Agenda and minutes

Members are reminded that this meeting will be audio-recorded.

Members were reminded that the meeting would be audio-recorded.

There were no apologies submitted.

Cllr Les Morgan was appointed by Warrington Borough Council on 16^th December 2019.

Cllr Marilyn Houston was appointed by Cheshire East Borough Council on 31^st January 2020.

The Chair welcomed newly appointed Members Councillor Les Morgan and Councillor Marilyn Houston to the Authority.

Following the appointment of new Members by Warrington Borough Council and Cheshire East Borough Council changes have been made to the membership of committees etc. and the Member Champion roles.  These are shown in red.  Members are asked to note and where necessary approve the appointments.

RESOLVED:

That Members note and approve the changes to committees etc. and Member Champion roles, as shown in red, subject to the following addition:

·         Councillor Marilyn Houston be appointed as an additional Equality and Diversity Member Champion.

Note: The full list is attached to these minutes.

The Constitution provides for this appointment to be made by the Fire Authority Members appointed by Cheshire East Borough Council.  If the Members appointed by Cheshire East Borough Council are unable to decide or there is an equality of votes for the candidates that have been proposed then the decision will fall to be made by the Fire Authority.

Members from Cheshire East Borough Council were asked to appoint a Lead Member. Councillors Nick Mannion and Micheal Beanland were nominated and seconded and a vote took place.

Councillor Nick Mannion was appointed with 5 votes to 3 votes for Councillor Michael Beanland.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Nick Mannion be appointed as Lead Member for Cheshire East Borough Council.

The Fire Authority has two independent (non-elected) members who fulfil an advisory role.

Members are asked to consider the unanimous recommendation from Governance and Constitution Committee on 29^th January 2019 to approve a further term of office for Lesley Thomson (four years to begin in June 2020 when Lesley’s first term expires).

The report to Governance and Constitution Committee can be accessed on the Service’s website and the minutes can be found at Item 1K.

RESOLVED:

That a further term of office for Lesley Thomson be approved (four years to begin in June 2020 when Lesley’s first term expires).

To receive any announcements that the Chair wishes to make prior to the commencement of the formal business of the meeting.

The Chair asked Members to note the content of the Chair’s announcements which included details of Authority achievements and events Members had attended. 

He referred Members to a section of the Chair’s announcements containing information on the Service achieving third place within the Stonewall Top 100 Workplace Index for a second year in a row.  He congratulated and thanked all who were involved in the process.

Members are reminded that the Members’ Code of Conduct requires the disclosure of Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Non-Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Disclosable Non-Pecuniary Interests.

See note about dispensations at 1K.

There were no declarations of Members’ interest.

To receive an questions submitted, in accordance with procedure rules 4.47 to 4.54 by members of the public within the area covered by the Fire Authority.

No questions had been submitted.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Fire Authority Meeting held on 10^th December 2019.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Fire Authority meeting held on 10^th December 2019 be approved as a correct record.

The Committee granted dispensations in relation to Statutory Disclosable Interests to enable Members to take part in debates and to vote in relation to decisions concerning the setting of the Council Tax precept and/or approval of the Members’ Allowances Scheme (and any changes and/or additions to it).

The following Members were granted both dispensations:

Cllrs Michael Beanland; Mike Biggin; David Brown; Razia Daniels; Martyn Delaney; David Edwardes; Gina Lewis; Nick Mannion; Les Morgan; Karen Mundry; Stef Nelson; James Nicholas; Stuart Parker; Jonathan Parry; Rob Polhill; Bob Rudd; Morgan Tarr; Peter Wheeler; Norman Wright; and Steve Wright

The following Member was granted the dispensations relating to the Members’ Allowance Scheme:

Cllr Phil Harris

One existing Member and a new Member may also wish to have the benefit of one or both dispensations. The Fire Authority could extend the benefit of the dispensations to those Members.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning informed Members that the Committee had granted dispensations in relation to decisions concerning the setting of the Council Tax precept and approval of the Members’ Allowances Scheme (and any changes and/or additions to it).

The following Members had been granted both dispensations:

Councillors Michael Beanland; Mike Biggin; David Brown; Razia Daniels; Martyn Delaney; David Edwardes; Gina Lewis; Nick Mannion; Les Morgan; Karen Mundry; Stef Nelson; James Nicholas; Stuart Parker; Jonathan Parry; Rob Polhill; Bob Rudd; Morgan Tarr; Peter Wheeler; Norman Wright; and Steve Wright

The following Member had been granted the dispensation relating to the Members’ Allowances Scheme:

Councillor Phil Harris

The Authority was asked to consider extending the benefit of both dispensations to Councillors Rachel Bailey and Marilyn Houston.  The Authority was also asked to extend the benefit of the dispensations relating to the setting of the Council Tax precept to Councillor Phil Harris.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the minutes of the Governance and Constitution Committee meeting held on 29^th January 2020 be noted; and

[2]       dispensations be extended to:

·         Councillors Rachel Bailey and Marilyn Houston to allow them to take part in debates and votes concerning the setting of the Council Tax precept and approval of the Members’ Allowances Scheme (and any changes/additions to it);

·         Councillor Phil Harris to allow him to take part in debates and votes concerning the setting of the Council Tax precept.

To receive, for information, the minutes of the Brigade Managers’ Pay and Performance Committee meeting held on 15^th January 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Brigade Manager’s Pay and Performance Committee meeting held on 15^th January 2020 be noted.

To receive, for information, the minutes of the Staffing Committee meeting held on 15^th January 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Staffing Committee meeting held on 15^th January 2020 be noted.

To receive, for information, the notes of the Member Training and Development Group meeting held on 14^th January 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the Member Training and Development Group meeting held on 14^th February 2020 be noted.

The Head of Finance presented the report which sought approval of the Treasury Management Strategy 2020-21 (the Strategy). This was a requirement of guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and the CIPFA Prudential Code.  It also assisted the Authority in showing its compliance with requirements in the Local Government Act 2003.

The Strategy comprised of four main elements:

·         Capital Expenditure Plans and Prudential Indicators

·         Borrowing Strategy and Prudential Limits

·         Annual Investment Strategy

·         Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement

The Head of Finance referred Members to ‘Table 2: Capital Financing’ at paragraph 4.1.3 of Appendix 1 to the report.  She informed Members that the Authority had not yet borrowed any of the anticipated £11m required over the period to finance the planned major build projects.  She also referred Members to the table at paragraph 5.3.1 of Appendix 1 which provided a forecast of interest rates from December 2019 to March 2023, which forecast no increase in interest rates this year.  The Head of Finance reiterated that, when required, a recommendation to borrow would be brought to the Authority when officers felt that the time was right.

The Head of Finance informed Members that the Authority’s reserves were reducing and would be just under £20m by the end of March 2020.  She referred Members to ‘Table 4: Reserves’ at paragraph 4.3.1 of Appendix 1.  It indicated that reserves would reduce to approximately £8.6m by March 2023 and, going forward, would be maintained at 5% of the net revenue budget.

A Member queried whether a statement could be included within the Treasury Management Strategy regarding the Authority’s approach to ethical or environmental investment.  The Head of Finance confirmed that, going forward, she would incorporate this into future iterations of the Treasury Management Strategy.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Treasury Management Strategy 2020-21 approved; and

[2]       the Authority’s Prudential Indicators including the Authorised Limit (Appendix 1, paragraph 5.2.7) and Operational Boundary (Appendix 1, paragraph 5.2.3) be approved.

Note: an updated copy of ‘Table 4 – Council Tax Precepts’ on page 60 of the Agenda Pack was circulated ahead of the meeting.  The figures are set out below:

The Treasurer presented the report which asked Members to:

·         Approve the Authority’s Medium Term Financial Plan 2020/25

·         Agree the Authority’s budget for 2020/21

·         Agree the Authority’s Council Tax precept for 2020/21 as required by law

·         Approve the Authority’s Capital Programme and funding

·         Approve the Authority’s Capital Strategy

·         Approve the Authority’s Reserves Strategy

The Treasurer informed Members that officers were proposing a council tax increase of 1.99%.  The Medium Term Financial Plan and Reserves Strategy 2020/25 appended to the report reflected the assumption of a council tax increase of 1.99%.

He referred Members to ‘Table 1: Financing of the Proposed Net Revenue Budget’ at paragraph 8 of the report which provided an overview of the Authority’s overall funding position.  An increase of 1.99% in the council tax precept would generate an additional £1m income compared to 2019/20, based on the increased council taxbase of Band D equivalent properties.  With the inclusion of other elements of funding, such as revenue support grant and business rate income, the overall net revenue budget would increase by £1.369m compared to the previous year.

The Treasurer referred Members to ‘Table 2 – Construction of Proposed 2020-21 Revenue Budget’ which showed proposed adjustments to the revenue budget.  He indicated that the increase in funding of approx. £1.3m would not be sufficient to balance the budget, therefore savings proposals of £2.4m had been identified to ensure that planned spending matched the level of proposed resources.  Appendix 2C to the report contained details of proposed savings for 2020/21.

Permanent growth for 2020/21 was contained within Appendix 2A to the report and one-off growth items for 2020/21 were detailed in Appendix 2B to the report. 

A Member referred to Appendix 2A to the report and queried why Service Delivery was running over establishment.  The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive informed Members that, due to previous years when recruitment had not taken place, there was a risk that the Service could have experience/skills shortages as a result of retirements over the next few years.  To enable the Service to mitigate this risk, a strategy was deployed to temporarily over-establish ahead of any experience/skills shortage occurring to ensure that there were sufficient numbers of trained firefighters to work alongside any new recruits.  The Treasurer informed Members that, with the volume of retirements and leavers expected over the next few years, the overspend was expected to reduce. In the meantime, a contribution had been built into reserves to cover the cost.

A Member referred to paragraphs 20 and 24 within the report, highlighting that she was pleased to see that the Government had awarded an additional grant to the Service to assist with firefighter pension costs.  She also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Director of Transformation presented the report which sought approval to publish the Pay Policy Statement for 2020-21, attached as Appendix 1 to the report. 

She explained that, under the Localism Act 2011, all local authorities were required to publish a pay policy statement on an annual basis.  The document set out the Authority’s policies for the financial year relating to the remuneration of its Chief Officers, the remuneration of its lowest paid employees, and the relationship between the pay of Chief Officers and that of other employees. The requirement was intended to increase transparency and accountability, and to give local people access to information to allow them to determine whether pay is appropriate.

Paragraphs 9-17 of the report provided an overview of changes to the Pay Policy Statement since it was previously approved in February 2019.  Changes included: the Service’s new Brigade Manager structure; increased employer contribution rates for the firefighter pension schemes; adoption of the Living Wage as the Service’s minimum rate of pay; and the adjustment of the pay multiples to reflect the lower salary of the Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive and an overall increase in the pay of other staff.

The Director of Transformation referred Members to two known outstanding issues pertaining to pay in the report that could necessitate changes to the Pay Policy Statement during the course of the financial year 2020/21.  The first issue concerned the national firefighter pay negotiations and the second concerned the Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations which were expected to come into force during 2019.  She asked Members to authorise her, in conjunction with the Director of Governance and Commissioning, to make any necessary in-year changes to the Pay Policy Statement as necessitated by new legislation or guidance.

A Member asked for further information regarding the Service’s gender pay gap.  The Director of Transformation confirmed that a separate report would be submitted to the Authority later in the year on this and that she would provide further information to the individual Member outside of the meeting.

A Member queried what the exit payment cap of £95k included.  Officers confirmed that they would provide Members with a breakdown of what was included.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Pay Policy Statement 2020-21, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved; and

[2]       the Director of Transformation, in conjunction with the Director of Governance and Commissioning, be authorised to make any necessary in-year changes to the pay Policy Statement as necessitated by new legislation or guidance.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning presented the report which enabled Members to determine whether to pursue accreditation as a Living Wage Employer.  He informed Members that the Living Wage was an hourly rate of pay set independently and updated by the Living Wage Foundation, rather than a statutory requirement.  Item 10 also provided background information about third party contractors and the potential financial impact of accreditation.

He referred Members to paragraph 24 within the report which detailed the additional annual cost of securing the payment of the Living Wage to cleaning and catering staff employed by third party contractors.  He explained that the figure quoted was overstated. Taking into account the increase of the National Living Wage from £8.21 to £8.72 on 1^st April 2020, the additional cost of paying the Living Wage was expected to be £17k-£20k per year.  An updated copy of Appendix 2 to the report was published and circulated ahead of the meeting, indicating the changes to hourly rates from 1^st April 2020.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       accreditation as a Living Wage Employer be pursued by the Fire Authority.

The Policy and Transformation Officer presented the report which provided a progress update regarding the consultation concerned with the draft Integrated Risk Management Plan 2020-24 (IRMP).  At the meeting of the Authority in December 2019 Members approved the draft IRMP.  The consultation was launched on Monday 16^th December 2019 and was due to conclude on Friday 20^th March 2020.

The report provided a progress update against each strand of the consultation: the public consultation, the staff consultation and consultation with local partners.  Interim feedback received from all parties was outlined in paragraphs 13 to 21.  The Policy and Transformation Officer explained that figures had changed slightly since the publication of the report as further survey responses had been received.

Several public roadshows and staff conferences had taken place since January.  Officers had also met with two Members of Parliament from Cheshire to discuss the proposals within the draft IRMP.  Copies of the draft IRMP had also been sent to councillors across the Service area and neighbouring fire and rescue services for their feedback.

The Consultation Institute had been contracted by the Service to provide an independent quality assurance assessment against the consultation process.  The Policy and Transformation Officer informed Members that a mid-point review with the institute was planned for 17^th February 2020 and that their feedback would be published online.

A Member queried whether consultation response rates were similar to those from previous year. The Policy and Transformation Officer confirmed that response rates were comparable.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the report be noted.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning presented the report which enabled Members to decide upon the appointment of an Independent Person to assist the Authority in handling complaints about breaches of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

An application had been received from Mr Donald Clark, who lived in Cheshire and already acted as an Independent Person for Warrington Borough Council.  The application made it clear that Mr Clark fulfilled the key requirement, i.e. to be “independent”.

A panel of three members of the Governance and Constitution Committee, together with one of the independent (non-elected) members, interviewed Mr Clark on 29th January 2020.  Following the interview, the Committee considered a brief report and heard the views of the Members involved in the interview. The Committee unanimously agreed to recommend Mr Clark’s appointment as an Independent Person to the Fire Authority.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       Mr Donald Clark be appointed to the role of Independent Person for Cheshire Fire Authority for a period of three years (until February 2023).

The Director of Governance and Commissioning presented the report which contained a Collaboration Strategy (the Strategy) for approval, attached as Appendix 3 to the report. 

The Strategy in Appendix 3 was presented to the Governance and Constitution Committee (the Committee) on 13^th November 2019.  The Committee had supported the structure and content of the document but asked whether it needed to reference any national collaborative activity.  The Director of Governance and Commissioning had agreed to further develop the draft Strategy and submit it to the Fire Authority for approval.

A Member queried whether a review date should be scheduled for the Strategy to be brought back to the Authority.  It was agreed that it should be brought back to the Authority for review every 2 years.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Collaboration Strategy by approved; and

[2]       the Collaboration Strategy be reviewed by the Authority every two years.

Members did not discuss the information in Item 10 so there was no requirement to exclude the press and public.

Members took the information in Item 10 into account when making a decision about Item 5.