Hampshire County Council Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillors Cal Corkery and Karen Lucioni

Members were mindful to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest was not already entered in the Authority’s register of interests, along with any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members wished to disclose.

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed

There were no deputations for the meeting.

The Chairman confirmed that the Prince’s Trust 20-year celebration event had been held at the headquarters on 18 November and a special award was presented to the Chief Fire Officer to celebrate the involvement and commitment of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service to the Prince’s Trust. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service’s Children and Young People’s Team were had also been highly commended in the children and young people award category at the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) Celebrating Prevention Awards was held on 10^th November.

On Remembrance Sunday, services across the county including Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and alongside Fire Cadets from around the country, represented to commemorate the end of the First World War and pay their respects to all fallen soldiers who had sacrificed their lives in countless wars at the Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph in London.?The Chairman also laid a wreath at headquarters on behalf of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority.

The Chairman confirmed that there had been report on the London Fire Brigade and the Chief Fire Officer and team would be working with teams to ensure that each of the questions raised by the report were considered by the organisation. The Authority would then receive a report providing further insight at a future meeting.

An update was also provided on upcoming industrial action and Members were reassured that the Service was working on plans to continue delivering the vital public service during periods of reduced staff availability. 

The Chief Fire officer confirmed that further work was anticipated around lithium battery storage and the importance of good management and involvement of the Fire and Rescue Service and a signed letter had requested more inclusion during the planning process.

It was also shared that some members of staff were participating in the Atlantic Sailing Challenge and wished them luck.

Members provided the following updates:

-    The Chairman and Councillor Tony Bunday had attended the Eastleigh Passing Out parade on the 5 December;

-       Councillor’s Tony Bunday, Cal Corkery and David Harrison had attended  a Leadership and Scrutiny course in Warwick;

-       Councillor Zoe Huggins had attended a school to look at the Fire Safety Programme in her capacity as the Champion for Children and Young People, and would be looking at work around the cadets going forward;

-       Councillor Keith Mans had attended the South East Cadets Association that Hampshire Constabulary were involved in and hoped that Hampshire Fire cadets could participate in the future;

-       Councillor Tony Bunday had spent two hours observing in the control room as part of his champion role in safeguarding and on the 20 October had met with the Area Manager for the Southampton area

-       Councillor Derek Mellor had visited Tadley Fire Station and anticipated attending the upcoming LGPS training. Cllr Mellor was also attending the Basingstoke Passing Out Parade before Christmas;

(Following the meeting, Councillor Corkery confirmed that he had continued to liaise with the local Fire Brigade Union about a number of workplace issues, notably their ongoing pay dispute and fight for a fair pay rise for firefighters feeling the impact of the cost of living crisis.)

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 7 in the minute book), which sought approval of the Authority’s annual Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) Modern Slavery statement for 2022-2023.

The report was summarised and Members were pleased to hear that Internal Audit had concluded that there were reasonable processes in place and that the statement set out the actions   by the Authority to understand, prevent and address all modern slavery risks within its services (directly provided andcommissioned) and supplychains.

It was confirmed that training could be provided in future for Members and that an annual report could be taken to the Authority to update on progress.

RESOLVED

The HIWFRA Modern Slavery Statement 2022-2023, at Appendix A was approved by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority and would subsequently be published on the Authority’s website.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 8 in the minute book), which explored how the Service had achieved its core purpose over the last six months of making life safer.

In summarising the report, it was highlighted that there had been a small increase in response times owing to incidents in more remote (rural) or difficult to access locations, the impact of reduced on-call availability, and the resource impact of the extreme weather conditions experienced throughout the summer heatwaves (June through to August). There had also been an rise in sickness levels owing to increases in COVID-19 and mental health sickness. Whilst this did create pressure, the primary concern was supporting staff.

The skills deficit in filling vacancies was a national issue and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Service had found localised solutions to be very successful and finding the right people for the right type of cover needed.

RESOLVED

The 2022/23 Mid-Year Performance Report was noted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Full Authority

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Finance Officer (item 9 in the minute book), which provided the Authority with an update on the 2022/23 financial monitoring position and the budget setting position for 2023/24.

A funding update was anticipated in mid-December that would allow more reasonable assumptions for inflation, which currently accounted for the majority of overspend.

During questions, Members learned the importance of using staff in a better, more efficient way to enable the best use of time and resources. It was also highlighted that slower progress with the Station Investment Programme meant that the Authority had not yet incurred capital expenditure to the level anticipated, resulting in the Authority has not taking on additional external borrowing and incurring lower interest and Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) charges than budgeted. The subsequent savings against the capital financing costs budget enabled a mor robust position going into 2022/23.

The Authority noted that there was an exempt appendix to the report and there were no questions.

RESOLVED

a) That the budget monitoring position was noted by the HIWFRA Full Authority

b) The category a) and b) Delivery Pressures set out in Appendix B was approved by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority for inclusion in the 2022/23 budget subject to affordability

c) The category c) and d) Delivery Pressures set out in Appendix B was noted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority

d) The amendment to the capital programme made by the Chief Fire Officer under paragraph B.17 of the financial regulations was noted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority

e) The mid-year review of treasury management activities set out in Appendix C was approved by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority

f) The changes to the capital programme set out in exempt Appendix D were approved by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 10 in the minute book), which sought Authority commitment to implement National Operational Guidance (NOG) and embed the code of practice across the organisation.

As part of the implementation, officers were confident that the correct people could be recruited from within the organisation and would have a better understanding of the work required, which would give growth and development opportunities as well as provide the necessary experience from across various roles of the staff that made up the team.

RESOLVED

The approach outlined in the paper, namely that the Service fully align itself with National Operational Guidance, and that up to £750,000 from the Transformation Reserve be provided for this work, was approved by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Full Authority.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 11 in the minute book), which provided an update to activities undertaken as part of the Fire Authority’s Carbon Reduction Pathway.

It was highlighted that there had been an 11% reduction from the baseline of 2019/20 and it was anticipated that if the recommendations were approved, the carbon footprint was projected to continue to reduce to a total of 28% when compared to the 2019/20 baseline year, maintaining the trajectory towards net zero in 2050.

It was confirmed that improvements to insulation and double glazing replacements would continue as part of business-as-usual through revenue maintenance plans.

During questions, it was confirmed that water harvesting would become an in-built part of future estate developments and was included in plans for Cosham station. No consideration had been given to wind turbines due to the planning restrictions associated with them.

Members agreed that it was important to focus on the best return elements in the short term and monitor any grants and additional funding that could be used to support the more challenging aspects of the carbon reduction plans.

RESOLVED

a) Subject to approval of funding, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority approved the programme of works set out in Option 2 to improve thermal efficiency of buildings and renewable energy generation over the next five years at a cost of £500,000 per year.

b) Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority approved the adoption of the National Sustainability Charter (Appendix B) as part of the Carbon Reduction Pathway objectives.

It was agreed that the public be excluded from the meeting during the following items of business, as it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during these items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the reports.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 13 in the minute book) on