) National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (commonly referred to as ‘Grey Book’).

Under the definitions provided for within the Act, the officers included in this pay statement were: the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO), Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO), Director of Corporate Services (DoCS) and Director of People & Development (DoPD). It was noted that the Treasurer’s responsibilities were undertaken by the Director of Corporate Services and the Monitoring Officer’s duties were undertaken by the Clerk to the Authority who was engaged on a contract for services basis. The Fire Authority had delegated responsibility for any local terms and conditions, including remuneration for chief officers to the Appointments Panel/Succession Planning Sub-Committee.

A chosen natural internal benchmark for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70/17

The report set out the Treasury Management Policy and Strategy for 2018/19, which was in line with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)'s revised Code of Practice and tied into the capital and revenue budgets, reported elsewhere on the agenda.

Statutory requirements

The Local Government Act 2003 and supporting Regulations required the Authority to “have regard to” the CIPFA Prudential Code and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice to set Prudential and Treasury Indicators for the next 3 years to ensure that the Authority’s capital investment plans were affordable, prudent and sustainable. This report fulfilled the Authority's legal obligation under the Local Government Act 2003 to have regard to both the CIPFA Code and the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Guidance.

Treasury Management Strategy for 2018/19

The Strategy Statement had been prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice (2011). Accordingly, the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority's Treasury Management Strategy would be approved by the full Authority, and there would also be a mid-year and a year-end outturn report presented to the Resources Committee. In addition there would be monitoring and review reports to Members in the event of any changes to Treasury Management policies or practices. The aim of these reporting arrangements was to ensure that those with ultimate responsibility for the treasury management function appreciated fully the implications of treasury management policies and activities, and that those implementing policies and executing transactions had properly fulfilled their responsibilities with regard to delegation and reporting.

The Treasury Management Strategy covered the following aspects of the Treasury Management function:-

·        Prudential Indicators which would provide a controlling framework for the capital expenditure and treasury management activities of the Authority;

·        Current long-term debt and investments;

·        Prospects for interest rates;

·        The Borrowing Strategy;

·        The Investment Strategy;

·        Policy on borrowing in advance of need.

Setting the Treasury Management Strategy for 2018/19

In setting the Treasury Management Strategy, the following factors had been considered as they might have a strong influence over the strategy adopted: economic forecasts, interest rate forecasts, the current structure of the Authority’s investment and debt portfolio and future capital programme and underlying cash forecasts.

Economic Context

The forecast economic conditions included an expectation that growth in the next few years would be low.  Negotiations on the UK exit from the European Union and future trade relations were causing uncertainty.  The progress and final outcome of these negotiations might impact on economic growth not only in 2018/19 but also in future years.  In his budget in November 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced forecasts of growth which were significantly less than those given in the budget of spring 2017.  Inflation increased during 2017 with the Consumer Price Index rising to 3.0% in September.  This was largely as a result of the impact of the fall in the value of sterling following the Brexit decision and it was anticipated that inflation would fall from this position.  The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England concluded that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71/17

The Fire Authority held reserves to meet potential future expenditure requirements. The reserves policy was based on guidance issued by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). It explained the difference between general reserves (those held to meet unforeseen circumstances), earmarked reserves (those held for a specific purpose) and provisions (where a liability existed but the extent and/or timing of this was uncertain). In addition, the policy identified how the Authority determined the appropriate level of reserves and what these were. The policy confirmed that the level of, and the appropriateness of reserves would be reported on as part of the annual budget setting process and as part of the year end accounting process.

Reserves and Balances Policy

The draft National Framework published in December included a section of reserves. The main components of which were that:-

·        General reserves should be held by the fire and rescue authority and managed to balance funding and spending priorities and to manage risks. This should be established as part of the medium-term financial planning process.

·        Each fire and rescue authority should publish their reserves strategy on their website. The reserves strategy should include details of current and future planned reserve levels, setting out a total amount of reserves and the amount of each specific reserve that is held for each year. The reserves strategy should provide information for at least two years ahead.

·        Sufficient information should be provided to enable understanding of the purpose for which each reserve is held and how holding each reserve supports the fire and rescue authority’s medium term financial plan.

·        Information should be set out in a way that is clear and understandable for members of the public, and should include:-

Ø  how the level of the general reserve had been set;

Ø  justification for holding a general reserve larger than five percent of budget;

Ø  whether the funds in each earmarked reserve were legally or contractually committed, and if so what amount was so committed; and

Ø  a summary of what activities or items would be funded by each earmarked reserve, and how these supported the fire and rescue authority’s strategy to deliver good quality services to the public.

As such this year’s reserves policy had been amended to reflect these draft requirements.

General Reserves

Review of Level of Reserves

In determining the appropriate level of general reserves required by the Authority, the Treasurer was required to form a professional judgement on this, taking account of the strategic, operational and financial risk facing the Authority. This was completed based on guidance issued by CIPFA, and included an assessment of the financial assumptions underpinning the budget, the adequacy of insurance arrangements and consideration of the Authority’s financial management arrangements. In addition, the assessment should focus on both medium and long-term requirements, taking account of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (as set out in the draft budget report discussed later on the agenda). For Lancashire Combined Fire Authority this covered issues such as: uncertainty surrounding future funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72/17

A report was presented to the meeting in December requesting Members to give initial consideration to the Capital Programme for 2018/19-2022/23. The draft capital programme had been updated to reflect additional expenditure requirements associated with the replacement of Preston Fire and Ambulance Station. Additionally a lower requirement was being forecast in terms of officer cars than originally anticipated. Allowing for these changes the revised programme stood at £20.9m.

A full breakdown of the programme was considered by Members.

The majority of the expenditure in the capital programme related to:-

• The on-going vehicle replacement programme;
• Replacement of operational equipment in line with assets lives;
• Building projects; and
• Replacement of ICT equipment in line with the current Asset Management Plan.

It was noted that the full cost of schemes was included in the year in which work was anticipated to start.  

As presented previously no allowance had been made for the potential relocation of Service Headquarters, as this project was due to be reviewed in 2018/19. The programme as presented would need updating if the Authority decided to pursue the relocation.

A further report would be presented to the Resources Committee in June, confirming the final year end capital outturn for 2017/18 and the impact of slippage from this on the programme outlined.

A number of vehicles had protracted lead times in excess of 12 months. Therefore in order to deliver vehicles in line with their replacement timeframes it was necessary to order pumping appliances, water towers and Aerial Ladder Platforms (ALP’s) at least 12 months prior to their planned replacement. As such orders in respect of 3 pumping appliances and 1 ALP scheduled for replacement in 2019/20 would need to be ordered in the new financial year.

Available Resources

The draft capital budget report identified total available funding of £22.4m to be used in the period.

The Local Government Finance Settlement did not include any reference to any other future capital grant and hence no allowance has been made for this.

The final funding for the programme is set out below:-

Summary Position

The capital programme breaks even over the 5 year period:-

The overall programme showed a balanced position and hence the capital programme was considered affordable, prudent and sustainable.

Capital Reserves/Receipts

The table in the report showed the anticipated movements on both capital reserves and capital receipts during the course of the 5-year programme, showing that at the end of the 5 year programme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73/17

At its last meeting in December 2017 the Authority gave initial consideration to the draft revenue budget, authorised consultation with representatives of non-domestic ratepayers and Trade Unions on the draft budget proposals and agreed to give further consideration to the budget at their next meeting on the 19^th February 2018.

Budget Requirement

A draft budget of £54.5m was presented to the December meeting at which time the Treasurer spoke about the uncertainty on pay awards and that since writing the report a 2% pay offer had been made to green book staff. Whilst discussions were still on-going in connection with this offer, and the grey book pay award, it now appeared highly likely that the allowance included in the draft budget was insufficient. As such the draft budget had been amended to allow for a 2% pay award for green and grey book personnel for each year up to and including 2019/20. The pay awards for subsequent years were already included at a higher rate than this and hence had remained unchanged.

It was noted that a pay offer had been made to Fire-fighters in Scotland which equated to a 20% increase over the next 4 years; this included a 6.5% increase in 2018/19, significantly higher than that allowed for in our budget. The forecast whole-time establishment position had also been updated reflecting the latest staffing numbers and recruitment/retirement projections. These were the only changes made to the budget and resulted in an increased budget requirement in 2018/19 of £55.1m. 

Government Funding Settlement

At the time of presenting the draft budget the draft Local Government Finance Settlement had not been published. This was released on 19 December, with the final settlement being announced on 6 February, which reaffirmed next year’s funding as £24.3m.  Next year’s settlement would be the last of the current four-year settlement and in line with this a further funding reduction of £0.5m was anticipated.  There was still no indication of what the settlement would look like after 2019/20. However the Government’s Autumn Budget published in November 2017 indicated that the economy was still struggling, that debt remained higher than anticipated and hence it appeared likely that austerity would continue, albeit at a reduced pace. Furthermore the Government was currently consulting on a Fair Funding Review (as detailed later on the agenda) which would set new baseline funding allocations for local authorities by delivering an up-to-date assessment of their relative needs and resources, using the best available evidence, with the outcomes of this anticipated to impact on the settlement in 2020/21 and beyond. Running alongside this the Government had restated its intention to increase the level of business rates that were retained locally, increasing this to 75% by April 2020. The impact of these changes was unclear at the moment and hence it was assumed funding would be frozen in future years.

Business Rate Adjustments

The draft budget presented in December included an estimate of Section 31 Grants in respect of business rate reliefs, and an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74/17

The report set out details of the consultation paper on a review of Government Funding for local authorities.  It was noted that the consultation was open until 12 March 2018 and that the Authority’s response would look to build on the national response submitted by the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Funding baselines for local authorities, as determined by the local government finance settlement, were based on an assessment of local authorities’ relative needs and resources. The methodology behind this assessment was introduced over 10 years ago, and had not been updated since the introduction of the 50% business rates retention system in 2013/14. Since that time, demographic pressures had affected local areas in different ways, as had the cost of providing particular services.  In recognition of these pressures, the Government last year announced a review to address concerns about the fairness of current funding distributions. The outcome of this review would enable the Government to reconsider how the relative needs and resources of local authorities should be assessed in a world in which they would continue to have greater control over the money that they raise.

The Government had identified a set of principles to guide the work of the fair funding review as: Simplicity; Transparency; Contemporary, Sustainability; Robustness and Stability.

Fire and Rescue Services

The cost of providing a fire and rescue service was driven by risk, rather than purely by demand. As a result many of the cost drivers were unique to this service area.  The current fire and rescue services’ formula consisted of a basic allocation of funding per resident, with adjustments for coastline, population density and sparsity, deprivation, fire risk areas, community fire safety and other area costs. These elements included indicators of both the risk of requiring a fire service response, such as the risk of dwelling fires occurring, as well as indicators of the cost of providing fire service cover, for example as a result of population sparsity.

It was noted that funding for national resilience capabilities, including urban search and rescue and high volume pumps, was distributed outside of the local government finance settlement.

Questions specific to Fire were:-

·        Do you agree these remain the key drivers affecting the cost of delivering fire and rescue services?

·        Do you have views on which other data sets might be more suitable to measure the cost drivers for fire and rescue services?

RESOLVED: - that responsibility be delegated to the Treasurer in consultation with the Chairman and Chief Fire Officer for agreeing a response to the consultation, following publication of the National Fire Chiefs Councils response.

A report detailing prosecutions in respect of fire safety management failures and arson related incidents within the period 1 December 2017 to 1 February 2018 was provided.  There were 2 prosecutions, 1 caution and 2 premises in Blackpool under investigation under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. 

Fire protection and business support information was provided and Members noted that there were 3 arson convictions during the period.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority noted the report.

This report included information for the 2 Unitary and 12 District Authorities relating to Fire Safety Initiatives and Fires and Incidents of particular interest.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority noted the report.

Oral report.

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 23 April 2018 at 1000 hours at Washington Hall Training Centre, Euxton.

The next meeting of the Authority would be held on Monday 23 April 2018 at 10:00am at the Training Centre, Euxton.