Hampshire County Council Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Authority (Shadow Authority) Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillor David Simpson.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Councillor David Stewart was added to the list of attendees for the February meeting. The minutes of the last meeting were then agreed.

There were no deputations for the meeting.

The Chairman provided an update on the Fire Service’s response to Covid and the Chief Fire Officer confirmed that teams and organisations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had worked exceptionally well together. Cllr Dave Stewart, Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, also passed on his thanks to the Fire Service teams and NHS for their work.

An update was provided on the HMICFRS virtual inspection that took place at the end of 2020 and a summary had been published in January 2021. Three areas for focus were highlighted as well as areas of success and these would be analysed for a further report by Fire. Despite being an interim inspection, the Chief Fire Officer was pleased at the improvement in how staff felt in working for the Service.

Following Wholetime Firefighter recruitment, the Chairman was excited to confirm a good response to the point that a ‘talent pool’ had been established for future positions that arose due to the number of applicants.  There had also been a noticeable increase in women applying for roles, which was a positive step forward as the Service continued to strive in diversifying the workforce.

The Chairman ended his announcements by confirming that the meeting would be the final meeting of the Shadow Authority and the April meeting would be the first formal meeting of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA). The Authority thanked the Chairman for his leadership.

It was confirmed that a virtual LGA conference was taking place between 1-4 March, which Members were welcome to attend.

Councillor Chadd confirmed that the recent Diversity Network meeting had been cancelled.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 8 in the minute book), which requested approval for the revised Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) Statement of Intent for the HIWFRS on 1 April 2021.

The report set out the priorities of the Statement of Intent and Members were content with the proposals.

RESOLVED

a) the HSW Statement of Intent was approved by the Shadow Authority for display from 1 April 2021. 

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 9 in the minute book), which requested approval for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Safety Plan Year 2 improvements.

The report summarised what officers were hoping to achieve in the first year of the Combined Fire Authority and Members were pleased to see Covid impacts and staff wellbeing within the plan as priorities.

RESOLVED

a) The HIWFRA approved the Year 2 Safety Plan improvements.

b) The HIWFRA approved one-off funding of up to £205,000 for 2021/22 to be met from the Transformation Reserve.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Internal Auditor (item 10 in the minute book), which provides a copy of the Internal Audit Charter and the proposed 2021/22 internal audit plan for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA).

The Internal Audit Plan was a risk based plan with fire specific systems for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as well as shared services with HCC and Hampshire Police. Some areas fell outside of scope of external audit and so were covered internally. Updates and progress reports on the plan would continue to go to Standards & Governance Committee going forward.

Total days invested by Internal Audit for 2021/22 currently stood above average at 200 days, based on the risks identified and the impact of the transition to the new Combined Fire Authority and also considered elements not reviewed before.  The impact on the average days would continue to be monitored over a three-year rolling basis.

RESOLVED

The Internal Audit Charter and Internal Audit Plan for 2021/22 was approved by the Shadow Authority

The Authority considered a report from the Treasurer (item 11 in the minute book), which presented the 2021/22 forward budget to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Shadow Authority (HIWFRSA) for approval.

It was highlighted that an addendum had been circulated and published that covered updates since the report had been produced, as well as a new set of recommendations for the Authority to consider following the updates.

Pages 67-68 of the pack were discussed, which included the £2mil proposed deficit and a £500,000 contingency due to the level of uncertainly regarding the ongoing impacts of Covid. Following updates, the deficit was amended to £778,000 in the addendum.

It was confirmed that the Council Tax increases on page 64 would affect the Isle of Wight more due to aligning with Hampshire, but it was accepted that budgets would be changeable within the first year of the Combined Fire Authority being fully established.

The capital programme had been presented differently to assist with clarity, and included two capital schemes for approval to ensure it was fully up-to-date.

RESOLVED

The HIWFRSA approved:

a) The use of the Grant Equalisation Reserve to balance the budget for 2021/22.

b). The Revenue Budget, as set out in Annex 2 to the Addendum.

c). The Capital Programme and funding as set out in Annex 3 to the Addendum including the addition of £100,000 to purchase new co-responding vehicles.

d). Funding of up to £2m from the Capital Payments Reserve for the redevelopment of Redbridge Fire Station, to replace prudential borrowing which would be swapped to fund other capital schemes.

e). The Reserves Strategy as set out in Annex 4 to the Addendum.

f). The Treasury Management Strategy as set out in Appendix E to the main agenda item, including the Annual Investment Strategy for 2021/22, (and the remainder of 2020/21).

g). Delegated authority to the Chief Finance Officer to manage the Fire and Rescue Authority’s investments and borrowing according to the Treasury Management Strategy Statement as appropriate.

h). Delegated authority to the Chief Financial Officer to make any final minor changes to the budget using compensating adjustments to the level of the draw from reserves, in order to balance the overall budget.

i). The Capital and Investment Strategy as set out in Appendix F to the main agenda item for 2021/22 (and the remainder of 2020/21).

j). The Section 25 Report as set out in Appendix G to the main agenda item which should be taken into account by the Shadow Authority in agreeing the budget and council tax (noting the reduced deficit and reduced draw required from the Grant Equalisation Reserve).

k). The council tax requirement for the Authority for the year beginning 1st April 2021 of £49,158,022. 

l). That the new Combined Fire Authority’s tax be increased by 1.99% above the Alternative Notional Amount set for 2020/21 (£69.06) for the year beginning 1st April 2021 and for the properties in each band, as set out below: 

Band A:  £46.95
Band B:  £54.78
Band C:  £62.60 
Band D:  £70.43      
Band E: £86.08
Band F: £101.73
Band G: £117.38
Band H: £140.86

23. That the precepts set out below, totalling £49,158,022 are issued on the billing authorities in Hampshire & Isle of Wight, requiring the payment in such instalments and on such dates set by them and previously notified to the Authority, in proportion to the tax base of each billing authority’s area as determined by them.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council  £4,692,554
East Hampshire District Council    £3,620,600
Eastleigh Borough Council     £3,364,749
Fareham Borough Council     £3,085,151
Gosport Borough Council     £1,882,087
Hart District Council      £2,891,518
Havant Borough Council     £2,919,184
Isle of Wight      £3,752,482
New Forest District Council     £5,038,471
Portsmouth City Council     £3,978,443
Rushmoor Borough Council     £2,275,529
Southampton City Council     £4,534,917
Test Valley Borough Council     £3,543,756
Winchester City Council     £3,578,581

Total          £49,158,022

The Authority considered a report from the Clerk (item 13 in the minute book), which requested approval for the Terms of Reference of the Firefighters’ Pension Board for the new Combined Fire Authority of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (HIWFRA) which will come into effect from the 1 April 2021.

This would allow the new CFA to set up a Pension Board to take place in April and also permit Isle of Wight Members to join along with the current Hampshire Fire & Rescue Authority Members.

Going forward, the Pension Board would become a Hampshire & Isle of Wight Board and have a cross section of Scheme and Employer representatives from across the Combined Fire Service.

RESOLVED

a) The Shadow Authority approved the proposed Terms of Reference for the HIWFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board as set out at Appendix A.

b). The Shadow Authority approved the membership of the HIWFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board as set out in paragraphs 6 - 7 of the report, and appointed the representatives set out in paragraph 7 above for 4-year terms, to take effect from the 1 April 2021 in accordance with the HIWFRA Firefighters’ Pension Board Terms of Reference as set out at Appendix A

The Authority considered a report from the Clerk (item 12 in the minute book), which requested approval to adopt the Member Allowance Scheme (“the Scheme”) set out at Appendix 1 with effect from 1 April 2021 and also recommend that a cross party member working group be established at the Annual Meeting of the Authority in June 2021 to review the Scheme towards and bring recommendations for a new scheme by March 2022.

Members were happy with the report and there were no questions.

RESOLVED

a) That, having had regard to the recommendations of the relevant IRPs, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority agreed to implement the Members’ Allowances Scheme set out at Appendix 1 from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

b). It was noted that a member working group would be appointed at the Annual Meeting of the Authority in June 2021 to conduct a review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme with recommendations for a new Scheme to be brought back to the Authority by 31 March 2022.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 14 in the minute book), which requested approval from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Shadow Authority to appoint the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) to ensure the general administration of the new combined Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) from 1 April 2021, along with appointing a Monitoring Officer.

The history of the proposals were summarised and Member were pleased to see that the Combined Fire Authority would be more independent.

RESOLVED

a) The appointment of the Chief Fire Officer, to ensure the administration of the new combined Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Authority, was approved by the Shadow Authority for commencement on 1 April 2021.

b) The appointment of Hampshire County Council’s Deputy Head of Legal Services, Paul Hodgson, as Monitoring Officer was approved by the Shadow Authority for commencement on 1 April 2021.

c) The appointment of Rob Carr as Chief Financial Officer and Section 151 officer was approved by the Shadow Authority for commencement on 1 April 2021.

d) Consequential changes to the HIWFRA constitution were delegated to the Monitoring Officer and brought to the HIWFRA for approval on 14 April 2021.  

It was resolved 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 Paragraphs 1 and 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 an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 16 in the minute book) [SEE SUMMARY OF EXEMPT MINUTE]

The Authority considered an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 17 in the minute book) [SEE SUMMARY OF EXEMPT MINUTE]

The Authority considered an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 18 in the minute book) [SEE SUMMARY OF EXEMPT MINUTE]

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 7 in the minute book), which set out existing approved Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority (HFRA) policies to be transferred to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) on 1 April 2021.

The Authority level policies this applied to were highlighted in paragraph 10, and the position statements applicable in paragraph 11, which could be updated in future if it was felt this was necessary.

It was confirmed that the quorum for the Combined Fire Authority would be 50% of Members, including any two of the constituent Authorities.

RESOLVED

a) The Shadow Authority approved the transfer of approved HFRA policies, Position Statements and the 5 Design Principles to the HIWFRA commencing 1 April 2021.

b) The Shadow Authority supported the continued operation of the established PPG framework for the new CFA.