Agenda item

Report of the Operations Manager from Kier

The Operations Manager, Graeme Hall from XPS presented the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Delivery Report for 2018-2019 which contained the following information:-

-       Regulations and Guidance from April to September 2018

-       One complaint received relating to incorrect benefits quoted prior to retirement

-       Common Data

-       Performance Charts against service level agreements

Graeme Hall reported that Kier Business Services had entered into an agreement to sell its pension unit to XPS Pension Group which had taken place on 1^st November 2018. XPS were one of the largest pensions consultancy companies in the UK, administering pensions for over 800,000 people. The Kier pensions team based in Middlesbrough had all transferred to XPS, meaning that all accrued knowledge of the firefighter pension scheme would be retained and the existing software, Heywoods Altair, would continue to be used. It was the intention to expand and strengthen the current team moving forward and a bespoke officer would be allocated to work specifically with firefighter pensions. XPS were also concentrating on improving customer satisfaction by introducing satisfaction surveys to gain feedback on the service provided.

It was reported that the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and Cheshire Constabulary along with two other organisations now had a combined contract with XPS and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service were keen to learn from the areas of good practice to improve the service currently provided.

A Board Member sought clarification on how low accuracy would be captured in XPS’s performance reports. It was noted that most of the KPIs related to service level agreements regarding timescales, however, there was an absence of qualitative performance reporting in respect of accuracy.

A Board Member also made reference to the one complaint received during the reporting period. Graeme Hall advised that further control measures had been implemented to ensure that type of mistake did not occur again. A Board Member sought clarity on how XPS would report situations such as Annual Benefit Statements being sent to an incorrect address. In response, Graeme Hall advised that this would not be reported at present, however, going forward this would be recorded as a data breach.

It was reported by XPS that this information could be checked using the self-service tool that was currently used by a number of organisations including Cheshire Constabulary and Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service. In response the Director of Transformation advised that she would seek assurances regarding the accuracy of the data used by the self-service tool prior to agreeing to implementation.

Currently the HR Business Support Manager had quarterly meetings with XPS to discuss and resolve any issues raised. It was the intention that Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service would work closely with colleagues in the Multi-Force Shared Service to ensure a seamless transition for the transfer of data and appropriate knowledge transfer prior to implementation on 1^st April 2019.

RESOLVED: That:

[1]       the content of the report and comments raised be noted.

[2]       Graeme Hall to incorporate Performance KPIs into future performance reports that would provide reassurance regarding accuracy and qualitative performance.