Agenda and minutes

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 Bailey and Hayes.

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 28 November 2018. (attached as Annex 1)

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Performance and Overview Committee held on 28 November 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Treasurer introduced the report, which provided a summary of the Service’s position for the third quarter of 2018-19, reserves position and the status of projects in the capital programme.

He informed Members that, in relation to the revenue budget, the Quarter 3 review was reporting a forecast net overall total underspend for 2018/19 of £779k.  He referred Members to Appendix 1 to the report, which contained further details of key areas of change since mid-year, including underspends of:

-        £276k in Protection

-        £260k in Finance Resources

-        £117k in Operational Policy and Assurance

-        £99k in Property Management

He drew Members attention to Appendix 2 to the report, which set out details of the movement in reserves. Members were asked to approve the movements for the quarter.

The Treasurer informed Members that the capital programme was forecasting an overall outturn of £23.4m against an approved budget of £23.8m. He referred Members to Appendix 3 to the report, which contained details of the individual projects and schemes within the capital programme. 

RESOLVED: That;

[1]       the forecast outturn position be noted; and

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

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive 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 third quarter of 2018-19.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning drew Members attention to the Blue Light Collaboration Programme update. He informed Members that officers had decided not to proceed with the Multi Force Shared Service, which was due to ‘Go Live’ on 1^st April as it was not considered to be in the best interest of the Service at this time.

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive drew Members attention to the Whole Service Review Programme update. He thanked Members for their input at the recent Member Planning Days and emphasised the impact they had on shaping the future of the Service. He reminded Members that the Service intended to use independent experts for validation purposes and the consultation institute for the consultation activities due to take place.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning referred Members to the update on the Chester project. He confirmed that the planning application had been refused and an appeal had been lodged with a hearing expected to take place in late summer. A second application had been submitted with an expected decision no earlier than mid-May.

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive informed Members that over 80% of high rise buildings in Cheshire will have sprinkler systems retrofitted and commended the efforts of the Members and officers involved in the Sprinkler Group.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the report be noted.

The Head of Organisational Performance introduced the report, which provided Members with an update on the Service’s performance against the key performance indicators (KPIs) for Quarter 3 2018-19. Appendix 1 to the report contained the corporate performance scorecard reflecting the Quarter 3 position against targets set and year-on-year direction of travel for the Services 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 Service Delivery provided further information on the KPIs relevant to the Service Delivery department.

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance highlighted several updates on the performance against targets for KPIs. He advised Members of the positive performance at Quarter 3 for ‘Fires in Non Domestic Properties’ and ‘Thematic Inspections’.

He drew Members attention to ‘Fire Safety Audits in Non Domestic Premises’ performance indicator. He reported a significant improvement of achieving 85% against the target, whilst still behind target it was an improvement compared with 67% of the target at the end of Quarter 3 2017-18. He explained this was mainly because more staff had gained further qualifications and competency allowing them to carry out the audits.

The independent (non-elected) member queried the reason for the target for Fire Safety Audits in Non-Domestic Properties being much higher than the national average. In response, the Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive advised that Cheshire had always pushed targets to achieve a higher number for several reasons e.g. Cheshire values the benefits of the fire safety audits and the protection they offer the residents of Cheshire and its heritage sites.

Another Member congratulated staff delivering Safe and Well activities on performance achieved during the third quarter of 2018-19.

The Head of Service Delivery drew Members attention to the KPI for on-call availability. He advised Members that whilst overall performance was behind for the quarter, he reminded Members of the plan that had been developed by officers which would enable on-call to achieve 85% availability pan-Cheshire. He informed Members that the overall performance has improved compared with last quarter.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the report 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 reviews had taken place in the following areas: Operational Training; Safe and Well and the Station Management Framework. It was reported that substantial assurance was found in each area.

RESOLVED: That

[1]      the report be noted.

The Equality and Inclusion Officer introduced the report, which provided an overview of key equality and inclusion developments within the Service and progress made against the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan.

She informed Members that the Service had been awarded third place in the Stonewall UK Workplace Equality Index, making them the highest performing public sector organisation.

Members were informed of the recent positive recruitment campaign activities. The independent (non-elected) member commended the report and asked for reassurance about the Service’s approach to positive discrimination. The Equality and Inclusion Officer advised that the focus of the campaign was to attract minority groups to enter into the application process and once they were a candidate they would be treated the same as any other candidate.

A Member thanked the Equality and Inclusion Officer for her efforts and highlighted her work on the white ribbon campaign.

RESOLVED: That;

[1]       progress to date be noted.

The Arson Reduction and Road Safety Manager introduced the report which appended the Authority’s Annual Bonfire Period Report 2018, containing details of the preventative and operational activities of the Service and its partners during the bonfire period dated 24 October 2018 to 7 November 2018.

A Member congratulated the Arson Reduction and Road Safety Manager on consistent reduction in the number of deliberate fires year on year.

RESOLVED: That;

[1]       the report be noted; and

[2]       the recommendations be supported.

The Head of Protection and Organisational Performance presented the report which provided Members with the initial draft action plan prepared in response to the inspection report produced by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

He advised Members that the document had been developed with a variety of inputs including; focus groups and management conferences. He explained that the plan would be a living document and would be altered accordingly as the Service responded to its first inspection programme.

RESOLVED: That;

[1]       the proposed monitoring arrangements be approved.

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 programme for July 2019.

RESOLVED: That;

[1]       the Forward Work Programme be noted.