Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillor A Blake and Councillor G Baker with County Councillor A Riggott attending as substitute.

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 8 July 2025 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Director of Corporate Services (DoCS) advised that this report set out the current budget position in respect of the 2025/26 revenue and capital budgets.

Revenue Budget

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s 2025/26 revenue budget was set at £77.511m.The budget profiled to the end of July 2025 was £25.452m and expenditure for the same period was £25.497m which was essentially breaking even. Both pay and non-pay budgets were showing a small year to date overspend of £0.048m on pay, and a small year to date underspend of (£0.003m) on non-pay activities.

The budget included £0.5m of savings to be delivered through effective deployment of resources and effective management of overtime, whilst the profile of overtime washigher over the summer period, management information showed that overtime had been avoided and therefore the service forecasted that these savings would be met.Overall, a small overspend was forecast of £0.147m, which was just 0.2% of the services net budget, this reflected the higher than budgeted pay awards of 3.2% for all staff compared to the 3% budgeted. There were inflationary pressures that were highlighted in the Future Pressures section, although at this stage these were not reflected in the forecast position as more information would be needed to provide a more accurate position.

The year-to-date and forecast positions within all departmental budgets were set out in Appendix 1, with the major variances of note shown separately in the table below.

Future Developments

A pay award of 3.2% was agreed for both Grey Book and Green Book employees, that was above the 3% increase originally included in the budget. For Grey Book staff, the uplift applied from 1 July 2025 and covered all basic pay rates and CPD payments, with the trainee rate of pay removed from National Joint Council (NJC) pay scales. For Green Book employees, the same percentage increase was effective from 1 April 2025, applied as a consolidated, permanent uplift to all NJC pay points and relevant allowances. The unbudgeted element of this increase would place an additional pressure on the 2026/27 budget.

As of August 2025, the UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate stood at 3.83%, continuing an upward trend from earlier in the year. Forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility and other independent analysts suggest that CPI inflation would average around 3.2% for the 2025/26 financial year,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14-25/26

The Director of People and Development (DoPD) presented the report. The Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Culture Annual Report 2024 – 2025 and Delivery Plan 2025 – 2026 offered a comprehensive overview of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s (LFRS) ongoing commitment to fostering equality, diversity, and inclusion across its operations. As a public sector body, the Service had a legal obligation to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty.  LFRS’s approach was further informed by feedback from inspections in other Services and feedback and recommendations from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue (HMICFRS). The work undertaken by the Service in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), was focused on the identification of risk and undertaking action which would minimise risks and keep people safe. 

Key areas covered within the report included;

Accessibility

LFRS Corporate Communications Department ensured that information was made available in a variety of formats and using multiple channels to effectively engage Lancashire’s diverse communities. 

In 2024-25, the website experienced increased visitor numbers, likely attributable to enhancements in design and accessibility following its relaunch in 2023-24. During the year, an accessibility tool was trialled and subsequently implemented permanently on the website; over a three-month period, features such as screen reader and keyboard assistance were utilised by 2,389 users. In 2024-25, messaging regarding e-bike and e-scooter safe purchasing behaviours was added to the website in various languages, complementing existing fire safety advice available in 26 additional languages to enhance accessibility for non-native English speakers. Fire safety videos were also provided in British Sign Language. Fire safety advice was distributed in accessible formats on social media platforms. Staff continued to receive training to produce accessible social media content. All video content, including public safety footage from emergency incidents, was published with subtitles. Approximately 60 staff members received accessibility training during the year through in-person, online sessions, and a webinar, now available to all employees, to ensure that website and intranet content remained accessible. 

The Corporate Communications Department actively supported LFRS prevention initiatives by partnering with prevention, community fire safety, and operational teams. Campaigns were developed through a structured planning process, focusing on objectives and target audiences determined by data and risk analysis in areas such as cooking safety, rechargeable battery fires, and water safety. Each campaign aimed to encourage safer practices among targeted groups and was evaluated through structured debriefs. In January 2024, the department supported a positive action campaign encouraging women and under-represented groups to explore career opportunities at LFRS. In 2024-25, the department delivered 21 campaigns—including three recruitment efforts—reaching a combined audience of 80,420,611 people, generating 1,265,779 engagements with an overall engagement rate of 9%, compared to an industry average of 5%.

Engagement and Consultation

Social media engagement varied across platforms during 2024-25, with notable increases observed on Facebook (+24%), LinkedIn (+24%), and NextDoor (+17%), contrasted by decreases on Instagram (-28%, attributed to platform algorithm changes), TikTok (-10%, also due to algorithm fluctuations), and X (-75%, resulting from reduced usage). The Service evaluated the demographics  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15-25/26

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on Wednesday 26 November 2025 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:          scheduled for 25 March 2026

                                                proposed for 29 June 2026

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on Wednesday 26 November 2025 at 1000 hours in the Main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meeting dates were noted for 25 March 2026 and 29 June 2026.

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 were provided with an update from the Capital Building Projects Working Group.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

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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 Committee noted and endorsed the report.

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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 committee noted the current situation.