Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillor David 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.

It was noted that the separate meeting referred to on page 16 had not taken place due to additional information not being available sooner; however, this would be further considered under part 2 of this agenda.

RESOLVED: - The Chairman agreed that the minutes of the last meeting held on 27 September 2017 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The report set out the current budget position in respect of the 2017/18 revenue and capital budgets and performance against savings targets. 

Revenue Budget

The overall position as at the end of September showed an under spend of £0.3m.  Trends were being monitored to ensure that they were reflected in future years budgets as well as being reported to the Resources Committee.  In terms of the year end forecast, it was still early in the year however, the latest forecast showed an overall underspend of approximately £0.8m.

Included within this were the following key areas which had previously been reported to Resources Committee:-

·        £300k underspend due to shortfall in wholetime recruitment;

·        £100k underspend due to delay in the implementation of revised RDS pay;

·        £150k underspend within support staff pay due to apprentice posts budget not being utilised in year – this could be transferred into an earmarked reserve to pump prime future years apprenticeship posts subject to Resources Committee approval in May which was part of the revenue outturn reporting.

The Committee was provided with detailed information regarding the position within individual departments, with major variances relating to non-pay spends and variances on the pay budget being shown below:-

The report set out the Authority's borrowing and lending activities during 2017/18, which were in line with decisions taken in accordance with the Treasury Management Strategy and were based on anticipated spending and interest rates prevailing at the time.

In accordance with the updated CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice (2011) and to strengthen Members’ oversight of the Authority’s treasury management activities, the Resources Committee received regular updates on treasury management issues including a mid-year report and a final outturn report. Reports on treasury activity were discussed on a quarterly basis with Lancashire County Council Treasury Management Team and the Authority's Director of Corporate Services and the content of these reports was used as a basis for this report to the Committee.

Economic Overview

The key economic messages in the period were the increasing inflation, falling unemployment but reductions in the real wages. The Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) index rose in August to 2.9%, its highest since June 2013. This increase was largely due to the fall in the value of sterling following the June 2016 referendum which had led to higher import prices.  The new inflation measure CPIH, which included owner occupiers’ housing costs, was at 2.7%.

The Bank of England made no change to monetary policy at its meetings in the first half of the financial year. The vote to keep Bank Rate at 0.25% narrowed to 5-3 in June highlighting that some MPC members were more concerned about rising inflation than the risks to growth. Although at September’s meeting the Committee voted 7-2 in favour of keeping Bank Rate unchanged, the MPC changed their rhetoric, implying a rise in Bank Rate in "the coming months". Subsequently at the MPC meeting of the 2^nd November the base rate was increased to 0.5%.

In the face of a struggling economy and Brexit-related uncertainty, Arlingclose expected the Bank of England to take only a very measured approach to any monetary policy tightening, any increase would be gradual and limited as the interest rate backdrop would have to provide substantial support to the UK economy through the Brexit transition.

Interest Rate Environment

Short term interest rates continued at the very low levels with the Bank of England maintaining the base rate to 0.25% throughout the first half of the financial year.  However as noted above the base rate was increased to 0.5% in November.

Outlook for Interest Rates

Treasury Consultants Arlingclose Ltd forecast for interest rates issued in November took into account the increase in November. They stated that "The MPC had increased Bank Rate, largely to meet expectations they themselves created. Future expectations for higher short term interest rates were subdued. On-going decisions remained data dependant and negotiations on exiting the EU cast a shadow over monetary policy decisions. Our central case for Bank Rate was 0.5% over the medium term. The risks to the forecast were broadly balanced on both sides".

Borrowing

There had been no new borrowing undertaken in the first six months of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33/17

The Director of Corporate Services presented to Members the Fleet Asset Management Plan (FAMP).  This was the fourth Fleet Asset Management Plan which continued to build on a structured approach to the management of operational vehicles, equipment, breathing apparatus and hydrant assets. 

Running a modern Fleet was a safety critical operation that must ensure employee and public safety. This was achieved through best practice in vehicle inspection, maintenance, operation and procurement. LFRS also ensured compliance to Department of Transport and Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) regulations on construction, use and roadworthiness.

Key projects in the 2018/21 FAMP were:

• Body worn CCTV;
• Battery RTC Tools;
• Ladder policy and specification;
• Replace Command Support Units;
• Breathing Apparatus and Telemetry Equipment.

Running alongside the FAMP, Fleet and Engineering Services department also held an improvement plan, which focused on four key performance areas:

• Customer – building stronger working relations and meeting requirements;
• Financial – achieve efficiency savings and maintain a healthy replacement plan;
• Systems – continued development of asset management systems;
• Development / Growth – invest in staff training and development.

The above, in conjunction with the FAMP, ensured that the Fleet and Engineering Services continued to provide the best possible support to Service Delivery.

CC O’Toole thanked the Head of Fleet & Engineering for the excellent report which he found very informative.

In response to a question raised by CC O’Toole, the Head of Fleet & Engineering confirmed that the Authority used various frameworks such as the Police framework for purchase of the Service’s support vehicles.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Williams, the Director of Corporate Services confirmed the life expectancy of an appliance and that the Authority had an agreed disposal policy for appliances at the end of their life.

RESOLVED: - That the Committee noted the report and endorsed the Fleet Asset Management Plan.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on 21 March 2018 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:           scheduled for 25 May 2018 and 26 September 2018

                                                proposed for 28 November 2018

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on Wednesday 21 March 2018 at 1000 hours in the Main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meeting dates were noted for 21 May 2018 and 26 September 2018 and agreed for 28 November 2018.

The Committee 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)

Members considered a report that provided an update on all contracts for one-off purchases valued in excess of £50,000 and high value procurement projects in excess of £100,000 including: new contract awards, progress of ongoing projects and details of new projects with an anticipated value exceeding £100,000.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee noted the report.

(Paragraphs 2 and 3)

The Director of People & Development provided Members with an update on the development of the Apprentice Strategy and of the current initiatives being undertaken. He explained the proposals had not been fully developed yet, due to uncertainly in the Government arrangements.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee:-

(i)            Noted the report; and

(ii)          Endorsed the actions being developed.

(Paragraphs 2 and 3)

The Chief Fire Officer was not present for this item.

An updated report was provided by the Director of People and Development. County Councillor Tony Martin proposed to accept the financial implications as detailed in the report up to the cut over date of 1 January 2018 which was seconded by County Councillor Lorraine Beavers.

A vote took place at the request of County Councillor O’Toole and Councillor Williams.  On being put to the vote 6 were in favour of accepting the financial implications and 3 against therefore it was

RESOLVED:-  That the financial implications be met by the Authority up to 1 January 2018.