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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual meeting accessible via MS Teams and YouTube (as a live webcast)

Contact: Diane Brooks, Principal Member Services Officer  Tel: 01772 866720 Email:  dianebrooks@lancsfirerescue.org.uk

Items
No. Item

73/19

Chairman's Welcome and Introduction

Standing item.

Minutes:

The Chairman, CC Frank De Molfetta welcomed Authority Members and members of the press and public to the virtual committee meeting of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority.  He advised that in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic the Government had made regulations that enabled virtual meetings.  This meeting was accessible for Committee Members via Microsoft Teams and for members of the press and public via a live webcast on YouTube.

 

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Jane Hugo from Blackpool Council and County Councillor Margaret Pattison from Lancashire County Council who had replaced Councillor Fred Jackson and County Councillor Miles Parkinson on the Authority.  He thanked both Fred and Miles for their long service and dedication to the work of the Authority. 

 

The Chairman took the opportunity to congratulate former Deputy Chief Fire Officer, David Russel on his promotion to Chief Fire Officer of Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.  On behalf of the Authority the Chairman thanked Dave for his 29 years’ service to the people of Lancashire and wished him well in his new post.

 

The Authority recognised the sad loss of so many people who had lost their lives to the Covid 19 pandemic.

 

The Chairman asked that it be put on record the excellent work that the Service had done and continued to do during this difficult time, not only to maintain a response to emergencies but to work in partnership especially supporting the Lancashire Resilience Forum for the benefit of the people of Lancashire.

 

Mr Mark Nolan, Clerk to the Authority conducted a roll call and Authority Members individually confirmed their attendance.

74/19

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from County Councillors Liz Oades and George Wilkins.

75/19

Election of Vice-Chairman

The Authority is requested to consider the appointment of a Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the term 2020/21.

Minutes:

The Chairman invited nominations for the appointment of Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the term 2020/21 and County Councillor Hennessy was nominated.  No further nominations were received.  The Clerk held a vote and the motion was CARRIED unanimously.

 

CC Hennessy thanked all Members for their support in her appointment. She also took the opportunity to thank Councillor Jackson and County Councillor Parkinson for their work on the Authority and to congratulate David Russel on his appointment as Chief Fire Officer at Manchester.

 

Following a request from County Councillor O’Toole it was agreed that the Clerk would write on behalf of the Authority to Councillor Jackson and County Councillor Parkinson to formally express gratitude and to acknowledge their work on the Authority.

 

The Chairman announced that CC Hennessy would now become the Planning Committee Chairman, CC Khan would become the Audit Committee Chairman and that CC Pattison would take on the responsibility of Health and Wellbeing Champion.

 

RESOLVED: - That:

 

i)             County Councillor Hennessy be appointed Vice-Chairman of the CFA for the remainder of the term 2020/21;

ii)            Changes to Member responsibilities be noted; and

iii)           The Clerk formally writes to Councillor Fred Jackson and County Councillor Miles Parkinson.

76/19

Disclosure of Pecuniary and non-Pecuniary Interests

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.

Minutes:

CC Hennessy disclosed a pecuniary interest in item 9 on the agenda as an allowance was payable by the Local Government Association (LGA) to Members of the LGA Fire Services Management Committee.

77/19

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 315 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the CFA held on 24 February 2020 be confirmed for signature by the Chairman.

78/19

Minutes of meeting Wednesday, 24 June 2020 of Performance Committee pdf icon PDF 384 KB

Minutes:

The Chairman of the Committee, County Councillor Holgate thanked those who attended the first virtual meeting of the Committee which he thought went particularly well.

 

County Councillor Riggott raised for the attention of the full Authority that on page 28 (resolution 22/19 refers) and page 29 under Key Performance Indicator 1.3 for Accidental Dwelling Fires that the reporting of comparable activity from the previous year had been incorrectly stated as a decrease which was on both occasions an increase.  He felt that scrutiny was important and was concerned why this had happened.  In response CC Holgate thanked CC Riggott for his meticulous reading of the reports and asked officers to make sure this typographical error did not reoccur.  The Clerk confirmed that amended Measuring Performance reports would be available on the Performance page of the Service website.

 

County Councillor Pattison referred to the work of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership detailed on page 35 particularly in relation to child pedestrian training at reception, year 1 and year 2 at almost every primary school in the county. CC Pattison had receive a number of concerns from head teachers and parents who (now due to covid-19) were not able to drop the children off in the playground at school and this was leading to increased risk on the roadside.  CC Pattison queried whether the training could be increased to all children.  In response CC Holgate felt it was appropriate to work in partnership with the Police to provide guidance to head teachers and parents to drop off children in as safe a manner as possible.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer reassured Members that this would be on the agenda for the next meeting of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership executive in October.

 

In relation to the overall activity detailed on page 29, County Councillor Clarke was concerned that 47% were false alarms and he had raised the point at the Committee meeting that repeat offenders should be charged a cost for the turnout or face a penalty.  CC Holgate confirmed that the procedures used at North West Fire Control did filter out a lot of false alarm calls and agreed that businesses should be supported to ensure their equipment was adequate particularly at this challenging time as many tried to keep their businesses afloat.

 

In response to questions raised by County Councillor Britcliffe, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the classification of a call as a False Alarm came after attendance when the cause could be determined.  These were most commonly either person error or most predominantly, equipment failure (which was classed in the incident recording system as an unwanted fire signal from an automated fire alarm system).  The Service had not issued a financial penalty to date but this was something that could be evaluated.  The Service did however use the Fire Service Order legislation to mandate premises to make changes to their fire risk assessment and/or equipment and the Service did follow these up.  In addition, if 2 calls  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78/19

79/19

Minutes of meeting Monday, 13 July 2020 of Planning Committee pdf icon PDF 204 KB

Minutes:

In response to a question raised by CC Shedwick the Director of Corporate Services confirmed that consultants had been commissioned to look at a draft business case on the relocation of Service Headquarters and options would be presented to Members at the next Strategy Group for consideration.

 

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Planning Committee held on 13 July 2020 be noted and endorsed.

80/19

Minutes of meeting Tuesday, 28 July 2020 of Audit Committee pdf icon PDF 155 KB

Minutes:

County Councillor O’Toole asked that a thorough update be provided of the money received from HM Government (for covid-19) detailing how and where this had been spent and including what the balance was and what that would be used for.  The Director of Corporate Services confirmed that at the Resources Committee scheduled for the end of the month details would be provided in the Financial Monitoring report.

 

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Audit Committee held on 28 July 2020 be noted and endorsed.

81/19

Reports from Members on Outside Bodies pdf icon PDF 255 KB

Minutes:

The Clerk presented a report received on behalf of County Councillor Hennessy which detailed background information and key points raised at Local Government Association meetings of: the Firefighters Pensions Scheme Advisory Board, the Fire Commission, the Fire Service Management Committee and the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Project which she had attended on behalf of the Authority. 

 

As the Authority was the body responsible for the pension scheme CC Hennessy felt that training by Clair Alcock, Senior Pension Adviser of the LGA, would be beneficial for all Members.  CC Shedwick observed that often when considering budget items there was a lot of information received regarding the pension scheme therefore this training would be very much appreciated.

 

RESOLVED: - That:

i)             The report be noted; and

ii)            The Authority received a presentation by the senior pension adviser of the LGA.

82/19

Programme of Meetings for 2020/21 and 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 113 KB

Minutes:

Members raised concern over the sound quality during virtual meetings.  It was acknowledged that Members were requested to turn off their microphones and videos unless speaking to assist this and that Lancashire County Councillors who were using their home authority corporate lap tops could benefit from the Teams app being available on their devices.

 

RESOLVED: -   That the proposed programme of meetings for the Combined Fire Authority for 2020/21 and 2021/22 be agreed as: - 

 

2020/21

27 April 2020*

15 June 2020* (Annual meeting of the CFA)

14 September 2020

14 December 2020

22 February 2021 (Budget Setting Meeting)

 

*cancelled in line with the Coronavirus Act

 

2021/22

26 April 2021

28 June 2021 (Annual Meeting of the CFA)

13 September 2021

13 December 2021

 

21 February 2022 (Budget Meeting)

 

 

83/19

Executive Board Succession Arrangements

Verbal report.

Minutes:

Mr Warren, Director of People and Development advised that the recruitment process for the Deputy Chief Fire Officer role was a live process following David Russel’s promotion to the Chief Fire Officer of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services. 

 

He confirmed that to ensure there were enough candidates a sector specific consultancy was employed to raise awareness of the role across a whole cohort of suitable people (including those who had taken the sector executive leadership programme and across UK Fire Service contacts with Chief Fire Officers and others at a senior level and networks) to encourage people to participate in the process.  This resulted in 45 people invited to have a confidential interview of which 25 potential candidates took this option before deciding whether to make a formal application. 

 

It was noted that the process would conclude for shortlisted candidates with a Member and Chief Fire Officer Interview panel on Thursday that week.

 

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted and endorsed.

84/19

HMICFRS Covid-19 Inspection

Verbal report.

Minutes:

The Chief Fire Officer advised that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) had confirmed that it was undertaking for all Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) in England an interim review of the sector’s response to the covid-19 pandemic in order to draw out any common learning.  The main focus was identifying what worked well and the contribution that the sector had made.  The assessment was not scored but it would feed into the formal assessment next year.  A narrative report of all England FRS from the HMICFRS was expected to be published alongside the next State of the Nation report at Christmastime. 

 

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the Service had conducted its own review of its response to the pandemic which included a staff survey and this had been fed into the National Fire Chief Council’s review of the process. 

 

In terms of business continuity, there had been a great contribution from all staff who were dealing effectively with the largest incident ever faced alongside a lot of operational activity (such as the wildland fires at Longridge Fell, Darwen Moor and Winter Hill all at the same time and the recent flooding in the north of the county).  He felt it was important to mention that there had not been any known inter-service transmission of covid-19 which was due to the procedures and ways of working that were in place.

 

The Service had looked at how it had supported the people of Lancashire through the provision of significant support to the Lancashire Resilience Forum (for example, through the establishment of temporary field hospitals, undertaking processes for potential body recovery, face fit testing for the NHS and distribution of PPE including to care homes etc).  The Chief Fire Officer was confident that the inspection would confirm that all staff had continued to maintain an effective service delivery and had really contributed to keeping Lancashire communities safe. 

 

The Chief Fire Officer advised that the inspection would take place virtually over the last 2 weeks in September and over the first week in October using data and with interviews with certain staff including the Chairman and himself.

 

In response to a question raised by Councillor Williams, the Director of Corporate Services confirmed that details of the covid-19 pandemic funding received from government  which included a considerable spend on PPE would be reported to the Resources Committee at the end of the month.

 

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted.

85/19

Annual Safety, Health and Environment Report pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report was presented by the Director of People and Development. The Authority considered the Annual Safety, Health and Environment Report for Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service covering the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

 

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 key actions, overall progress and outturn performance in respect of accidents and near misses and carbon emissions, together with a look forward.

 

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 2019 to 31 March 2020.

 

The Director of People and Development was pleased to report that the Service had again seen a very positive year in terms of overall safety, health and environment performance. 

 

External Audit

Since initial certification in November 2011 annual surveillance visits had been conducted with re certification every 3 years to maintain external certification of the Health and Safety and Environment Management Systems.  In February 2020 the auditors from British Assessment Bureau carried out audits against international standards for health and safety 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 included all operational activity with visits to five fire stations that operated different duty systems and to a number of supporting departments.  Continued certification was granted without any non-conformance or opportunities for improvement identified. 

 

Improvement Actions during 2019/20

The report included examples of improvements carried out during 2019/20:

 

·        Reviewed the organisational arrangements for health and safety and environment to meet the revised meeting structures within LFRS.

·        Continued to embed improvements in fitness and the mandatory fitness testing for operational staff.

·        Carried out Workplace Wellbeing Toolbox Talks and wellbeing promotions at our fire stations, service headquarters and service training centre to continue to embed and support staff health and wellbeing.

·        Introduced our Leadership Framework into LFRS.

·        Continued to provide improved PPE for attending operational incidents.

·        Continued to implement National Operational Guidance into service.

·        In partnership with UCLAN and FBU developing best practice to mitigate the potential risks of contaminants on dirty fire PPE.

·        Made improvements and refurbished the fire house training building at Service Training Centre (STC) used to deliver breathing apparatus training to operational crews.

·        Extended our Employee Assistance Programme contract for a further two years.

·        Continued to develop and integrate the Wildfire Burn Team and their skills into Wildfire Operational Incidents.

·        Carried out a self-assessment against the Blue Light Wellbeing Framework promoted by the National Fire Chiefs Council.

·        Introduced the Operational Briefing Note to ensure learning from incidents is communicated effectively.

 

Health and Safety Performance

During 2019/20 there were 88 accidents (73 to LFRS staff and 15 non-LFRS staff), 113  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85/19

86/19

Policy for Dealing with Habitual and Vexatious Complaints pdf icon PDF 253 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Clerk to the Authority presented the report.  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 1 complainant who was judged to be unreasonably persistent or vexatious.  The individual had given cause for concern within the last 12 months as a result of action taken on their part which unequivocally demonstrated that they were a vexatious and habitual complainant and they would be informed in writing of this status in open correspondence from the Clerk.

 

County Councillors Shedwick and Holgate thanked the Clerk for his advice regarding when it was appropriate to respond to a complainant.

 

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted and endorsed.

87/19

Fire Protection Reports pdf icon PDF 152 KB

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented a report detailing prosecutions in respect of fire safety management failures and arson related incidents.  There were 2 successfully completed prosecutions under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and 7 incidents where investigations were ongoing and case files being prepared.

 

Fire protection and business support information considered by Members included: i) fire safety information system and inspection programme, ii) business safety and website; iii) implementing regulatory change and transforming fire protection services; iv) building risk review of all high rise buildings in Lancashire; and v) recruitment of fire protection staff.

 

In addition Members noted that there were 10 arson convictions reported.

 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Shedwick regarding the building risk review (as detailed on page103) the Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the national target to respond to immediate concerns from high-rise residential buildings had been set for December 2021 and the Service aimed to have all the audits undertaken by March 2021.  He confirmed that the Service had already carried out an assessment of risk and had started to inspect those that were most significant.  The Service had increased its pre-determined attendance to 6 premises where there were significant concerns and work remained ongoing to visit all 73 premises by March 2021.

 

CC Hennessy praised the team on their work, referring to the quote by His Honour Judge Medland (as detailed on page 101) that “Fire Safety Teams in the local areas should be commended for not only compiling an exemplary prosecution case file but also the help, support and professionalism shown”. 

 

In response to a question raised by Councillor Williams regarding the Service returning to a business to report on any improvements so the business could reopen, the Assistant Chief Fire officer advised that it depended on hazards in the building.  The shortfalls in the fire risk assessment at the Cornhill Hotel were significant.  They didn’t have a suitable means to raise a fire alarm to residents and holidaymakers would be unfamiliar with the surroundings.  In this type of case the Service used the full weight of the legislation and could prohibit the use of part, or as in this case, all of the building.  Nationally the legislation was used frequently and appropriately and in this case the Judge was in full of praise for the support provided to the Hotel by the Service.

 

County Councillor Beavers stated that it was 3 years since the Grenfell Tower Fire.  She asked that of the 2,000 high-rise buildings covered with dangerous cladding how may were in Lancashire and what was the Service doing to help remedy the situation.  The Chief Fire Officer advised that this was a really significant issue for the Service, not just in terms of high-rise or cladding but the nature and scope would only get broader.  The Service inspected all high rise buildings for aluminium composite material (ACM) type cladding initially however, more cladding types and their methods of construction had come into play  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87/19

88/19

Community Fire Safety Reports pdf icon PDF 385 KB

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented the report.  He highlighted that whilst there had been challenging times during the pandemic, the Service had still attended urgent requests for safe and well home fire safety checks.  In addition, the report demonstrated that the Service had supported local authority partners by undertaking in the region of 3,500 household visits to vulnerable people, many of whom were shielding.  It was noted that the Service had adapted to the new working environment using digital means to remain engaged for example, with young people who had a fascination with fire and to carry out some restorative justice.  In addition, supported by the local authority the Service had seen hugely successful community prevention work around wildfire prevention.

 

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

 

Members asked that the incidents in the report be reflective of the geographical area the incident occurred and not which fire appliance attended.

 

In relation to the Wyre district report (on page 127), CC Kay thanked officers that worked with Sendsafe.  She felt it was important to visit vulnerable children, young people and adults to provide fire safety education.  Councillor Williams agreed with CC Kay on the importance of the work with children and young people and he felt the number of visits had been outstanding. 

 

As Member Champion for Community Safety, Councillor Williams asked that recognition also be given to the prevention safety team who continued to deliver training for vulnerable people.  He advised that 47 adults and 5 children were referred to agency partners in the first quarter 2020 which was a significant amount and safeguarding referrals from 2019 – March 2020 had risen by 81% which showed how effective the training was.  Councillor Williams felt it was an important area of activity where encouraging and rewarding results were achieved.

 

RESOLVED: - That the Authority noted and endorsed the report.

89/19

Member Complaints

Standing item.

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that there had been no complaints or information from any of the constituent authorities since the last meeting.

 

RESOLVED: - That the current position be noted.

90/19

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Authority will be held on Monday 14 December 2020 at 1000 hours – venue to be confirmed.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Authority would be held on Monday 14 December 2020 - venue to be confirmed.

91/19

Exclusion of Press and Public

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.

Minutes:

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.

 

92/19

Re-appointment of Clerk and Monitoring Officer

(Paragraphs 1 and 2)

 

Verbal report.

Minutes:

(Paragraphs 1 and 2)

 

It was confirmed that the Clerk to the Authority had withdrawn from the meeting for this item.

 

RESOLVED:- That the Authority approved the re-appointment of Mr Mark Nolan as Clerk and Monitoring Officer to the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority for a period of twelve months, to the September meeting of the Authority in 2021.