Agenda item

Area

Overspend/ (Under spend) to 31 July

Forecast Outturn at 31 March

Reason

£’000

£’000

Service Delivery

44

(20)

The overspend for the year to date related to various headings, such as uniforms, training props for stations, and furniture,  which were timing related and were expected to even out as the year progressed.

The outturn underspend reflected all of the above, in addition to continued reduced spend on smoke detectors and fire safety consumables.

Property

63

86

The overspend position related to premises repairs and maintenance, which was expected to continue for the remainder of the year.

Wholetime Pay

(202)

(579)

The year to date position reflected:

·        the number of wholetime recruits taking part in the June course was lower than budgeted, 32 compared with  a budgeted 36.

·        in addition vacancies to date were  higher than forecast due to the early leaver profile.

·        pension costs were lower than forecast as the number of personnel who were no longer on the FF pension schemes stood at 25, in addition staff continued to transfer from the 92 scheme to the 2015 scheme resulting in a reduction in employer pension contributions. 

·        the annual pay award had not yet been agreed, which would have been effective from 1 July, this resulted in an underspend of approximately £24k at the end of July.

·        With the balance of the underspend relating to the timing of costs of ad hoc payments such as public holidays.

The majority of the forecast underspend was attributable to the shortfall in whole-time recruit numbers. As reported at the last Committee meeting the budget was set based on populating 2 recruits courses with 60 recruits in total whereas the actual number of recruits would total 49.

It was also worth noting that the forecast outturn included an assumed 1% pay-award, but as Members were aware the Union and Employers Side had been unable to reach an agreement at the present time.

RDS Pay

(37)

(104)

The forecast underspend on RDS pay arose as implementation of the revised pay scheme was delayed until June, pending its approval by the Fire Brigades Union regional council.

Associate Trainers

39

125

The annual training plan was used to match planned training activity to staff available at the training centre.  Where this was not possible, associate trainers were brought in to cover the shortfall.  The reintroduction of wholetime courses this year would lead to an increased use hence the forecast overspend.

Support staff (less agency staff)

(81)

(241)

The underspend to date related to vacant posts across various departments, which were in excess of the vacancy factor built into the budget. The majority of these vacancies had now been filled, although ICT and Knowledge Management remained problem areas.

As highlighted at June’s Committee meeting the budget included a sum of £180k to allow for the recruitment of apprentices in the second half of the year. This recruitment had been delayed whilst an appropriate mechanism was identified, meaning that it was unlikely that the allocation would be utilised in year. The previous report proposed that any underspend on this budget should be carried forward as an earmarked reserve to meet on-going costs in future years, hence as part of the year end process the eventual underspend would be transferred to earmarked reserves.

Pumping Appliances

The budget allowed for the purchase of 6 pumping appliances for the 2017/18 programme, for which the order was placed in February 2017.  It was currently anticipated that these appliances would be delivered in early 2018.  In addition, the budget allowed for the final stage payments in relation to the 5 pumping appliances carried from the 2016/17 programme, which were delivered during June and August.  Spend to date related to completion of the 2016/17 appliances, and the first stage payment of the 2017/18 appliances.

As such we anticipated all of this budget being utilised by year end.

Other vehicles

This budget allowed for the replacement of various operational support vehicles, the most significant of which were one of the Command Support Units and two Driver Training Vehicles. Requirements for these were currently being finalised with a view to undertaking a procurement exercise. However given requirements were still being finalised and taking account of anticipated lead times the final costs associated with the purchase of these would slip over into 2018/19.

Operational Equipment/Future Firefighting

This budget allowed for the replacement of Thermal Imaging Cameras (TICs), for which the tender process was underway.

The budget allowed for the balance of the Future Fire Fighting equipment budget, the majority of which related to the purchase of the technical rescue jackets, following the regional procurement exercise.  The Director of Corporate Services highlighted that there was a possibility these may not be delivered by year end due to sizing issues and lead times for production.

The replacement of Breathing Apparatus Radios would slip into 2018/19, as options were being reviewed including the potential to undertake a regional procurement process.

Building Modifications

Completion of the new joint Fire & Ambulance facility at Lancaster was scheduled for the last quarter of the current financial year. Contract variations of £41k had been agreed in respect of time delays due to the discharge of planning conditions, and upgrading the appliance bay doors.

In terms of the redevelopment of Preston Fire and Ambulance Station we completed the purchase of the additional land, as agreed by the Committee, in June.   However progress on agreeing the details of the development with NWAS had been slow, although they had now confirmed their agreement to the scheme meaning that we were now able to make progress on appointing consultants to take the project forward to detailed design and ultimately construction. This meant that no building works would take place in the current financial year; hence the majority of capital budget would slip into the next financial year.

The budget also allowed for the outstanding sums due in respect of the replacement water main at STC and the completion of the Multi Compartment Fire Fighting prop, both of which had now been completed.

The replacement Fleet workshop had been on hold pending further discussion with Police relating to a joint facility. However our requirements, which related to an equipment maintenance facility, and Police requirements which related to a vehicle maintenance facility, did not align, nor was the location deemed suitable for a vehicle maintenance facility. As such we would now progress this scheme, working up a detailed design prior to undertaking a tendering exercise. Whilst some costs may be incurred in the current year, the majority of this would slip into 2018/19.

The final element of this capital budget related to investment in training assets at both STC and service delivery locations to maximise the efficiency and consistency of staff training, and in particular RDS staff.  The exact requirements remained subject to review, and a further update on progress would be presented to the Committee once requirements had been finalised. However given the timeframes in finalising requirements, designing and tendering a scheme it was highly unlikely that any significant costs would be incurred in the current year.

IT systems

The majority of the capital budget related to the national Emergency Services Mobile Communications Project (ESMCP), to replace the Airwave wide area radio system and the replacement of the station end mobilising system. The ESMCP project budget, £1.0m, was offset by anticipated grant, however the timing of both expenditure and grant was dependent upon progress against the national project. We were due to receive an update in November however it appeared increasingly unlikely that we would incur significant costs in the current year.

Given the delay on the ESMCP project the replacement station end project had also been delayed, however we were currently reviewing options to enhance resilience and ensure that any solution was compatible with the eventual ESMCP solution. As such we may incur some expenditure on this, but it was unlikely to be the full budgeted amount, £400k.

The budget also allowed for the replacement of the Services wide area network (WAN) providing an enhanced network and improving speed of use across the Service. The delivery of this was currently scheduled for the last quarter of the current financial year, when our existing contract expired.

The balance of the budget related to the replacement of various systems, in line with the ICT asset management plan. Whilst procurement work was on-going to facilitate the replacement of some of these systems in the current year, we were still reviewing the need to replace others. Hence further updates on progress would confirm which replacements were being actioned in the current year and anticipated spend profiles.