Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor D Coleman.

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.

In response to a question raised by CC Wilkins regarding the non-DFM revenue budget the Director of Corporate Services confirmed that the penalty value of £635k had been re-calculated at the time of repayment and this had resulted in a lower penalty than forecast in the previous minutes.  He presented to the Fire Authority meeting in February that the debt outstanding was £2m and that no allowance had been made for the potential relocation of Service Headquarters.

In response to a question raised by CC Wilkins regarding the level of costs associated with agency staff, the Director of Corporate Services confirmed that it was a small element of the budget which varied depending on what vacancies arose.

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the last meeting held on 29 November 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 January showed a breakeven position.   In terms of the year end forecast the latest forecast showed an overall overspend of approx. £0.1m.  The current forecast took account of the following significant changes:-

• £0.4m purchase of the Water Tower vehicle following Planning Committee approval, as reported at last Resources Committee;
• £0.2m transfer the unspent Apprenticeship posts budget into an earmarked reserve to pump prime future years apprenticeship posts subject to Resources Committee approval in May as part of the revenue outturn reporting;
• £0.1m two ill health fire fighter retirements;
• £0.2m in relation to Retained Duty System (RDS) which had seen a 3% growth in hours of cover/number of staff since the start of the financial year.

The year to date and forecast outturn positions within individual departments were set out in Appendix 1, with major variances relating to non-pay spends and variances on the pay budget being shown separately in the table below:-

As reported to the Authority in February the Government was currently consulting on a “Fair Funding Review”.  The Authority agreed to delegate responsibility for agreeing a response to the Treasurer, in consultation with the Chairman and Chief Fire Officer.  As such the following response was agreed and submitted in line with the consultation deadline of 12 March 2018.

“General Comments

We support the principles that the Government has set for the review, namely that the revised system should be:-

·   Simple

·   Transparent

·   Contemporary

·   Sustainable

·   Robust

·   Stable

Fire Specific Comments

Whilst not part of this consultation we would reiterate our position that the Fire and Rescue Service should not be part of the Business Rates Retention Scheme as we have very little, if any, influence on local economic growth.

We also feel that the system needs to recognise an Authority’s ability to raise council tax locally, reflecting that current council tax levels and taxbases differ widely between individual authorities.  Furthermore we still believe that the council tax referendum principles need reviewing in respect of Fire and Rescue Services as the cost of holding a referendum is completely disproportionate to any benefit received. This is particularly relevant given that the same principles are not applied to Parish councils which in many cases have a higher precept than the Fire Service.

Whilst regression analysis is useful in comparing the outcome of any review with historic spending trends, we do not feel that historic spend is a good indicator of need, hence we do not support the view that the final formula must produce the most accurate reflection of historic spending patterns. We believe the final formula must provide a better reflection of the need to spend, as opposed to the historic level of spend.

Fire and rescue services formula

We concur that the cost of providing the fire service is a combination of many factors, and is driven by risk as opposed to demand. As such we believe any formula needs to focus on fewer key drivers of risk, of which the two largest are population and deprivation.  Whilst other factors do influence risk/costs we believe these are far less important and if required should have a lower weighting in the formula.

We believe that whilst a greater number of factors may provide a marginally more accurate reflection of the cost of providing services the complexity that this adds to the formula does not justify their inclusion, and hence would support a radical rethink to remove some of the adjustments listed, such as Property and Societal Risk.”

It was noted that CC O’Toole did not agree with the statement regarding the council tax referendum.  He advised that this was introduced as a mechanism to control the level of council tax that could be applied by a council.  He also did not agree with the statement regarding Parish Councils which he thought were run very well and seldom increased their precept.

RESOLVED:- That the submitted response be noted.

As part of the Pension Reforms introduced following Lord Hutton’s report into Pensions, a Local Pension Board (LPB) was established in February 2015 to assist the Scheme Manager, Lancashire Combined Fire Authority in securing compliance with the legislation regulations affecting the pension scheme as they affect the Firefighters Pension Schemes.  The Authority delegated to the Director of People and Development the responsibility of complying with the relevant regulations and guidance.

It was noted that the administrative process was being undertaken under a contractual arrangement by the Local Pensions Partnership.  The LPB comprised of four members, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (representing the employees) and two Union officials (the Brigade Secretary and Officers Branch lead FBU) representing the pension members.

When the Board was established it was agreed that the LPB membership would be reviewed once the scope and activities of the LPB became clear.  This was still not the case.  The LPB met twice a year with the Scheme Manager and Jayne Hutchinson (HR Adviser, responsible for pension activities) reporting to the LPB members the current position, issues and actions.  A National Scheme Advisory Board had also been established to provide advice to both the Scheme Manager and LPB.  This body had not as yet provided clarity to the relationship.  Clair Alcock, an LGA employee with responsibility for providing advice and guidance on firefighter pension activities and an adviser/member of the National Scheme Advisory Board, had been invited to attend the LPB to explain the national view of the role and responsibilities of the LPB, to ensure that the LPB was operating effectively. 

Items addressed by the LPB had been:

·        Conflicts of interest

·        Terms of Reference

·        Pension administration including monitoring of IDRP

·        Membership levels

·        Pension Ombudsman/Pension Regulator issues

·        Communications

·        Member knowledge and understanding of the Pension Scheme

Unlike other Pension Boards, the firefighters' scheme had no funding issues to consider.  This effectively limited the LPB relevance and workload.

The Scheme Manager had to ensure the following:

·        Annual benefit information statements were provided to each Scheme Manager

·        Publication of scheme information

·        Maintenance of scheme records

·        Report to the Pension Regulator on any late payments of contributions

·        Establish and maintain internal controls to ensure the scheme was managed in accordance with the rules and legislative requirements.

The delegated Scheme Manager utilised the LPB to report against these requirements and the performance of our sub-contractor and any relevant interaction with both the Pensions Regulator and Ombudsman.  The most valuable interaction was however in respect of communications over Pension issues.

At the most recent meeting the LPB members were consulted over any LPB membership development.  The LPB were of the view that until a more meaningful workload had been determined then no determination should be made in respect of future membership.

RESOLVED:- That the Committee:

(i)    endorsed continuation of the current arrangements; and

(ii)  required the Director of People and Development, as the delegated Scheme Manager to produce proposals for any amendment to the representation on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45/17

Further to the approval of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy in 2017, it was agreed that Members would review the policy in 2018.

The Equality Act 2010 stated that everyone had the right to be treated fairly and equally.  The Act had 2 main purposes, it brought together and simplified all of the existing discrimination law and strengthened the law to further support progress on equality. In the exercise of its functions (including any functions carried out by external supplier/organisation) LFRS must have due regard to:

·      Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.

·      Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

·      Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

These were often called the 3 main aims of the general duty and were detailed in the Equality Act 2010 Section 149.  The Equality Duty was supported by 2 main specific duties which required public bodies to:

·      Publish equality information at least annually.

·      Set and publish equality objectives at least every four years.

As a public body Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) was required to publish equality information to demonstrate compliance with the Equality Duty which it did via the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report.

LFRS had already agreed the following equality objectives:

Our Communities:

·        Support local business’s to reduce the risk of fire and remain compliant within fire safety legislation.

·        Reduce the number and impact of fire and other emergencies to our diverse communities across Lancashire.

·        Develop and deliver a Prevention Service targeting our most vulnerable communities.

Our workforce:

·        Promote equality in our workforce policies and workforce practices.

·        Develop our staff to ensure they can respond competently meeting the different needs of our diverse communities.

The EDI Policy identified individual responsibilities and defined LFRS’ commitments in terms of the following:

• Equality: Fairness, respect and giving people an equal and fair chance of opportunity to fulfill their potential.

• Diversity: Recognising, valuing and taking account of people’s difference, backgrounds, knowledge, skills and experiences.  In the context of this policy it also meant encouraging and using difference to create a productive workforce, celebrate difference and recognising the contribution that every individual can make.

• Inclusion:  Positively striving to meet the needs of different people and taking deliberate action to create an environment where everyone feels respected and able to achieve their full potential.

The Service should also be cognisant of Unconscious Bias.  Psychologists referred to unconscious bias as simply being our natural people preferences, biologically we were hard-wired to prefer people who looked like us, sounded like us and shared our interests; this preference could bypass our normal, rational and logical thinking.

During 2017/2018, all employees have been required to undertake refresher equality, diversity and inclusion training incorporating unconscious bias via the completion of an online training module and all members of staff who are involved in the recruitment and selection of staff have also attended additional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46/17

Report to follow.

The Director of People and Development advised that there was a duty to report on the gender pay gap before the end of March.  In preparing for this requirement our systems had calculated the gender pay gap but when the data was examined a problem with the source data was found therefore, a report was not currently available.

In response to Member concerns and following discussion it was agreed that an extraordinary meeting of the Committee would be called for the following week, 28 March 2018 at 10:00am to discuss this item in more detail and in time to meet the deadline for the publication of the information.

RESOLVED: That the position be noted.

Oral report

The Director of People and Development provided Members with a brief outline on the outcome of the latest recruitment campaign.  It was noted that exact detail and full analysis were still being undertaken to inform future actions. 

The latest recruitment campaign was nearly complete with a tranche of individuals having had their medicals with others about to attend which meant that the individual had been successful in the process, barring any medical complications.

Therefore, there were 72 successful applicants consisting of: 14 from an Retained Duty System background, 16 female and 8 from a BME background.  In addition, a non-uniformed employee had been successful as had an ex-employee who had transferred to North West Fire Control.  Any significant developments or amendments would be reported to a future resources committee meeting.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted.

The Director of People and Development presented the positive report.  OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 were international best practice standards for how organisations managed Health & Safety and the Environment.  The specifications gave requirements for an occupational health and safety / environmental management system, to enable an organisation to control its risks and improve performance. 

In 2011 Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) was successful in certification to ISO 14001 the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems and OHSAS 18001 the Health and Safety Management System standard.  Each year surveillance audits were carried out to ensure that the standards continued to be adhered to and to ensure continuous improvements were made. Every three years LFRS had to apply for re-certification to maintain the standards.

Commencing 6 February 2018 LFRS was audited for six days to continue certification to the above standards. The British Assessment Bureau (BAB) was invited to carry out a re-certification audit in LFRS against the two standards following the initial certification achieved in 2011 and re-certification in 2014.  The scope for both standards was ‘The Provision of Fire, Rescue and Supporting Services across Lancashire’.  This included all operational activity with visits to four fire stations operating different duty systems and Service Training Centre together with a number of supporting departments including Safety, Health and Environment, Corporate Communications, Fleet and Engineering Services and Property.

Continued certification had been granted for both OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001, and Members considered the two audit reports. One opportunity for improvement had been received for each standard “An improvement is planned for LFRS documentation management using the “Sharepoint” system”; it was observed that the SHE documents were version controlled but in other areas some documents did not include full version control”.

As part of the audit process, the auditors identified a number of positive aspects, including:

·        The smooth transition from the old ISO 14001:2004 to the new ISO 14001:2015 standard.

·        The systems were embedded into how we work.

·        Leadership and commitment was displayed in all areas visited/sampled.

·        Extremely knowledgeable and committed staff were interviewed.

·        The systems were continually being improved and were not flat lining.

·        The internal audit plan was thorough and comprehensive.

As part of the audit, a number of additional areas for improvement were identified and it was intended that all these were developed into an ‘improvement action plan’ and taken forward through the Service’s Health, Safety and Environment Advisory Group.

RESOLVED: - That the report be noted.

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

Further meetings are:           scheduled for 26 September 2018 and 28 November 2018, and

                                                proposed for  27 March 2019

The next meeting of the Committee would be an extraordinary meeting to be held on Wednesday 28 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, 26 September 2018 and 28 November 2018 and agreed for 27 March 2019.

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)

The Information Communications Technology Strategy 2018-22 outlined plans and direction for ICT at Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service over the next 4 years.

RESOLVED: - That the Committee noted the report and approved the Information Communications Technology Strategy 2018-22 for internal publication.

(Paragraph 3)

Members considered a report that provided an update on all high value procurement projects/contracts for one-off purchases.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee noted the report.

(Paragraph 3)

The Authority’s insurance programme was due to be renewed on 1 April 2018. Due to the tender exercise carried out in advance of renewals on 1 April 2016, the majority of the policies were under Long Term Agreements until March 2019.

It was noted that the Combined Liability elements of the policies were subject to increases in premium which would breach the Long Term Agreements and therefore consideration was required as to whether to accept the proposed increases or consider a further procurement exercise.

RESOLVED: – That the Committee approved the recommendation as set out in the report.