Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillor M Clifford and County Councillor L Parker who was a substitute for County Councillor R Walsh.

County Councillors G Mirfin and J Tetlow were delayed.

County Councillor M Ritson and North West Fire Control (NWFC) Head of Operations K Matthews joined the meeting remotely.

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.

The minutes were moved by County Councillor E Worthington.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the last meeting held on 11 March 2026 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) presented a comprehensive report which provided a clear measure of the Service’s progress against the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) as detailed in the Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027. 

The Performance Committee was asked to note and endorse the report which included two positive and one negative exception.

Members examined each indicator in turn:

1.1  Overall Staff Engagement

Members received an update on staff engagement during the period. From January to March 2026, 17 station visits were carried out by principal officers and area managers as part of a service-wide engagement programme. 40 wellbeing interactions were undertaken ranging from workshops with crews to wellbeing support dog engagements. An extended leadership workshop was held with middle and senior managers, and eight Watch Managers' Forum events took place to keep wholetime and functional watch managers informed of what was happening in service delivery and provided an opportunity to share feedback and be involved in changes. 

Engagement took place regarding improvements to Garstang Fire Station and several offices at Service Headquarters and the Leadership and Development Centre. The Service engaged with staff over topics relating to Service fleet and equipment including thermal imaging and situational analysis cameras, which were being trialled by breathing apparatus instructors. An ‘On the Menu’ online event was open to everyone in the Service to learn about equality impact assessments.

It was noted that the Service has an engagement index which was calculated based on five questions measuring pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration and motivation. In 2025, the response rate was 44% and the engagement index was 69% which was a drop from the two previous survey years (2023 = 74%, 2020 = 79%). The survey results highlighted areas of success as well as areas for development and the feedback was considered by the Service and used to inform planning, as well as being provided to staff to demonstrate that views had been listened to in terms of action taken as a result.

1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime

It was noted that absence was calculated using the cumulative number of shifts (days) lost due to sickness for all wholetime staff divided by the total average headcount strength. This followed the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) reporting methodology.

• Annual standard: Not more than eight shifts lost
• Annual shifts lost ÷ 4 quarters = 2
• Quarter shifts lost: 2.49
• Cumulative total number of shifts lost: 9.85

The agreed target performance level was eight shifts lost per employee per year across all staff. Actual shifts lost for both for 2025-26 was 8.70 shifts lost per employee, 0.70 above target. The negative exception report was due to the number of shifts lost per employee being above the Service target for Quarter 4 (period covered was from 1 January to 31 March 2026).

The agreed target performance level was 2 shifts lost per employee per quarter for wholetime staff. The actual shifts lost for the period for this group of staff was 2.49, 0.49 shifts above target for the quarter.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4-26/27

K Matthews, Head of Operations at North West Fire Control, was welcomed to the meeting by the Chair and provided Members with a summary of North West Fire Control’s performance during Quarter 4 of 2025-26.

Number of Emergency Calls

In Quarter 4, the average mobilisation times to fire related incidents was 85 seconds. This represented a 3 second increase compared with the same quarter last year, but performance remained within 5 seconds of the 90 second KPI.There was a decrease from Quarter 3 in average call duration from to 125 seconds. 

Incoming Administrative Calls

The average call duration for Quarter 4 2025–2026 was 71.3 seconds, representing a decrease of 3 seconds compared with Quarter 3 2025–2026 and a 4-second reduction compared with the corresponding quarter in 2024–2025.

Outgoing Administrative Calls

Due to a loss in telephony reporting data between January to February 2026, the period contained gaps and anomalies within the data set.

Incoming Group Request to Speak (GRTS)

Group Request to Speak were incoming radio message transmissions from Fire and rescue service (FRS) appliances to Fire Control. Supporting crews at incidents was noted as one of NWFC’s core functions. Analysis of Quarter 4 performance indicated that incoming GRTS averaged 69 seconds which represented a 3 second reduction compared with the previous quarter. NWFC continued to monitor performance trends and associated data.

Average Time to Answer Emergency Calls

Based on the available call data, average call answer times showed a strong and consistent improvement trajectory. In Quarter 4, the average dropped to 5.2 seconds, down from 6.8 seconds in Quarter 3. This built on significant year on year improvement from 8.0 seconds in Quarter 4 for the previous year and showed sustained improvements in responsiveness and the continued effectiveness of operational improvements in reducing customer call waiting times.

Calls Not Requiring a Mobilisation

Call Challenges were used by NWFC to ask set questions to decide if an immediate response was required. 98% involved Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) or Gaining Entry for NWAS. Based on the average number of minutes spent travelling to AFAs and Gaining Entry, attending incidents and travelling back to station, data taken over an 8-day period highlighted this time equated to a 30-minute period. Quarter 4 had 3978 non-mobilisations, which equates to £220,421 in cost if one pump had been mobilised to these incidents.

Further data analysed from January to March 2026, indicated a total of 11,042 incidents (42%) were not mobilised to (including above mandatory FRS required scripted calls). This did not include repeat calls. If the same cost model as above was utilised, 11,042 incidents equated to £611,837 for Quarter 4. Call handling times for non-mobilisations were noted as often being more protracted. It was acknowledged these did not create physical savings for partners, however without the call challenge, activities such as training, exercising, community events and inspections would be impacted or would need to be resourced by other means.

Percentage of Shifts Covered

The figure for Quarter 4 was noted as being 79%.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5-26/27

The ACFO handed over to the Prevention Support Officer who presented an update on activities undertaken in 2025-26. It was noted that the Road Thematic Road Safety Group continued to meet every quarter and there were strong links with CFA Member and Road Safety Champion.

Updates were given on the following initiatives:

·         Lancashire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) – LFRS continued to work with partners on the strategy ‘Ambition for Vision Zero’ to reduce those killed or seriously injured on the roads. LFRS had a particular role in the delivery of education.

·         Road Safety Core Prevention Offer – included the Road Sense road safety education programme delivered to Year 6 pupils. The focus was on five key road safety themes selected to reflect Lancashire’s issues with young people: In Car Safety, Pedestrian Safety, Cycle Safety, Be Safe Be Seen, Bus Safety, E-bikes & E-scooters. Positive feedback had been received from schools. Due to the increasing issues with E-bikes and E-scooters, the CFA Road Safety Champion agreed to an additional A5 fun activity sheet being printed to hand out at the end of the session which highlighted the law around these vehicles and fire safety considerations. During the current reporting period, 19,759 Year 6 pupils were recorded as receiving this input, with 593 sessions being delivered, the highest delivery since the package was developed.

·         ‘Wasted Lives’ Young Driver Road Safety Education Programme – LFRS was now the only delivery partner for Wasted Lives on behalf of LRSP. The programme was aimed at young and pre-drivers and aimed to influence behaviour and change attitudes. For the period 2025-2026, LFRS recorded delivery of the programme to 11,081 young people over 97 sessions. Whilst the focus was primarily on delivering in high schools, there had been an increase in the number of requests for delivery to apprentice groups and colleges following the removal of ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ intervention through LRSP. A Christmas Road Safety Campaign was also organised in conjunction with the military at Halton Barracks focused on Lancashire’s Fatal 5 (Speeding, Drugs, Alcohol, Mobile Phones and Seatbelts). Over 90 soldiers attended a well-received half-day session. Statistically, the military lose more soldiers to RTCs than in war zones. Further engagement work had taken place through the delivery of Wasted Lives sessions to both Police and Air Cadet groups, covering pre-drivers and new drivers who might not be in mainstream schools. A project to deliver an adapted Wasted Lives session to Young Farmers groups, including the Crashed Car, continued following its launch in December.

·         ‘The Crashed Car’ – a complement to the ‘Wasted Lives’ provision which used a vehicle from a real incident where a fatality had occurred. During the 12-month reporting period, crashed car use had increased at Mosques during Friday Prayers and work had been undertaken in the Central, Eastern and Pennine areas, alongside the Imams to deliver key messages prior to prayers. This kind of engagement continued to improve, with Lancashire Council of Mosques working alongside the Service to reinforce the importance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6-26/27

The ACFO presented the report. Further to the scrutiny of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by Members of the CFA Performance Committee, the Service was asked to reflect on the suitability of the ‘Fire Engine Availability’ KPIs with particular reference to the On Call (OC) measure.

On the 17 July 2023, Members of the CFA Planning Committee approved the recommendation to combine the two Wholetime (WT) and OC availability performance measures, into a single station-based performance measure (resolution 08/23). Members agreed to change the previous KPIs (3.3.1) WT availability target of 99.5% and the (3.3.2) OC target of an aspirational 95%, into a combined (KPI 3.3) 90% first pump availability target across the 39 fire stations in Lancashire. It was agreed this would be reviewed annually.

Members were recommended to maintain the combined 90% first pump availability target across the 39 fire stations in Lancashire. It was also proposed that the requirement for an annual review be removed.

This ‘Availability KPI’ reported on the combined availability of the primary asset at each of the 39 locations, in percentage terms, whether that was a WT or OC appliance. This aligned with the Response Standard KPI approach which measured 1^st pump response times and gave a true indication of the speed of response and first intervention provided across each of the 39 risk areas.

As such the KPI reported availability by virtue of all first pumps at WT, flexi day crewed and day crewing plus stations in addition to the first pumps at stand-alone OC stations.

At the national level, on-call availability remained a significant challenge, as emphasised by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). Ongoing efforts, both locally and nationally, were focused on addressing these key issues. Within the Service, considerable initiatives were underway to enhance recruitment, training, retention, and the wider use of on-call personnel, all while maintaining realistic role expectations given the limited training hours available each week.

The total availability over 2025-26 was 89.55%, slightly below the 90% target. However, availability had increased over the year with the latest quarter being above the standard:

Quarter 1 – 89.32%

Quarter 2 – 88.58%

Quarter 3 – 89.67%

Quarter 4 – 90.67%

Four months of the year recorded above the standard: April 90.08%, December 90.53%, January 91.78%, and March 90.29%.

The Service KPI change appeared to provide an appropriate balance of oversight and ambition for fire engines crewed by both WT and OC firefighters. The 90% availability performance standard was supplemented by further internal KPIs for use by local managers to drive contractual performance and ensure value for money.

County Councillor A Riggott moved the report which was seconded by County Councillor J Tetlow and all members voted in favour.

Resolved: - That the Committee recommended to maintain the combined 90% first pump availability target across the 39 fire stations in Lancashire.

That the requirement for an annual review be removed.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on Tuesday 15 September 2026 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:          scheduled for Wednesday 9 December 2026

                                                proposed for Wednesday 3 March 2027

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday 15 September 2026 at 10:00 hours in the Main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meeting dates were noted for Wednesday 9 December 2026 and Wednesday 3 March 2027.