Agenda and minutes

To welcome the new Member from Buckinghamshire Council and to appoint to a Committee in accordance with the Group Leader’s wishes.

To appoint Councillor Shade Adoh onto the Overview and Audit Committee.

RESOLVED –

That Councillor Adoh be appointed onto the Overview and Audit Committee.

To approve, and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Fire Authority held on 15 June 2022 (item 3)

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Fire Authority held on 15 June 2022, be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to the amendment, at FA12, of:

 ‘A Member asked why ‘the environment’ was not on the Corporate Plan’ to;

 ‘A Member proposed that ‘the environment’ be included on the Corporate Plan’.

The Chairman to invite officers to provide verbal updates on any actions noted in the Minutes from the previous meeting.

FA08 - The Director of Legal and Governance advised that under appointments to committees and as already noted, there had been a change in Membership. On the 14 July 2022 the Leader of Buckinghamshire Council replaced Councillor Irwin with Councillor Adoh onto the Fire Authority. Councillor Adoh had subsequently been appointed to the Overview and Audit Committee as a substantive Member at this meeting.

FA14 – The Director of Legal and Governance advised that with regard to the Home Office White Paper Consultation, a response had been submitted on behalf of the Authority and circulated to the Group Leaders.

To note the Chairman’s role:

·         To preside at meetings of the Authority

·         To be the principal member spokesperson for the Authority

·         To represent the Authority at civic and ceremonial functions

·         To liaise with the Chief Fire Officer, statutory officers, senior officers, and Authority members on matters related to the governance and conduct of the Authority

·         To support lead members and the Vice Chairman where needed in the carrying out of their responsibilities

·         To provide leadership to the Authority, with the aim of securing political consensus wherever possible

·          

(i)                  It is recommended that the Chairman’s role be noted.

To note the Vice-Chairman’s role:

·         To fulfil the duties of the Chairman in the Chairman’s absence

·         To assist the Chairman in specific duties as and when required, including leading on the Authority’s response to any Government proposals relevant to the responsibilities of the Authority, and any transitions or changes arising from such proposals.

·         To lead on Climate Change

·         To lead on the Authority’s response to any matters relating to HMICFRS

(ii)        It is recommended that the Vice-Chairman’s role be noted.

RESOLVED –

That the Chairman’s and Vice Chairman’s responsibilities be noted.

Members to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in any matter being considered which are not entered onto the Authority’s Register, and officers to disclose any interests they may have in any contract to be considered.

None.

To receive the Chairman’s announcements (if any) and a presentation of the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award

The Chairman announced that:

Wing Commander Jenny Dennis was attending the meeting today to present the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award to the Authority. After the award had been presented to the Chairman, the Chairman extended his thanks, on behalf of the Authority, to all Officers who had worked hard to achieve the award.

Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award Presentation

On 6 October, the Chairman along with Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer Calum Bell and Group Commander Shaun Cunningham attended the prestigious Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award presentation onboard HMS Warrior, Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth. The Chairman received the Gold Award Certificate on behalf of Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority on the Gun Deck of HMS Warrior, which was followed by a sunset ceremony performed by the Band of The Royal Marines.

Chairman’s Activities since the last meeting of the Fire Authority

Further to previously mentioned activities, the Chairman has undertaken additional duties representing the Authority since its last meeting.  These have included visits to Fire Stations across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes to meet with and hear from firefighters, and further visits are planned.  In July, he met with Matt Parr from HMICFRS, to discuss the most recent inspection report; attended the Long Service Awards ceremony; and attended the firefighter graduation ceremony at the Fire Service College with the Chief Fire Officer.  In August, he met with local and regional representatives of the FBU, along with the Chief Fire Officer.  In September, he represented the Service, along with Area Commander Simon Tuffley and the Ceremonial Team, at the Annual Firefighters Memorial Trust Service in London, and laid a wreath at the Memorial in St Paul’s.

State Funeral

Area Commander Calum Bell was selected to be one of the 16 Fire representatives covering all fire and rescue services across the United Kingdom as part of the Civilian Services Contingent (CSC) who took part in the state funeral for the Queen on Monday 19 September 2022. Calum, along with all the other members of the Contingent, spent four days preparing for the funeral, starting with an all-night rehearsal covering the whole route, followed by three days at Pirbright Barracks being “drilled” by the Army’s finest instructors. On the day itself, Calum marched a total of 3.2 miles during the procession, where he was flanked by members from other services as well as the band of the Royal Marines. The procession route saw him start at Wellington Barracks and head to Westminster Abbey, from where the CSC marched behind the Household Cavalry who were escorting the Gun Carriage all the way to Wellington Arch. This saw the procession head down Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall, past Buckingham Palace, before ending at the Arch where the monarch was transported by car to her final burial place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Calum described it as one of the most intense events and definitely the proudest moment of his 32 year career in the Fire Service.

Workforce Planning

The Service has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Special Meeting of the Executive Committee –  7 October 2022

Special Meeting of the Executive Committee – 7 October 2022

“That the Performance measures for 2022/23 are noted”

 The report considered by the Executive Committee is attached at item 9(a)

The Chairman introduced the report and advised Members that it was considered by the Executive Committee at its Special Meeting on 7 October 2022. At the Annual Fire Authority Meeting in June 2022, the Chairman had asked that Members had visibility of the Service’s key performance indicators, so that scrutiny of the Service could be improved.

The Chairman advised Members this was the first report of Performance Measures, it was a work in progress, and information had been brought together following work undertaken during the Summer by the Senior Management team and Lead Members.

The Head of Technology, Transformation and PMO advised Members that historically the Service had brought performance measures to Members across various reports and at different frequencies. Working with staff and Members, this had been combined and a range of measures built covering the whole Service, in one report. The measures showed delivery against objectives and enablers in the Corporate Plan. Three measures had been highlighted as good performance and areas that needed focus. Deliberate fires to non-domestic premises, fire and wellness visits were ones to focus on and serious accidental dwelling fires was a positive result. The measures continued to be developed and refined with updates being provided quarterly to Members.

RESOLVED –

That the Performance measures for 2022/23 are noted.

 To consider item 10

The Chairman advised Members that this summer, the Service faced a significant number of pressures due to the wildfires and field fires that were experienced. He had asked officers to prepare a report outlining the lessons learned from those summer pressures and how it impacted the Service.

The Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised Members that on the 19 July 2022 the Service faced the busiest and most challenging periods of operational demand it had ever faced. Following an extreme period of hot dry weather, temperatures on that day reached a record high of 40.3°C. A Major incident (defined as an event or situation with a range of serious consequences which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder) were declared in 15 fire and rescue services across the country, including Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and neighbouring services in Bedfordshire, London and Hertfordshire, all as a result of the devastating outbreak of fires. During this period in July, the Service was also dealing with three other significant fires and two serious road traffic collisions (RTC’s). Three weeks later there were similar challenges. On the morning of 8 August, Thames Valley Fire Control Service (TVFCS) had received 65 calls, the majority of which were to ‘fires in the open’ and by 2pm they were receiving approximately 1 call per minute.

The Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised Members that this report was an interim one. As was customary, following the response to any notable incident or event, the Service carried out a range of debriefing processes, all intended to highlight good practice and areas for improvement. Officers were mid-way through the debriefing process,  and whilst the Service wouldn’t normally start to introduce any ‘learnings’ until after the debriefing process had concluded, officers had taken the decision to introduce some early initial changes. Cool boxes to keep the bottled water cold, had been issued along with electrolyte tablets to restore levels after any periods of exertion. The roll out of personal issue face masks providing a higher level of respiratory protection had been accelerated. Other areas that had been identified at these early stages of the debriefing process which would be followed up in due course were, Preparedness and Resilience; Response; Equipment; Procedures; Welfare, Specialist Support; Comms, Health and Safety; Prevention – landowners, standing and harvested crop and Local, Regional and National levels of involvement for some of the above.

The Chairman on behalf of Members thanked all colleagues across the Service for their outstanding work throughout the summer. It was a very challenging time; the report outlined just how challenging and how well the Service responded.

A Member asked that climate change was leading to extreme weather conditions, both drought and flooding and everything in between. What was the Service doing to broaden this review, particularly with other authorities.

The Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the Service was actively engaged with partner agencies, and other fire and rescue services. There had already been a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To consider item 11

The Chairman advised that as Members would recall, a first draft of this was tabled at the Annual Meeting of the Fire Authority on 15 June 2022. Following that review, officers were asked to make some amendments and additions to the plan for consideration at this meeting.

The Corporate Planning Manager advised that as Members would have seen from the resolution in the minutes of the June Fire Authority meeting, officers were asked to integrate some elements from other aspects of the overall planning framework, in particular those relating to the Public Safety Plan, Environment and Climate Change Plan and also the HMICFRS Action Plan. Officers had endeavoured to address these requirements and as Members would see, a diagram had been added which showed how all the various plans fit together and relate to one another.

The Corporate Planning Manager advised that at Section 8 which contained the Schedule of Key Projects and Tasks, actions relating to the two HMICFRS Causes of Concern, arising from the 2021 inspection had been added, and also the Climate Change Action Plan. Finally, the performance measures  designed to gauge progress towards the achievement of the Authority’s Strategic Objectives and the effectiveness of its Strategic Enablers, to align with the new performance monitoring framework and associated indicators, had been included. There were some other amendments to the text which were shaded grey where they appear in the document.

RESOLVED –

That the 2020-25 Corporate Plan Update be approved by the Authority.

To consider item 12

The Chairman advised Members that the existing Prevention Strategy was still within its review period, but with the introduction in July 2022 of the Prevention Fire Standard and the National Fire Chief Council’s Prevention Strategy and the findings of the internal prevention evaluations and the HMICFRS tranche two report, had necessitated the review and update of the Prevention Strategy which now aligned to the Public Safety Plan.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager advised Members that as the Chairman had mentioned, the Prevention Strategy was still within period, however, a number of things came into effect over 2021 which had prompted the update of that Strategy and the revised one presented today. The Strategy was developed in cognisance of the third element of the Prevention Fire Standard which specifically stated that the Service needed to develop a Prevention Strategy and Plan, with the flexibility to proactively respond and adapt to the changing needs of the community, and for this to be supported by a named lead for Prevention. There were key changes within the Strategy which included the division on the prevention activity focus into four areas; safer homes, safer neighbourhoods, safer roads and safer environment. Whilst that doesn’t specifically reference any activity related to children or young people within those four themes, work with children and young people was integral to all of them.

Members noted that since the report was drafted, the economic situation in the country had changed dramatically and people may choose to heat their houses in different ways.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager advised Members that the National Fire Chiefs Council had produced a climate change support pack which recognised some of the cost of living implications. It had only just been released, but it was something the Service would be rolling out with some timely messages over the winter. The Service also had links with both Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Councils who had set up mechanisms to support some of the difficulties they were foreseeing with either cooking or heating over the winter period.

Members asked if there were any material to raise awareness of these risks, it was given to them, so they could advertise it through their networks.

A Member asked around emerging risks, and as highlighted in the HMICFRS report around the risk of financial inability to put money into prevention work, should this be highlighted as an emerging risk.

The Chairman asked officers to add it as an emerging risk. Subject to that requested amendment it was:

RESOLVED –

That the Prevention Strategy 2022-2025 be approved.

To consider item 13

(Councillor Lambert left the meeting)

The Chairman introduced the report and advised Members that following a decision made at the Business Transformation Board on 10 February 2022, any further decision on the continuation of the Safety Centre funding agreement was deferred until the Autumn to enable the Safety Centre to evidence one full year of delivery following its reopening after the national lockdowns and response to Covid-19.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager advised Members that the Safety Centre was a scenario based learning resource based in Milton Keynes. The Service was a key member in establishing it, over 25 years ago. Since then, the Service had utilised the Safety Centre to deliver education to young people through a series of funding agreements. This report recommends a three year funding agreement of £25k per annum. This would facilitate the delivery of education to a minimum of 4000 children and young people in accordance with the heads of terms defined in the report.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager advised Members that as mentioned by the Chairman, this was deferred from the routine review point in Quarter 4, to enable a full year of trading to be reviewed following the appointment of a new CEO, and also a period where the centre was forced to close to accepting young people because of the demands of Covid. Whilst the centre was not able to accept or run school visits on its premises, it utilised the time to refresh the premises with new branding and replace an outdated scenario with a new street scenario and diversify to improve its outreach offering. The new CEO had a very clear sense of how the staff at the centre could educate and improve the outcomes for children and young people, and had continued to build on the outreach programme so that children and young people could be engaged with offsite, as well as through the scenarios. This also increased their ability to deliver to multiple groups of children at the same time. Fundamentally, the Safety Centre enabled the Service to discharge some of its requirements to educate through qualified staff and well developed programmes.

The Chairman advised Members that after the February 2023 Fire Authority meeting which was being held in Milton Keynes, a visit to the Safety Centre would be arranged.

The Leader of Milton Keynes Council advised Members that Milton Keynes Council also funded the Safety Centre, and the Safety Centre would be receiving some Section 106 money from a local development, if any Member was worried about the reduction in funding from the Service.

A Member asked if there was an opportunity for young people and people from the different backgrounds identified to have the time to visit the centre and did the centre have data to reflect how many groups were attending the centre and encouraging them to think about the Service and how they can get involved.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager advised Members that in terms of Equality Impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To consider item 14

(Councillor Lambert re-joined the meeting)

The Lead Member for People, Equality and Diversity and Assurance  introduced the report and advised Members this was a year two update of a five year Strategy.

The Station Commander HR Projects advised Members that the People Strategy 2020-25 was required to be reviewed and an annual update presented to the Authority. On 13 October 2021 the Authority approved the People Strategy employee engagement roadshow as part of the People Strategy - Year One Review. These sessions were completed within the planned timescales and achieved the objective of raising the profile of the Service’s People Strategy. The information was delivered through a range of methods including face to face presentations, virtual sessions and through information factsheets which were published on the Service’s intranet and promoted to harder to reach part-time employees.

The Station Commander HR Projects advised Members there were a range of workstreams which support the five key areas identified in the Strategy. These were being delivered with a focus on addressing areas for improvement or causes for concern in the People Section of the HMICFRS inspection report. Key areas to note were, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, there had been a renewed approach to community engagement following the impact of the global pandemic. The Service had resumed a wide range of public facing activities, delivering new methods of engagement and interaction within its communities.

Employee Engagement, the Service had worked to understand and address key points raised in the Culture Survey which was completed in January 2022. The introduction of the ‘feedback loop’ had allowed employees to better understand the process of affecting organisational change. This was achieved by delivering Service-wide listening workshops and providing timely updates on key themes identified. Organisational Development and Resourcing - Delivery of the Leadership and Management Development Programme (LMDP). This had provided a measurable level of leadership training and knowledge across all levels of the Service’s management structure, giving its leaders the knowledge and empowerment required to manage more effectively. Training, Learning and Development, there has been a significant commitment to delivering a range of wholetime recruitment, transferee and On-Call firefighter courses, supporting the Service’s strategic objective of increasing the operational establishment. Employee Health and Wellbeing, the Service’s Mental Wellbeing Support Network has been reviewed and updated, providing a robust support structure across the Service. 37 Mental Health Champions had been trained to provide a range of support to employees.

The Station Commander HR Projects advised Members that the report identified objectives for Year three of the Strategy. These objectives would allow the Service to measure and record progress made in each key area, identify new opportunities to develop the People Strategy, and improve how it supported and developed both existing and future employees.

A Member asked when attending events such as MK Pride, although this was about increasing equality, diversity and inclusion, was it also used as an opportunity for recruitment.

The Station Commander HR Projects advised that the challenge was identifying whether the Service wanted to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To consider excluding the public and press representatives from the meeting by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the minutes contain information relating to any individual; and Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the minutes contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the Authority); and on these grounds it is considered the need to keep information exempt outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED –

It was moved and resolved that the public and press representatives from the meeting by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the minutes contain information relating to any individual; and Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as the minutes contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the Authority); and on these grounds it is considered, at this moment in time, that the need to keep information exempt outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

All Officers apart from the Director of Legal and Governance, Head of Human Resources, and the Democratic Services Officer, left the meeting.

To approve, and sign as a correct record the Exempt Minutes of the meeting of the Fire Authority held on 15 June 2022 (item 16).

RESOLVED –

That the Exempt Minutes of the meeting of the Fire Authority held on 15 June 2022, be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To note that the next meeting of the Fire Authority will be held on Wednesday 7 December 2022 at 11am.

To note that the next meeting of the Fire Authority will be held on Wednesday 7 December 2022 at 11am, at the Oculus, Buckinghamshire Council.

THE CHAIRMAN CLOSED THE MEETING AT 12.00 PM.