Agenda item

The Chair welcomed the new Members of the Authority to the Performance Committee.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented a comprehensive report to the Performance Committee. This was the 4th quarterly report for 2021/22 as detailed in the Integrated Risk Management Plan 2017-2022.

 

This quarter, 2 KPIs were shown in red which indicated that they were in negative exception. These were 2.4 Fire Engine Availability – On Call Duty System: and 4.2.1 Staff Absence – Excluding On-Call Duty System. KPI 1.4 – Accidental Dwelling Fire Casualties was shown in grey, indicating that it was in positive exception.

 

Members examined each indicator in turn as follows:

 

KPI 1 – Preventing, fires and other emergencies from happening and Protecting people and property when fires happen

 

1.1      Risk Map

 

This indicator measured the fire risk in each Super Output Area. Risk was determined using fire activity over the previous 3 fiscal years along with a range of demographic data, such as population and deprivation. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that the County risk map score was updated annually and would be presented to the Performance Committee in the report for quarter 1 of 2022/23.

 

The standard and ambition of the Service was to reduce the risk in Lancashire – an annual reduction in the County risk map score.

 

The current score was 31,862 and the previous year’s score was 32,448 meaning that the fire risk continued to reduce.

 

1.2      Overall Activity

 

This indicator measured the number of incidents that the Service attended with one or more pumping appliances.

 

Quarter 4 activity 4,478, previous year quarter 4 activity 3,725. An increase of 20.21% over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Incidents attended consisted of a myriad of different types, including special service. The report presented a chart which represented the count and percentage that each activity had contributed to the overall quarter’s activity; most notably was that 48% were false alarms.

 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Mein, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the new attendance policy for Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs), had been introduced by the Service from 1 April 2022 for non-sleeping risk premises during the day (08:00hrs to 19:00hrs), as it was found that 99.5% of AFAs from these building types were false alarms. The impact of the new policy would be realised in Quarter 1.

 

County Councillor Jennifer Mein added that it would be useful to see the national average of targets set for the KPIs for comparison with Lancashire Fire and Rescue.

 

1.3      Accidental Dwelling Fires

 

This indicator reported the number of primary fires where a dwelling had been affected and the cause of the fire had been recorded as 'Accidental' or 'Not known'.

 

It was noted that quarter 4 activity was 203, the previous year quarter 4 activity was 214, which represented a decrease of 5.14% over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

It was stated by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, that the sharp rise in activity in April 2021 coincided with the half term for schools and the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, presenting more opportunities. Activity had plateaued and was essentially the same as the mean average for previous years.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained, in relation to a question raised by County Councillor Nikki Hennessy, that data from accidental dwelling fires was collected and recorded on the national Incident Recording System (IRS) database, by the appliance officer in charge, which included the specifics of the incident. The Service would then extract information from the IRS system to support production of data in relation to the various KPIs.

 

1.3.1   Accidental Dwelling Fires – Extent of Damage (Fire Severity)

 

This indicator reported the number of primary fires where a dwelling had been affected and the cause of the fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental or Not known’ presented as a percentage extent of fire and heat damage.

 

The extent of fire and heat damage was recorded at the time the ‘stop’ message was sent and included all damage types. The report charted a rolling quarterly severity of accidental dwelling fire over the previous two years with each quarter broken down into high, medium, and low severity. Each quarter included the percentage (out of 100%) that each severity type represented of the total, with an indicator to illustrate the direction against the same quarter of the previous year.

 

The latest quarter recorded a combined ‘low’ and ‘medium’ severity of 94.1% which was an increase of 1.1% against the 93.0% recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Severity (Direction against the same quarter of previous year)		Previous Rolling 4 Quarters				Quarter 4 (2021/22)
		Quarter 4 (20/21)	Quarter 1 (21/22)	Quarter 2 (21/22)	Quarter 3 (21/22)
High	ò	7.0%	4.6%	5.1%	7.6%	5.9%
Medium	ò	55.1%	56.5%	51.3%	56.7%	54.2%
Low	Ç	37.9%	38.8%	43.6%	35.7%	39.9%

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that, following feedback from members and a discussion with the Chair, the Service was looking at reverting to reporting incident severity using the Incident Reporting System approach, instead of the complex Cheshire Fire Severity Index with effect from quarter 1 2022/23. Details from incidents would be entered into the IRS which categorised the extent of damage at incidents differently. The system used the approach of logging on the basis of: item first ignited, fire restricted to the room of origin, floor of origin, or beyond.

 

1.3.2   Accidental Dwelling Fires – Number of Incidents where occupants have received a Home Fire Safety Check

 

This indicator reported the number of primary fires where a dwelling had been affected and the cause of fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental or Not known’ by the extent of the fire and heat damage. The HFSC must be a completed job (i.e., not a refusal) carried out by LFRS personnel or partner agency. The HFSC must have been carried out within 12 months prior to the fire occurring.

 

Over the latest quarter, Accidental Dwelling Fires with a previous HFSC increased 2% against the total number of ADF’s over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

	2021/22		2020/21
	ADF’s with previous HFSC	% of ADF’s with previous HFSC	ADF’s with previous HFSC	% of ADF’s with previous HFSC
Q1*	17	7%	26	12%
Q2*	14	7%	21	11%
Q3*	8	4%	32	14%
Q4	18	9%	14	7%

 

*Quarter 1 to 3. The impact of Covid-19 working guidelines during the previous 24 months had led to a change in the partner referral rate, which led to a reduction in the number of Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs) delivered – KPI 1.7, page 21. Although these were now increasing, this had led to a decrease in the percentage of ADFs with a recorded HFSC within the previous rolling 12-month period.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that following the review of Key Performance Indicators by the Planning Committee at the meeting held 07 February 2022, this KPI would be removed when the revised KPIs were introduced in Q1 of 2022/23 (resolution 30/20-21 refers), as it was possible for the information to be interpreted in different ways.

 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Hennessy, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that operational crews and community safety staff covered a myriad of risk factors when carrying out HFSCs, which included the primary causes of fires (cooking, smoking, electrical appliance safety etc). HFSCs were also individually tailored based on risks that staff could see during the visit.

 

1.4 Accidental Dwelling Fire Casualties

 

This indicator reported the number of fire related fatalities, slight and serious injuries at primary fires where a dwelling had been affected and the cause of fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental or Not known’. A slight injury was defined as; a person attending hospital as an outpatient (not precautionary check). A serious injury was defined as; at least an overnight stay in hospital as an in-patient.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer reported that sadly, there had been 2 dwelling fire fatalities in the last quarterly period. Four casualties were recorded as serious and 6 slight. The same quarter of the previous year recorded 1 fatality, 3 serious and 7 slight. Fatal Fire debriefs had been undertaken and learning which might influence future prevention policy would be taken to the Service Intelligence and Analysis Group (SIAG).

 

 

Casualty Status	2021/22 Quarter 4	2020/21 Quarter 4
Fatal	2	1
Victim went to hospital visit, injuries appeared Serious	4	3
Victim went to hospital visit, injuries appeared Slight	6	7
TOTAL	12	11

 

The positive exception report was due to the number of Accidental Dwelling Fire casualties meeting the lower control limit during the month of February. However, the overall figures for the year had increased in correlation with the types of fires in domestic properties and the age profiling of fire casualties.

 

There were no ADFs recorded during February 2022, and although it was unusual to have no casualties during a single month, it was encouraging that there had been two such occurrences within the past 24 months.

 

The average monthly count for the year to date was 3.8 casualties which was an improvement on the previous 5-year average of 4.0 casualties per month. The cumulative casualty figure towards the end of the year was 46. Whilst it was an increase on the previous year, which reported all-time lows during the Covid-19 year, it was a 1.7% improvement on the previous 5-year average.

 

During quarter 4, LFRS remained committed to delivering advice and providing interventions to the most vulnerable within the community. As the County continued to recover from the impact of Covid-19, the Service refreshed its HFSC generation Partnership Service Order and significant work continued to refresh existing partnerships and generate new ones aligned to individual district risk profiles. The Service continued with its successful media campaigns targeted at specific ‘at risk’ groups across a multitude of platforms which would be used again at key times of the year, in line with the Service’s Campaigns calendar.

 

In response to a query from County Councillor Nikki Hennessy regarding the age of fire dwelling fatalities, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that whenever possible the Service did record the information, post-incident, and that this was used to inform future prevention strategy.

 

1.5 (a) Accidental Building Fires (Commercial Premises)

 

This indicator reported the number of primary fires where the cause of fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental’ or ‘unknown’ and included property types which were regulated under the fire safety order such as: offices, retail, and hotel accommodation. Due to the nature of the construction of private garages and private sheds, there were recorded separately in KPI 1.5(b).

 

Quarterly activity increased 62.79% over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Total number of incidents	2021/22 Quarter 4	2020/21 Quarter 4
	70	43

 

In response to a question from County Councillor Nikki Hennessy in relation to the increase in the number of accidental building fires in commercial premises, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that in quarter 4 of the previous year, many premises were closed due to lockdown restrictions and extensive work was carried out with businesses as they began to reopen. The Service advised businesses to test their systems and refresh their risk assessments. Business Safety Advisors continued to work with commercial premises advising them on how to comply with fire safety legislation and regulations to mitigate risks.

 

In response to a further question from County Councillor Hennessy, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the training of operational crews for the delivery of Business Fire Safety Checks was ongoing. As this was a new service, there was not a KPI currently agreed by the Planning Committee, however, data could be reported separately as it became available following the rollout of training across the Service.

 

1.5 (b) Accidental Building Fires (Non-Commercial Premises: Private Garages and Private Sheds)

 

This indicator reported the number of primary fires where the cause of fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental’ or ‘unknown’ and included non-commercial building types: private garage, private shed, private greenhouse, and private summerhouse.

 

Quarterly activity decreased 20.0% over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Total number of incidents	2021/22 Quarter 4	2020/21 Quarter 4
	12	15

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer informed that statistics for accidental building fires in non-commercial premises such as private garages and private sheds were presented separately. This provided a more accurate performance indicator as these types of accidental building fires were often recorded as high severity due to the loss of a building, often before the Fire Service had arrived on scene. It was explained by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer that there was typically a spike in the number of fires in spring due to people spending more time outdoors, although this would dissipate over the year.

 

1.5.1 (a) Accidental Building Fires (Commercial Premises) – Extent of Damage (Fire Severity)

 

This indicator reported the number of primary fires where the cause of fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental’ or ‘unknown’ and included property types which were regulated under the fire safety order such as: offices, retail, and hotel accommodation. Due to the nature of the construction of private garages and private sheds, there were recorded separately in KPI 1.5.1 (b).

 

The extent of fire and heat damage was recorded at the time the ‘stop’ message was sent and included all damage types. The report charted a rolling quarterly severity of accidental building fires over the previous two years with each quarter broken down into high, medium, and low severity. Each quarter included the percentage (out of 100%) that each severity type represented of the total, with an indicator to illustrate the direction against the same quarter of the previous year.

 

The latest quarter recorded a combined ‘low’ and ‘medium’ severity of 78.6%. This was a decrease of 0.5% against a combined severity of 79.1% in the same quarter of the previous year.

 

1.5.1 (a) Severity (Direction against the same quarter of previous year)		Previous Rolling 4 Quarters				Quarter 4 (2021/22)
		Quarter 4 (20/21)	Quarter 1 (20/21)	Quarter 2 (21/22)	Quarter 3 (21/22)
High	Ç	20.9%	18.9%	17.6%	17.9%	21.4%
Medium	ò	69.8%	67.6%	67.6%	67.2%	55.7%
Low	Ç	9.3%	13.5%	14.7%	14.9%	22.9%

 

 

1.5.1 (b) ABF (Non-Commercial Premises: Private Garages and Private Sheds) – Extent of Damage (Fire Severity)

 

This indicator reported number of primary fires where the cause of fire had been recorded as ‘Accidental’ or ‘unknown’ and included non-commercial building types: private garage, private shed, private greenhouse, and private summerhouse. Due to their single room construction, any damage was often classified as ‘whole building’ which had the effect of increasing their severity category outcome.

 

The extent of fire and heat damage was recorded at the time the ‘stop’ message was sent and included all damage types. The report charted a rolling quarterly severity of accidental building fires over the previous two years with each quarter broken down into high, medium, and low severity. Each quarter included the percentage (out of 100%) that each severity type represented of the total, with an indicator to illustrate the direction against the same quarter of the previous year.

 

The latest quarter recorded a combined ‘low’ and ‘medium’ severity of 75.0%. This was an increase of 8.3% against a combined severity of 66.7% in the same quarter of the previous year.

 

1.5.1 (b) Severity (Direction against the same quarter of previous year)		Previous Rolling 4 Quarters				Quarter 4 (2021/22)
		Quarter 4 (20/21)	Quarter 1 (21/22)	Quarter 2 (21/22)	Quarter 3 (21/22)
High	ò	33.3%	51.7%	34.8%	46.2%	25.0%
Medium	Ç	53.4%	48.3%	60.9%	53.8%	66.7%
Low	ò	13.3%	0.0%	4.3%	0.0%	8.3%

 

 

1.6 Deliberate Fires

 

This indicator reported the number of primary and secondary fires where the cause of fire had been recorded as 'Deliberate'. Secondary fires were the majority of outdoor fires including grassland and refuse fires unless they involved casualties or rescues, property loss or 5 or more appliances attended. They included fires in single derelict buildings.

 

Deliberate Fire Type	2021/22 Quarter 4	2020/21 Quarter 4
1.6.1 Deliberate Fires – Anti-Social Behaviour	310	221
1.6.2 Deliberate Fires – Dwellings	13	21
1.6.3 Deliberate Fires – Commercial Premises	32	14

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer stated that the increase in deliberate fires coincided with the lifting of lockdown restrictions. The Service identified areas in the County which had experienced an extensive increase and work had been carried out with the police and local authority partners to prevent further rises in activity.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer added that derelict properties on the high street could be linked to the annual rise in the number of deliberate fires in commercial premises. The Service undertook work with local authorities to identify, triage and secure derelict premises to avoid unwanted access. Derelict buildings presented a challenge since it was unclear if any persons were inside the building when the Service was mobilised to an incident.

 

This was a priority for the Service and work was being undertaken to reduce risk through Business Fire Safety Checks (BFSCs) and arson vulnerability assessments by crews, providing advice to the owners of buildings to reduce the potential of a deliberate fire occurring, or to reduce the impact if it did.

 

Members discussed the risk of fires in derelict buildings and who had responsibility to make them secure. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that the building owners were responsible. The Service had no powers of enforcement when premises were not operating as a business as they fell outside of the Fire Safety Order. He confirmed there was a multi-agency approach across Lancashire through the Community Safety Partnerships. Following a suggestion by County Councillor Hennessy that the CFA Chair be approached for approval to write on behalf of the Authority to local authorities, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the Service had written to Chief Executives who had already pledged their support through the Community Safety Partnership leads.

 

Members queried whether the deliberate anti-social behaviour fire data could be broken down by district. In response, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that this detail could be provided to members wanting it, following the meeting. 

 

1.7      Home Fire Safety Checks

 

This indicator reported the percentage of completed Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSC), excluding refusals, carried out where the risk score had been determined to be high.

 

An improvement was shown if: i) the total number of HFSC’s completed was greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year; and ii) the percentage of high HFSC outcomes was greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer stated that, since moving out of lockdown, the number of completed HFSC’s had increased 77% over the same quarter as the previous year, with the cumulative year to date HFSC’s increasing by 68% against the same period of 2020/21.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that work would be undertaken to review and refresh existing partnerships and make new ones based on risk, to ensure the generation of quality future referrals for HFSCs for high-risk households and those in the community who were most vulnerable. 

 

	2021/22	2020/21
	% of High HFSC outcomes	% of High HFSC outcomes
Q1	66%	71%
Q2	68%	72%
Q3	62%	69%
Q4	60%	74%

 

 

To help illustrate the importance of the Home Fire Safety Check service; properties that had not accepted the offer of a HFSC, but subsequently suffered an Accidental Dwelling Fire, were monitored. During this quarter, 6 properties recorded an ADF after not accepting a HFSC during the previous rolling 12-month period.

 

County Councillor Nikki Hennessy questioned, in relation to HFSCs, whether the Service was contacted to advise when individuals were discharged from hospital to offer them a HFSC. Group Manager Prevention, Kirsty McCreesh, explained that the Service worked and continued to build relationships with health services across the County as it was recognised that there were risks and vulnerabilities related to changes in circumstances. County Councillor Jennifer Mein suggested liaising with Social Care for them to signpost discharged vulnerable individuals to the Service. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that arrangements were in place with a number of preferred partner agencies that could refer directly into the Service. An extensive review would be conducted, during the current year, of preferred partner status organisations alongside Public Health colleagues in Lancashire County Council. It was highlighted by Group Manager Prevention, Kirsty McCreesh that the review would never completely end as it was an area that would constantly change and evolve. County Councillor Andrea Kay asked that it be noted that officers conducting HFSCs did a fantastic job.   

 

1.8      Road Safety Education Evaluation

 

This indicator reported the percentage of participants of the Wasted Lives and Road Sense education packages that showed a positive change to less risky behaviour following the programme; based on comparing the overall responses to an evaluation question before and after the course.

 

Total participants were a combination of those engaged with at Wasted Lives and Road Sense events.

 

An improvement was shown if the percentage of positive influenceon participant’s behaviour was greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

 

To align with the start of the academic year, LFRS staff had been delivering Road Sense events in schools across Lancashire. Feedback had been requested from teachers to enable the Service to evaluate how effective the package and delivery was. During the January to March 2022 period, teachers were asked whether they thought that the session would have positively influenced the behaviour of children regarding road safety. From the feedback received, 93% of teachers recorded that they felt the package and delivery was outstanding in achieving this, with the remaining 7% recording good. This was a 10% increase in those rating the package as ‘outstanding’ on the previous quarter. No sessions were marked as satisfactory or inadequate. Monitoring and evaluation would continue throughout the remainder of the academic year.

 

Further to detail contained in the quarter 4 report, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed the year end delivery totals verbally to Members:

 

·        Road Sense had recorded 6,602 students (Y/E 11,500),

·        Wasted Lives sessions had been delivered to 1,386 students (Y/E 3000 across all 3 upper tier authorities),

·        Safe Drive Stay Alive (SDSA) had been delivered to 650 students,

·        Biker Down had been delivered to 100 attendees over 8 sessions (Y/E 200).

 

Over the three-month period, a total of 8,738 attendees had been recorded (in excess of 14,700 over the year).

 

The Service also continued to engage with people via social media platforms with road safety videos on the ‘Biker down’ page and engagement via Twitter and Facebook.

 

1.9      Fire Safety Enforcement

 

This indicator reported the number of Fire Safety Enforcement inspections carried out within the period resulting in supporting businesses to improve and become compliant with fire safety regulations or to take formal action of enforcement and prosecution of those that failed to comply.

 

Formal activity was defined as one or more of the following: enforcement notice or an action plan, alterations notice or prohibition notice.

 

An improvement was shown if the percentage of adults ‘requiring formal activity’ was greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year. This helped inform that the correct businesses were being identified.

 

Quarter 4 recorded a decrease of 4% against the same quarter of the previous year.

 

	2021/22					2020/21
	No. of Inspections	Requiring		Satisfactory Audit	* % requiring Formal Activity	% requiring Formal Activity
		Formal Activity	Informal Activity
Q1	344	25	211	69	8%	4%
Q2	538	28	336	109	5%	7%
Q3	442	28	240	101	6%	10%
Q4	564	38	394	85	7%	11%

 

*The ‘number of inspections’ count included business safety advice and advice to other enforcement authorities not captured within the formal/informal or satisfactory counts.

 

Members were informed by the Assistant Chief Fire officer, that the Service was the Fire Safety Regulator for non-domestic premises in Lancashire, targeting activity under a risk-based inspection programme.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer highlighted that 564 inspections were undertaken in Quarter 4 with 38 requiring formal activity and 394 requiring informal activity. Formal activity would consist of an enforcement notice or action plan, an alteration notice or prohibition notice. Informal activity would involve the responsible person for the premises being issued a letter outlining all the areas of non-compliance with the Service expecting those areas to be addressed by the next audit. This KPI was used to monitor the effectiveness of the action taken in respect of the risk levels of buildings targeted and enforcement activity.

 

 

KPI 2 – Responding to fire and other emergencies quickly and competently

 

The Service set a 6-minute attendance standard which included 1 minute for call handling at North West Fire Control.

 

2.1.1   Emergency Response Standards - Critical Fires – 1st Fire Engine Attendance

 

This indicator reported the ‘Time of Call’ (TOC) and ‘Time in Attendance’ (TIA) of the first fire engine arriving at the incident in less than the relevant response standard.

 

The response standards included call handling and fire engine response time for the first fire engine attending a critical fire, these were as follows: -

 

·       Very high-risk area = 6 minutes

·       High risk area = 8 minutes

·       Medium risk area = 10 minutes

·       Low risk area = 12 minutes

 

The response standards were determined by the risk map score and subsequent risk grade for the location of the fire.

 

Standard: to be in attendance within response standard target on 90% of occasions.

 

Quarter 4 – 1st pump response decreased 3.80% of total first fire engine attendances over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Year to Date	2021/22 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2020/21 Quarter 4
86.82%	85.48%	88.95%	89.38%

 

Variable factors affecting the response standard, as explained by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, were activity volumes, the availability of fire engines, wholetime availability, on-call availability, and shift systems.

 

2.1.2   Emergency Response Standards - Critical Fires – 2nd Fire Engine Attendance

 

This indicator reported the time taken for the second fire engine to attend a critical fire incident measured from the time between the second fire engine arriving and the time of call. The target is determined by the risk map score and subsequent risk grade for the location of the fire.

 

The response standards included call handling and fire engine response time for the second fire engine attending a critical fire, these were as follows: -

 

·       Very high-risk area = 9 minutes

·       High risk area = 11 minutes

·       Medium risk area = 13 minutes

·       Low risk area = 15 minutes

 

Standard: to be in attendance within response standard target on 85% of occasions.

 

Quarter 4 – 2nd pump response decreased 4.12% of total second pump attendances over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Year to Date	2021/22 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2020/21 Quarter 4
82.58%	83.77%	86.75%	87.89%

 

 

2.2.1   Emergency Response Standards - Critical Special Service – 1st Fire Engine Attendance

 

This indicator measured how long it took the first fire engine to respond to critical non-fire incidents such as road traffic collisions, rescues, and hazardous materials incidents. For those incidents there was a single response standard which measured call handling time and fire engine response time. The response standard for the first fire engine attending a critical special call was 13 minutes.

 

Standard: to be in attendance within response standard target on 90% of occasions.

 

The quarter 4 1st pump response increased 0.50% over the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Year to Date	2021/22 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2020/21 Quarter 4
90.01%	92.55%	89.44%	92.05%

 

Members were advised, by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, that he was pleased with the performance in respect of critical special service incidents which would include flooding and road traffic incidents that could occur in more rural areas and on motorways.

 

2.3     Fire Engine Availability – Wholetime, Day Crewing and Day Crewing Plus

 

This indicator measured the availability of fire engines that were crewed by wholetime, day crewing and day crewing plus shifts. It was measured as the percentage of time a fire engine was available to respond compared to the total time in the period.

 

Fire engines were designated as unavailable for the following reasons:

 

•        Mechanical	•        Lack of equipment
•        Crew deficient	•        Miscellaneous
•        Engineer working on station	•        Unavailable
•        Appliance change over	•        Welfare
•        Debrief

 

Recovery times for crews following a significant incident was also highlighted as a reason for fire engines being unavailable.

 

Standard: 99.5%

 

Year to date availability of 99.26% was a decrease of 0.06% over the same period of the previous year.

 

Year to Date	2021/22 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2020/21 Quarter 4
99.26%	99.34%	99.32%	99.40%

 

 

2.4      Fire Engine Availability – On-Call Duty System

 

This indicator measured the availability of fire engines that were crewed by the on-call duty system. It was measured as the percentage of time a fire engine was available to respond compared to the total time in the period.

 

Fire engines were designated as unavailable (off the run) for the following reasons which include the percentage of off the run hours that each reason contributed to the total. Members noted that fire engines can be off the run for more than one reason; hence the percentages were interpreted individually (rather than as a proportion of the total):

 

·       Manager deficient                   64%

·       Crew deficient                         65%

·       Not enough BA wearers          57%

·       No driver                                 39%

 

Standard: Aspirational Standard 95%

 

Year to date availability 79.14%, an 11.23% decrease against the previous year to date total availability of 90.37%.

 

Year to Date	2021/22 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2020/21 Quarter 4
79.14%	78.53%	90.37%	90.09%

 

The negative exception report was due to the percentage of On-Call (OC) pumps available to respond to emergencies being below the lower control limit during each month of quarter 4.

 

The availability of OC pumps during the quarter was recorded at 78.53% with each month being outside the 83.38% control limit and below the Service’s 95% aspirational standard.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the on-call duty system was a challenge at local and national level and an on-call review would be undertaken within the Service during the year to evaluate all elements of on-call with the ultimate goal of improving availability. Funding had been secured for 3 new additional On-Call Support Officers (OCSO) to take the team up to 10 when fully staffed to help support on-call and help implement changes from the review.

 

Actions being taken to improve performance were:

 

·         Continue with a driven recruitment strategy, utilising a targeted approach to stations that were in exception.

·         A focused look at existing contract alignment whilst ensuring staff were fulfilling existing contracts when under contracted hours.

·         Robust management of higher than usual levels of sickness, which were still an issue on a small number of stations, and Covid-19 was continuing to have a small effect on availability throughout the OC.

·         On-Call Support Officer’s (OCSOs) and unit managers to support Firefighter development to assist with future OIC/LGV development.

·         Support national On-Call campaigns and utilise their recruitment literature and designs.

·         Invest in On-Call through recruitment material and resources.

·         Fill OCSO Team vacancies to ensure all units received the support required.

 

Local action plans for stations with availability of less than 85% would continue to be produced in conjunction with Station District Managers, Unit Managers and OCSOs to tailor the support required to each unit.

 

Area Manager, Mark Winder, highlighted there were a number of challenges regarding the on-call system which included:

 

·         Recruitment;

·         Retention;

·         Training, (i.e.: for a new firefighter to safely wear breathing apparatus could typically take between 6-12 months from joining the Service; with full competency taking up to 4 years dependent on the level of time an individual could commit); and

·         How the service could continue to utilise trained staff who were coming to the end of their career who perhaps were struggling to maintain levels of fitness.

 

He advised that from application to making a positive impact on availability was approximately 1 year with a further 2 more years in relation to driving skills and a further 2 to achieve management skills.

 

A project had commenced to review the system which would be considering:

 

·         Entry requirements;

·         Opportunities for firefighters on the boundaries of other Services to provide cover (including how they would become familiarised to Lancashire’s policies and procedures);

·         Opportunities to work differently – i) was there an opportunity for those who were less able to achieve fitness standards, particularly wearing BA to have a specific role i.e.: driver only? ii) could the turn-in times be changed to respond in an alternative way to specific types of incidents? and ii) could training be delivered locally?

 

In response to a query raised by County Councillor Ash Sutcliffe in relation to the decrease in availability for KPI 2.4 Fire Engine Availability – On Call Duty System and the impact it had on other KPIs, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the most direct causal link would be the 1^st Fire Engine Response Standard as the availability of fire engines directly contributed to responses times. Area Manager, Mark Winder, explained that it was the biggest challenge to availability and why a review of the options and potential solutions for the on-call duty system would be taking place during this financial year.

 

County Councillor Lorraine Beavers suggested that the on-call system follow that of the Territorial Army where employers would be reimbursed for absences, although she acknowledged that it would require a change to government legislation through political lobbying.

 

 

2.4.1   Fire Engine Availability – On-Call Duty System (without wholetime detachments)

 

Subset of KP1 2.4 and provided for information only

 

This indicator measured the availability of fire engines that were crewed by the on-call duty system (OC) when wholetime detachments were not used to support availability. It was measured by calculating the percentage of time a fire engine was available to respond compared to the total time in the period.

 

Fire engines were designated as unavailable (off-the-run) for the following reasons:

 

·       Manager deficient       

·       Crew deficient             

·       Not enough BA wearers

·       No driver                     

 

Standard: As a subset of KPI 2.4 there was no standard attributable to this KPI.

 

The percentage of time that On-Call crewed engines were available for quarter 4 was 76.13%. This excluded the wholetime detachments shown in KPI 2.4.

 

2.5      Staff Accidents

 

This indicator measured the number of staff accidents.

 

The number of staff accidents during the latest quarter increased by 8 incidents against the same quarter of the previous year.

 

Year to Date	2021/22 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2020/21 Quarter 4
75	14	56	6

 

 

KPI 3 – Delivering, value for money in how we use our resources

 

3.1      Progress against Savings Programme

 

The budget to the end of March 2022 was £58.2 million. The spend for the same period was £57.8 million.

 

As a public provision, the Service was committed to providing value for money to the community and it was important that once a budget had been agreed and set, the spending remained within this.

 

The annual budget for 2021/22 was set at £58.2m. The spend for the same period was £57.8m giving an underspend for the period of £0.4m. The variance for the quarter was -0.69%.

 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Nikki Hennessey, it was confirmed that the details of the budget for recruitment was discussed at the Resources Committee.

 

3.2      Overall User Satisfaction

 

People surveyed included those who had experienced an accidental dwelling fire, a commercial fire or a special service incident that the Service attended. The standard was achieved if the percentage of satisfied responses was greater than the standard.

 

Question	Total	Number Satisfied	% Satisfied	% Standard	% Variance
Taking everything into account, are you satisfied, dissatisfied, or neither with the service you received from Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service?	2,943	2,911	98.91%	97.50%	1.45%

 

 

Since April 2012, 2,943 people had been surveyed and the number satisfied with the service was 2,911; 98.91% against a standard of 97.50%; a variance of 1.45%.

 

During quarter 4, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer was pleased to report that 70 people were surveyed and 70 responded that they were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’ with the service they received.

 

Members discussed the Overall User Satisfaction survey and questioned how those who completed the survey were chosen as it was felt that 70 was a small selection of people. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that he would need further details and suggested that information or a presentation could be brought to a future committee meeting.

 

 

KPI 4 – Valuing, our people so that they can focus on making Lancashire safer

 

4.2.1 Staff Absence – Excluding on-Call Duty System

 

This indicator measured the cumulative number of shifts (days) lost due to sickness for all wholetime, day crewing plus, day crewing and support staff divided by the total number of staff.

 

Annual Standard: Not more than 5 shifts lost.

Cumulative total number of monthly shifts lost 8.750.

 

The negative exception report was due to the number of shifts lost through absence per employee being above the Service target for quarter 4.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented Members with the analysis, that during quarter 4, January 2022 – March 2022, absence statistics showed above target for the quarter.

 

Whole-time personnel and Non-uniformed personnel were both above the target.

 

Absence by quarter:

 

Non-uniform – 495          shifts lost = 2.32         Target – 1.25

Wholetime – 1,624          shifts lost = 2.64         Target – 1.25

 

Absence by quarter (Cumulative to date):

 

Non-uniform – 1,801       shifts lost = 8.46 per person Target – 5

Wholetime – 5,444          shifts lost = 8.87 per person Target – 5    

 

 

There were 4 cases of long-term absence which spanned over the total of the 3 months with the reasons being:

 

Grey Book
Reason	Case/s
Mental Health	1
Gastro-intestinal	1

Green Book
Reason	Case/s
Ear/Nose/Throat	1
Neurological	1

 

 

There were 33 further cases of long-term absence which were also recorded within the 3 months:

 

Reason	Case/s
Hospital/Post-operative	7
Mental Health - Stress	6
Covid-19 Coronavirus	6
Musculo skeletal - Other	3
Musculo skeletal - Shoulder	2
Musculo skeletal - Back	2
Respiratory – Cold/Cough/Influenza	2
Respiratory – Asthma	1
Musculo Skeletal – Lower Limb	1
Mental Health – Other	1
Musculo Skeletal – Upper Limb	1
Other known causes (not specified above)	1

 

During the quarter, 21 of the 33 employees returned to duty.

 

Members also considered the actions undertaken to improve performance which included that the Service aimed to continue with:

 

·       Early intervention by Occupational Health Unit (OHU) doctor / nurse / physiotherapist;

·       Human Resources (HR) supported managers in following the Absence Management Policy, managing individual long-term cases, addressing review periods/triggers in a timely manner and dealing with capability of staff due to health issues;

·       Absence management to be included again within the leadership conference to assist future manager’s understanding and interpretation of the policy;

·       Encouraging employees to make use of the Employee Assistance Programme provided by Health Assured and the Firefighter’s Charity.

·       HR to be in attendance at Stress Risk Assessment meetings to support managers and to offer appropriate support to the employee along with signposting;

·       OHU to organise health checks for individuals on a voluntary basis;

·       Support from Service Fitness Advisor/Personal Training Instructors (PTIs);

·       Promotion of health, fitness and wellbeing via the routine bulletin and Employee Assistance Programme.

 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the number of hospital/post-operative absences could relate to the improved ability for the NHS to offer procedures as the impact of the pandemic back-log was addressed. The Service had continued to experience absences due to Covid-19. Stress and Mental Health remained to be a priority to the Service and was being addressed through the wellbeing calendar supported by the Member Champion, the Occupational Health Unit, the Employee Assistance Programme, and the Firefighter’s charity.

 

4.2.2   Staff Absence – On-Call Duty System

 

This indicator measured the percentage of contracted hours lost due to sickness for all on-call contracted staff.

 

Annual Standard: Not more than 2.5% lost as % of available hours of cover.

 

Cumulative on-call absence (as % of available hours cover) at the end of the quarter, 1.07%.

 

 

RESOLVED :- That the Performance Committee noted the content of the report, including one positive and two negative exceptions and endorsed the Quarter 4 Measuring Progress Report.