Agenda item

The Authority considered the year end performance information which was set against Service Key Performance Indicators.  In addition, Members were updated on the road safety initiatives carried out over the last 12 months across the County.  It was noted that performance management information was normally considered by the Performance Committee, however in light of the changes to the Authority following County Council Elections it had been agreed to present the year end performance for information to the full Authority.  The summary of the full year’s performance within Lancashire was highlighted in Appendix 1, Measuring Progress report, as now presented. 

CC Britcliffe asked for clarification that his understanding of why the Performance Committee meeting was cancelled was because of the General Election and not because of the County Council elections.  As a Member of the Performance Committee he would have attended the meeting given he had been re-appointed and re-selected as an Authority Member.   CC Holgate as Chairman of the Performance Committee confirmed he had determined that the meeting be cancelled in case of poor attendance due to the General Elections and on the understanding that there was a discussion at this meeting.  CC Britcliffe asked for clarification from the Clerk that he was considered to be a Member of this Authority on 8 June 2017.  The Clerk agreed to clarify this separately outside the meeting.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service had achieved its best ever performance results and asked that his gratitude for the efforts of all staff within the Service be placed on record.

He highlighted that: -

·        There had been a 10% reduction in accidental fires in people’s homes over the previous year, equating to almost 100 fewer fires, and a 24% reduction than there was 5 years ago;

·        The number of people killed within dwelling fires had fallen by half of that recorded 5 years ago, and these were at their lowest since 2005/06;

·        Fire within buildings (other than dwellings) were at an all-time low and had reduced by 25% over the last 5 years;

·        Similarly, deliberate secondary fires, which were fires related to anti-social behaviour, were at a 10 year low, and had reduced by 72% over that time.

·        Accidents to staff continue to decrease with 2016/17 recording one of the lowest counts over the last 10 years.

In response to a question raised by CC Hennessy in relation to Exception Report 2.1.1, ‘Critical Fire Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance’ the Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that this indicator had been in exception all year and that there was a link between the call handling time and the time of response.  The actions taken to improve performance included that the Heads of Service Delivery monitored firefighter performance and at the last meeting of the Committee the Head of North West Fire Control (NWFC) had attended to answer Member questions.  Assurances were given that NWFC data was not directly comparable with the Service’s data, new systems had been added and there had been a number of external changes.  The Committee requested the Head of North West Fire Control provide a plan of action report to a future meeting.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer wanted to recognise the professionalism of NWFC in the provision of the best service they could and confirmed that he would be inviting representatives to attend Performance Committee meetings every 6 months to discuss this issue.  CC Shedwick asked that the Committee also look at the training progression of new control staff.  CC olHol

Holgate, Chairman of the Performance Committee invited all Members to attend any future meetings of the Committee as observers and he would welcome their participation in discussion and debate.

For the benefit of new Members, CC O’Toole explained the background and membership of the North West Fire and Rescue Forum.  He found it disturbing that call handling performance continued to be below the agreed standard and requested that the Authority’s Members on the Forum provide regular updates on this to the Authority.

The Service continued to work with partners in reducing the numbers of road traffic collisions and improving outcomes. Through a partnership approach Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service had been working to improve road safety outcomes and work with partners to deliver various initiatives which were outlined in Appendix 2, as now presented.

Councillor Jackson as Road Safety Champion appreciated the dedication of staff to road safety.  The Service was now very much a part of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership.  He had attended some of the Road Safety Thematic Group meetings and was very impressed with the work being done.  He appealed to all Members to publicise wherever possible the training available which, although difficult to quantify, he was confident had had a positive impact on the number of accidents on the road.

In light of personal experience, CC Wilkins asked that the ‘Biker Down’ Course be well publicised and shared.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that this programme was one aspect of the Road Safety Programme which was running across the Service in a number of small locations with the intention being to roll this out more widely in the future.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer highlighted that:

·        The Service had a representative on the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership.  The partners worked very closely with each other and utilised the partnership strategy, ‘Towards Zero Lancashire: Road Safety Strategy For Lancashire 2016 – 2026’ in an attempt to reduce those killed or seriously injured on our roads in Lancashire;

·        The Road Safety Thematic Group had developed a new road safe primary school package for year 6;

·        The Service had developed and promoted a young driver road safety education programme entitled ‘Wasted Lives’ which was aimed at young and pre-drivers and aimed to influence behaviour and change attitudes either as a driver or a passenger, thereby reducing risk to this specific group and other road users.  To date this programme had been delivered to over 80,000 young people throughout Lancashire.

·        The Service worked in partnership with emergency services and families affected by road collisions to present real life stories and share emotional experiences to support the reduction of young people killed or seriously injured on Lancashire’s roads.  Members were actively encouraged to attend to observe a ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ session.  To date 13,413 students had seen this hard hitting educational programme.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority note and endorse the contents of the report.