Oral report.
Minutes:
The Chief Fire Officer presented the report. At the last meeting a paper was presented on the progress of collaboration with the Police, building on that and to ensure a common understanding he advised that on 24 April 2018 the Chairman, himself and the Deputy Chief Fire Officer attended a presentation at the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office at Lancashire County Council. The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) advised that he had been considering a range of options regarding whether to pursue taking on the responsibilities of the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) and he would be producing a collaboration options report and making a decision after the pre-election period, purdah.
On 4 May or 8 May 2018 the PCC and his office approved the development of a business case to bring Police and Fire governance together and the Authority was notified.
On 16 May 2018 a clear response was sent by the Chairman pointing out that the detail presented in the options report fell well short and there were flaws in the report which made it difficult to comment. The PCCs response confirmed he would proceed with the formation of a draft business case.
On 24 May 2018 the Chairman confirmed a willingness to inform the development of a business case however, he expressed concerns regarding the capacity of officers as the Service prepared itself for a visit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Service (HMICFRS) particularly given it would be the same people required to contribute to the business case as were preparing for the Inspection.
The CFA position throughout was that it remained confident that the current arrangements delivered the best for Lancashire and it believed that LFRS was already effectively progressing collaborative opportunities within existing structures. For example, effective collaboration was already taking place with Lancashire County Council and the district authorities, working across the county partaking in safe and well visits, early action hubs had been established and there were information sharing agreements in place that supported the most vulnerable members of the public.
Prior to the legal obligation to collaborate LFRS worked effectively with other blue light services: -
· sharing premises with both the Police and North West Ambulance Service;
· responding to medical emergencies on behalf of the Ambulance Service - as part of a National Joint Council and Fire Brigades Union approved pilot which meant taking an extra 600 – 900 calls per year;
· collaboration with the Police and responding on their behalf to gain entry at incidents where the Ambulance Service required access to casualties; and
· using the drone to assist in the location of missing persons.
The Service was also being proactive and a Statement of Intent for enhanced collaboration had been signed with 32 opportunities under consideration, as presented to the Planning Committee. Any new areas of collaboration were considered on a case-by-case basis before the commitment of any resources with any significant capacity requirements referred to the Authority.
The Authority had invested in its property portfolio however, the proposed relocation of Service Headquarters had been put on hold due to the uncertainty surrounding any potential changes to future governance arrangements.
In addition, the Clerk and Monitoring Officer to the Authority advised that the Chairman had written a further letter to the Police and Crime Commissioner on 11 June 2018 to express concerns in relation to the proposed timetable for officer involvement. As far as the Authority was concerned the HMICFRS inspection took precedence. It was also made clear that a data sharing agreement and disclosure agreement would need to be in place before the sharing of any information and these were expected from the PCC. Once draft agreements were received, progress could be made after the inspection. A response had not yet been received and Members would be kept updated.
RESOLVED: - That the Authority noted the current position.