Agenda and minutes

Standing item.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised that there would be 2 presentations under:

·        Item 11 – HMICFRS Outcome.  It was noted that there was a revised embargo date of 20 December 2019 meant the item would now be considered under part 2 of the agenda; and

·        Item 14 – Fire Protection Reports.

Apologies were received from Councillors Simon Blackburn and Tony Williams.

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.

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the CFA held on 17 September 2018 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

It was noted that County Councillor O’Toole expressed concern regarding the future uncertainty and influence of the North West Fire Forum given the proposed membership changes from Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the North West Fire and Rescue Forum held on 25 July 2018 be noted.

In response to a question raised by County Councillor O’Toole regarding the increase in deliberate fires the Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that this had been due to the very hot weather during quarter 1 with high levels recorded in the sub-category of antisocial behaviour.  The break in the weather had appeared to have led to a reduction in these incidents which had now returned to normal levels.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Performance Committee held on 13 September 2018 be noted and endorsed.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Resources Committee held on 26 September 2018 be noted and endorsed.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Audit Committee held on 27 September 2018 be noted and endorsed.

It was confirmed that the Member training for online expense claims had been arranged for 9:30am on 25 February 2019 and 1 March 2019 at Service Training Centre, Euxton.  Members would notify Democratic Services of their preferred session.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Member Training and Development Working Group held on 7 November 2018 be noted and endorsed.

The Director of Corporate Services confirmed that a claim of £1.225m had now been submitted to Government under the Bellwin Scheme of Emergency Financial Assistance for the costs of Winter Hill. 

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Resources Committee held on 28 November 2018 be noted and endorsed.

In 2017 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) remit for inspecting all Police Forces in England was extended by the Home Secretary to also include independently inspecting all 45 Fire and Rescue Services in England. They would become Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the 45 English Fire Services would all be inspected over a two year period.

The inspection programme was designed to promote improvement, identify all aspects of the excellent work undertaken by fire and rescue services and to help demonstrate to the public what level of ‘value for money’ service their Fire and Rescue Service was delivering.

The inspection was focused primarily on three core areas; efficiency, effectiveness and people. Each area would be graded as: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) was allocated in the first tranche of 15 Fire and Rescue Services to be inspected and was consequently inspected week commencing 9^th ? 13^th July 2018.

The HMICFRS reports for LFRS and all Services inspected within tranche one were initially expected to be published on 6 December 2018 which had been delayed to 14 December 2018 and had now been further delayed to 20 December 2018.  It was agreed therefore that Deputy Chief Fire Officer Johnston would provide an update to Members under the confidential part of this agenda.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted and endorsed.

The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England (2018) set out the Government’s high level expectations, priorities and objectives for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA’s) in England.  Included within the framework was the 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 our communities and the Government 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.

It was noted that the requirement to produce this report was a legacy of the Department for Communities and Local Government and that it may transpire in time that the Home Office would utilise the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services to provide this assurance.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority approved the Annual Statement of Assurance 2017?18 as presented and approved the signing of this by the Chairman of the Authority and the Chief Fire Officer.

In December 2007 the Authority introduced the ‘Champion’ role and allocated a notional budget per Member in respect of 4 subject areas.  These positions were currently filled by:

·        Community Safety – County Councillor Mark Perks;

·        Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – Councillor Zamir Khan;

·        Health and Wellbeing – County Councillor Tony Martin;

·        Road Safety – Councillor Fred Jackson.

Reports relating to the activity of the Member Champions were provided on a quarterly basis to the Authority.  This report related to activity for the period up to December 2018.  During this period all have undertaken their respective role in accordance with the defined terms of reference.

Community Safety

County Councillor Perks presented his section of the report.  It was noted that the Age Safe Group had a planning meeting scheduled in January to confirm the activities for 2019 and were currently helping to develop the Winter Safety Campaign to run from January to March 2019 with the focus on fuel poverty and reaching out to LFRS for advice and help. The Dementia Task Group had continued to provide joint partnership Dementia Friends Sessions with Lancashire Police and were currently considering venues for the next event.   County Councillor Perks was still involved in attending fire safety meetings and had attended home visits with community fire safety staff.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Councillor Zamir Khan presented his section of the report. The Service celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, with a dress the desk competition, which raised awareness and understanding about the festival. As part of our fundraising work for George House Trust, the Trust ran a HIV awareness Training Session, the purpose of which was to provide some basic knowledge around HIV and its effects on staff.  Dyslexia Awareness week was 1-7 October 2018 and this was an opportunity to launch a new policy and the opportunities to support staff.

Health and Wellbeing

County Councillor Tony Martin presented his section of the report.  He supported the launch of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) which was introduced into the Service in May this year. The TRiM Practitioners were trained volunteers who had pledged to support peers by providing person-centered structured support in a safe environment where staff could feel comfortable discussing the impact a traumatic incident was having on their mental/physical health. TRiM Practitioners were not counsellors or therapists, but understood confidentiality and were able to listen to what staff had to say and they offered practical advice and assistance and signposted staff to services which could support them. The next steps were to fully embed TRiM support across the service and to enhance the wider Peer Supporter roles to support staff who were finding it difficult and not coping as well as they usually did.

County Councillor Martin advised that he would like to talk to officers further to look at the impact of the large fires (such as the Winter Hill incident) on the wildlife and environment.

Road Safety

Councillor Fred Jackson presented his section of the report.  He advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55/18

A report detailing prosecutions in respect of fire safety management failures and arson related incidents within the period 1 September 2018 to 30 November 2018 was provided.  There were 3 current prosecutions awaiting trial and 3 prosecution cases being prepared.

Fire protection and business support information included that LFRS now had 11 registered Primary Authority Scheme partners and Members noted that there were 4 arson convictions during the period.

AM Norman gave a presentation to Members on the work of the Incident Intelligence Officer and the subsequent impact on operations including pictures taken from the drone, using thermal imagery as necessary to assist the incident commander to decide whether firefighters could be effectively deployed.  In addition, AM Norman presented information on the arson conviction contained in the report that involved a serving prisoner.

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Nikki Hennessy, AM Norman confirmed that the benchmark for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider taking a case to trial was that the damage had to be above £5,000 or that other person’s lives were put in danger.  Given the value of goods in a prison cell was less than £5,000 the CPS determined it was not worth pursuing.  However without prosecution had meant a rise in number of these incidents at Lancaster Farms Prison and Garth and Wymott prisons which had a cumulative cost to the Service.

This conviction sent a clear message that cell fires would not be tolerated and could result in an additional prison sentence.  Since this conviction, fires at HMP Lancaster Farms had reduced dramatically as had incidents at other prisons across Lancashire and work continued with other prisons and Police departments to encourage any further cases being progressed to court.

In relation to current prosecutions, County Councillor Holgate queried whether the pre-trial preparation hearing took place at Preston Crown Court on 7 December 2018 and the Deputy Chief Fire Officer agreed to provide an update after the meeting.

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.

County Councillor Hennessy expressed thanks to those involved in the local community safety activities in South Ribble and particularly valued the Bright Sparx campaign which highlighted the dangers of fireworks and the consequences associated with them.

RESOLVED: -  That the Authority noted and endorsed 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 18 February 2019 at 1000 hours at Washington Hall Training Centre, Euxton.

The next meeting of the Authority would be held on Monday 18 February 2019 at 10:00am at the Training Centre, Euxton.

The Chief Fire Officer advised that a letter addressed to the Chairman had been received from the Police and Crime Commissioner on 14 December 2018 requesting a meeting.  The letter was in response to a letter sent to him on 30 August 2018 (which had been confirmed as received on 31 August 2018 and) which had been resent on 26 November 2018. 

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the Service continued to work in collaboration with partners including other Blue Light organisations in order to deliver the most effective and efficient services. The workstreams identified by the Blue Light Collaboration Project with Lancashire Constabulary continued, with significant projects reported to the Planning Committee for a decision.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted and endorsed.

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 Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the final reports were initially expected on 6 December 2018 this had been delayed to the following week and subsequently delayed further to 20 December 2018 which had meant the discussion was moved into part 2 of today’s agenda. 

Members were updated on the Inspection results which were under embargo until 20 December 2018.  Once published the results would be available on the HMICFRS website:

https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/lancashire-fire-and-rescue-service-report-2018-19.pdf

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted and endorsed.