Agenda and minutes

Venue: Lecture Theatre - Fire Service Headquarters, Sadler Road, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 2FQ. View directions

Contact: Kirsty Jennings  Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

1.

PROCEDURAL MATTERS

1A

Recording of Meeting

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

Minutes:

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

1B

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor James Nicholas.

1C

Declaration of Members' Interests

Members are reminded to disclose any interests that are relevant to any item on the Agenda.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of Members’ interests.

1D

Minutes of the Performance and Overview Committee pdf icon PDF 126 KB

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Overview Committee held on Wednesday 23rd November 2022.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the Performance and Overview Committee held on Wednesday 23rd November 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

2.

Finance Report - Quarter 3, 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 124 KB

Minutes:

The Treasurer introduced the report, which provided Members with a review of the Service’s forecast financial outturn and reported on progress against 2022-23 capital projects.

 

He referred Members to the revised Grey Book pay award offer that had not been accepted. However, acceptance was recommended by the Fire Brigades Union; therefore, the offer had been built into the figures within the report. Members compliments the clarity of the report.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Finance Report – Quarter 3, 2022-23 forecast outturn position be noted.

3.

Performance Report - Quarter 3, 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The Group Manager for Organisational Performance and Planning introduced the report, which provided an update on the Service’s Quarter 3, 2022-23 performance for each of the Service’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

 

He drew Members attention to the Corporate Performance Scorecard and focussed on: the Number of Deaths in Primary Fires; the Number of Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) in Non-Domestic Premises; and the Thematic Inspections Completed by Operational Crews.

 

Members queried whether there were any trends relating to daylight hours for the increase in deliberate secondary fires. The Group Manager confirmed the data had been monitored quarterly, but it was unclear whether daylight hours were a trending factor. It was agreed that the data for deliberate secondary fires would be presented within the quarterly update report.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Performance Report – Quarter 3 2022-23 be noted.

4.

Programme Report - Quarter 3, 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 58 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Service Improvement provided Members with an update on the Service’s programmes and projects (including those contained within the Authority’s annual IRMP action plan). He highlighted the following:

 

·       At the last Performance and Programme Board meeting, the On Call Programme project was closed and Water Safety Awareness and the Community Risk Management Plan PIDs were approved. 

·       The Station Modernisation Programme had been reviewed by the Estates and Property Committee and it was agreed the programme would enter the pre-construction service stage. A new site for the fire station at Ellesmere Port was in consideration.

·       The Fire Cover Review was inclusive in the work undertaken on the Community Risk Management Plan. A further update would be shared with Members at the next Planning Day.

·       The Emergency Services Mobile Communications project was predicted to remain a red risk for the foreseeable future due to the withdrawal of the Motorola contract. The contract is currently out for tender. It was agreed to remove the project from the Programme Report until there was more meaningful progress.

·       A PID for the Road Safety Strategy Plan was expected in the next quarter.

·       The Prevention Department review launch event was held on 24th November 2022 and was attended by 33 staff members. The Prevention Department Review PID would settle the scope of the review.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Programme Report – Quarter 3, 2022-23 be noted.

5.

Annual Bonfire Report 2022 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager introduced the report, which summarised the preventative and operational activities of the Service and partners during the bonfire period (24th October 2022 to 7th November 2022).

 

He advised that the Service attended 56 Small Deliberate Fires during the 2022 bonfire period, in comparison to 55 Small Deliberate Fires during the 2021 bonfire period. Despite the slight increase, the number of incidents were still lower than pre-pandemic times.

 

There were six reported attacks on operational crews during the bonfire period. The Service had secured police escorts during peak hours to mitigate the risk of further attacks.

 

Members expressed their concern with the reported attacks on operational crews during the bonfire period. The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager reassured Members that attacks on crews were rare and those that occurred were in an isolated location. He explained that work with the anti-social behaviour governance panel helped mitigate these issues. Members commended Cheshire Constabulary for their collaboration and resource to help with anti-social behaviour around the bonfire period.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Annual Bonfire Report 2022 including the recommendations be noted.

6.

Annual Road Safety Report 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager introduced the report, which covered the Service’s 2022-23 targeted road safety activities delivered in support of the multi-agency road safety plans of the local authorities and Cheshire Police.

 

It was reported that the Service had attended 372 road traffic collisions and 24.4% of these incidents involved exactification. The Road Safety team linked campaigns to national trends and reviewed their impact. The Road Safety team provided a road safety education plan to Cheshire East following a redesign of the programme. 

 

A Member queried whether the data provided within the report could be broken down to identify motorway causalities. The Deliberate Fire Reduction and Road Safety Manager advised he would provide the data. The Head of Prevention and Protection further explained that although the Service monitors hot spots, the proportion of deaths and injuries on motorways, considering the number of drivers, is relatively low.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Annual Road Safety Report 2021-22 be noted.

7.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Six-Month Update pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Minutes:

The Head of Communications and Engagement and the Equality and Inclusion Officer introduced the report, which provided an update about the key areas of focus and accomplishments as well as priorities for the next 6 months. They highlighted the following:

 

·       There was an increase in women in the workforce due to the in house Communications team joining the Service and more females occupying operational roles. The Service were 7th out of 45 fire and rescue service for having the largest percentage of operational female firefighters.

·       Work was ongoing following the release of the 2021 Census data to compare how representative the workforce is of the Cheshire community.

·       There was a 12 month lag with the Gender Pay Gap report. The gender pay gap had increased to 19.6% which was comparable with other fire and rescue services.

·       A review of accreditations and benchmarking was undertaken. It was agreed that that Service would step away from Stonewall with a view to find an accreditor that evaluated a broader view of equality, diversity and inclusion.

·       Several taster days were organised in January 2023 which saw 25% of attendees being female and most had signed up to the buddying system.

·       A new staff network dedicated to support the neurodiversity community was set up with temporary Assistant Chief Fire Officer Neil Griffiths as a sponsor and between 25-30 members at present.

 

The Head proposed that going forward Equality, Diversity and Inclusion reporting would take place annually

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Six Month Update be noted; and

 

[2]      in future, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion report on progress and performance be submitted once a year, in the form of an Annual Report.

8.

Annual Mental Health Report 2022 pdf icon PDF 183 KB

Minutes:

The Mental Health Advisor introduced the report, which provided an update of the work undertaken over the last 12 months to deliver the objectives and priorities contained with the Service’s Mental Health Strategy.

 

He highlighted key points from the report which included the following:

 

·       Senior leaders had actively supported events and activities relating to mental health, such as World Mental Health Day and International Men’s Day.

·       The Mental Health Advisor continued to maintain visibility by partnering with the Service Fitness Advisor on joint visits to promote parity of esteem.

·       The Mental Health Advisor worked with the HR department in work developing the ‘Step Away’ element of the new People Strategy.

·       The TRiM pilot project in Cheshire East concluded in March 2023 followed by an evaluation report for consideration by the Mental Health Steering Group.

 

RESOLVED That

 

[1]      the Annual Mental Health Report 2022 be noted; and

 

[2]      in future, the mental health report be submitted once a year, in the form of an Annual Report.

9.

Annual Environment and Climate Change Report 2022 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

The Environment and Sustainability Lead introduced the report, which provided an update on the progress that was being made by the Service concerning the environment and climate change agenda.

 

He highlighted the following key points from the report:

 

·       During the reporting period of April 2021 to March 2022 there was a 6% increase in carbon emissions compared to the 2017 baseline. It was expected that emissions would decrease in the next reporting period.

·       The Service was accredited to the Carbon Literacy Trust; the second fire and rescue service to be accredited. The inaugural carbon literacy workshop was held on 18th January and further workshops would be available to all staff throughout 2023.

·       The Service Leadership Team had endorsed and proposed the signing of the Emergency Services Environment and Sustainability Charter.

 

A Member queried whether the Service measured other pollutants in the Cheshire, Halton and Warrington areas. The Environment and Sustainability Lead advised that there was no formal monitoring process for other pollutants and the Government declared it was not required for area in which the Service operates.

 

A Member raised concerns about environmental improvements to Service properties not included in the fire station modernisation programme. The Director of Governance advised that certain basic works on the Service owned houses needed to be completed before work on environmental improvements could be started.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]      the Environment and Climate Change Report be noted.

10.

Forward Work Programme pdf icon PDF 67 KB

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.

 

Minutes:

The table included those items that have been identified/agreed to-date. 

 

It was agreed that the reports highlighted in grey on the table would be submitted to the Performance and Overview Committee annually rather than 6 monthly:-

 

·       Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

·       Environment and Climate Change

·       Mental Health

 

RESOLVED: That:

 

[1]      the Forward Work Programme be noted.