Agenda and minutes

None received.

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.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the last meeting held on 27 September 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that this report set out the current budget position in respect of the 2023/24 revenue and capital budgets. 

Revenue Budget

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s 2023/24 revenue budget had been set at £68.493m.  The forecast outturn position was £68.888m, an overspend of £0.395m; an overspend of £0.594m on non-pay activities and an underspend of (£0.199m) on pay.

The year-to-date and forecast positions within all departmental budgets were set out in the report with major forecast variances of note shown separately in the table below:

Capital Budget

The Capital Programme for 2023/24 was £11.7m, after allowing for the year end slippage agreed at the last Resources Committee meeting. Spend to date was to date was £3.79m which was predominantly on pumping appliances.

Following a review of the current year end forecasts an in year spend of £9m was anticipated. This would lead to total slippage of £2.6m; an additional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/23

The Director of Corporate Services presented the report.  In accordance with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Treasury Management Code of Practice and to strengthen Members’ oversight of the Authority’s treasury management activities, the Resources Committee received a treasury management 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

Treasury management activity was taken within the context of prevailing and forecasted economic conditions. The first half of the year saw the continuation of high levels of inflation. As measured by the CPI, inflation was 10.1% in March 2023. Although the rates had fallen during the year to a level of 6.7% in September this was still above the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) target for inflation of 2%. In addition to high inflation there continued to be strong wage growth. As a consequence, the MPC raised the Base rate several times in the year. The rate on the 1 April was 4.25% which had increased to 5.25% in August.

Many economic forecasters considered that interest rates had reached a peak with the economy showing signs of low growth and the potential of a recession increasing. However, despite this and the Bank of England's expectation that inflation would continue to fall during the year it was not anticipated that there would be a fall in the Base rates in this financial year with the Bank stating that "we will keep interest rates high enough for long enough to ensure that we achieve our goal" (of meeting its 2% target).

A table in the report, now considered by Members showed the latest forecast for interest rates from Arlingclose.

Treasury Management position and policy

The underlying need to borrow for capital purposes was measured by the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), while usable reserves and working capital were the underlying resources available for investment. The treasury management activity was influenced both by the position at the beginning of the year and the plans in year. The position at the start of the financial year was summarised in the report indicating that the level of loans was above the borrowing requirement.  This was the result of the Authority adopting a policy of setting aside additional Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) in order to generate the cash to repay loans either on maturity or as an early repayment. This had resulted in the CFR being reduced but due to early repayment charges it had not been financially beneficial to repay three loans.

It was not anticipated that the new capital expenditure would be funded from borrowing in the year while it was anticipated that there would be some reduction in the level of reserves held.

Borrowing

There had been no new borrowing in the first six months of the financial  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26/23

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented the report and introduced Tom Cousins, Head of Fleet and Engineering who was in attendance. 

The Fleet Asset Management Plan (FAMP) had been refreshed.  It continued to build on a structured approach to the management of operational vehicles, equipment, breathing apparatus and hydrant assets and was designed to support the delivery of the Authority’s Community Risk Management Plan and associated strategies, predominantly the response strategy.  Therefore, the FAMP was key in determining strategic decisions regarding assets and defining how resources were efficiently and effectively utilised. This would ensure that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) vehicles and equipment provided a resilient service to meet the changing needs of a modern Fire and Rescue Service and the communities it served.

Running a modern Fleet was a safety critical operation which 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 regulations on construction, use and roadworthiness.

Whilst the FAMP projected asset replacement over the next eight years, the Plan sets out capital investment requirements over the next four years and would be refreshed over that period in line with risk, to ensure it continued to accurately reflect the operating environment. This approach secured stability in capital and revenue budgets and facilitated the introduction of new technologies through a staged approach. 

The FAMP also covered short to medium term business planning improvement objectives. The Service’s Fleet and Engineering Services department would continue to strive for improvement by maintaining a strong focus on customer care.

Key projects in the 2023-27 FAMP were:

·         Body worn and vehicle CCTV;

·         Battery Road Traffic Collision Tools;

·         Aerial Appliance provision;

·         Replacing Command Support Units;

·         Breathing Apparatus and Telemetry Equipment;

·         A Greener, more environmentally sustainable fleet;

·         Suitable vehicles and equipment to meet the changing risk, in particular that resulting from climate change;

·         Investment in modern firefighting technology, including introducing flow meters and larger diameter hose reels on our Fire Engine fleet;

·         To continue our journey towards being the most innovative Fire and Rescue Service in the country by investing in technology, including drones and the potential for robotics to improve firefighter safety.

CC O’Toole queried whether the larger diameter hose reels meant all connections would need to be changed.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the larger diameter hose reels would only require changes on the lockers of fire appliances.  He added that the changes followed the science in firefighting compartment fires, which continued to essentially centre around high pressure / low quantity of water, had proven very successful for fighting fires in domestic premises.

Running alongside the FAMP, the 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27/23

The Director of Corporate Services presented the report.  The Property and Estate Asset Management 10-year Strategy had been updated to set out the approach for the management of property and estates assets over the medium to longer term.

The aim of the strategy was to deliver property and an estate that supported the creation of positive, inclusive environments that were fit for purpose, encouraged best practice, innovation and continuous improvement and that promoted the right culture to meet the changing needs of a modern Fire and Rescue Service and the communities it served.  The strategy was set over four parts which highlighted the medium to longer term approach, as follows:

Part 1 – Overview of the existing Property and Estate assets

The key functions of the Property Department included all aspects of estate maintenance, estate management, the majority of facilities management services and capital build projects related to the estate.  The strategy included: i) reviewing the team structure to ensure the best service; ii) procurement, appointment and management of specialist consultants to support the services be delivered; and iii) investment in a new computer aided facility management system to enable better information management, improved service delivery and longer-term management of the property and estates assets.

Part 2 – Property and Estates Strategic aims and objectives

There was a need to provide a flexible and adaptable approach to the management of property and estate assets that continued to deliver and improve operational effectiveness while responding to changing risks and resources.  The property and estate assets would be measured against four core objectives to inform the decisions made about revenue and capital budgets and areas of focus:

i)     to provide functional and fit for purpose facilities, constructed, refurbished and maintained to fulfil Service and legislative requirements and standards and to ensure property assets supported skills and training for staff and community resilience, providing suitable training and educational facilities;

ii)    to provide assets that were in optimal locations to achieve Service priorities set out in the community risk management plan;

iii)   to provide assets that delivered better services and efficiencies through collaboration, to deliver best value and engagement with blue light partner agencies, fire service support agency groups and local communities;

iv)   to make the most efficient use of property assets and manage workspaces effectively, efficiently, reding running costs and environmental impact and generating income including strategic rationalisation.

Part 3 – Property and Estates Priorities

While the primary focus was on ensuring property and estate assets met the four core objectives (listed above) the Property Department constantly sought to enhance and improve certain aspects of the property and estate assets for a modern fire service.  However, given finite resources it was necessary to prioritise the enhancements and improvements to be made over the next 10 years which were:

i)     to ensure the estate provided high quality welfare and dignity accommodation as standard;

ii)    to understand the implications on staff and for buildings in relation to decontamination and contamination reduction;

iii)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28/23

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on 27 March 2024 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:    scheduled for 3 July 2024 and 25 September 2024

                                           proposed for  27 November 2024

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on 27 March 2024 at 1000 hours in the Main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meeting dates were noted for 3 July 2024 and 25 September 2024 and agreed for 27 November 2024.

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.

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Members considered a report that provided an update on the various issues which had arisen in respect of the changes to the pension schemes applying to the uniformed members of the Fire Sector.

Resolved: that the current situation be noted.

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Members considered a report regarding an IDRP Stage 2 application under the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure.  The report outlined the facts of the case.

Resolved: That the Committee declined the application presented.

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

Resolved:  that the report be noted and endorsed.