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 for absence received.

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.

There were no declarations of Members’ interests.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Overview Committee held on 5 September 2018. (attached as Annex 1)

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Performance and Overview Committee held on 5 September 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Treasurer introduced the report, which provided a summary of the Service’s mid-year revenue position, reserves position and the status of projects in the capital programme.

He informed Members that the Quarter 2 review was reporting a forecast underspend of £1.5m in relation to the revenue budget. He confirmed that the majority of the underspend was due to uncertainties around price inflation and the firefighters national pay award.

The Treasurer drew Members attention to the reserves position set out in Appendix 2 to the report. He explained that as part of the Authority’s Reserves Strategy, reserves would be used to fund most of the Authority’s ambitious capital programme which totalled £39m over the next 5 years.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       Members notes the forecast outturn position; and

[2]       Member approve the movement in reserves as set out in Appendix 2.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning introduced the report, which provided an update on the Service’s 2018-19 Integrated Risk Management Plan programmes and projects.  He referred Members to Appendix 1 to the report, which contained the Health Report for the second quarter of 2018-19. 

He drew Members attention to the Blue Light Collaboration Programme update, which had an amber progress status. He explained that the programme was due to complete in October 2018 but due to difficulties delivering the Multi Force Shared Service (MFSS) element of the programme, it had been provisionally rescheduled to conclude on the 1^st April 2019.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning highlighted some of the issues that had been concluded during the quarter. There had been some changes to the original relocation plan with Fire Authority meetings expected to take place at Clemonds Hey. Due to access issues, significant costs and parking problems a decision had been made to cease any activity to create the necessary meeting rooms. Key Members had been consulted and it had been agreed that future Fire Authority meetings would continue to take place at the Service’s Sadler Road site. He confirmed that a more detailed update including the overall savings associated with the programme would be provided to Members in the near future.

A Member queried the risk management arrangements in place for the risks associated with the Blue Light Collaboration programme. The Director of Governance and Commissioning advised that strategic risks were managed at Risk Management Board where mitigating actions are considered. He informed Members that it was his intention to report to Members about the MFSS in due course when the risks would be considered.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning provided Members with an update on the Replacement of Chester Fire Station project. He informed them that the planning application was rejected by the Cheshire West and Chester Planning Committee on 6^th November. He continued that the Authority would protect it’s position by lodging an appeal and by preparing a fresh planning application.  Unfortunately, the project would be delayed by around 6 months.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Operational Assurance and Service Improvement provided an update on the Cardiac Response Pilot, which was on hold due to National Pay Negotiations. A Member emphasised his support for the pilot and queried if Cheshire could create a local arrangement. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Operational Assurance and Service Improvement advised Members that the possibility would be explored and Members would receive an update in due course.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Quarter 2 Programme Report 2018-19 be noted.

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance introduced the report which provided Members with an update on the Service’s performance against the key performance indicators (KPIs) for Quarter 2 2018-19. Appendix 1 to the report contained the corporate performance scorecard reflecting the Quarter 2 position against targets set and the year-on-year direction of travel for the Service’s KPIs.

Members were referred to Appendix 2 of the report which contained a detailed description of each KPI, including a summary of current performance and any actions taken to improve performance.  Alongside the Head of Protection and Organisational Performance, the Head of Prevention and Head of Service Delivery provided further information on the KPIs relevant to their departments.

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance drew Member’s attention to the number of non-domestic premises fire safety audits completed by the end of the quarter, which was below target. He explained that the reason for this was the low numbers of competent Fire Safety Officers. A breakdown of staff capacity and competence against performance for each unitary area was detailed within the report. He advised Members that members of the team had made good progress in gaining their Level 4 Audit Competency allowing them to carry out audits on some of Cheshire’s more complex premises and this would have a positive impact on the performance for the remainder of the year.

The Head of Service Delivery drew Members attention to the KPI for on-call availability. He commended the on-call staff at Sandbach, Nantwich and Poynton Fire Stations for achieving their target for the quarter. He advised Members that whilst overall performance was behind for the quarter, a plan had been developed by officers, which should enable on-call to achieve 85% availability pan-Cheshire but would take 12 months to embed. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Service Delivery added that the availability of on-call resources remained a key priority for the Service.

The independent Member of the Committee queried whether Prevention and Protection staff had been considered to provide operational cover. The Head of Service Delivery advised that the team had been working with the two departments to explore if it was a possible option.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Quarter 2 Performance Report 2018-19 be noted.

Ann-Marie Harrop (the Auditor), a representative from Mersey Internal Audit Agency (MIAA) was in attendance at the meeting to present the quarterly progress summary of the 2018-19 Internal Audit Plan (attached as Appendix 1 to the report).

She provided Members with a brief overview of the progress made against the audit plan and informed them that progress was on track against the timeline.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the report be noted.

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager introduced the report which provided an update on the management of health and safety in the Service.  He highlighted to Members the key achievements of the Service throughout 2017-18 and reports on both reactive and proactive measures of performance.

He informed Members that there has been a small increase in the number of minor injuries but explained that this figure fluctuated from year to year and continued on a downward trend.

Members were informed that there had been twelve incidents of violence and aggression towards staff during the reporting period. A Member queried how many of the incidents were physical violence. The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager confirmed there has been two incidents of physical violence and that the rest had been verbal abuse.

A Member commended the scope and depth of the information provided within the report and thanked the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager for his work.

RESOLVED: That

[1]      the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Annual Report 2017-18 be noted.

The Arson Reduction and Road Safety Manager introduced the report which appended the Authority’s Annual Road Safety Report 2017-18, containing details of interventions delivered by the Service.  He highlighted that the Service had received two awards for its road safety work.

A Member congratulated the team for the excellent and extensive partnership work achieved during the year.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Annual Road Safety Report 2017-18 be noted.

The Youth Development Manager introduced the report which provided Members with an update on the work undertaken by the ‘On the Streets’ (OTS) team over the past 12 months.  She explained that the programme was delivered in areas with high levels of arson, small deliberate fires and anti-social behaviour.

The Youth Development Manager summarised the local engagement that had occurred with the OTS teams in each of the unitary areas within Cheshire.  She informed Members that working across all four unitary areas had resulted in increased community engagement. She highlighted that the Service had seen an improved level of engagement particularly in the Wharton area of Winsford and reported that the team were engaging with up to 25 young people per night.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the report be noted.

A verbal update will be provided about the activities and performance during the 2018 bonfire period.

The Arson Reduction and Road Safety Manager provided Members with a verbal interim update on the preventative and operational activities of the Service during the bonfire period.  He confirmed that a full report would be presented to the Committee at its next meeting in February 2019.

Members were informed that 87 secondary deliberate fires were recorded during the bonfire period (24 October 2018 – 7 November 2018), which was a 13.9% reduction compared to the 2017 bonfire period.

The table includes those items that have been identified/agreed to-date.  Members are asked to agree any additional items at the end of the meeting which need to be added to the programme.

The table included those items that have been identified/agreed to-date.  Members were asked to agree and note the forward work programme for February 2019.

RESOLVED: That:

[1]      The Forward Work Programme be noted.