Agenda and minutes

A minute’s silence was held during the meeting to honour the passing of former Member, Councillor Terry O’Neill.

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

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Razia Daniels, Jonathan Parry and independent (non-elected) member Derek Barnett.

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’ interest.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Overview Committee held on Wednesday 4^th September 2019.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Performance and Overview Committee held on Wednesday 4^th September 2019 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Treasurer introduced a report which provided a review of the Service’s forecast financial performance at mid-year and an update on progress against the 2018-19 capital projects.

He informed Members that the Quarter 2 Review was reporting a forecast underspend of £102k in relation to the revenue budget.  This meant that there was a cumulative underspend of £177k.

He also reminded Members about the substantial capital programme which was detailed in Appendix 3 to the report.

In view of the timing of capital expenditure and the current level of reserves, the Treasurer recommended that the Authority should use reserves to finance the training centre and defer borrowing to a later date.  The funding for Crewe Fire Station would be revisited when feasibility of the project had been concluded. 

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the forecast outturn position be noted; and

[2]       the movement in reserves as set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

RECOMMENDED: That

[1]       the Fire Authority change the way for the training centre is funded (utilising reserves rather than borrowing) noting the removal of the cost of borrowing from the revenue budget for April 2020.

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive provided Members with an update on the Service’s programmes and projects.  He referred Members to Appendix 1 to the report which contained a health report for the Quarter 2, 2019-20.

He provided Members with an update on several programmes/projects which included: the replacement of Chester Fire Station; the replacement of Crewe Fire Station; the Sadler Road Training Centre project; the Operational Training Group Review and the sprinkler campaign.

Members emphasised the importance of installing sprinklers in public buildings such as schools and assisted living facilities.  A Member queried whether Sanctuary Housing in Chester had sprinklers installed within their premises.  The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance confirmed that Sanctuary Housing had committed to installing sprinklers.  He stated that sprinkler installation costs had significantly risen but this had not deterred Sanctuary Housing’s commitment.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Programme Report – Quarter 2 2019-20 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, 2019-20. 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. 

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance highlighted that officers had recommended a 25% reduction in the target for Safe and Well visits delivered to properties of heightened risk because of difficulties securing the necessary targeting data.  Despite struggling to access data, he informed Members that performance at platinum addresses was above target.

The Service Delivery Manager provided further details concerning the Service’s current performance for on-call availability.  A Member requested further clarification regarding the on-call availability and on-call recruitment target.  The Service Delivery Manager explained that the Service was under establishment and despite increased recruitment, the new recruits were required to undergo extensive training before being fully competent.  Until the recruits were competent, they would not be able to provide on-call availability.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Performance Report – Quarter 2, 2019-20 be noted.

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance introduced the report which enabled Members to review the performance against the action plan created in response to the identified “Areas for Improvement” from the inspection report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

He informed Members that the action plan was monitored by the Service Management Team on a quarterly basis.  It was agreed that Members would scrutinise performance against the action plan at the Performance and Overview Committee on a six monthly basis relying upon the health report.

Members were reminded that the inspections reports for tranche 1 and 2 had been released, with tranche 3 were awaiting publication.  The Organisational Performance team had conducted an analysis of each tranche to identify good practice in other services for the Service Management Team to consider.

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance reported that the Service had made good progress against all of the actions within the report and that the recent staff survey results show improvements concerning the areas within the “people” section of the inspection report.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the HMICFRS Action Plan – Health Report be noted.

Anne 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 2019-20 Internal Audit Plan, attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

She informed Members that during Quarter 2 the reports were completed concerning: Volunteers Safety Central Review; HMICFRS – Phase 1 Gap Analysis; and the Follow-Up.

Members observed that the Volunteers Safety Central Review had obtained a substantial assurance rating and the HMICFRS – Phase 1 Gap Analysis but showed no major concerns at present.

The Auditor had requested a deferral for the report on professional standards until next year as the standards had not been released.  She assured Members that a report would be produced when appropriate.

She highlighted the Follow-Up report attached as Appendix 2 to the report, which identified a number of recommendations that needed to be concluded.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Internal Audit Progress Report – Quarter 2, 2019-20 and Follow-Up Report both 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 during 2018-19.

Members were concerned about the slight increase in recorded attacks on staff in recent years.  The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager informed Members that the data included verbal attacks as well as physical.  Most attacks recorded were verbal and there were no injuries from physical attacks.  The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive also commented that Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service results were good compared to other fire and rescue services.

Members queried how firefighters dealt with obstructive parking whilst on duty.  The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager advised that campaigns, leaflets and social media advertisement were used to target areas of concern.  He also informed Members that occasionally, firefighters would physically move cars that obstructed access.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Annual Health, Safety and Wellbeing Report 2018-19 be noted.

The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager introduced the report which appended the Authority’s Annual Road Safety Report 2018-19, containing details of interventions delivered by the Service.  He highlighted the achievements of the Service at events throughout the year which included the success of the school pavement signs outside schools within Cheshire East.

A Member raised concerns with maintenance of the school pavement signs.  The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager explained that the signs were the responsibility of the Cheshire East enforcement officer, who would remove them after the school had closed to ensure they were not damaged.  He also advised that the signs were filled with water so they were not likely be stolen.

Members queried how many fatalities within Cheshire were motorway related.  The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager stated that so far this year there were approximately 6 motorway-related fatalities from a total of 34.  

A Member queried how the use of black boxes had impacted the number of incidents involving young drivers.  The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager informed Members that black boxes did not necessarily target a specific demographic. However, during the “thinkdrivesurvive” programme  black boxes were discussed and were considered to be effective at encouraging better driving and reducing the chances that a driver would succumb to peer pressure whilst driving.

Members thanked and congratulated the Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager and his team for their work and proactive commitment to road safety.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Annual Road Safety Report 2018-19 be noted.

An officer will provide information about the bonfire period, summarising the actions taken by the fire and rescue service. A written report will be presented at the next meeting of the Committee.

The Deliberate Fire 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.

He reported that there had been a 20% reduction in incidents recorded during the bonfire period compared with the previous year.  He highlighted that the unitary areas saw a reduction in secondary deliberate fires, with the exception of Warrington.  He explained that the decrease in incidents was likely due to the popularity of organised displays and some major retailers no longer sold fireworks.

Members commended the work of the prevention staff and firefighters over the bonfire period as well as their partnership work with the police and housing association to identify hotspot areas to target.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       The verbal interim bonfire report be noted.

The Fire Cadet 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 Fire Cadet 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.

Members queried whether the OTS team liaised with local councils to identify locations or individuals where the OTS activities could be focussed. The Fire Cadet Manager informed Members that the OTS team had been contacted by local councils to work in specific areas of concern. She also informed Members that the OTS team had recently worked with local partner agencies on a campaign against knife crime.

Members praised the OTS and prevention team for their continuous work within the unitary areas to decrease arson, small deliberate fires and anti-social behaviour.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Annual Report – ‘On the Streets’ Youth Work 2018-19 be noted.

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 forward work programme was considered by Members and no changes/additions were made.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Forward Work Programme be noted.