Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor S Sidat and County Councillor M Ritson.

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

None received.

Councillor J Hugo raised a spelling error from the minutes on Page 9 of the agenda pack with the amendment being agreed by the Chair.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the last meeting held on the 02 July 2025 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair subject to the agreed amendment.

The Chair reminded Members of the importance of political neutrality within the Performance Committee Meetings to ensure a cohesive approach for the benefit of the Service and residents of Lancashire.

The Chair congratulated the Service on a fantastic HMI report, especially in the areas of prevention & protection, people, and culture.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) presented a comprehensive report to the Performance Committee. This was the 1st quarterly report for 2025/26 as detailed in the Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027.

In quarter 1, three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), 1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime (WT), 1.2.3 Staff Absence Greenbook, and 2.9 Business Fire Safety Checks, were shown in positive exception and three KPIs were shown in negative exception. These were 2.5 ABF (Non-Commercial Premises), 2.6 Deliberate Fires Total: Specific performance measure of deliberate fires, and 2.6.3 Deliberate Fires – Other (rubbish, grassland, vehicles etc).

Members examined each indicator in turn focusing on those KPIs in exception as follows:

KPI 1 – Valuing our people so that they can focus on making Lancashire safer

1.1           Overall Staff Engagement

Members received an update on how staff were engaged during the period.

Between April and June 2025, 15 station visits were carried out by Principal Officers and Area Managers as part of the service-wide engagement programme. In addition, two online events were held with flexi duty officers on the financial outlook.

Forty-seven wellbeing interactions were undertaken ranging from workshops with crews to wellbeing support dog interactions.

Four ‘On the Menu’ digital sessions were held on the following topics: development opportunities for operational and service support staff; supporting staff with neurodiversity; and using social media.

Surveys were conducted in relation to social media use and a new operational welfare unit.

Four in-person workshops were held at Service Headquarters on how to use different apps and tools in Microsoft 365.

The Service engaged with staff over several topics which related to fleet and equipment including duty rig uniform, body worn cameras, and new water tower appliances. Staff engagement over the redevelopment of the Service’s staff newsletter also took place.

As previously reported: A comprehensive staff survey was undertaken periodically to gain insight from all staff on a range of topics which included leadership, training and development, health and wellbeing, and equality, diversity, and inclusion. The feedback was used to shape future activity and bring about improvements and new ideas. The survey included a staff engagement index which was a measure of overall staff engagement based on levels of pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration, and motivation. The current staff engagement score index was 74% (2023).

The engagement index was calculated based on five questions that measured pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration, and motivation; factors that were understood to be important features shared by staff who were engaged with the organisation.

For each respondent, an engagement score was calculated as the average score across the five questions, where strongly disagree was equivalent to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11-25/26

The Chair welcomed Communications Officer, Lucinda Heavyside and Group Manager (GM), Community Protection Manager, Jonny Nottingham to provide the Committee with a presentation detailing the Service’s response to wildfires. Station Manager (SM), Rob Harvey was also in attendance as a Subject Matter Expert in Wildfire.

GM, Jonny Nottingham informed Members that the impact of wildfires was changing and increasing, with a particular turning point being the Winter Hill fire of 2018. The incident began on 28 June, ended 6 weeks later on 08 August, and spanned 18 Square Kilometres of moorland. The Winter Hill TV transmitter, which served six million people in the North West, was located within the area. At the height of the incident, there were over 30 fire engines, 150 firefighters supported by multiple partners, specialist wildfire fighting teams, and Fire and Rescue Services from other areas of the country. The incident consequently led to a number of positive and significant changes with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) leading the way with wildfire response.

Within Lancashire, 14 sites of risk had been identified with some sites known as Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) sites. Specifically, these sites were in Blackburn with Darwen, Chorley, and Bolton (as it bordered with Lancashire). LFRS had joined together with three local councils, using legal powers to protect the environment and prevent wildfire devastation to wildlife and reduce the risks of wildfire on the moors. When implemented in October 2023, the sites covered by the PSPO became the largest in the country with many of the sites crossing into, or bordering, neighbouring Fire and Rescue Services (FRS).

Wildfires were a nationally recognised issue, and a national reporting tool had been adopted. It was noted that nationally, there had been 995 wildfires in 2025 since January which was the highest ever recorded as 2022 had 994. The National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) had developed a working group for wildfires (chaired by the CFO, Jon Charters) and had also developed a wildfire awareness training programme to which LFRS was aligned. The Service had invested in new equipment and appliances to tackle wildfires. LFRS had a burns team and was leading the sector with equipment (haaglunds, drip torches, dams, blowers, and tactics). Wildfire Tactical Advisors (national assets / wildfire officers), were officers trained with additional skills and knowledge, specifically in wildfire tactics.

In terms of response, new tactics had been developed whereby enhanced resources were used at incidents in the early stages. This included a level 2 commander (Sation Manager and above), burns team, and a wildfire officer, where available. There were 14 polygons of risk areas which had been identified and shared with North West Fire Control (NWFC), preventing small fires from becoming wildfires, and which needed to be considered when mobilising appliances to wildfires.

The Climate Change Operational Response Plan 2022-27 was a long-term plan to address the issues prevented by Climate events. Wildfire risks typically increased during warm spring and summer months due to dry fuel loads being vulnerable to ignition.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12-25/26

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on 3 December 2025 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:          scheduled for 11 March 2026

                                                proposed for 8 July 2026

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on 03 December 2025 at 10:00 hours in the Main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meeting dates were noted for 11 March 2026 and agreed for 08 July 2026.