Agenda item

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive introduced the report which provided Members with an update on the Service’s performance against the key performance indicators (KPIs) for Quarter 1 2017-18. Appendix 1 to the report contained a corporate performance scorecard reflecting the Quarter 1 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.  Further information was provided by officers on KPIs with a current progress status of green, amber or red.  This included injuries in primary fires, deliberate primary and secondary fires, fires in non-domestic premises, fire safety orders completed, and on-call availability.

The Head of Service Delivery provided further details concerning the Service’s current performance for on-call availability, informing Members that on-call availability had averaged 66% across all pumps in Quarter 1.  He highlighted the performance differences between the different on-call shift systems, with nucleus on-call appliances achieving 98% availability, primary on-call appliances achieving 70% availability and secondary on-call appliances achieving 47% availability. 

Several changes had been undertaken to aid improving performance.  The Head of Service Delivery highlighted the appointment of an additional on-call Station Manager as a support officer and the introduction of a pilot for a new wholetime on-call Watch Manager role for Knutsford and Holmes Chapel.  He informed Members that the appointment of a Watch Manager to facilitate on-call recruitment and initial training courses had enabled the initial course and sessions for the written and practical tests to be scheduled monthly.  This aimed to provide more regular opportunities for new candidates.

A Member queried how the cost for additional sessions to recruit on-call firefighters was being covered.  The Head of Service Delivery informed Members that this cost was being met from the existing departmental budget.  He explained that the role was covered within the existing contract of the Watch Manager and that the contract already allowed for additional hours to be worked to facilitate the new role.  The Watch Manager could also recruit on-call staff to assist with the training as and when necessary, therefore only incurring a low cost for the additional sessions.  He informed Members that costings for this would be brought back to Members at the next quarter.

A Member asked for clarification concerning cover at Wilmslow and how often other stations covered the Wilmslow area if the pump was unavailable.  The Head of Service Delivery informed Members that Wilmslow was a key station within the Cheshire area; because of this, when the appliance was out of its area for more than 30 minutes another appliance would be sent in to cover.  As Crewe and Ellesmere Port still had two wholetime appliances, the mobilising system currently utilised them more frequently to cover the Wilmslow area.  He informed Members that availability at Wilmslow fire station was good and that this only occurred on a few occasions.  He also informed Members that successful response times over the whole of Cheshire indicated that the current model for the distribution of cover across the region was working. 

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive informed Members that over the past year the Service had moved from 24 to 28 fire stations, distributing cover where it was needed.  The model for Cheshire was therefore evolving and the second pumps at Crewe and Ellesmere Port were being utilised more often as a result of this.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Quarter 1 Performance Report 2017-18 be noted.