Agenda item

The Chief Fire Officer advised that on 7 February 2017 ACO Russel attended a speech organised by a government think tank, Reform in London.  Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service (LFRS) were one of 35 Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) represented. The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis, Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, gave a 30 minute speech on the “Next Steps for Fire Reform”.  The tone of the speech recognised some progress had been made in improving the FRS but it had to go “further and faster”.  He linked this speech to those from previous years to emphasise reoccurring themes that had still to be addressed which were: Outdated Working Policies; Lack of Diversity; No Independent Scrutiny; and Improving Procurement Procedures.

The lack of independent scrutiny would be remedied by the introduction of a new Inspectorate for the Fire Service looking at efficiency and effectiveness, with particular reference to response and prevention, Value for Money (VFM), understanding demand and future risks, together with its leadership, training, diversity, values and culture.  These areas would be complemented by thematic inspection, the first area being diversity, flexible employment and collaboration.  Inspections would commence this year and be complemented by a transformed peer review process.

Greater transparency and accountability would also be facilitated by the introduction of a new website providing incident and performance data.  It would mirror the police approach including information of Chief Fire Officers’ pay, expenditure, accounts, efficiency plans and workforce composition.

Regarding the Policing and Crime Act he confirmed the new term of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners.  He did not propose a blanket takeover of FRS by these commissioners but did emphasise that a local business case could be made and that FRA were obliged to co-operate in preparing this.  The objection of a FRA to any proposed change would not be enough on its own to prevent a change occurring.  He emphasised the opportunity to make closer and stronger links between fire and police, and for FRA to work closer with Police and Crime Commissioners to get the best outcome for their Communities.

The Minister indicated his intention to work productively with the newly constituted National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), which he viewed as the operational voice of the FRS.  Also mentioned was the Chief Fire Officers Association’s (CFOA) work on peer review, procurement and standards.  There was also an increased emphasis on collaboration and he highlighted best practice with some examples provided.

To provide a consistent standard to test against, the Minister announced his intention to set up an Independent Standards Body.  This would provide guidance and standards on leadership, workforce development, equality and diversity and codify effective practice.  This could be integrated within or affiliated to the College of Policing.

Reference was made to culture and the Adrian Thomas Review which would be considered by Members as a separate item later on this agenda.  Suffice to say, great emphasis was made on diversity and the workforce composition reflecting the communities they served.

The speech reminded the audience of the disparity in the cost of some goods procured by FRS exposed in a recent Home Office Survey.  He intended to extend the ‘basket of goods’ exercise in the spring to include training procurement and facilities management and then to repeat the whole exercise again in the autumn.

The experience in Lancashire had been that we paid below average on 18 of the 24 items.  For 7 items, we were 25% cheaper than national average.  Of the 6 areas where we were deemed above average, only 3 of these exceeded the average by more than 10%.  These could be explained by the increased complexity or high quality of goods we are procuring.  For example, we bought wicking T-shirts which were £2.00 more expensive than cotton to increase comfort and reduce the risk of flash burns.  Desktop PCs were relatively few in number and predominantly reserved for high end CAD and GIS applications, hence they were more expensive.  Our general use of thin client servers was far cheaper than laptops.  Our BA sets cost £1,100 compared to an average of £795 for a basic set.  However, our high tech approach included telemetry that automatically updated information held outside the working area and provided a communications link in emergencies.

The next expected steps for the government were to enshrine its stated direction of travel with a refreshed National Framework, to be published later this year.  This would clarify national expectations and responsibilities.  Under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, FRA “must have regard to the Framework in carrying out their functions”.  If an Authority failed to act in accordance with the Framework, the Secretary then had powers of intervention.

It was worth noting that the Home Office had just instigated a 3 month investigation in Avon Fire & Rescue Authority, which could be an indication of government adopting a more proactive approach in the future.

RESOLVED: - that Members noted the contents of the report.