Agenda item

County Councillor S Asghar left the meeting.

AM Tom Powell presented the annual report to members.

Significant progress had been made since the 2024 report, delivering on all of the developments previously presented to the Committee and embedding a mature, evidence-based Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) across Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS).

A Business Continuity Management Group (BCMG), chaired by AM Tom Powell, provided central oversight of all business continuity activity. It had approved the updated Business Continuity Policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), endorsed the creation of an exercise and testing suite, and initiated the development of an LFRS-specific National Power Outage Plan.

Following the introduction of standardised Business Continuity (BC) templates in 2024, all stations and departments had completed bespoke Business Impact Analyses (BIAs) and Business Continuity Plans (BCPs). An annual review cycle was now underway.

The Business Continuity SharePoint system, live since April 2025, served as the single repository for all BC documentation.

A comprehensive Exercise and Testing Suite, developed in 2024, was routinely used to validate operational plans. In November 2024, LFRS conducted its annual service-wide tactical and strategic exercise, simulating a wide-area power loss, which successfully tested escalation, decision-making, and interdepartmental coordination. Building on this, in 2025, the Service was participating in a Tier 1 national exercise, coordinated through the Lancashire Local Resilience Forum (LRF), focused on a pandemic scenario, alongside further tactical and strategic tests before year-end.

Since the last report, there had been 51 BC exercises and 42 BC incidents across the Service. Of the 42 incidents, 9 triggered a tactical plan activation which included; major incidents such as significant fires, appliance degradation due to multiple incidents ongoing at once, and North West Fire Control in fallback conditions due to partial loss of communication methods. The 33 incidents which triggered an operational plan activation included; loss of utilities on LFRS premises such as water, power and heating, station break-ins, system outages and faults on fire alarms within LFRS premises.

A service-wide internal audit of Business Continuity commenced in 2025, providing positive initial feedback on governance, documentation, and exercising arrangements. The final report was pending publication and was expected to confirm continued assurance that the BCMS meets both ISO 22301:2019 and Civil Contingencies Act requirements.

At a national level, LFRS continued to lead the North West NFCC Business Continuity Group and had authored the national Fire and Rescue Service Business Continuity Guidance Document, due for formal NFCC adoption later this year.

During its most recent inspection, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) identified Business Continuity as an area of significant improvement, recognising the Service’s strengthened policies, processes, and governance.

Areas of focus for 2025–26 included;

• Continuous improvement and assurance
• Lessons and learning integration
• External validation and peer review
• National and regional collaboration
• Scenario development and resilience forecasting
• People, training and awareness

Resolved: That members;

(i)            Noted the significant progress made in strengthening LFRS’s Business Continuity arrangements.

(ii) Acknowledged the positive feedback received from HMICFRS and early findings of the internal audit.

(iii) Endorsed the continued embedding of the Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) and the forward exercise programme.