Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Pirehill

Please ask for Kay Johnson DDI (01785) 898670

STOKE-ON-TRENT AND STAFFORDSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY Thursday 15 December 2016 2.15 pm Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters Pirehill

H NORRIS Secretary to the Authority

6 December 2016

*There will be a Conservative Group Meeting at 1.45 pm in the Meeting Room *The Visitors Dining Room has been reserved for the Labour Group from 1.45 pm *The Members Room has been reserved from 1.45 pm for other Members ie Staffordshire Independent Group and City Independents

A G E N D A

PART ONE 1. Apologies 2. Declaration of Interests 3. Minutes of the Meeting of the Authority held on 18 October 2016 4. Minutes of Committees

(a) Minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 22 November 2016

(b) Minutes of the Audit Committee held on 23 November 2016 5. Report of the Secretary 6. Periodic Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive 7. Corporate Safety Plan 2017-20 Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive

8. Development of a Police and Fire Emergency Services Organisation for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive 9. Stafford Fire Station and Life Skills Centre (Safe + Sound) Update Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive 10. Exclusion of the Public The Chairman to move:- “That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business

which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 indicated below”.

PART TWO (All reports in this section are on pink paper)

NIL

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Item No. 3 on Agenda

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE STOKE-ON-TRENT AND STAFFORDSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY

HELD ON 18 OCTOBER 2016

Present: S J Sweeney (Chairman)

Representatives of Staffordshire County Council

Bloomer, L W Day, W D Martin, G R Chapman, F A Deaville, M A Mitchell, Ms C Clarke, R J Finn, T V Taylor, J W Davies, M W Hambleton, Mrs S Winnington, M J Davies, P R Marshall, R M

Representatives of Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Dutton, A E Kallar, G S Irving, R Apologies:- Banks, Mrs K M; Bowers, Miss S A; and Wood, Miss C B Also in attendance: Ms R Bryant, Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive; Mr R Barber, Deputy Chief Executive/Executive Director; Mr H Norris, Secretary to the Authority; Mr D. Greensmith, Director of Finance, Assets and Resources; Mr G Luznyj, Director of Prevent and Protect and Mr S Knight, PFI Programme Director.

PART ONE Documents referred to in these Minutes as Schedules are not appended but will be attached to the signed copies of the Minutes. Copies, or specific information in them, may be available on request.

Minutes of the Meeting held on 11 July 2016

42. RESOLVED - That the Minutes of the Authority meeting held on 11 July 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Minutes of the Audit Committee held on 27 July 2016 (Schedule 1)

43. Mr P R Davies, Chairman of the Audit Committee, thanked the Finance Team and the Internal and External Auditors for the work that they had undertaken in ensuring that the Statement of Accounts for the Authority were ready two months early. He advised that all questions posed by the auditors were answered straight away and that all had worked very hard towards a successful conclusion. Mr Sweeney asked that his thanks be passed onto the Finance Team for the tremendous work that they had undertaken. 44. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Audit Committee held on 27 July 2016 be received.

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Minutes of the Urgency Committee held on 18 August 2016 (Schedule 2)

45. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Urgency Committee held on 18 August 2016 be received.

Minutes of the Appointments Committee (shortlisting) held on

16 September 2016 (Schedule 3)

46. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Appointments Committee (shortlisting) held on 16 September 2016 be received.

Minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 28 September 2016

(Schedule 4) 47. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 28 September 2016 be received.

Minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 5 October 2016 (Schedule 5)

48. Mr Sweeney congratulated Mr Hyde, in his absence, on his appointment to the position of substantive Director of Response. He commented that Mr Hyde thoroughly deserved the appointment, which was a unanimous decision of the Appointments Committee and commented that Mr Hyde would be excellent in post. 49. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 5 October 2016 be received

Report of the Secretary (Schedule 6)

Appointments Committee Membership 50. RESOLVED – That the action of the Chairman in agreeing the appointment of Mrs K M Banks, Mr W D Day, Mr R A Irving, Mr S J Sweeney and Mr J W Taylor to the Appointments Committee, for the appointment of the Director of Response be confirmed. Appointment to the Audit Committee 51. Following the introduction by the Authority of the new rules in relation to the Quorum of Meetings i.e. half the Membership of the Committee and at least one representative of each constituent authority, the Chairman of the Authority appointed Mr A E Dutton to serve on the Audit Committee in place of Ms S Bowers. It was essential for the July Audit Committee to be quorate as it needed to be in a position to approve the Statement of Accounts on behalf of the Authority. It therefore seemed appropriate to appoint Mr Dutton to the Audit Committee, for an interim period vice Ms Bowers, to ensure that the meeting was quorate. Mr Dutton undertook audit training before attending the meeting. The Chairman had agreed that as Ms Bowers had resumed her duties she would now resume her position on the Audit Committee.

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52. RESOLVED – (a) That the action of the Chairman in appointing Mr A E Dutton to the Audit Committee in place of Ms S Bowers, for an interim period be confirmed. (b) That the action of the Chairman in reappointing Ms Bowers to the Audit Committee be confirmed. Licence for HS2 Limited 53. The Service had received notification from HS2 Limited of a request for a licence that would allow the company to enter onto the Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters site at Pirehill and carry out preliminary survey work for the High Speed Train Project. The preliminary work would include issues such as undertaking ecological surveys, identifying and cataloguing watercourses and drainage routes. They had asked the Service to sign a licence agreement to that effect. Under the present proposals the line of the HS2 would not run through the Headquarters site but through the open farmland towards Yarlet. In consideration of agreeing the license HS2 would pay a fee of £1000 for two non-invasive surveys on the site and a day rate determined on the nature of the survey to be undertaken for any subsequent preliminary surveys. Members held a discussion on the matter including comments on opposition to the HS2, the possible timetable for the survey, the amount offered by HS2, where this amount would be paid into and the possible breakdown of this amount. Mr Norris advised that the request was to grant a licence for the survey which was being carried out ahead of other decisions being made, £1000 was a flat rate offered by HS2 which would be paid to the Service. He was not aware of the detailed breakdown of this figure at this stage. There was a schedule of other payments detailed within HS2’s request and Mr Norris would, in his position as Secretary to the Authority, subject to approval, complete the necessary documentation for the licence agreement. 54. RESOLVED –That the request from HS2 Limited to grant a licence to HS2 to carry out preliminary survey work at Pirehill be approved. Joint Collaboration Working Group Membership 55. RESOLVED – That the action of the Chairman in agreeing the appointment of Mrs K M Banks, Mr W D Day, Mr M A Deaville, Mr S J Sweeney and Mr J W Taylor. to the Joint Collaboration Working Group be confirmed. Pay and Allowances Awards 2016 56. The Authority had received notification that the NJC had agreed an increase of 1% to firefighters with effect from 1 July 2016 and in accordance with this decision, the pay of these staff had been uplifted with effect from that date. The NJC had agreed that Continual Professional Development Payments had also been increased by 1%. 57. RESOLVED – That the National Pay Agreement for firefighters and its implementation be noted.

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Transport and Engineering Workshops Collaboration Agreement Update 58. The Service had established a joint Transport Maintenance facility with Staffordshire Police at the Services workshop facility situated at Trentham Lakes. The facilities had been altered to accommodate the needs for servicing and repair on both fleets. Officers had been preparing a legal agreement between the parties to define the operation of the facility and this was in the process of being concluded. In response to a question Mr Barber advised that a full marked up copy of the agreement had been sent back to Police and it was anticipated that agreement should be reached by mid-week. He agreed that it had been an elongated process which demonstrated the complexities associated with this type of integration. 59. RESOLVED – That the progress on Workshops Collaboration Agreement be noted. Request for Information on the Life Skills Project and PFI scheme from the Home Office 60. Members were informed that the Service had received a request from the Home Office for certain information to be supplied on the Life Skills project and the PFI programme. The Service had received central Government funds from DCLG as a result of a successful bid in 2014 for the development of a Life Skills Centre to be established on the site of the Fire Station in Stafford and also a request for the community and partner usage of PFI 1 and 2 stations. An updated Report on the Life Skills project appeared later in the Agenda for this meeting. Attached to the Secretary’s Report was the original request from the Home Office and the response sent to that request, for Members information, including a detailed response to the questions asked, details of the PFI Station usage and a list of “Trusted Partners” using the Community Fire Stations; a letter of support from Tony Goodwin, Chairman designate of the Board of Trustees for the “Safe and Sound” CIO. Also attached was a further request from the Home Office regarding the Life Skills centre, together with the response. Members held a discussion and asked who was responsible for initiating this request and whether a similar request had been made to other fire and rescue authorities undertaking PFI and Life Skills Projects and the relevance of asking for the further information on PFI. Ms Bryant advised that the request had come directly from Harsha Thaker at the Home Office. Harsha had worked with the Service throughout the Life Skills project and the information had been sought as part of an audit review of transformation projects. Ms Bryant advised that there were a number of projects which were awarded total funding of £75m. Of those bids three were for Life Skills Centres. The Service was working closely with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service who were also developing a Life Skills Centre and officers sat on each other’s Boards. A Member asked whether Cheshire had also been asked to provide this information to the Home Office and was advised that they had not been asked for this information at this time. As to the rationale for the additional information sought on PFI Ms Bryant advised that she did not have an answer. Mr Chapman commented that the Authority was responsible for the PFI and Life Skills Centre. He enquired why the Service was building Community Fire Stations and quoted Section 12 of the Fire and Rescue Service Act 2004. It was clear that the Authority was responsible for these and not the Home Office. He commented that the Life Skills Centre was adopting a life of its own.

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Ms Bryant advised that she welcome the request from the Home Office and the extra scrutiny was also welcomed by all on the Authority. She advised that it was appropriate that any businesses cases submitted in the future should also be subject to the same level of scrutiny. 61. RESOLVED - That the requests for information from the Home Office and the detailed responses supplied, be noted. LGA Fire Commission 62. Mr Peter Davies had been nominated to serve on the LGA Fire Commission as a balancing member, in his capacity as a Member of the Fire and Rescue Authority. This role was not covered in the Members Allowances scheme and therefore the Chairman had agreed that this position be classed as an “approved duty” for the purpose of claiming travel and subsistence allowances whilst Mr Davies undertook these duties. Mr Davies thanked the Chairman for this approval. 63. RESOLVED – That the action of the Chairman in agreeing that travel and subsistence allowances be paid for the attendance of Mr Peter Davies at the LGA Fire Commission meetings be confirmed.

Periodic Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive (Schedule 7)

64. Ms Bryant presented her report to the Authority. The report was split into five sections:- Critical Success Factors; Central Prevent and Protect activities; Engagement through Community Facilities, Operational Incidents and Matters for Report. The report commenced with the performance over the first quarter of 2016/17. All Attended Incidents - There were 2234 incidents in quarter 1 compared to 2309 during the same period last year, a 3.25% reduction. Over the five quarters shown the trend was slightly decreasing. The Service was dealing with less and less incidents but it continued to work harder with all groups. The report gave a breakdown of incidents which showed that Secondary Fires was the most prevalent incident in Quarter 1, followed False Alarm Good Intent. The breakdown gave the Prevent Team a focus for their activities. The number of Secondary Fires had gradually reduced for the past five years or so. Accidental Dwelling Fires - There were 145 Accidental Dwelling Fires during Quarter 1 2016/17 compared to 146 during the same period last year. The trend over the last five year period was slightly upward. HFRCs Delivered - There continued to be an upward trend in the number of HFRCs delivered. During Quarter 1 2016/17 there were 7366 HFRCs delivered compared to 6698 in Quarter 1, a 10% increase, with much greater emphasis given to vulnerable households and those identified as at greater risk (Gold, Silver and Bronze). Accidental Dwelling Fires in Gold, Silver or Bronze Households - The number of Accidental Dwelling Fires experienced in Gold, Silver or Bronze households was 21 during Quarter 1 compared to 20 in to same period last year.

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HFRCs Delivered to Gold Silver or Bronze Households – The number of HFRCs delivered to Gold, Silver and Bronze households continued to increase over the five Quarters to Quarter 1 2016/17. This was pleasing to note. These people were vulnerable against a range of factors and were without doubt the most difficult to reach, hence the need to continue Safe and Well/HFRC visits. There were 2041 delivered in Quarter 1 compared to 1122 in Quarter 1 last year an 82% increase. Mr Chapman enquired whether the most effective way to reach out to vulnerable people was in their own home rather than bringing them into an expensive Life Skills Centre. Ms Bryant advised that it was important for the Service to have a range of ways to engage with and protect the public. Regardless of the Service’s ability to get over the threshold, it was about creating a relationship and to potentially use the Safe and Sound Centre at Stafford. It was important for the Service to use all the tools in its tool kit. By using these facilities they may recognise the issues that they have. Deaths and Injuries in Accidental Dwelling Fires - There was one death and two injuries during Quarter 1 of 2016/17 compared to zero deaths and injuries during the same period last year. The Service’s aspiration was to have zero preventable deaths. The Service undertook a fatal fire conference after each fire death. This particular death related to a male living in Featherstone alone in a park home. He had tried to extinguish a fire which had been caused by an electric blanket. Ms Bryant expressed condolences to his family and friends. The injury was also caused by an electric blanket. Ms Bryant advised that they were running a campaign to raise awareness of the use of electric blankets. Just by replacing the blanket did not mean they would be safe. The Service needed to understand the triggers and behaviours. The individual tried to put the fire out rather than getting out and staying out. Mr Deaville offered sincere condolences to the man’s family. Mr Irving asked, following the tragic incident in the park home whether the Service should look at the construction of these homes. Mr Luznyj advised that they would look at this collectively through CFOA. Mr Deaville raised the issue of false alarms and the drain on resources and asked whether companies got charged for these. Ms Bryant advised that no charging applied as they would not know until they got there whether it was a fire or not. The Service did however operate a robust call challenge process. False alarms were an issue throughout the Country and they did drain resources. Work was ongoing with those that had false alarms giving them the opportunity to make sure that the Service did not have to go back again. With regard to false alarms, Mr Luznyj advised that many call outs were to domestic smoke alarms. They did sometimes encounter faulty products or alarms going off as they had passed their battery lifespan. The Service was going to look at going out to these without sending an operational crew. Mr Taylor raised the issue of near misses and whether they could report how the Service had achieved these. This was maybe a matter that the Scrutiny and Performance Committee should look at. Central Prevent and Protect - The report also included various prevent and protect matters:-

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Community Wellbeing Week – Members of staff from all departments ran a county-wide safety drive from 26 – 30 September. The aim of this high profile initiative was to focus on poor diet and inactivity which has become Staffordshire’s number one cause of Ill health. It was an exceptionally busy week for the Service. Prevent Review – The prevent review was continuing to progress under five work streams in order to improve prevention in all areas. The work streams were:- Contact and Referral into the Service, Our Prevention Offer, Expectations, Skills and Training for Staff, Alarm Technology and Domestic Suppression Systems. Community Advice Team (CAT) and HFRC Delivery – Since its relocation from West Midlands on 9 May the CAT had booked over 5000 HFRCs appointments for technicians and stations. The Team provided advice on health, safety and wellbeing themes; liaised with private landlords on legislative changes and gave support to community members who are deaf or hard of hearing. Safe and Well Visits – This Service was one of three fire and rescue services in the Pilot to undertake Safe and Well Visits on behalf of the NHS. 2000 visits per month would be undertaken before the deadline. The report on this was due out this month. 6000 visits would be undertaken between this Service, Greater Manchester and Gloucestershire who were part of the initial pilot. It was estimated that for every £1 spent on these visits £7 was realised in the wider health agenda. Training was underway at stations not currently involved in the pilot in relation to all aspects of Safe and Well. Mr Sweeney advised that at the Fire Commission Dan Graves mentioned Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Staffordshire were at the forefront of the game and getting fire service personnel involved in the Safe and Well visits was a big drive by the Government. Mr Marshall commented that this was a good news story. In response to a question Mr Luznyj advised that in Staffordshire the approach to training was different and they had chosen face to face training for their staff. Firefighters had an increased knowledge of risk in the home. They looked at issues of older homes and gave advice on where to get debt advice etc. to make them less vulnerable. Firefighters had a good brand and people opened up to them. It was about having a guided conversation with the residents. There had been good feedback from staff and representative bodies. This showed that the Service had a very flexible workforce. Members discussed the issues of older homes and unfit properties. In response to a question Mr Luznyj advised that they would be guarded about declaring a property unfit but would refer the matter to the property agency. Fuel poverty seemed to be a real issue and people tended to take other risks to keep warm. With fuel poverty there was also the increased risk of hypothermia. Mr Finn commented that many council properties were run by housing associations and so the Service needed to liaise with them also. Mr Chapman commented that the work was commissioned by Public Health England and questioned the extent of the funding. £30,000 was provided over the winter period. He was advised that they were currently at the later stages of negotiation for future work. Mr Deaville agreed that these visits were a great benefit to the health system and would prevent people being admitted to the health system. Financially he was

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pleased to see that the Service was speaking to Public Health England and he was hopeful that funding would be provided. Mr Dutton commented that council owned properties in Stoke-on-Trent were assessed to ensure that they were fit for habitation and had no damp etc. Mr Sweeney commented on the example of a trip or fall which would cost the wider health service a lot of money. Why wouldn’t we extend the visits as it was a win win situation for all, it would save money and lives. Mr Taylor commented that if the outcome was the same as the prevention work undertaken regarding fires then there would be a knock on saving to the health service. Children and Young People (CYP) – Cadets + - Courses were to start in Hanley on 11 October and Rugeley on 15 October. The syllabus would cover the following areas:- Be Healthy, Stay Safe, Enjoy and Achieve, Make a Positive Contribution and Achieve Economic Wellbeing. Autumn Campaign – Fireworks – The Service will work with Trading Standards to ensure the safe storage and selling of fireworks throughout October and into early November. The Operation Good Guy school education programme would also be running again. Engagement through Community Facilities – The report outlined:- Case Study: Men’s Den – Bilbrook and Codsall (user Feedback) – Mr Marshall commented that this was a positive addition to the area. He welcomed the initiative as it was recognised that there were not many activities for older people in the area. He asked for contact details for the group so that he could share the information. Princes Trust Update – including Princes trust Award – Team Programme - Details of the Trust’s work including the Fairbridge Programme and the Achieve/Get Started programmes were included within the report. Use of PFI Stations – Mr Chapman commented that the list of organisations using PFI Stations, as attached to the Secretary’s report which was returned to the Home Office, looked magnificent. He had limited knowledge of PFI Stations and he was asked questions of where PFI Funding came from as it was a vast amount of public money. He commented that Loggerheads got one shout per fortnight and the rest of the time the facilities were there for the use of local organisations. He commented that in his view the use of the facilities at Loggerheads was minimal. He commented that the reply gave a misleading statement. He begged the question of whether public money should be spent in this way. Ms Bryant referred to Mr Chapman’s comment that the response to the Home Office was “misleading” and asked whether he was inferring that the Home Office had been told falsehoods by the Service? Mr Chapman responded that there was a difference between misleading and falsehoods and this questioned his integrity. Ms Bryant advised that she was asking for clarity around his comment the information was “misleading”. He advised that from the list this gave the impression that there was extensive use of the facilities and with his experience at Loggerheads there was not extensive use. Ms Bryant advised that they had analysed the amount of hours that community rooms could be used and there was a great variance in this from 96% at some stations down to 50% at others.

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Mr Chapman advised that the Parish Council only met once per month at Loggerheads and on occasion once per fortnight. Ms Bryant commented that it was good news if fire appliances were not responding to call outs as this meant that the Service’s prevention work with community groups was working. She advised that as well as being used by Community Groups the Community Fire Stations would be used by partners on a “hot desk” basis. Mr Winnington commented that he could see why some Community Fire Stations may be underutilised. Aside from that the Service needed to ensure if they were competing with local facilities that they did not tread on other providers toes. He commented upon the diversity in delivery by the Service in respect of community safety and wellbeing and the changing role of the Authority. Mr Sweeney commented that health and wellbeing was the direction of travel that was supported by the Home Office. Mr Clarke advised of the successful partnership work in East Staffordshire with Burton Albion Community Trust. They were working with all partners and the fire and rescue service played an active role. They utilised the Community Fire Station facilities in Burton. Mr Day commented that he was amazed that his colleagues had missed the point of what the Service was trying to achieve. In particular the point that home visits were wonderful but the disagreement with the Life Skills Centre, when it was clear that everything could not be dealt with in people’s homes. Loggerheads was a perfect example of having only one call in two weeks. He did not see the point of his colleague’s comments, what did that Member want – more fires or to pull the fire station down? This is an excellent Service and Authority and there was a risk of this going down bank if they did not pursue proposed improvements. Mr Taylor commented that in Kidsgrove the Community Fire Station was built next to the Community Centre and the Community Centre now had more work and they also used the fire station. They had developed a relationship. Throughout the Country without PFI some things would not be available. It was similar to a mortgage and it was important not to get hung up on the costs but on the benefits of the Community Fire Stations. They had to change the Service to meet the needs of the Service. Mr Davies commented that rather than criticising the Service they should be applauding the Service for what it had achieved. In his experience no one asked where the money came from to build the facilities as the public were happy to use the facilities. Due to the community and prevention work the Service had managed to reduce fire fatalities and the Authority should applaud that. The residents of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have confidence in the Fire and Rescue Service it showed how popular the Service is. This could not always be said about other public Services. Mr Chapman commented that he was not against PFI overall, as this was desirable loan money from the Government. The point that he was making was that the public did not see this and wondered why the Service would be providing these facilities for the Air Cadets and the Parish Council. He was commenting as a custodian of the public purse. He commented that if PFI fire stations were such a good idea then why were they not building these elsewhere.

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Mr Dutton commented of the value of Community Fire Stations as some groups would not be able to afford to meet without them. Mr Irving commented that in his experience the Community Fire Stations were very well used in the City and for smaller more rural fire stations the usage would be naturally lower. Mr Finn commented that new groups were starting up using fire stations and therefore the crews were seeing new people. He admired what the Service were doing as they always thought “outside of the box” on ways to make communities safer. Operational Incident - On 5 September, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service received a call to a waste fire located at Oak Tree Farm, Slitting Mill Road, Rugeley. On arrival, crews were faced with what appeared to be surface level fires within a large stack of what appeared to be mainly waste wood (chipped wood). It became apparent that the fire was deep seated and that the stack also contained domestic refuse throughout. Following liaison with a number of agencies and consideration of the options available, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service made the decision to take an ‘allow to burn’ approach due to the issues associated with applying copious amounts of water as there were two bore holes nearby and they needed to avoid the risk of water “run off” as this could potentially enter the water supply. SFRS utilised the lead for the Chief Fire Officers Association on waste fires, ACFO Mark Andrews (East Sussex FRS), to support the protracted incident when it was determined that additional support was required to this extremely challenging incident. They initially looked at the possibility of using a water additive but made a decision to cap the waste with soil in order to reduce the amount of smoke and flame that were being generated by this incident. The waste contained hazardous asbestos cement sheeting and by capping the fire minimised the risk of these fibres getting into the atmosphere. The Service was still attending the site to ensure that the fire was not breaking through the capping. JCB had provided heavy duty machinery and a driver. Mr Barber was working with the CFOA on waste fires. The Service was still involved with the Recovery Coordinating Group but could not say at this time whether the site would be cleared/levelled. A Public Meeting was held with partners to ensure residents were fully informed, chaired by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, with support from Cannock Chase District Council, Staffordshire County Council, the Environment Agency and Public Health England. The meeting was challenging. The Service had considerable support from the local MP with regard to waste fires as there was limited opportunity to pursue the operators of unlicensed waste sites within the current legislation. Ms Mitchell, local FRA Member for the Area, commented upon the public meeting which left agencies in no doubt that the fire had had a big impact on Rugeley and the surrounding areas. She had personally received a call from as far away as Heath Hayes regarding the fire. She thanked all officers involved who had dealt with the meeting very professionally from the staff undertaking “meet and greet” of the public right through to the chairing of the meeting. She commented that it was a really good meeting as far as the Fire Service was concerned and the public recognised the way that the firefighters had dealt with the fire on site. She expressed concern

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about the additional cost to the Service in calling in outside expertise and equipment and asked if there was any possibility of the recovery of these costs from anyone. She asked whether, from a FRA perspective, was enough being done to highlight these sites, as she would welcome this. Mr Martin, local FRA Member for the Area, commended Mr Barber, Mr Luznyj and Mr Hyde for their handling of the meeting which allowed all to have their say. He was concerned as to how the waste site was allowed to get so large without intervention from the various agencies. He commended the role of the Fire and Rescue Service who had performed well compared to other agencies in attendance at the meeting. Mr Sweeney also added his thanks to the Service in addition to those expressed by the local FRA Members. Mr Barber thanked Members for their comments. The Public Meeting had been volatile at times due to the strength of feeling by the public. He could not comment on why the waste had been allowed to build up over the years. At a national level the Service was involved with work relating to these specific types of incidents, which would influence national operational guidance and legislative change in the future, which would hopefully strengthen this legislation. He advised that the Service had the full support of the local MP Amanda Milling regarding this issue. Ongoing work was taking place between partner organisations to provide successful recovery operations to the incident. The Service was now leading on a risk inspection programme with partners to look at preventing the same incident happening at other similar sites across the country. Mr Winnington commented that licensed sites were regulated by the Environment Agenda but there were issues relating to unlicensed sites. It was important as an FRA to ensure that MPs were adequately briefed to get stronger powers to act on unlicensed sites as tax payers would end up footing the bill. He suggested that a letter should go from the Chairman of the FRA to Teresa May on this issue. Ms Bryant advised that work had been undertaken with the Resilience Forum and work was continuing with partners with regard to unlicensed waste sites. She endorsed the suggestion of a formal letter being sent. The Service had got MPs involved to assist in making these changes and they were working alongside Service officers. Members discussed the cost to the Service and were advised that the benefits by far outweighed the cost of the additional equipment, which was negotiated with the supplier. The Recovery Co-ordinating Group would be supplying the costs to the Service. That Group would be looking at the total cost of the incident. The incident had not yet concluded as they were in the “recovery” phase and there would need to be a decision made on how they recovered costs. The Fire Service’s costs generally related to the Emergency Phase. Video Presentation – Members were shown video footage of the site of the Oak Tree Farm, Slitting Mill Fire Rugeley and the extract of the ITN documentary compiled in Staffordshire highlighting the importance of equality and diversity within the workforce. The video from Oak Farm showed that the pile was actually higher than the tele-handler. The report also included various matters for report as follows:-

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Family Fun Day, Headquarters, with partners, which was well attended despite the weather. A recruitment drive was held at the Fun Day which had led to 27 members of the community expressing an interest in becoming a retained firefighter.

Fire and Police Fundraising Football Match was held which raised £381 for the Gingerbread Charity. The Fire Service won 4-1.

Leek Community Fire Station Community Engagement Day was an informative and fun day and attendees witnessed the burial of a time capsule. The day was a huge success and well attended.

Mark Hancock Memorial Ride on 18 September raised £5000 for CRY Cardiac Risk in the Young. Mr Deaville congratulated Mr Barber and all those who took part in this fundraising and advised that he and Mr Barber would be running a joint fundraising event in the Spring of 2017.

ITN Documentary highlighting the importance of equality and diversity within the workforce. Mr Sweeney commented that Ms Bryant, Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive is the most senior female firefighter in the whole country bar none.

65. RESOLVED – That the report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive be noted.

Wholetime Crewing including SERO Update and Targeted Response Vehicle Trial (Schedule 8)

66. The report was presented by Mr Luznyj. The Service was facing the challenges of budget reductions over the period to 2020 by identifying opportunities to rationalise budgets whilst maintaining the commitment to avoid compromising firefighter and community safety and protecting as many livelihoods as possible. Staff costs were in excess of 70% of the revenue budget and real reductions of £4 million were required from the budget by 2020 as outlined in the Service’s Efficiency Plan. The report identified options to reduce the wholetime crewing establishment incrementally by 1 January 2018 whilst maintaining a commitment to crew wholetime pumps with five members of staff and to maintain current work patterns. The reductions identified would take advantage of the retirement profile of the whole-time workforce and therefore would avoid the need for any redundancies. The changes in the wholetime crewing establishment would not affect the number of wholetime appliances available on a 24/7 basis. The number of wholetime appliances available would remain at 10 during day hours and 8 at night (due to Day-Duty Stations) this also aligned to the demand profile of the Service. Specialist appliances would be available at the levels currently maintained thus keeping the Service’s commitment to firefighter and community safety. Crewing would be maintained at the levels stated within Table 1 using available staff to cover gaps where they exist on the most efficient basis. The Service did not seek to reduce the number of riders on appliances and would be keeping 5 at this stage. All reductions would be substantiated from the beginning of the leave year and any gaps in crewing that would occur as a result of in year retirements may be filled by

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utilising the temporary wholetime contractual arrangements currently in use throughout the Service. By setting a clear long term plan this would give certainty to firefighters. There were two areas of work that had been incorporated into these proposals, these being the Staffordshire Efficient Response Options (SERO) project which had been delivered through the Incident Response Team trials and the removal of the Targeted Response Vehicles (TRV’s) at Hanley and Newcastle which took place in the summer months of 2016. Information pertaining to both of these projects was detailed in the background section of the report. The reason that the TRVs were originally introduced was due to the high number of small fires, 2000 over the period of a year. These has reduced to around 600 which was the continuing impact of the prevent work. The Service would continue to explore different vehicles in the future. In terms of the outcomes from these projects, all of the learning from the SERO project in terms of training, exploring the use of different vehicles and the greater use of technology and improved equipment to resolve incidents more efficiently and safely would be adopted by the Service. With regard to the TRV’s, evidence had suggested that the removal of the TRV’s at Hanley and Newcastle was a viable option and therefore it had been incorporated into the operational response proposal. Two of the TRVs would be kept in the reserve fleet in case the Service experienced hot dry weather leading to increased small fires, in which case the vehicles could be used with a different staffing model. The reduction in the wholetime firefighter establishment would result in recurring savings being realised from 1 January 2017 onwards equating to circa £1.12m and a further £480k from 1 January 2018. This would result in total savings of circa £1.6m. The establishment levels would result in a need to move a small number of staff and fill short term gaps as they occur. It was anticipated that the cost of supporting the whole-time crewing levels would be in the order of £200k pa if current levels of absence (sickness, training, maternity, bereavement etc) were experienced in future years. The report advised that the baseline figure of 236 should be maintained until at least 2020. The baseline would be achieved by 1 January 2018 and, due to the ongoing retirement profile and staff choosing to leave the Service early (small numbers were evident to date due to retiring early or transferring to another Service) there would be a need to recruit a number of new wholetime firefighters to begin their employment as trainees in March 2018. A further number of wholetime firefighters would be required in 2019 to maintain crewing levels at the stated level. Importantly, at no time would there be an excess beyond 236 so no excess cost would be incurred by employing new trainees. The last recruitment course for whole time firefighters was held in June 2008. Mr Irving thanked Mr Luznyj for the report and moved the recommendations which would make the Service sustainable. He had no hesitation in supporting the recommendations. Mr Chapman seconded the recommendations. Mr Sweeney paid tribute and gave praise to the FBU for the work that they had undertaken with the Service and praised the Service for the work that they had undertaken with the FBU. He commented that the Sentinel had recently run a positive story on the FBU and the Service working together.

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A Member had a query on the Newcastle figures which he would discuss with officers after the meeting. A Member voiced concern in the reduction in funding for emergency services and the issue that the Government would not be in a position of having a balanced budget by 2020. The proposed reductions achieved through negotiation were positive. He was concerned at what would happen after 2020 as the reductions that were being made could not continue to happen. Mr Greensmith advised that the financial reductions that would emanate from the proposals had been incorporated into the Efficiency Plan which would form part of the four year settlement. In response to a question Mr Barber confirmed that there would be no compromise to firefighter and community safety and this had formed part of the discussion with the FBU. Members unanimously approved the recommendations as follows:- 67. RESOLVED – That Members support and approve:-

(a) The introduction of the learning from the SERO/IRT project into the emergency response arrangements within the Service.

(b) The removal of the Targeted Response Vehicles from Hanley and Newcastle from the date of the decision.

(c) The incorporation of the Targeted Response Vehicles into the reserve fleet strategy.

(d) The incremental reduction in the wholetime firefighter establishment to 236 by 1 January 2018 as detailed in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Wholetime firefighter establishment

Station Crewing level 2016

1st Jan 2017 1st Jan 2018

Leek 12 12 12

Lichfield 12 12 12

Hanley 32 (-8) 24 24

Sandyford 24 24 24

Longton 40 40 40

Newcastle 44 (-4) 28 (-12) 24 (-4)

Stafford 28 28 24 (-4)

Cannock 28 28 24 (-4)

Burton 28 28 28

Tamworth 28 24 (-4) 24

Total 276 248 236

Reduction 12 16 12

Saving £480K £640k £480k

(e) The maintenance of the wholetime firefighter establishment of 236 up to 2020.

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Life Skills Centre Stafford (Schedule 9)

68. The report, as presented by Mr Luznyj, outlined that in April 2014 the Fire Authority approved the submission of a bid to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for a redevelopment of the Stafford Fire Station and the creation of a Life Skills Centre. Having been successful in this bid, the Authority and the Integrated Asset Development Strategy Board (IADS) had subsequently reiterated their approval for the Project at several stages of the development process through to the present day and this was detailed in the Background Section of the report. Within this period, the Authority and its partners had committed substantial resources to further the project, including the collective development of the “Safe and Sound” brand. The Project involved: • Re-purposing the existing Fire Station at Stafford to create both a re-sized

response base, together with a co-located Ambulance facility. • Providing a flagship “Lifeskills” facility delivered centrally, incorporating outreach

work (hub and spoke model) for use by all public and third sector partners. • NHS Partnership Trust (SSOTP) co locating their training academy on site. • Richmond Fellowship delivering ‘Sparky’s’ Community Café within the Life Skills

facility • The Princes Trust Team located at the site.

The report advised that a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) would independently run the centre and be responsible for its sustainability. Mr Luznyj advised that there was strong evidence for a need for the Centre. In a single year there were 10,300 admissions in hospitals in Staffordshire as a result of accidental injuries and there were funding pressures in this area. As part of the outcomes framework, Duncan Selby had stated that it was a major public concern that Accident and Emergency admission had risen by 10%. The Centre would allow greater preventative learning through the experience of realistic scenarios. It was estimated by ROSPA that such a Centre would mean a 2% reduction in accidents realising £4.6m of benefits to various agencies. Even if the reductions were only half of those expected then this would realise £2.3m benefits, showing a return in the investment in two years. Similar Centres in Cheshire, Manchester and Northern Ireland had shown significant success. They had been realistic in relation to future commissioning for the Centre. The CIO would open up further opportunities. The Service was undergoing a “Prevent” structural review and the Centre could support SRFS in achieving its objectives, develop staff and reduce the costs of the Service. SFRS did not currently have a ”prevention hub” and this could increase effectiveness. It would afford the Service outreach opportunities and space. There were opportunities to have even more partners working with the Service in the future. This was a fantastic opportunity for the Service to reach into all areas. A successful project would support the Government’s ambitious reform agenda; reduce falls, incidents of drowning etc. in addition to having another emergency service co-locating from the Centre and saving lives. The Project continued to enjoy the full endorsement of the Home Office and was presently on schedule to be delivered to time, quality and budget in early 2018. The

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Government department had been made aware of all relevant changes, including the shift from fully demolishing the existing building to that of re-purposing and extending, through the six monthly monitoring returns, underpinned by face to face interviews. A detailed report was attached to the report for Members’ further information. The report advised that to date, the Authority had incurred significant costs and other partners had invested considerable resources working with the Authority. If the project were not to proceed the Authority would be exposed to £800k being made up of:- Entrust Project Management breach of contract £160k; Investment in Stafford Fire Station to ensure it is fit for purpose - £500k; and Internal project costs incurred £140k. In addition the £3.9m grant funding received as part of the successful bid would have to be returned to the Home Office. Mr Luznyj commented upon the moral benefits associated with the Centre. He focused on the current position which saw the project progressing quickly, with a fully functional Governance Board, financial and resource commitment and an effective plan in place. The Home Office had reaffirmed their support for the Centre. The Centre would see a better future for genuine collaboration. In response to a question regarding Home Office Support Mr Greensmith advised that letters from the Home Office were appended to report. The project had evolved and the Team from Staffordshire had kept the Team at the Home Office fully informed. The Home Office had recently requested a large amount of information in relation to the project as part of their audit and Mr Greensmith advised that the Home Office were happy with the additional information supplied by the Service. Mr Knight advised that the original bid was submitted against defined criteria and the Service applied on that basis. Since then the environment had changed. The appetite for the Police to work with the Service on the project was no longer valid. The outcomes of the Centre are as relevant now as they were when the bid was made. There was a commitment to making the Centre entirely sustainable and a charitable status was being set up. A wide range of partners wanted to and would want to work with the Service in relation to the Centre. In response to a question from Mr Sweeney, Mr Greensmith advised that both he and Mr Knight had been in dialogue with an officer from the Home Office who supported the project and confirmed that a further request for a letter of support for the Project could be sought. Mr Sweeney commented that this would be helpful. Mr Greensmith advised that the Centre was being set up as a CIO and that he would be one of the trustees. The Charity would run the Centre. They would need to work on gaining additional partnerships and the aim was for the Centre to be fully sustainable within two years. The Centre would get a contribution from the Service as there would be fire scenarios within the Centre. As the Centre would be a charity the ongoing liability would be minimised. At the Members Development session a slide had been produced which showed the cost of the Centre to be £250,000 per year and this would be made up by contributions from partners and the Service would be looking to reduce its liability in the future. In response to a question he advised that there was currently £77,000 committed to the Centre and so there was still a gap to ensure full sustainability. The task over the next 18 months would be to bridge this gap. A Member asked whether there was a plan for the £180,000 shortfall. Mr Greensmith advised that this would be a challenge for the charity working alongside the Service. He advised as part of the ongoing project work the funding for the Centre would report back through the Authority. Mr Sweeney asked

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what would happen if the charity did not get the funding. Mr Greensmith advised that as Section 151 Officer he needed to ensure that the Centre would not be an ongoing drain on the Service and the Authority. He advised that in those circumstances where funding was reduced they would need to mitigate this by looking at reducing the cost and usage of the resource. Mr Sweeney commented that the Service would be putting in funding in relation to the prevent work of the Service and cover the balance. The Centre could grow or reduce. Mr Greensmith advised that it was important to report back to the Authority and to make sure that the level of investment was appropriate. Members held a detailed discussion on the Centre and a summary of the comments made is set out below:-

Members had asked for the report to be brought to the FRA and thanked officers for the presentation. It was commented that it was a laudable project, although objected to the “smoking gun” as there were a lot of negatives in the report. They requested the costs of the Centre year on year as a body that collects Council Tax. Concerned at the cost each year, as nowhere in the report did it refer to financial commitment and the cost on an annual basis.

Commented that the Richmond Fellowship, who was looking to provide the Community Café at the Centre, had lost their contract for Day Services in Staffordshire and enquired whether this would affect their involvement in the Centre. This would be looked into by officers but a commitment had been given to the Centre.

Congratulated officers on the project and for the work that they had undertaken to produce the report which was really in depth. Members were thanked for the questions raised.

The Lead Member for Stafford had a strong interest and therefore had examined the original bid for transitional funding as any shortfall in funding would fall on the FRA. He stated “It’s not buildings that put out fires but firefighters”. The detail had changed considerably since the initial bid which was to be a joint fire, police and ambulance base and this was now not the case as the fire station would now not be demolished. He questioned the generation of income (£8 per head) and the initial application and was concerned it would be an expensive white elephant and affect the Service’s ability to employ full time firefighters.

When they originally applied for funding it was to DCLG. Not only Stafford but Biddulph were issues to consider. It was the FRA Members responsibility to ensure that they had reports back on the project. Members had requested a further report at their roundtable event in September. A further letter was needed from the Home Office. Not happy about some Members intimating that the work on the Centre should discontinue. The project should be managed properly and done right.

Even with charitable status the Centre could possibly have to cover £0.5m of running costs over two years. Until they were certain of the resourcing then they needed to be cautious. They needed to make sure of the financial issues and then take it forward.

It was difficult for officers at this stage to dot all the “i”s and cross all the “t”s and it was a leap of faith to progress the project. For the long term, the benefits of the Centre did by far outweigh the risk. There had to be a belief that what the FRA was doing was right but there were concerns on sustainability. Members were supportive of the ideas behind the Centre.

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The benefits of the Centre were undoubted and were not questioned but the FRA was quite right to scrutinise the sustainability of the project long term and the liability going forward. If the budget was compromised this may affect the front line. Even with the support of the Home Office the responsibility lay with the FRA. They had questions around the resource and revenue costs and wanted to see a more robust income statement, together with a statement of commitment from the contributors eg SSOTP had pledged £33,000 p.a. (the biggest contributor) but with their dynamic and fluid budget this may mean that next year they may have different priorities.

Recognised the risk of discontinuing the project.

Would not favour the discontinuance of the project at this stage but needed reassurance in relation to the ongoing costs, reassurance from the Home Office required to re endorse the Centre and firm up the commitment from the SSOTP as the County Council has had a bad experience.

A letter of support from the Home Office was required. The Service would be on site to assist, the Ambulance service would also be on site at the Centre, so needed to determine how to monitor and decide on sustainability e.g. through the FRA or one of its committees.

The approval to go forward with the Centre was agreed by the FRA some time ago but accepted the concerns raised by Members who needed answers to questions raised, although conscious of timescales, would welcome additional information.

There remained a need for reassurance on the long term financial sustainability of the Centre.

The report also set out the Legal Implications and the Equality and Diversity Implications, A full Risk Register for the Project was being maintained in accordance with PRINCE2 guidelines and in consultation with the Authority’s Strategic Risk Management Team. The risks of not continuing with the project were significant and were detailed in the report and included: the return of the grant funding of £3.9m to the Home Office, the reputational damage to the Fire Authority; the Risk of disengagement of partners already committed to project; the financial implications and the lost opportunities. Consultation and engagement with partners had been extensive and was outlined in the report. Members discussed whether a special meeting of the Authority was necessary to consider a further report on the Life Skills Centre and decided that a further report on the financial sustainability of the Life Skills should be bought to the next meeting of the Authority in December 2016. Mr Norris advised that Officers would provide more information to Members in the report being submitted to the December meeting including a letter of support from the Home Office and details of the ongoing costs of the Centre and how these would be met going forward. 69. RESOLVED – (a) That the significant progress that had been made regarding

the Life Skills Project and the risks of discontinuing the project be noted.

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(b) That a further update report be put to the Fire and Rescue Authority at its

meeting on 15 December 2016 giving confirmation of the financial sustainability of

the Life Skills Centre.

Exclusion of the Public 70. RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 indicated below:

Exempt Minutes of the Authority held on 11 July 2016 (exemption paragraph 3)

71. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Authority held on 11 July 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman

Exempt Minutes of the Urgency Committee held on 18 August 2016 (exemption paragraphs 1 and 3)

72. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Urgency Committee held on 18 August 2016 be received.

Exempt Minutes of the Appointments Committee (shortlisting) held on 16 September 2016

(exemption paragraph 1) 73. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Appointments Committee (shortlist) held on 16 September 2016 be received.

Exempt Minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 28 September 2016

(exemption paragraphs 2 and 3) 74. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 28 September 2016 be received.

Exempt Minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 5 October 2016 (exemption paragraph 1)

75. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 5 October 2016 be received

CHAIRMAN

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Item No. 4(a) on Agenda

MINUTES OF THE STRATEGY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE HELD ON 22 NOVEMBER 2016

Present: Sweeney, S J(Chairman)

Banks, Mrs K M Hambleton, Mrs S Clarke, R J Irving, R A Davies, P R Martin G R Dutton, A E Wood, Miss C B

Apologies: Chapman, F A; Day, W D and Deaville, M A.

Also in attendance: Ms R Bryant, Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive; Mr D Greensmith, Director of Finance, Assets and Resources; Ms L Taylor, Deputy Monitoring Officer; Mr R Barber, Deputy Chief Fire Officer/Deputy Chief Executive and Mrs J Hollinshead, Strategic Risk Manager.

PART ONE Documents referred to in these minutes as schedules are not appended but will be attached to the signed copy of the minutes. Copies, or specific information in them, may be available on request.

Minutes of the Meeting held on 28 September 2016 43. Mr Sweeney welcomed Louise Taylor, Deputy Monitoring Officer for the Authority from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, to the meeting. 44. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 28 September 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Minutes of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee held on 19 October 2016

(Schedule 1) 45. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee held on 19 October 2016, as presented by Mrs K M Banks Chairman of that Committee, be received.

Minutes of the Service Improvement and Equality Committee held 24 October 2016 (Schedule 2)

46. A Member referred to a typographical error on page 4 of the minutes which should read Crewe and not Crew. 47. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Service Improvement and Equality Committee held on 24 October 2016, as presented by Mr G R Martin Chairman of that Committee, be received, subject to the amendment outlined above.

Minutes of the Fire Pensions Board held on 2 November 2016

(Schedule 3)

48. Mr Greensmith referred to the issue of the annual benefits statements outlined in the Pensions Board Minutes which was previously reported to the Strategy and Resources Committee.

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49. RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Fire Pensions Board held on 2 November 2016, be received.

Treasury Management Report for the Half Year ended 30 September 2016

(Schedule 4)

Declaration of Interests Mr R Irving declared a Pecuniary Interest as he has shares with Standards Life. Mr Dutton declared a Pecuniary Interest as he has shares with Royal London (mutual). 50. The report, presented by Mr Greensmith, reviewed the Treasury Management activities for the half-year ended 30 September 2016, including the Prudential Indicators for Treasury Management and the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority’s (“the Authority”) Approved Lending List (the List). The report was required as a result of the adoption of the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services (the Code).

During the first 6 months of the year the Authority continued to invest cautiously. No long-term loans were taken out although the Authority did repay a £0.5million PWLB loan in August 2016. This was a good news story. They had reduced the gross debt of the Authority by £4m. The report outlined the performance of the economy, the long term borrowing position, the annual investment strategy/approved lending list, amendment to the list – Royal London Cash Plus Fund, the short term money market transactions and the compliance with the CIPFA code of practice. Mr Greensmith referred to page 6 of the report and the proposed investment with the Royal London Cash Plus Fund, which needed the approval of the Strategy and Resources Committee as this was outside of the Annual Investment Strategy. The Treasury Management Team would normally just invest in “specified investments” on behalf of the Authority and “RL Cash Fund Plus” was a “non specified investment”. Both the County Council and the Staffordshire Pension Fund invests in the RL Cash Plus Fund. This Fund was AAA rated and gave a slightly better rate of return. Members discussed the credit rating on various financial institutions. Mr Greensmith referred to Appendix 1 of the report covering the loans position of the Authority. He advised that the reason that the external debt indicator looked so high was due to the fact that it covered the liability of the two PFI projects, even the part that was paid by Government and not by the Service. Miss Wood commented upon the issue of UK farmers selling goods abroad as this was now more profitable. Mr Greensmith advised that the way the currency market had reacted after the Brexit vote meant that it was now far more attractive to export goods. Mr Sweeney commented that when the UK leave the single market there may be import and export tariffs imposed. Interest rises were not expected in the foreseeable future. There was a report to say that the interest rate may become negative but that had not happened. Mr Dutton commented that the British Pound had made a recovery since the Brexit vote. Mr Davies commented that he was a member of a charitable trust who had in the last quarter had their investments increased by £0.5m, so Brexit had had a positive effect on the stock market. Mr

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Greensmith commented that the rise in the stock market may also improve the pension deficits through pension investments. 51. RESOLVED – (a) That the Treasury Management activities for the half-year ended 30 September 2016 be approved, including the Prudential Indicators for Treasury Management shown at Appendix 1 to the report be approved.

(b) That investment in the Royal London Cash Plus Fund, with a maximum investment limit of £1.5 million, be approved. (This fund is a non-specified investment which falls outside the 2016/17 Annual Investment Strategy).

Annual Audit Letter (Schedule 5)

52. Mr Greensmith presented the report. The Annual Audit Letter summarised the key findings arising from the work that was carried out at Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority by the external auditor for the year ended 31 March 2016. The report provided a commentary on the results of the audit work to the Authority and its external stakeholders, and highlighted any issues that the Auditor would wish to draw to the attention of the Public. A copy of the Annual Audit Letter was attached for Members information, and a copy would also be considered by Members of the Audit Committee during the meeting scheduled for 23 November 2016. In preparing the Letter, Grant Thornton had followed the National Audit Office (NAO’s) Code of Audit Practice and Auditor Guidance Note (AGN) 07- ‘Auditor Reporting’. A copy of the letter had also been sent to Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) in line with requirements. The Annual Audit letter followed on from the detailed findings report that was considered by the Authority’s Audit Committee on 27 July 2016, where an unqualified opinion was given by Grant Thornton on that date. The Audit fee payable to Grant Thornton for the year ended 31 March 2016 was £30,709, a 25% reduction from the fee payable in 2014/15 of £40,945. Ms Bryant commented that the Authority should not underestimate the achievement of an “unqualified” opinion on their accounts, on 27 July 2016, two months ahead of the deadline due to the excellent engagement between Finance and the Audit Team. This Authority was one of only a select few that would be named in a publication by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) as having their accounts signed off two months early. She advised that they should collectively celebrate the financial health of the Service and the Authority. Furthermore, the commitment to economy, effectiveness and efficiency should be noted. They also had a robust and effective reserves strategy. Mr Davies concurred with Ms Bryant’s comments. Yet again the Finance Team, led by Mr Greensmith should be congratulated for the work that they undertake year in year out. The work under taken was second to none, although they could always improve. It gave him great satisfaction to sit on the Authority and commented how privileged Members were. He thanked officers and auditors for their work. Mr Sweeney agreed with the comments made and asked that his thanks be passed on to the staff involved. No one would disagree with this achievement. Ms Bryant commented that many other organisations did not have “unqualified” accounts. This was a good news story for the Service and the Authority. She commented that when the report comes out in December they may want to publicise this achievement.

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Mr Davies advised that this was the second year that they had produced the accounts two months early which showed how effective they were. Mr Sweeney asked whether a press release had been prepared with regard to this achievement. Mr Greensmith advised that they were looking to do this when the Public Sector Audit Appointments Report came out. Mr Sweeney asked how many other different types of authorities had completed their accounts early. Mr Greensmith advised that the report had not yet been released although the Authority had been advised that they were one of only a few authorities to achieve the early closure of accounts. Ms Bryant advised that she understood that it covered fire, police and other local authorities. 53. RESOLVED - That Members noted:- (a) That Grant Thornton provided an unqualified opinion on 27 July 2016 (2 months ahead of the deadline), this was enabled by the excellent engagement between Finance and the Audit Team. (b) The financial statements submitted for audit were, yet again, of good quality delivered by an effective close down process and supported by excellent working papers. (c) That the audit provided a positive value for money conclusion demonstrating that we continue to provide Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness (referred to on page 9 of the Annual Audit Letter), and (d) That the Authority’s accounts showed a good financial position going forward, due to the appropriate level of reserves which form part of the overall financial strategy, and the ability to provide value for money.

Quarterly Financial Report 2016/17 (Schedule 6)

54. Mr Greensmith presented the report which advised Members’ of the recurring revenue, non-recurring revenue and capital programme position, as at 30 September 2016. This was the financial position for the Authority as reported within the internal Resource Control Report and represented the cumulative position for the financial year for the first half of the financial year. The total Revenue Budget for 2016/17 as approved by the Fire Authority on 16 February 2016 was £40.5m and included an annual savings target of £1.2m for 2016/17, to be delivered through a programme of efficiency savings. As part of the Settlement for 2016/17 to 2019/20 the Authority had been offered the opportunity to accept a “four-year” funding settlement in return for the publication of a transparent and robust efficiency plan. This efficiency plan and updated Staffordshire Fire 2020 document had both been issued to the Home Office and published on the Service website in line with the required conditions of the offer. The Home Office had confirmed receipt of this information. The total recurring revenue spend to date of £20.3m was £0.3m favourable to budget after delivery of £0.6m in budgeted efficiency savings. The savings were being delivered through lower pay costs due to lower headcount in both wholetime and retained which was in line with the £1.1m of operational pay savings included within the efficiency plan submission for 2016/17. The latest Capital Programme forecast for 2016/17 is c.£8.1m, of which c.£5m was to be funded from the capital grant received for the two transformational funding projects at Biddulph and Stafford. The total capital commitment as at 30 September was £1.4m, with the programme again being subject to ongoing review and scrutiny by the Capital Review

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Group, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report. The programme had so far been reduced by £1.9m in year, with the original budget set at £10m. Total cash held in investments, as at 30 September 2016 of £18.5m, was £0.5m adverse to budget due to the timing of creditor payments including additional works at the Transport and Engineering facility that remained unpaid (recoverable from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner). The cash position as at 30 September had been discussed in more detail as part of the Treasury Management update. Members discussed the outstanding payment of £1m due from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and were advised that the legal agreement was in the process of being finalised. Members asked whether the OPCC could refuse to pay the monies and were advised that this was not the case and that the revised legal agreement was almost ready for signing. A Member commented that being £0.5m adverse to budget due to these outstanding monies should not reflect negatively on the Service. Ms Bryant commented that this demonstrated the complexities of two organisations coming together. The work had been undertaken in a manageable manner. This had to be done right first time rather than incurring costs etc. Overall the financial position for the Authority was on track at the half year with delivery of the required savings to date, which was supported by healthy cash balances. 55. RESOLVED – Members noted that the:- (a) Total Revenue Budget for 2016/17 as approved by the Fire Authority on 16 February 2016 was £40.5m, plus approved Non Recurring Revenue Budget of £0.4m to be fully funded from Specific/Earmarked Reserves held by the Authority.

(b) Total revenue spend as at 30 September 2016, was £20.3m, £0.3m favourable to budget (as outlined in Appendix 1 to the report). (c) Total non-recurring revenue spend at £0.2m, in line with budget to date. (d) Budget for 2016/17 included £1.2m of targeted savings, of which savings of £0.6m had been included within the budget to date. This target had therefore been exceeded by £0.3m as at 30 September 2016. (e) Total committed capital spend as at 30 September 2016 was £1.4m, as outlined in Appendix 2 to the report, against a revised forecast of £8.1m which is £1.9m less than budget. (f) Total useable reserves held by the Authority as at 31 March 2016, per audited accounts, was £11.0m (Specific Reserves £9.1m, General Reserve £1.9m). The reserves strategy had been updated and was approved by Members on 28 September. The Annual Audit Letter received by Grant Thornton (Item 6 on the Agenda) referred to the good financial position for the Authority going forward, due to the appropriate level of reserves which form part of the overall financial strategy, and the ability to provide value for money. (g) Total cash held in investments, as at 30 September 2016, was £18.5m, £0.5m adverse to budget.

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Strategic Risk Register (Schedule 7)

56. The Strategic Risk Register was last reviewed on 8 June 2016 by the Principal Management Team and then taken to Service Delivery Board on 21 June 2016. The register was then reviewed again during early September 2016 by individual face to face meetings and via email correspondence with the Principal Officers. The newly updated risk register was then taken for review and approval to the Service Delivery Board (SDB) on the Tuesday 27 September 2016. One new risk had been added to the register since the last time it was reviewed by the Strategy and Resources Committee, namely Risk 8 – Failure to include income generation projects in future Strategic/ Directorate and Departmental plans. This risk was placed on the Strategic Risk Register following concerns voiced around the possibility that SFRS could fail to achieve and sustain its future financial targets particularly if it did not have sufficient internal expert knowledge of the commercial sector and recognise the potential risks posed. Miss Wood asked what was the likelihood of change between red and amber on these risks. Mrs Hollinshead advised that there was another more detailed register behind this register and that risks were mitigated as far as they could be. Ms Bryant referred to Risk S2 on the register which referred to the £4m savings required up to 2019/20. A four year efficiency plan had now been agreed by the Authority and therefore this risk would likely be reduced to at least “amber” at the next review meeting which was scheduled for the 24th November. She referred to another risk which involved the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Project. This Project was beyond the control of the Service but still needed to be included as a risk. Ms Bryant advised that a lot of work had gone into introducing policies and procedures in relation to protective security but if they did not have the culture in place then there were still potentially issues that could arise. Mr Greensmith advised that if the Service did not get protective security right they would not get accreditation for the Code of Compliance, which could lead to other issues specifically in relation to the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme. Mrs Hollinshead advised that they would be further reviewing the Risk Register on Thursday 24 November. 57. RESOLVED – That the revised Strategic Risk Register be approved.

Financial Regulations Update (Schedule 8)

58. The report provided Members with an understanding of the amendments in the Financial Regulations review. The Financial Regulations have been reviewed and updated to accommodate the new Authority’s structure and processes. By regularly reviewing the Financial Regulations the Authority further strengthens its internal control environment. The Financial Regulations were last reviewed and updated in March 2012. The Regulations had not changed in principle and only minor amendments had been applied. The amendments incorporated in the new version of the Regulations were as follows:

The financial strategy now encourages any revenue underspend to be initially used as a direct contribution to capital (B24).

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The introduction of the protective security legislation has meant a further explanation within system procedures (C7).

The changes in the Authority’s executive team has resulted in the definition of Directors being updated (Appendix 1 d).

Clarity on the Local Government Acts stated in the regulations has been inserted (A4 and Appendix 1 c).

Mr Greensmith drew Members attention to another change on page 8 of the Financial Regulations which increased the writing off of debtors’ accounts from £2,000 up to £5,000. Mr Sweeney enquired what sort of debts these may be. Mr Greensmith advised that these may relate to lift rescues from a supermarket chain, or assisting entry to a property if someone was locked out etc. He advised that the Service did make efforts to ensure that these bills were paid but on occasion these debts were written off. This did not happen very often. Mr Irving commented that he fully supported the changes to the Financial Regulations but wanted to ensure that commercial/supermarket chains paid for the services that they had received. The supermarkets had a duty of care for their customers and he indicated that there needed to be something more formal in place. It was not what he expected from this supermarket chain and urged the Service to pursue any such charges. Mr Davies commented that there was a reputational issue for the Service not charging for these services. Mr Greensmith advised that there were standard charges in place. Ms Bryant advised that there were a number of things that the Service could charge for. With Special Service Calls the Service had the ability not to apply a charge eg breaking in in case of a flood etc. Mr Barber advised that it was worthy of note that the supermarket chain pay for a contract on their lifts. The Service worked with businesses to make sure that their lifts were properly maintained and that appropriate provision was made in the case of a lift breakdown. 59. RECOMMENDATION TO THE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY – That the amended Financial Regulations, attached as Appendix 1 to the Minutes, as endorsed by the Strategy and Resources Committee, be considered for approval.

Exclusion of the Public

Upon the motion of the Chairman it was: 60. RESOLVED - “That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 indicated below”. PART TWO

Exempt Minutes of the Meeting held on 28 September 2016 (exemption paragraph 3)

61. RESOLVED - That the Exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

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Exempt Minutes of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee held on 19 October 2016

62. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee held on 19 October 2016 be received.

Exempt Minutes of the Service Improvement and Equality Committee

held on 24 October 2016 (exemption paragraph 2)

63. RESOLVED – That the Exempt Minutes of the Service Improvement and Equality Committee held on 24 October 2016 be received.

CHAIRMAN

Appendix 1 to the Minutes

Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Financial Regulations

Version Number 4 (November 2016)

Date Approved

Approved By For approval by the Fire and Rescue Authority on 15

th December 2016

Review Date November 2018

Applicable To All staff/Members/Committees/Executive

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FINANCIAL REGULATION A – INTRODUCTION A.1 These Financial Regulations form part of the governing documents approved by the

Authority. These regulations will be reviewed at least once every two years to ensure they remain modern and relevant. Subsequent changes will be submitted to the Authority for approval.

A.2 These regulations apply to all Members and staff in the Authority including the Civil

Contingencies Unit. A.3 Appendix 1 provides definitions for terms used in the regulations.

Treasurer A.4 The Treasurer has statutory duties in relation to the financial administration and

stewardship of the Authority as set out in Section 114 of theThe Local Government Finance Act 1988. The Treasurer is responsible for:

the proper administration of the Authority’s financial affairs

preparing the MTFS and the budget

treasury management

to ensure the provision of appropriate insurance cover

to maintain adequate and effective systems of internal audit as required in the relevant statutory requirements and proper practice

Director of Finance, Assets and Resources A.5 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources is responsible for issuing advice,

guidance and training to underpin the financial regulations that Members and staff are required to follow.

Directors A.6 Directors are responsible for:

ensuring all staff in their directorate are aware of the existence and content of the financial regulations and additional guidance

contributing to the preparation of the MTFS and the budget

ensuring partnership arrangements have the appropriate approvals before they are agreed

ensuring there is a scheme of delegation for their area that identifies staff authorised to act on the Director’s behalf in respect of payments, income collection and placing orders, together with the limits of their authority.

control of budgets delegated to them

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FINANCIAL REGULATION B – FINANCIAL PLANNING, BUDGETING & REPORTING

Budget Process B.1 The Strategy and Resource Committee will, upon the recommendation of the

Treasurer, determine:

a Medium Term Financial Strategy which, as part of the Policy Framework, will provide the financial framework for the preparation of the Corporate Safety Plan and other planning documents

a resource allocation and budget process that ensures due consideration of the Authority’s Corporate Strategy

a budgetary process that comprehensively assesses the Service needs in a timely manner and incorporates appropriate validations and challenge

B.2 Directors will, in contributing to the preparation of the budget, observe the rules and

procedures set out in the Budget Management and Responsibilities Guide. B.3 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources will, in accordance with how the

Strategy and Resource Committee has allocated resources, issue to each budget holder their budgetary responsibilities and the resource allocated to them. Budget holders will, in managing these resources, observe the instructions set out in the Budget Management and Responsibilities Guide.

Medium Term Financial Strategy B.4 The Treasurer is responsible for submitting to the Strategy and Resource

Committee a MTFS which supports the Authority’s corporate strategy. The MTFS should:

be regularly reviewed to ensure its assumptions are appropriate

contain relevant sensitivity analysis

be reviewed when there are changes in the financial environment, for example changes in inflation and/or a change in the grant regime

The Budget

B.5 The Chief Executive and the Treasurer are responsible for submitting to the

Strategy and Resource Committee for consideration, a budget within the approved resource allocation framework which sets out the proposed revenue budget allocation and capital investment plans for the services within their areas of responsibility. No project will be included in the budget unless it has been through the appropriate approval process.

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B.6 In addition to receiving information detailed at B.5 the Strategy and Resource Committee will consider summarised reports from the Treasurer and the Chief Executive on the budget.

B.7 The Strategy and Resource Committee will make recommendations to the Authority regarding the budget, the allocation of financial resources to services, the provision for contingencies, the use of reserves and balances and the setting of the precept.

Directorate Budgets

B.8 Directors, in consultation with the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources , will

ensure that individual Directorates produce a Directorate Plan that includes a detailed budget reflecting the budget allocation detailed in B.5 above. These budgeted service plans should be prepared in line with instructions contained within the Budget Management and Responsibilities Guide.

Virement and In-year changes to the Budget

B.9 The Treasurer will administer the Scheme of Virement set out below. Any change

to the Scheme requires the approval of the Authority. B.10 Virement that is likely to impact on the budget of another Director requires the

written agreement of that Director before it can be implemented. B.11 Directors, after consultation with the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources,

may initiate virement between budget heads provided:

(a) it does not involve a new policy or policy change; (b) it does not involve an increasing commitment in future years which cannot

be contained within existing approved budget allocations.

B.12 Strategy and Resource Committee is responsible for taking in-year decisions on resources and priorities in order to deliver the corporate strategy within the budget approved by the Authority and can therefore approve virement between budget heads.

B.13 The Authority is responsible for approving all allocations from reserves and

contingencies.

Power to Incur Expenditure B.14 Directors have power, subject to these Regulations, to incur expenditure provided

for in the revenue budget and capital programme approved by the Authority. B.15 No revenue or capital expenditure can be incurred without the approval of the

Authority if it is considered contrary to or not wholly in accordance with the

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Corporate Safety Plan or the budget. In this context contrary to the budget may be through:

(a) initiating a new policy; (b) committing revenue or capital expenditure in current or future years to

above the approved budget levels; (c) transferring revenue resources between budget heads except as provided in

the Scheme of Virement; (d) entering into a capital commitment if it involves a material change in the

nature of the project as set out in the original project appraisal. (e) entering into a capital commitment if it (i) will affect the Authority’s borrowing

limits or (ii) involves a revenue consequence for which no specific provision has been made in the budget for that service.

B.16 Directors are responsible for ensuring that any increase in a project estimate that

occurs during the course of the project is reported to the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources and can be contained within the overall budget for that Directorate.

B.17 No expenditure that requires the specific approval of a government department or

agency, the European Union or any other external funding organisation may be incurred until the Authority has received such approval or written assurance that such approval will be forthcoming in due course. Expenditure funded from these sources should not be incurred without the specific approval of Strategy and Resource Committee where the funding organisation may refuse to pay the grant or contribution.

B.18 No lease, hire, rental or arrangements of a similar nature that may affect the

Authority’s borrowing limits may be entered into without seeking the prior approval of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources.

Partnerships

B.19 Directors are responsible for ensuring that partnership arrangements are approved,

carried out, monitored and evaluated in a satisfactory way and in accordance with guidance from the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources .

B.20 Directors must consider the overall corporate governance arrangements and legal

issues and take appropriate action when arranging contracts with external bodies. These arrangements must be made in accordance with the requirements set out in the Authority’s Contract Standing Orders.

B.21 Directors must ensure the risks have been fully appraised before arrangements are

formalised. They must prepare a clear and feasible exit strategy before entering into the arrangement. Monitoring and Reporting

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B.22 Directors are responsible for ensuring the regular monitoring of revenue budget and the capital programme in their directorate; and for ensuring that significant variations are investigated and appropriate action taken to bring any forecast overspend back into line with the budget.

B.23 Directors, in consultation with the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources, must,

as soon as is practicable, report to Strategy and Resource Committee where they are unable to balance expenditure and resources within the approved budget allocation. Strategy and Resource Committee will consider such reports and, where appropriate, make recommendations to the Authority which address the shortfall.

B.24 Unless determined otherwise by the Authority, any under spending spend will initially be used as a direct contribution to capital. Any surplus underspends post the capital contribution, or over spending, or over spending will be incorporated into the carry forward reserves for future consideration.

B.25 The Treasurer is responsible for co-ordinating production of the Annual Statement

of Accounts, ensuring they are prepared in accordance with statutory requirements and proper practice, and for submitting it for approval by the Audit Committee.

Disposal of Capital and Fixed Assets

B.26 All disposals of capital and fixed assets with a carrying value of £1,000 or more

must be approved by the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources. The disposal will be recorded in the register of disposals updated by the Finance Department.

Major Projects

B.27 Directors shall be responsible for preparing the Business Plan for new projects.

This plan shall include a business case, a cost benefit analysis, an affordability test and an implementation plan. The plan shall identify and quantify all elements of cost, including quotations and/or tenders as necessary. The Director shall liaise with other officers as appropriate.

B.28 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources, in consultation with Directors, shall

establish and review on a regular basis as circumstances require, a set of financial and other criteria in accordance with the Medium Term Strategic Plan and the Corporate Safety Plan against which projects shall be judged.

B.29 From time to time as it shall decide, these criteria shall be presented to Strategy

and Resource Committee as it requires. B.30 For capital schemes to proceed the final approval process shall be in accordance

with the Terms of Reference for the Capital Review Group; for revenue schemes to proceed the final approval process shall be approved by the Service Management Board for projects greater than £25,000 and the Service Development Board for those projects less than £25,000, as agreed by the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources.

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B.31 Major projects shall be monitored by the project manager in accordance with the

Budget Management and Responsibilities Guide. B.32 Virements must comply with the Scheme of Virement as set out in these

Regulations. Any decisions to vire must be timely and consider the pace of project work.

FINANCIAL REGULATION C – FINANCIAL SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS

Financial Management Standards C.1 The Treasurer is responsible for setting the Authority’s financial management

standards and for monitoring their compliance.

C.2 The Treasurer is responsible for ensuring proper professional practices and accounting policies are adhered to and to act as head of profession in relation to standards, performance and development of finance staff throughout the authority.

Systems and Procedures

C.3 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources is responsible for keeping the

principal accounting records of the Authority. Such records will be maintained on the Authority’s central financial system. No other system will be used for the keeping of accounting or other records relating to the Authority’s finances without the prior written permission of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources .

C.4 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources , in conjunction with Directors, will

ensure that all feeder systems and processes to the principal accounting records of the authority are fully documented with staff trained in their operation. Such systems and processes will incorporate the necessary controls to ensure that the data used to update the principal accounting records is complete, accurate, timely and not previously processed.

C.5 Directors must consult with the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources before

introducing or amending any book, form, record, administrative procedure or system used for the keeping of accounting or other records relating to the finances of the Authority and should act on any advice given.

C.6 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources and Directors will jointly ensure

that all accounting records are properly maintained and held securely. Further information can be found via the record retention and disposal policy.

C.7 Directors must ensure that where appropriate computer and other systems are

registered in accordance with data protection legislation. Directors must ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities under freedom of information legislation.all information assets are handled in accordance with the appropriate data protection

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legislation. This will include assurance that all systems holding personal and financial information provide the relevant technical assurance. Information Asset Owners will ensure that staff are aware of their information security responsibilities and how to process such queries as a Freedom of Information request appropriately.

FINANCIAL REGULATION D - AUDIT, CONTROL AND IRREGULARITIES D.1 Audit Committee will review the effectiveness of external and internal audit. D.2 The Treasurer is responsible for reporting to Audit Committee on the internal

control systems and the internal audit function. D.3 The internal audit function will be under the independent control and direction of the

Treasurer which shall be arranged to carry out a continuous examination of financial and other operations. An annual programme of work will be set by the Treasurer in consultation with other Directors, and approved or otherwise amended by Audit Committee.

D.4 Directors will co-operate with, and provide all necessary information for, Internal

Audit and the Authority’s External Auditor. D.5 It is the responsibility of Directors to establish effective and efficient arrangements

for internal control. Directors will seek the advice of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources in those instances of a material nature where the principles of internal control prove difficult to implement or maintain.

D.6 The Treasurer must be notified immediately of all instances of potential and actual

irregularity affecting the finances of the Authority. D.7 The Secretary to the Authority is responsible for the development and maintenance

of anti-fraud and anti-corruption policies which will identify who is responsible for ensuring compliance and for receiving reports of potential breaches.

FINANCIAL REGULATION E - EXPENDITURE

General E.1 All payments made on behalf of the Authority will be delegated to and made by the

Finance team on behalf of the Treasurer.(with the exception of payments out of advance accounts) will be made by the Treasurer.

E.2 In making such payments, the Treasurer will, where necessary, rely on the

certification of authorised employees.

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Procurement of Works, Supplies and Services E.3 Each order will conform with the Authority’s Contract Standing Orders. E.4 Every employee involved in the procurement process will comply with the

Authority’s Code of Conduct Policy.

Payments of Creditors E.5 Payments will be made in accordance with the Authority’s standard payment policy

as determined by Strategy and Resource Committee.

Advance Accounts E.6 The Treasurer will provide such accounts as is considered appropriate for

authorised employees to defray petty cash and other expenses. FINANCIAL REGULATION F – INCOME F.1 Subject to Regulation F.2, Directors are responsible for

(a) reviewing and making recommendations to the Authority about charges that may be made for services provided by the Authority on a non profit making basis , in accordance with the Authority’s powers to charge set out in relevant legislation.

(b) reviewing and implementing all external fees and charges (where the

Authority has an element of discretion) on an annual basis.

F.2 The establishment or variation of any such fee or charge that involves a policy change requires the approval of the Authority.

F.3 Directors are responsible for ensuring that all cash and cheques received on behalf of the Authority are banked promptly and intact and receipted.

F.4 Directors are responsible for the prompt raising of Authority debtors accounts and

for the subsequent collection of the amounts due in accordance with corporate policies on credit management as determined by Strategy and Resource Committee.

F.5 Director of Finance, Assets and Resources/Treasurer may write-off debtors’

accounts up to an individual account limit of £2,000 and up to £5,000. in consultation with the Treasurer. Bad debts exceeding this figure require the approval of Strategy and Resources Committee.

FINANCIAL REGULATION G - TREASURY MANAGEMENT

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Banking

G.1 The Treasurer is responsible for arranging the Authority’s banking arrangements

including the opening and closing of all accounts.

G.2 Payments from the Authority’s bank accounts will be authorised in accordance with the appropriate bank account mandates.

Treasury Management

G.3 Strategy and Resources Committee is responsible for approving the Treasury Management Policy Statement, in line with CIPFA’s Code of Practice for Treasury Management in Local Authorities and Prudential Code, and the annual treasury management strategy.

G.4 The Treasurer is responsible for carrying out all Treasury Management activities

within the Authority’s Treasury Management Policy Statement and Annual Treasury Management Strategy. More specifically, such responsibilities will be carried out in accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the public services and CIPFA’s Prudential Code and will include:

To keep under review and to update as required, the Treasury Management

Policy Statement for approval by the Strategy and Resources Committee ;

To prepare and maintain suitable Treasury Management Practices setting out the manner in which treasury management policies and objectives will be achieved and presenting how those activities are managed and controlled;

To prepare the Annual Treasury Management Strategy at or before the start of each financial year for approval by the Strategy and Resources Committee including the Annual Treasury Management Investment Strategy for approval by the Fire Authority

To regularly monitor performance against Borrowing Limits and Prudential Indicators and to seek approval for changes to those limits if applicable;

To report the outcome of all Treasury Management activities at least once a year including an annual report for the preceding financial year for approval by the Authority

FINANCIAL REGULATION H -ASSETS H.1 All Members and staff have a general responsibility for taking reasonable action to

provide for the security of assets under their control, and for ensuring that the use of these resources is legal, is properly authorised, provides value for money and achieves best value.

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H.2 Directors are responsible for keeping records and assets properly maintained and

securely held.

H.3 Directors are responsible for ensuring that contingency plans for the security of assets and continuity of service in the event of disaster or system failure are in place.

H.4 The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources s may write-off assets with an

individual item value of £10,000. Amounts exceeding this figure may not be written off without the approval of Strategy and Resources Committee.

FINANCIAL REGULATION I - INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT I.1 The Authority is responsible for approving the risk management policy strategy and

for reviewing the effectiveness of risk management. I.2 The Chief Fire Officer is responsible for co-ordinating risk management activity

across the Authority including the allocation of the annual dedicated risk management budget.

I.3 A nominated director is responsible for arranging appropriate insurance cover for

risks which are not self-insured. Where appropriate, this director will consult with other Directors prior to arranging cover.

I.4 Except where otherwise provided for in agency agreements, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer will negotiate the settlement of claims with insurers.

FINANCIAL REGULATION J – OTHER FUNDS J.1 Directors will maintain records detailing the purpose and nature of all voluntary

funds maintained by their staff in the course of their duties within the Authority. J.2 Directors will ensure that such funds are operated in accordance with these

regulations and any guidance issued by the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources.

J.3 All members and employees acting as trustees by virtue of their official position

will ensure that accounts are audited as required by law and submitted annually to the appropriate body.

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Appendix 1 - Definitions Unless the context requires otherwise the following words, abbreviations and expressions shall have the meaning stated:

(a) “The Authority”, shall mean Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Authority

(b) “Secretary” shall mean the Monitoring Officer and solicitor as defined in the Authority’s Scheme of Delegation.

(c) “Treasurer” shall mean the Section 151 Officer as set out in the Local

Government Finance Act 19721988.

(d) “Directors” shall mean collectively the Director of Prevent and Protect, the Director of Response, the Director of People, the Director of Organisational Development and the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources, and such other appropriate persons authorised to undertake the duties specified in the Regulations in accordance with the delegations made by the Director pursuant to a scheme of delegation approved by Strategy and Resources Committee.

(e) “Budget” shall mean the revenue budget and capital programme for the 12

months from April to March. (f) “MTFS” shall mean the Medium Term Financial Strategy (g) “Revenue” is defined as expenditure on resource which is consumed in a

period of one year or less. (h) “Capital” is defined as expenditure on the acquisition, creation or

enhancement of a fixed asset provided it yields benefit to the Authority for more than one year. Capital expenditure enhances the value, usage or life of an asset. The exception to this is where the expenditure is less than £250.

(i) “Major projects” are defined in the Authority’s Project Management

Handbook.

(j) “Budget heads” shall mean categories of revenue spend specified in schedules presented for approval by Members.

(l) “Budget Management and Responsibilities Guide” shall mean additional and

more detailed guidance on financial administration issued by the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources.

(m) “Virement” shall mean the transfer of funds from one budget to another, in

order to use surplus funds in one area to prevent a potential overspend in

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another area, or accommodate a change in policy or changes in the levels of activity.

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Item No. 4(b) on Agenda

MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE HELD ON 23 NOVEMBER 2016

Present: Mr P R Davies (Chairman)

Bloomer, L W Bowers, Ms S A Davies, M W

Kallar, G S Wood, Miss C B

Also in Attendance: Mr D Greensmith, Director of Finance, Assets and Resources; Ms C Bradley, Finance Manager; Mrs D Harris, Audit Manager, Internal Audit and Mr J Cook, Director, Grant Thornton.

PART ONE Documents referred to in these minutes as schedules are not appended but will be attached to the signed copy of the minutes. Copies, or specific information in them, may be available on request.

Minutes 68. Ms Bowers had reconvened her role on the Audit Committee and the Chairman welcomed her back to the Committee. 69. RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Annual Audit Letter 2015/16 (Schedule 1)

70. Mr Cook introduced the report. The Annual Audit Letter summarised the key findings arising from the work that was carried out at Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority by the external auditor for the year ended 31 March 2016. He advised that much of this work would be familiar as it had been raised at the last meeting and formed part of the minutes. It was a contractual requirement for the Auditors to produce an Annual Audit Letter for all clients. This report provided a commentary on the results of the audit work to the Authority and its external stakeholders, and highlighted any issues that the Auditor would wish to draw to the attention of the Public. A copy of the Annual Audit Letter was attached and this was also considered by Members of the Strategy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 22 November 2016. In preparing the Letter Grant Thornton had followed the National Audit Office (NAO’s) Code of Audit Practice and Auditor Guidance Note (AGN) 07- ‘Auditor Reporting’. A copy of the letter had also been sent to Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) in line with requirements. The Annual Audit letter followed on from the detailed findings report that was considered by the Authority’s Audit Committee on 27 July 2016, where an unqualified opinion was given by Grant Thornton on that date. The Audit fee payable to Grant Thornton for the year ended 31 March 2016 was £30,709, a 25% reduction from the fee payable in 2014/15 of £40,945.

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Mr Cook reaffirmed that the accounts were signed off two months early. He commented that this was “well done” to the Finance Team. The working papers were again of good quality. Mr Cook referred to page 4 of his report which was looking forward. The Authority had already made reductions of £5.9m over the last four years and there was a further £4m savings to be made over the coming years. The External Auditor would focus on issues such as this to make sure that the Authority was making the savings that it needed to. Mr Greensmith advised that at the last meeting of the Authority in October changes to crewing were approved with the reduction of 40 posts. That together with the revised retained pay scheme will deliver at least half of that saving. The Authority had put itself in a good position to deliver these savings. Mr Cook commented that it was good reassurance from the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources and it was good to know that they had plans in place. Mr Cook referred to the section relating to value for money risks which highlighted three areas:- Joint Fire Control; Partnership Working with other Emergency Service and Sustainable Resources Deployment and on all three aspects the Auditor was satisfied that the risks were sufficiently mitigated and that the Authority had proper arrangements in place. Mr Cook referred to page 13 of the report which highlighted how they had worked with the Service and the Authority over the past year. The figures in the Authority’s accounts were a good news story and this would be kept under review. Miss Wood commented that this was the second time over two days that she had heard what a good finance Team the Service had. At a meeting a GP had commented upon how the Authority managed its budget and the way it had managed change. Mr Peter Davies thanked the Auditor. He commented upon how well the auditor and the officers had worked so well together and this showed what an effective partnership this was. Mr Greensmith advised that the Authority would be mentioned in a Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd report as one of only a few to sign off their accounts early. Mr Cook estimated that this would put the Authority in the top 10% of authorities completing their accounts early. 71. RESOLVED - That Members noted:- (a) That Grant Thornton provided an unqualified opinion on 27 July 2016 (2 months ahead of the deadline), this was enabled by the excellent engagement between Finance and the Audit Team. (b) The financial statements submitted for audit were, yet again, of good quality delivered by an effective close down process and supported by excellent working papers. (c) That the audit provided a positive value for money conclusion demonstrating that we continue to provide Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness (referred to on page 9 of the Annual Audit Letter), and

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(d) That the Authority’s accounts showed a good financial position going forward, due to the appropriate level of reserves which form part of the overall financial strategy, and the ability to provide value for money.

Audit Committee Update (Schedule 2)

72. Mr Cook presented the report which outlined progress of the external auditors in delivering their responsibilities. He referred to page 3 of the report which set out the timetable of work. He advised that it was inefficient to do Audit Work at the beginning of the year with most of the work being undertaken at the back end of the year. The second part of the report outlined where the Audit Committee could find further useful material on the Grant Thornton’s website which had a section dedicated to work in the public sector. There were various documents outlined as well as the recent webinars. The publications that could be downloaded included:

Advancing closure – the benefits for local authorities (July 2016)

Brexit – a public sector perspective (July 2016) There were two other issues outlined in the report relating to Fire issues:

CFOA Members vote to change the Articles of Association

CFOA responds to Home Office workforce statistics. The changes to the CFOA articles of association would have no direct implications for the Audit Committee. Mr Greensmith advised that the Chairman of the National Fire Chief Council had now been appointed and that was Roy Wilshire. They would now start to see the development of standards for the Fire and Rescue Service. Standards and Inspection would become more and more important and would start in a pilot form next year. This may be an arm of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) or a completely separate inspectorate body. The Fire and Rescue Service would be taken on a similar journey to Police and a league table of Fire and Rescue Services could be created in the future. Members commented upon the reform in the Prison Service a few years ago which had not been particularly successful. The workforce statistics showed that diversity of fire and rescue services was on Home Office radar. The report outlined the breakdown of the number of male, female, ethnic firefighters throughout the Country. In response to a question Mr Greensmith advised that the figures contained in the report roughly represented the Service in Staffordshire although Staffordshire had a slightly higher proportion of female firefighters. The Equality and Diversity Manager did collate this information. He advised that the Service had being trying to engage with minority areas of the community when recruiting retained personnel. He advised that the Service had undertaken no wholetime recruitment for the last seven years. Miss Wood commented that the report outlined that other fire and rescue service had also not undertaken any recruitment over recent years. 73. RESOLVED – That the Audit Committee update report be noted.

Internal Audit Progress Report (Schedule 3)

74. The report provides an update to Members on the internal audit activity carried out against the 2016/17 Internal Audit Plan. It also provided scrutiny of the internal audit

Page 4 of 8

function during the year and provided assurance to members that the 2016/17 audit plan was being delivered as planned. Progress against the Strategic Internal Audit Plan for 2016/17 was provided for Members' information at Appendix 1 of the report. Overall, the work was on schedule to be completed by 31 March 2017. The following audit reviews had been finalised and all recommendations made had been accepted by management:-

Protective Security – Satisfactory Assurance.

Procurement Contracts – Substantial Assurance.

Sickness Management & Reporting – Satisfactory Assurance. The management summary for the above mentioned reports along with the respective audit opinions were attached as Appendix 2 to the report. In addition to the above, the following audits were at draft report stage:-

Financial Ledger;

Bank Account & Reconciliations; and

Payroll Processing Procedures. The outcomes from the above audit reviews would be reported to a future meeting of the Audit Committee. Members discussed an area for improvement “the Service does not exercise its right to scrutinise how partners or third parties are holding the Service’s data”. The Service could make sure that the data held by partners was secure. Members discussed the access of information from GPs and whether GPs were obliged to share their data. Mr Greensmith advised that they were not obliged to share all of their data but they did share Exeter Data with the Fire Service. This information was used by the Service to signpost vulnerable members of the community who are over the age of 65. It was important for the Service to ensure the safety of data held and that data that was shared with partners. It was important for the Service to share the data with partners and ensure that it was secure. 75. RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

National Fraud Initiative 2016 (Schedule 4)

76. The report briefed members’ on the requirements of the Cabinet Office’s latest National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise 2016. The report set out the background to the Initiative which matches data and helps to detect fraudulent and erroneous payments from the public purse. Since its introduction in 1996 it had been successful in the detection (nationally) of £1.17 billion fraud. In April 2015, the Cabinet Office became responsible for the NFI following the closure of the Audit Commission on 31 March 2015. The NFI 2016 exercise would involve the County Council submitting payroll (and pension payroll) and other relevant data to the Cabinet Office on behalf of the Fire Authority. Potential matches were then referred back to authorities for investigation. This was mandatory for fire to undertake this exercise.

Page 5 of 8

Participants in the data matching exercise were required to inform individuals that their data would be processed; as required by Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. This was referred to as the ‘fair processing’ notice. For the NFI 2016 exercise, the fair processing notice was ‘layered’, which comprises of 3 layers of notices as set out in the report. The benefit of applying the layered approach was to provide different audiences with appropriate fair processing information, for example individuals who required short explanations could access the ‘summary’ notices’. The Cabinet Office released final guidance / instructions for the NFI 2016 data matching exercise during the summer which required submission of the following data from the Fire Authority as part of the 2016 NFI exercise:

Payroll (which includes members’ allowances and expenses);

Pension payroll and deferred pensioners;

Trade creditor’s payment history and standing data for the period 1 October 2013 to 3 October 2016.

Both the payroll and pension data was collected for the period 1 April to 3 October 2016. The payroll data would be used to identify individuals who may be committing employment fraud by failing to work their contracted hours because they were employed elsewhere or were taking long-term sickness absence from one employer and working at another employer at the same time. Payroll data would also be matched against visitors with UK Visas. The aim of this match was to identify any instances of overseas persons working in this country where the UK visa has expired or does not permit them to be in employment. The Fire Pensions data would be used to identify individuals who had an enhanced injury pension who had failed to declare relevant state benefits that may remove or reduce entitlement to the enhanced pension as well as identifying instances where an occupational pensioner had died but the pension was still being paid. Trade Creditors data would be checked to identify instances of duplicate payments being made. The above data sets were extracted and uploaded to the Cabinet Office’s secure website during October 2016 by Staffordshire County Council, on behalf of the Fire Authority. It was envisaged that the output would be returned to the County Council for filtering and examination from 26 January 2017 via the secure NFI software. Detailed enquiries on the matches identified would be undertaken primarily by Fire Service staff and Staffordshire County Council. This work would be monitored on an on-going basis and progress reports would be presented to the Audit Committee at regular intervals. The Cabinet Office fee for participating in the exercise is £2,000, excluding VAT. Whilst the NFI exercise runs over a period of two financial years the Authority would be invoiced in one instalment around November/ December 2016. Internal Audit had allocated 2 days within the 2016/17 Audit Plan to deal with the data extraction and upload process including the fair processing notices (at a cost of £628). Further audit time would be required during 2017/18 to deal with the returned data matches and their subsequent investigation. Members discussed the issues of overpayment and fraud. Mr Greensmith advised that all cases were looked at individually.

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77. RESOLVED – That the National Fraud Initiative repot be noted.

Future External Audit Procurement Arrangements (Schedule 5)

78. The report advised that the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 brought to a close the Audit Commission and established transitional arrangements for the appointment of external auditors and the setting of audit fees for all local government and NHS bodies in England. In October 2015 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) determined that the transitional arrangements for local government bodies would be extended by one year to also include the audit of the accounts for 2017/18. When the current transitional arrangements come to an end on 31 March 2018 the Authority would be able to move to local appointment of the auditor. Under the existing regulations the Authority must have appointed its External Auditor for the 2018/19 financial year by December 2017. There were three broad options open to the Authority and these were outlined in detail within the report under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the Act):

Option 1 - to make a stand alone appointment

Option 2 - set up a joint auditor panel/local joint procurement arrangements; or

Option 3 - opt-in to a Sector Led Body arrangement Option 1 – To make a Stand Alone Appointment In order to make a stand-alone appointment the Authority would need to set up an Auditor Panel. The members of the panel must be wholly, or a majority, independent members as defined by the Act. For this purpose independent members are independent appointees, which excludes current and former elected members (or officers) and their close families and friends. This would mean that elected members would not have a majority input to assessing the bid submissions and determining which firm of accountants would be awarded the Authority’s external audit contract. A new independent auditor panel, established by the Authority would fulfil this role. Setting up an auditor panel allows the Authority to take maximum advantage of the new local appointment regime and have local input to the decision. The recruitment and servicing of the Auditor Panel, running the bidding exercise and negotiating the contract had been estimated by the LGA to cost approximately £15,000 plus on going expenses and allowances. The Authority would not be able to take advantage of reduced fees that may be available through joint or national procurement contracts and the assessment of bids and decision on awarding contracts would be taken by independent appointees and not solely by elected members. Option 2 – Set up a Joint Auditor Panel/ Local Joint Procurement Arrangements The Act enables the Authority to join with other authorities to establish a joint auditor panel. Again this would need to be constituted of wholly or a majority of independent appointees. Further legal advice would be required on the exact constitution of such a panel having regard to the obligations of each Authority under the Act and the Authority would need to liaise with other local authorities in order to assess the appetite for such an arrangement.

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The costs of setting up the panel, running the bidding exercise and negotiating the contract would be shared across a number of authorities and there was greater opportunity for negotiating some economies of scale by being able to offer a larger combined contract value to firms. The decision making body would be further removed from local input, with potentially no input from elected members where a wholly independent auditor panel was used or possibly only one elected member representing each Authority, depending on the constitution agreed with the other bodies involved. Option 3 – Opt-in to a Sector Led Body (recommended option) Following the announcement in July 2016 by DCLG, naming Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd (PSAA) as the sector-led body authorised to make future audit appointments on behalf of principal local authorities in England. PSAA would have the ability to negotiate contracts with the firms nationally, maximising the opportunities for the most economic and efficient approach to procurement on behalf of the whole sector. The latest information available from PSAA Ltd, which was subject to consultation with the local authorities, outlined a number of benefits for participating bodies including:

Assured appointment of a qualified, registered, independent auditor;

Appointment, if possible, of the same auditor to bodies involved in significant collaboration/joint working, if the parties believe it will enhance efficiency and VFM.

Avoidance of independence issues.

Securing highly competitive prices from audit firms;

Minimising scheme overhead costs;

Savings from one major procurement exercise

A scale of fees which reflects size, complexity and audit risk for each body;

Avoiding the necessity for individual bodies to establish an auditor panel and to undertake an auditor procurement.

Individual elected members would have less opportunity for direct involvement in the appointment process other than through the LGS and/or stakeholder representative groups. In order for PSAA Ltd to be placed in the strongest possible negotiating position Authorities would need to indicate their intention to opt-in before final contract prices were known. Regulation 19 of the Local Audit (Appointing Person) Regulations 15 states that a principal authority may only decide to accept an invitation from PSAA Ltd to opt-in ‘by the members of the authority meeting as a whole’. A letter from PSAA inviting the Authority to ‘opt-in’ is attached to the report for additional information. The Authority had until December 2017 to make an appointment and one of the options outlined in this report would need to be agreed as the preferred route by December 2016 as PSAA Ltd had indicated that they would look to issue their invitation to opt in to the SLB route by early December 2016. This would then allow the contract negotiation process to commence spring 2017. When principal bodies were consulted as to whether they would be interested in using a sector led body to undertake a collective procurement over 270 Authorities and other Public Bodies responded and confirmed that they would. The analysis undertaken in this paper suggests the approach that would offer the best value for money would be to participate in the PSAA Ltd led procurement initiative and this decision would require approval from full Authority. The Local Government Association had lobbied for the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 to include provision for the establishment of a Sector Led Body (SLB) to procure

Page 8 of 8

future audit contracts. A SLB would have the ability to negotiate contracts with the firms nationally, maximising the opportunities for the most economic and efficient approach to procurement of external audit on behalf of the whole sector. Members’ gave consideration to the Options contained within the report in relation to the appointment of external auditor and held a discussion on the three options. In response to a question with regard to option three Mr Greensmith advised that Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd would undertake all of the tendering exercises. He advised that PSAA would compete the whole process and the Authority would not be able to choose their specific auditors as the appointment would be made on the Authority’s behalf. He advised that Grant Thornton would be tendering for this work. 79. RECOMMENDATION TO THE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY – That, as endorsed by the Audit Committee, Option 3 to ‘opt-in’ to the Local Government Association Sector Led Body approach via Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd for the procurement of the External Audit contract for the financial year commencing April 2018 be considered for approval.

Date of the Next Meeting 80. The next meeting of the Audit Committee was scheduled to take place on Monday 6 March 2017 at 2.15 pm. Mr Peter Davies thanked officers and Members for their contribution to the meeting.

CHAIRMAN

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Item No. 5 on Agenda

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority

15 December 2016

Report of the Secretary 1. Dates of Fire and Rescue Authority Meetings 1.1 The dates for meetings of the Fire Authority, its Committees, Panels and Member Development Training Days, for the period January 2017 to May 2018 are attached as Appendix 1. Those meetings shaded in yellow have previously been approved by the Authority. 1.2 The dates have been checked with both Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on- Trent City Council to avoid Member clashes. 1.3 Recommendation – Members are asked to approve the Calendar of Meetings as set out in Appendix 1. 2. Corporate Leadership Team 2.1 At the Fire and Rescue Authority Members Round Table Event in September Mr Sweeney briefed Members on FRA Development and a discussion was held around the forming of a Corporate Leadership Team comprising the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Authority together with the Opposition Spokesperson and the Chairmen of the various Committees of the Authority together with the Executive Leadership Team. The formation of this Team had been suggested as part of the Peer Review findings. The purpose of the Corporate Leadership Team will be an informal discussion group to allow Members and Officers to share ideas and be “horizon scanning” to help to sculpt the Service and Authority going forward. It will not form part of the Committee Structure and will have no delegated powers. In order to allow the Corporate Leadership Team to meet the Chairman of the Authority has confirmed that the FRA Members on the Corporate Leadership Team will therefore comprise:- Mr S J Sweeney, Mr R A Irving, Mr J W Taylor, Mrs K M Banks, Mr P R Davies, Mr M A Deaville and Mr G R Martin. The FRA Membership of the Team is politically balanced, is gender representative and is also balanced between Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire County Council Member representatives. 2.2 Recommendation – Members are asked to confirm the action of the Chairman in agreeing the Members on the Corporate Leadership Team, as previously discussed at the Members Round Table Event.

2

3. Firefighters (England) Scheme Advisory Board Chair’s Update 3.1 I am pleased to attach a letter to the Fire Pensions community from the Scheme Advisory Board Chair, Malcolm Eastwood giving an update on the work of the Scheme Advisory Board, along with the attached letter from Brandon Lewis MP, thanking the Fire and Rescue Authority officials, Pension administrators and LGA for the smooth implementation of the 2015 scheme (Appendices 2 and 3). 3.2 Recommendation – Members are asked to note the content of the letters. 4. Queries from the Home Office 4.1 As Members will recall the Service has received a number of questions from the Home Office relating to the Lifeskills project and a meeting had taken place with the Minister to discuss the project. Following this a number of clarification queries were raised by the Home Office and, for completeness and to ensure all Members are aware of the responses from the Service, attached to this Report at Appendix 4 is a note of the questions and the responses from the Service. 4.2 Recommendation- That Members note the queries received from the Home Office and the responses supplied by the Service.

Howard Norris

Secretary to the Authority Contact Officer: Howard Norris Telephone: 01785 898672 Email: h.norris@staffordshirefire.gov.uk

Appendix 1

Dates for Meetings of the Fire Authority which are included in Staffordshire County Council’s and

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Calendars

The dates for meetings of the Fire Authority, its Committees, Panels and Member Development Days are outlined below. These dates have been checked against the County Council’s and City Council’s diaries and have been included in the calendar of each Authority. Please note that for all Committee and Panel meetings a Chairman/Vice Chairman preview has been arranged to commence half an hour before each meeting.

Fire Authority (6 times per year)

Wednesday 15 February 2017 (Budget) 2.15 pm

Thursday 30 March 2017 2.15 pm

Monday 12 June 2017 2.15pm

Thursday 13 July 2017 2.15pm

Tuesday 24 October 2017 2.15pm

Monday 18 December 2017 2.15pm

Wednesday 14 February 2018 (Budget) 2.15pm

Thursday 29 March 2018 2.15pm

Audit Committee (4 times per year to fit in with the Audit cycle)

(Reports to the Fire Authority)

Monday 6 March 2017 2.15 pm

Wednesday 26 July 2017 2.15pm

Wednesday 27 September 2017 2.15pm

Thursday 23 November 2017 2.15pm

Monday 5 March 2018 2.15pm

Strategy and Resources Committee (6 times per year reporting to Fire Authority) (Approx 3 weeks before each Fire Authority)

Thursday 19 January 2017 2.15 pm

Thursday 2 March 2017 2.15 pm

Wednesday 26 April 2017 2.15 pm

Monday 26 June 2017 2.15pm

Thursday 28 September 2017 2.15pm

Tuesday 21 November 2017 2.15pm

Tuesday 23 January 2018 2.15pm

Thursday 1 March 2018 2.15pm

Tuesday 24 April 2018 2.15pm

Scrutiny and Performance Committee (6 times per year reporting to the

Strategy and Resources Committee)

Thursday 2 February 2017 2.15 pm

Wednesday 19 April 2017 2.15 pm

Tuesday 11 July 2017 2.15pm

Friday 8 September 2017 10.30am

Tuesday 17 October 2017 2.15pm

Wednesday 6 December 2017 2.15pm

Thursday 1 February 2018 2.15pm

Tuesday 3 April 2018 2.15pm

Service Improvement and Equality Committee (4 times per year to fit in with quarterly reporting figures)

(Reports to the Strategy and Resources Committee)

Wednesday 25 January 2017 10.30am

Monday 24 April 2017 2.15pm

Tuesday 4 July 2017 2.15pm

Monday 16 October 2017 2.15pm

Monday 29 January 2018 2.15pm

Thursday 26 April 2018 10.30am

Human Resources and Ethics Committee (4 times per year)

(Reports to the Strategy and Resources Committee)

Wednesday 15 March 2017 2.15 pm

Thursday 29 June 2017 2.15pm

Friday 1 September 2017 10.30am

Thursday 30 November 2017 2.15pm

Thursday 15 March 2018 10.30am

Staff Consultation and Negotiating Forum

(4 times per year) (Reports to the Human Resources Policy Committee)

Tuesday 7 February 2017 2.15pm

Thursday 6 April 2017 2.15pm

Wednesday 19 July 2017 2.15pm

Tuesday 10 October 2017 2.15pm

Tuesday 6 February 2018 2.15pm

Monday 9 April 2018 2.15pm

Members Development

Friday 6 January 2017 10.30am

Wednesday 8 March 2017 10.30am

Monday 12 June 2017 (New Members Induction)

10.30am

Friday 30 June 2017 10.30am

Monday 13 November 2017 2.15pm

Friday 5 January 2018 10.30am

Thursday 8 March 2018 10.30am

Appraisal Committee

Tuesday 27 June 2017 2pm – 4pm

Monday 4 December 2017 10.30am – 12.30pm

Terms of Reference Working Group

Further meetings to be arranged TBN

Staffordshire and West Midlands Fire Control Governance Board

Monday 16 January 2017 (WMHQ) 2pm – 4pm

Further meetings to be arranged TBN

Pensions Board

Further meetings to be arranged TBN

All meetings will be held at Pirehill unless otherwise stated Contact Officer: Kay Johnson – 01785 898670

Appendix 4 Home Office further queries and Authorities response 17th November 2016 –Home Office E mail To SFARS following Meeting; Thanks for coming in to meet Brandon Lewis yesterday. As discussed, it would be helpful if you could provide us with a short overview of how the NPV has now been reduced by c. 2m+ since the original bid, compared with the attached outline which is based on info your team provided before. This was a surprise and was as you heard of particular concern to the Minister. I think this would be strengthened if you could also include: - an explanation of how the project has enabled you to make reductions in crews elsewhere in the service -outline of any wider savings to public purse from the life skills centre (not factored into original NPV savings) I would be grateful if you could send this to us as soon as possible. The minister is also very keen as he suggested in the meeting that you- alongside wider supportive stakeholders e.g NHS- have further direct engagement with the local MPs/ PCC to try to get their support for the project asap, including presenting your case for why this is in the interests of a range of public services and outcomes, not solely the fire and rescue service. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss. Kind regards Chloë Head of Fire Strategy and Reform Unit | Home Office 2nd floor | Fry Building |2 Marsham Street |London SW1P 4DF 0207-035-0827 PA: Neil Rolin: neilalexander.rolin@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, 0207 035 3632 21st November 2016 - SFARS e mail to Home Office responding to queries; 1. Crewing savings As explained to the Minister, and previously incorporated within our earlier responses to you the original bid was based upon the assumption that a smaller response vehicle would be utilised in the revised station – thus giving rise to savings in crew, maintenance and upfront cost. The Authority has yet to approve a smaller vehicle option at this time; however the crewing levels at Stafford have already been reduced and will continue to be optimised in line with our Efficiency Plan submission to 2019/20 as we seek to achieve the most efficient response options. Trials for a new concept vehicle will continue and be reported through the Authority for approval during the next 12-18 months. The full crewing savings will therefore not be delivered as quickly as originally anticipated.

A) Sensitivity 1 : NPV £2.2m. This was the very prudent assumption that only 1/3rd of the crewing saving would be delivered by 2024/25 and is the worst case scenario that was presented to the Minister,

B) Sensitivity 2 : NPV £3.4m. This scenario assumes that we will deliver the full crewing reductions incorporated within the bid by 2020/21 after the period of our current efficiency plan, and allows time for full negotiation and agreement with the Authority and representative bodies.

As discussed with you the reason that the crewing savings at Stafford will only be partially delivered (4 heads instead of 12) at the moment is due to negotiations with the FBU that has delivered a saving of 40 posts (c£1.6m) across the Service, but any agreement to roll out reduced crews has not been possible at this time effectively delaying any further reduction at

Stafford. As a Service we have an excellent and professional working relationship with the local FBU and through this joint working we have been able to guarantee and agree recently c.£2.0m of savings that will achieve 50% of our targeted savings to 2019/20 that underpins our Efficiency Plan submission. It has therefore been absolutely necessary to move away for our original plans in order to deliver and maximise the saving opportunity available through this reduction of 40 posts. Importantly these changes will not reduce the number of appliances that will operate within Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent or the number of fire stations within our estate.

2. Wider savings to the public purse Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to talk fully with the Minister about the wide range of economic benefits to Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent that were not included within the NPV calculation, and again we have been very prudent by not incorporating these savings (even though the bid prospectus did allow this), but there is now increasing evidence regarding the benefits reported from similar facilities around the UK that indicate that it would be reasonable to expect that a Staffordshire based Lifeskills Centre could realise a 2% reduction in accidental injuries. Based on this level of reduction (1,854 per annum which represents 2% of 92,700 injuries incurred within Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent), the Lifeskills Centre could deliver a £4.6m benefit (so beyond that included within the NPV), and a 100% return on the total investment (including the Government grant) in less than a year. To be prudent a 1% reduction in accidental injuries delivers a £2.3m benefit and has been incorporated into two additional sensitivities:

C) Sensitivity 3 : NPV £15.4m. This is as per sensitivity 1 but incorporates a 1% reduction in accidental injuries

D) Sensitivity 4 : NPV £16.5m. This is as per sensitivity 2 but incorporates a 1% reduction in accidental injuries

The project will also deliver savings to partners that will be using the facility, for example, West Midlands Ambulance Service will be responding from the new location. Partners’ savings are therefore in addition to that forecast for the Fire and Rescue Service, and are excluded from all NPV scenarios. Also in addition to the sensitivities show above we have been prudent within the business case by showing the expected impact on reduced incidents within the Stafford area only, whereas the impact of the Lifeskills Centre will influence the operational demand across the entire County and would have a significant impact and improvement on the NPV results. Local Engagement In terms of your last point regarding the Minister’s suggestion that we widen engagement with Local MP’s/PCC; the Service, Authority and Partners’ are currently in the process of developing a communication plan and engagement strategy so that we can further present our case. Following a conversation last Friday at Leek Community Fire Station with the Right Honourable Karen Bradley MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, we are now going to be organising to visit Staffordshire MP’s in Westminster supported by our partners in order to discuss with them the project and the wider benefits beyond those that could be experienced by the Fire and Rescue Service in Staffordshire. The partners that we are specifically looking to engage with include RoSPA, local authorities and also health (e.g. Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Partnership Trust). We also have a Fire and Rescue Authority meeting on 15 December 2016 where we will be presenting a project update to Members of the Authority.

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Item No. 6 on Agenda

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority

15 December 2016

Periodic Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive

All Attended Inc

Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

2321 2322

All Attended Type Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

False Alarm Good Intent

509 477

Secondary Fires 550 453 Primary Fire 412 435 False Alarm Equipment

361 385

Special Service Call 249 314 Road Traffic Collision 182 222 False Alarm Malicious

51 30

Chimney: Dwelling 7 6

Total 2321 2322

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Q2:2015/16

Q3:2015/16

Q4:2015/16

Q1:2016/17

Q2:2016/17

All Attended Incidents: Q2 2015/16 - Q2 2016/17

1. Critical Success Factors

The second quarter of the 2016/17 Fire and Rescue Authority Report presents a

number of Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s

Community Protection Measures, and compares performance over the preceding

four quarters to quarter two 2015/16.

1.1 All Attended

Incidents

There have been 2322

incidents in quarter 2 of

2016/17, compared to

2321 during the same

period last year. Over the

five quarters shown the

trend is slightly increasing.

2

Accidental Dwelling Fires

Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

138 137

HFRCs Delivered

Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

7961 7105

0

50

100

150

200

Q2:2015/16

Q3:2015/16

Q4:2015/16

Q1:2016/17

Q2:2016/17

Accidental Dwelling Fires: Q2 2015/16 - Q2 2016/17

6600

6800

7000

7200

7400

7600

7800

8000

8200

Q2:2015/16

Q3:2015/16

Q4:2015/16

Q1:2016/17

Q2:2016/17

HFRCs Delivered: Q2 2015/16 - Q2 2016/17

1.2 Accidental Dwelling Fires

There have been 137 Accidental

Dwelling Fires in quarter 2 2016/17

compared to 138 during the same

period last year. The trend over the

five period timeframe is static.

1.3 HFRC’s Delivered

During quarter 2 2016/17 there

were 7105 HFRCs delivered

compared to 7961 in quarter 2

2015/16. The approach during this

time has been to increasingly target

HFRCs to priority groups.

3

HFRCs Delivered to Gold, Silver, Bronze Households

Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

1341 1494

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Q2:2015/16

Q3:2015/16

Q4:2015/16

Q1:2016/17

Q2:2016/17

Accidental Dwelling Fires to Gold, Silver, Bronze: Q2 15/16 - Q2 16/17

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Q2:2015/16

Q3:2015/16

Q4:2015/16

Q1:2016/17

Q2:2016/17

HFRCs Delivered to Gold, Silver, Bronze: Q2 2015/16 - Q2 2016/17

Accidental Dwelling Fires to Gold, Silver, Bronze Households

Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

18 16

1.4 Accidental Dwelling Fires in

Gold, Silver or Bronze

Households

The number of Accidental Dwelling

Fires in Gold, Silver, Bronze

households is 16 during quarter 2

this year compared to 18 during the

same period last year. Incidents

are trending downwards.

1.5 HFRCs Delivered to Gold,

Silver or Bronze Households

The number of HFRCs delivered to

Gold, Silver or Bronze households

continues to increase to over the

five quarters to quarter 2 of

2016/17.

4

Data contained in this report may be subject to change and therefore information contained in subsequent reports may differ

0

2

4

6

8

10

Deaths and Injuries in Accidental Dwelling Fires: Q2 2015/16 - Q2 2016/17

Deaths Injuries

Q2 2015/16 Q2 2016/17

ADF Deaths 0 1

ADF Injuries 3 3

1.6 Deaths and Injuries in Accidental

Dwelling Fires

There have been three injuries and one

death during quarter 2 of 2016/17

compared to three injuries during the

same period last year.

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2. Central Prevent and Protect 2.1 Public Health England (PHE) ‘Stay Well This Winter’ Campaign

(jointly funded by PHE and our Service) Stay Well This Winter is an integrated multi-channel campaign, aimed to ease seasonal pressure on NHS urgent care and emergency services. The winter months can be challenging for the NHS, especially for urgent care services. While the NHS can usually manage high levels of A&E attendance, the seasonal increase in hospital admissions can lead to repeated and sustained breaches of the urgent and emergency care standard, which states that 95% of patients should be seen, treated, admitted or discharged within 4 hours of arrival at A&E. The Stay Well This Winter campaign is aimed at easing seasonal pressure on NHS services. It is designed to reduce the number of people who become so ill that they require admission to hospital. The objective for the programme is to ensure that people who are most at-risk of preventable emergency admission to hospital are aware of and, wherever possible, motivated to take those actions that may avoid admission this winter. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, alongside Greater Manchester and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service are working in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) in order to create scale and amplification across all phases of the Stay Well This Winter campaign. PHE are developing a suite of materials to aid communication of the Stay Well This Winter messages to target audiences, including posters, leaflets and materials, bespoke for the Fire and Rescue Service. Press releases and media promotion will take place over the coming months and the campaign is scheduled to run until March 2017. In addition to these materials, we are also working with PHE to install livery on our ten whole-time appliances carrying the campaign health messages and we will also show banners outside all Community Fire Stations to reinforce these messages. The artworks message will read:

1. Do you have a long term health condition or are you 65 or over?

2. Cold weather can be seriously bad for your health

3. For more information and advice visit www.nhs.uk/staywell

This campaign is aligned to the Safe and Well concept that was piloted in winter 2015 with endorsement and support from PHE and the aforementioned Fire Services. 2.2 Safe and Well Visits As reported in the last update, work to implement the decisions taken at the Service Management Board (SMB) to introduce Safe and Well visits across the County has progressed significantly. The scheduled “Go Live” for Safe and Well will be week commencing 5 December 2016. We have been working very closely with a number of departments in preparation for this transition so that the electronic recording system is updated to capture additional question sets and marketing material, and also to ensure that the Service website contains consistent and updated messages, and most importantly that all staff are fully briefed on the purpose and content of Safe and Well.

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The initial phase will concentrate on Safe and Well over the winter period with particular focus on winter warmth, falls, isolation, flu immunisation and home security. This is in addition to the existing fire safety messages, and equipment that is provided as part of the current Home Fire Risk Check. Promotion and advertisement of the new visits and supporting materials will be issued in due course and Members are asked to support and promote these with local community members and partners. Work has also been ongoing to develop a feedback mechanism that will enable Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service to understand what actions partner agencies undertook when individuals/households were referred to them by our staff as a result of a Safe and Well visit. The benefit of this feedback was one of the main areas of good practice identified during the Safe and Well pilots that took place over the winter months during 2015/16. Feedback enables the Service to truly measure the value of the work we do in the community and it is also a tremendous motivator for staff who carry out these visits – when we understand the impact of the work we do, we tend to be more active in that work. 2.3 A Multi-Agency Approach to Waste Site Inspections The risk and response assessment sub group has been set up to conduct a series of multi-agency joint inspections at authorised and un-authorised waste sites within the County. The group will feed into the Recovery Co-ordination Group, following the waste site incident in Rugeley Slitting Mill. The purpose of this group is to identify priority waste sites within Staffordshire and then conduct a multi-agency joint inspection to either produce a joint approach of action using our legal frameworks or/and produce a shared joint understanding of risk to inform pre incident tactical plans. A new focus will be to challenge what avenues we have that may not have been explored previously to resolve the issues. To date a priority list has been created and the first visit completed. Staffordshire County Council are now providing support with arranging the next sites to visit. The list has been created taking into account high risk fire sites, un-authorised sites and previous fires and locations within built up areas. Further update on the incident at Oak Tree Farm, Slitting Mill, Rugeley The waste fire at Oak Tree Farm, Slitting Mill, Rugeley continues to burn underneath the soil cap that was built in the last week of September using hired excavators. This is in line with the tactics agreed by partner organisations. The staff based at Rugeley continue to monitor the stack frequently, often when returning from other incidents in the area, using thermal imaging cameras. In early November the site owner disturbed the cap with his own excavator allegedly in response to a request from Network Rail who had asked to access the land to repair the boundary fence. The disturbance of the stack led to an increase in smoke production from the combusting waste and the Service had to hire an excavator again to rebuild the cap. This was completed within days and on 14 November the site owner and the operator were served with a High Court notice that prohibits disturbance of the stack and the acceptance of any further waste on site. The Service remains committed to regular site inspections and this effort is expected to continue into the first half of 2017. The most recent excavator hire, cost the Service £2000 and to date the cost, not including staff wages is in excess of £26,500 which will not be recoverable.

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2.4 Community Sprinkler Project At the beginning of the year our Fire Engineer developed an Automatic Fire Suppression - Domestic Strategy. Following on from this he has identified over 35 social housing providers that have properties within Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire and this relates to over 81,000 homes. Over the last 10 months strong relationships have developed and we are clear on their property portfolios and are working with them all in future development plans.

Following the fire fighter deaths at Shirley Towers, the safety of our operational crews is a priority, as are those most at risk of fire in our communities. As a result, a risk matrix has been developed to identify those buildings where we can target our resources.

We have 41 buildings over 5 floors; over 1700 properties; approximately 2500 people and 311 Gold, 155 Silver, and 163 Bronze identified by our ‘3 Tier Measures’. These have been prioritised and we are working with owners to promote retro-fitment of automatic fire sprinklers. Our Lead Fire Engineer is in negotiations with the local Housing Associations to achieve match funding for the projects. 3. Engagement through Community Facilities 3.1 Case Study: ‘Good Afternoon’ – Newcastle Community Fire Station ‘Good Afternoon’ is a community group, established to provide a safe and stimulating environment for adults with learning disabilities, together with their carers. No-one in the group is paid to provide this service, and it is run by volunteers giving their time freely for the sessions. Sessions are held in the Community Rooms, Newcastle Fire Station and are based around Art and Craft activities with the emphasis on using recycled materials. Lynne Arnold who leads the group said, “Mandy Chapman, Pete Hall and the Station Manager, Mark Walchester, have all supported us and integrated with us. Our group comprises of adults with learning difficulties so this integration is really important, as is the continuity of the Tuesday and Thursday sessions, at the set time of 12.30 to 3.30 p.m.. For autistic people this stability is vital. We have found the Fire Station is ideal for our purposes, with members and their carers using arts and crafts to create a fun social interaction. If we didn’t have access to the community room, then the group wouldn’t happen; we couldn’t afford to run the group as well as paying for a room.” 3.2 Prince’s Trust - Stafford Team 7 Stafford Team 7 is now half way through. There are 16 young people on the programme and they have recently all completed their work experience placements and are preparing for the community project. The celebration event is on Thursday 15 December at 2.00 pm at the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford. The event is always a great way to learn more about the programme, but also to hear each young person’s inspiration journey through the 12 weeks.

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4. Operational Incidents 4.1 Location: Barton Marina, Barton Turn, Barton-under-Needwood Date: 21/10/2016

Fire Control received a call at 12.54 p.m. on 21 October reporting an incident at Barton Marina. The first crew from Barton-under-Needwood arrived at the scene at 1.03 p.m. It was followed by appliances from Lichfield, Burton, Newcastle and the Water Rescue Unit from Newcastle. On arrival, one narrow boat was well alight. Firefighters wore two breathing apparatus and used one hose reel and one main jet to tackle the blaze. Unfortunately, the fire spread to two neighbouring vessels causing all three to sink. Three people were trapped on the opposite side of the pier and were rescued using a marina boat. Three adults suffered smoke inhalation as a result of the incident. The stop message came in at 3.29 pm. The final appliance from Barton-under-Needwood left the scene at 5.01 pm. 4.2 Location: Amazon, Grazeley Park, Lea Hall Way, Rugeley Date: 13/11/2016 Fire Control received a call at 02.09 a.m. on 13 November reporting an incident at Amazon. The first crew from Rugeley arrived at the scene at 2.19 am. It was followed by appliances from Cannock, Lichfield, Chase Terrace and Abbots Bromley. At the peak of the blaze, four firefighters wore breathing apparatus and crews used two hose reel jets to tackle the incident. The stop message came in at 6.12 am. The final appliance from Rugeley left the scene at 6.19 am. The Operational crews worked really hard to extinguish the fire and protect the building and its contents. It must be noted though that had the building not had sprinklers installed, it is highly likely that the damage from the fire would have been more pronounced as would the risk to the occupants and firefighters that attended the incident. 4.3 Location: Coley Hole, Ipstones Date: 18/10/2016 Fire Control received a call at 5.48 am. on 18 October reporting an incident at Coley Hole. The first crew from Ipstones arrived at the scene at 6.12 am. It was followed by an appliance from Leek. The incident involved a 25-year-old horse which was stuck in a stream. The animal was lifted from the water using rescue equipment and a tractor. The horse was aided to stand using an animal rescue harness. The stop message came in at 8.22 am. The final appliance from Leek left the scene at 9.06 am. 5. Matters for Report

5.1 Leek Official Opening Leek’s new Community Fire Station was officially opened during a special ceremony on 18 November. CFO/CE Becci Bryant attended the celebration and the Rt. Hon. Karen Bradley, MP for Staffordshire Moorlands and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, performed the Official Opening. Leek’s Station Manager, Carl Mason, attended along with the Chairman of the Fire Authority, Councillor Stephen Sweeney.

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Following the opening ceremony, guests were given a guided tour of the station, including the operational and community facilities. The crew also demonstrated an animal rescue display.

5.2 Men’s Health Day

On 18 November, dozens of colleagues from across the Service attended two sessions held at HQ focusing on men’s health. They were given three presentations to highlight common medical issues experienced by men, and they also received advice on how to resolve or mitigate them.

The sessions touched on prostate cancer, mental wellbeing and resilience. One colleague who attended the presentation said it had raised his awareness and prompted him to book a check-up with his GP, while another described the session as a ‘real eye-opener’.

5.3 Blood and Transplant Talent Programme

The Service was contacted by Kate Shergold – Organisational Development Consultant for Bristol’s NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), about a talent programme it launched in April 2016. NHSBT asked if they could send 10 delegates to visit the Service to learn about the organisation and its purpose, including structure and roles.

The visitors, ranging from junior members of staff to senior managers, also learnt about different operations within the organisation – particularly key functions. Implementation of the Service’s strategy/vision and leadership was covered during the session and guests were taken on a tour of Stone Community Fire Station. The visit on 4 October was such a success, that a date has already been put in the diary for a second visit next year!

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5.4 Multi-Agency Event for Alcohol Awareness Week Community Safety Officers attended an event at One Recovery in Newcastle on 16 November to talk to people about potential fire risks linked to alcohol consumption.

The Service teamed up with Newcastle Borough Council, Staffordshire Police, Aspire Housing and other partners to highlight the health, social and economic costs of excessive drinking. The premise of the event was to encourage people to think about the potential consequences of drinking too much.

5.5 The Contribution Women make to a Safer Staffordshire Conference Colleagues from across Staffordshire and further afield, attended this annual event held at Yarnfield on 3 November, which was organised by the Service and was attended by over 200 people. The Conference included talks from inspirational speakers including Professor Liz Barnes, Vice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University; Danny Flynn, CEO of North Staffs YMCA; Dr. Anna Einarsdottir, Organisational Behaviour Expert and Lovejit Dhaliwal, award-winning documentary maker. The Conference also played host to three interactive workshops.

Rebecca Bryant Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive

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Item No. 7 on Agenda

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority

15 December 2016

Corporate Safety Plan 2017-2020

Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive SUMMARY This report provides an overview on the progress of the Corporate Safety Plan (CSP) for 2017-2020. Members will recall that Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are required to produce an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP)/Corporate Safety Plan on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) and the communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. This requirement is legislated within the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 through the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework for England 2012 and seeks to set out the organisational priorities for the period of the plan. The Framework on which to base our CSP is now open-ended and should span a minimum of 3 years. The planning cycle reflects a fiscal calendar and an annual review will be undertaken to identify progress against the objectives set and monitor progression. This has now been substantially underpinned through the requirement from Central Government for the production of an annual statement of assurance which complements our existing annual performance report. SFRS’s current CSP 2014-17 is now within the last 4 months of the 3 year cycle and has been developed as a combined Corporate Plan and Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). The document was approved by the Fire Authority in March 2014, for publication on 1 April 2014. The next iteration of the CSP is to run from April 2017 to March 2020 and has undergone a comprehensive process of development and consultation throughout 2016. Through consultation and thematic analysis we have transformed the current 5 priorities into the proposed 3 priority areas which will continue to build on the previous successes and provide a more focused approach to consolidate the Service’s position as a high performing Fire and Rescue Service. Following the FRA meeting the CSP will be presented to the Service Management Board on 17 February 2017 and the Strategy and Resources Committee on 2 March 2017 for final agreement before production. A draft CSP document will be available at the Committee meeting for consideration by Members. This is currently in development with the Communications team and an external document design company.

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RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Fire Authority considers the wording of the attached document including the three strategic priorities, with a recommendation that this is taken forward to final document outline. It is not anticipated that the content of the three Strategic Priorities will change at this stage in the consultation and production. Amendments to the wording will be minor prior to the final agreement. It is requested that delegated powers are given to the Chairman of the Authority and the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive for minor amendments and to Strategy and Resources Committee for final approval and sign off at the meeting in March 2017. A copy of the finalised CSP will be circulated to Members in due course. Financial Implications The financial implications directly associated with the CSP are related to the production of the plan/documentation itself (including consultation). This cost is built into existing budgets and is reported against, at the Prevent and Protect Directorate, as part of the Service’s project management process. Legal Implications There is a legal requirement to produce an IRMP (CSP) which is identified within the Fire Service National Framework for England July 2012 (Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004). Equality and Diversity People Impact Assessments (PIA) are currently in place covering the existing five priorities. To add value to this process, these will be amended to reflect the consultation process and the development of the CSP. Further development of the PIA will continue until the delivery of the final CSP 2017-2020. The PIA is an ongoing process managed throughout the three year period of the safety plan.

Risk Implications

The Corporate Safety Plan combines our Corporate Plan and our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) which is a requirement of the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework Document.

All risks faced by the organisation are monitored through a robust risk management process and the CSP project itself has a risk register which maintains direction and highlights suitable control measures. This is reviewed on a monthly basis.

Consultation and Engagement undertaken

The consultation process has been reviewed by the Scrutiny and Performance Committee. The method of consultation adopted was to consolidate best practice and previous learning to design and deliver a stakeholder and staff consultation programme that would involve a broad and diverse cross section of the demographics of the community of Staffordshire.

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Completed engagement activities to this point include:

A public consultation day which took place at the Fire Service Family day on 3 September.

A Hall Test schedule has been completed by Step Beyond, a local consultation team based in Stone who supported SFRS during the CSP 2014-17 consultation. The full cost of this consultation is £16,000.

Focus groups held in each Service Delivery group, FSHQ and transport and engineering have gone well with staff engaging fully and appreciating the opportunity to shape and be involved with the safety plan.

Correspondence with local MP’s, Boroughs/Districts, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council has taken place.

Focus groups with partners and community groups across the Service.

Consultation with youth groups including the Prince’s Trust programme.

Correspondence with community groups.

Members focus group

Full representative body (FBU, RFU and Unison) involvement is ongoing. The formal consultation process was conducted from 25 July to 16 October 2016 but feedback and consultation will continue until final sign off and then be a continuous process to support the CSP development. It is anticipated that only minor changes will be made by the FRA prior to the production of the final document. Background Corporate Safety Plan 2017-2020 In order to deliver the 2017-2020 CSP in a timely and effective way, it was established as a project, reporting through the Prevent and Protect Directorate and Service Management Board under a project guideline and timetable. The content and detail of our new priority areas have developed and progressed through a process of on going consultation focus groups with Stakeholders. We have taken an inclusive approach to consult with stakeholders in the development of our priorities rather than the methodology of consulting on a set of finalised proposals. Once obtained, the qualitative data was prepared for thematic analysis. This involved digitizing the data, storing it in an active spreadsheet, which was sorted between five themes: Education, Communication, Partnerships, Finances, and Evaluation. Each theme was further broken down into subthemes, with individual subthemes and themes being counted for frequency to give initial impressions of opinion prevalence. Key quotes were then highlighted

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within the spreadsheet and utilised in a summative document describing general and poignant opinions and suggestions. The objective was to develop a Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service “Story” detailing how we are going to take the service delivery forward over the next 3 years. The plan was to build on previous successes delivered by adopting a proactive and inclusive approach to delivering change, to ensure a fit for purpose service was provided to our community. Work has progressed towards building the content and design of the final Plan document. This work has been presented for discussion/change and agreement through the appropriate process in order to deliver a Draft Plan for agreement and consideration. Attached to this report are the proposals for the content and wording of the CSP for consideration and comment. CSP 2017-20 development - progress to date The consultation process has been reviewed thoroughly by the Scrutiny and Performance Committee. The engagement has involved an extensive consultation with all areas of the Service, our partners, a broad range of our community, voluntary groups, businesses and parliamentary representatives. The priorities were also presented to and discussed at Service Delivery Board and Service Management Board in November 2016. Three strategic priorities are attached to this report and are summarised below: Priority: Education and Engagement; - We will prioritise our efforts to educate ourselves, our partners, and our communities. We will engage to build a safe, informed, and inclusive Staffordshire.

Priority: Community Safety and Wellbeing; - We will develop innovative prevention services to ensure we can deliver the right activities to the people who we prioritise within our communities. The Service will work with partners to enable us to deliver a range of services and improved outcomes, which will ensure safety and wellbeing for the communities of Staffordshire.

Priority: Planning, Resilience and Response; - We will use our resources efficiently, and plan for the development of the services we deliver based on information and knowledge.

Report Author: Bob Preston, Corporate Safety Plan Manager Telephone: 01785 898984 Email: r.preston@staffordshirefire.gov.uk

Cover page To be added

Other language page To be added

Contents:

Welcome ................................................................................................................................................ 1

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 2

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire .......................................................................................................... 3

Your Service ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Our Vision and Principles ....................................................................................................................... 5

Our Priorities .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Education and Engagement ................................................................................................ 6

Community Safety and Wellbeing ....................................................................................... 8

Planning, Resilience, and Response ................................................................................... 10

Risk ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

The Future ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Our Performance 2014-2017 ................................................................................................................ 15

Our Finances ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Your Contribution ................................................................................................................................. 17

Glossary ................................................................................................................................................ 18

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1. Welcome to Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue

Authority’s Corporate Safety Plan for 2017 -2020.

Our vision is to make Staffordshire the safest place to be. Our aspiration is to achieve zero preventable deaths

by working effectively with partners and the community.

To do this we must adapt to the ever-changing risks in our communities and so, as we move to 2020 and

beyond, your fire and rescue service will be changing. But our commitment to making life safer for everyone in

the county remains as strong as ever. Over the last 10 years, the demand on our services has reduced

significantly. This is because the communities of Staffordshire have become safer with our help. To ensure our

resources meet the new level of risk, we must keep moving forwards towards a smarter, more efficient and

more relevant fire and rescue service for the people of Staffordshire.

This plan sets out the vision for our Service over the next three years. It recognises the considerable

transformation we have implemented during the Corporate Safety Plan 2014 - 2017and looks to build on our

excellent work to date. There are continuing challenges facing all of the public sector however we are

confident that our approach to transformation and understanding the needs of our communities places us in

an excellent position to continue working in a way that supports the residents of Stoke-on-Trent and

Staffordshire.. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is one of the best performing fire and rescue services in

the country. We remain at the forefront of innovative thinking when it comes to ensuring a cost effective, fit

for purpose service is delivered to our community. We aim to raise our already high standards to make sure

we are delivering against our vision of making Staffordshire the safest place to be. Ongoing work has identified

that the way that Fire and Rescue Services operate in the future will look and feel different to the traditional

approach that has been seen in the past. New technology, equipment and training allow us to look closely at

alternative approaches to how we deliver an effective service.

Opportunities to work more closely with our communities and partners will allow to us to contribute to

improving the health, safety and wellbeing of the public in different ways that will be even more effective. Our

focus is still firmly on the fact that prevention is better than cure. We will continue to invest in the proactive,

prevention activities that have seen the number of fire related casualties fall to their lowest ever levels.

We will continue to deliver the highest standard of emergency response when it is required, although how we

deliver this response will change as we seek to take advantage of new technology and the emerging

approaches being developed across the fire sector. We remain committed to our promise that in making the

changes we believe are necessary to meet future challenges; we will not compromise the safety of our

firefighters or the communities we serve. Emergency Services, from 2016 have statutory duties under The

Policing and Crime Bill to collaborate and enable police and crime commissioners to take on responsibility for

fire and rescue services where a local governance or single employer model case is made.

We are confident that we are well placed to rise to the challenges of the future. We have a positive culture of

embracing change, which has supported the changes to the way the Service delivers it activities. We know that

we have achieved some extremely successful outcomes in the last few years, but also recognise that there is

still much more to do. We are fully committed to working together with our partners and communities to

improve the health, wellbeing and prosperity for all in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

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2. Executive Summary

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority have combined the Integrated Risk

Management Plan and Corporate Plan to form the Corporate Safety Plan (CSP).

The Corporate Safety Plan for 2017 –2020 looks to build on the success of the 2014-2017 plan and

sets out our three strategic priorities to inform and drive the Service’s vision of “making

Staffordshire the safest place to be”. The plan fulfils the requirement of the Fire and Rescue National

Framework for England. The National Framework sets out high level expectations and the following

priorities for fire services:

• Identify and assess the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue related risks their areas face, make

provision for prevention and protection activities and respond to incidents appropriately

• Work in partnership with their communities and a wide range of partners locally and nationally to

deliver their service

• Be accountable to communities for the service they provide

The National Framework recognises that the Fire and Rescue Authority and Fire and Rescue Service

are best placed to identify, plan, prepare and deliver a suitable service to address the risks and

challenges faced by the local communities in which they serve. It builds on existing notable practice

and identifies the requirement to work in partnership with our communities, local citizens,

businesses, civil society organisations and others. This plan has been developed by speaking with,

and listening to, our communities, staff, partners and other stakeholders. This has made sure we

develop an understanding of the expectations and service that is required from their point of view.

The consultation has been used to help develop and shape our priorities as we look to tackle the

challenges of the future and build a safer stronger economy where everyone can prosper, be

healthy, and happy Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire

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3. Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a county of 2713 square kilometres in size. It is diverse in terms of its geography

and its cultures, having made many iconic contributions to areas such as food and drink,

entertainment and manufacturing.

The county is made up of the cities of Stoke-on-Trent and Lichfield and the major towns of Stafford,

Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Tamworth and Leek.

Stoke-on-Trent became a unitary authority in 1997, with Stafford, Newcastle-under-Lyme,

Staffordshire Moorlands, Cannock, Lichfield, Tamworth, South Staffordshire and East Staffordshire

comprising the other administrative districts for the county.

The population of Staffordshire is 1.1 million, 249,000 of which live in Stoke-on-Trent. There are

462,838 dwellings in the area and an estimated 37,590 businesses.

There are varying levels of deprivation amongst the diverse communities of the county. Areas of

deprivation reflect differing demand levels on the Service, with Stoke-on-Trent having the most

accidental dwelling fires and total number of incidents attended over the last three year and one

year periods.

Staffordshire has the largest total road length of any authority area of the West Midlands and has

one of the largest in the country. There are 63 miles of motorway in Staffordshire and the West

Coast Mainline connects the county by rail. The section of the motorway through Staffordshire and

Cheshire has around 20.7 million vehicle movements per year.

Staffordshire is known as the ‘Creative County’ and it is easy to see why, through the many

contributions to industry and manufacturing and the fact that the county is home to a number of

film makers, actors, writers and musicians.

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4. Your Service

Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority serves a population of over a million

people and provides continuing improvements to community safety through its innovative, efficient

and effective delivery

The Service is made up of three main areas covering the county:

The Northern Service Delivery Group

o covering Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire Moorlands, and Newcastle-under-Lyme

Eastern Service Delivery Group

o covering Tamworth, Lichfield, and East Staffordshire

Western Service Delivery Group

o covering Stafford, South

Staffordshire, and Cannock

We have thirty three stations, a Headquarters

site and a separate Joint Emergency Transport

and Engineering facility (JET):

23 Retained Stations

2 Day Duty Stations

8 Wholetime 24 hour shift Stations

The organisation currently (as of November

2016) has the following numbers of personnel:

330 Wholetime

395 Retained

213 Support

114 Volunteers

A close relationship with our communities and

partners is at the heart of our Service. Our

estate strategy has seen the development of

21 new community fire stations across the

county; which complement our existing premises and enabling additional opportunities for

community use, along with shared facilities for partners, delivering savings for a number of

stakeholders.

Some of the benefits realised from Service led initiatives include: more accessible health care

services; community first responders; and shared response bases. All of our Fire stations operate at

the heart of local areas, offering community space, support and engagement opportunities.

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5. Our Vision and our Principles.

Our Vision: “to make Staffordshire the safest place to be”

Behind all of our priorities and in everything we do, we have a set of principles that guide the way we do things. Our Cultural Framework This framework clearly identifies the values, attitudes, and behaviours that are central to creating the right environment to achieve the high level of performance and success that is expected from individuals and teams. Cultural development and an inclusive, empowering approach are of utmost importance to us and to the achievement of our priorities. Our people We recognise our greatest asset is our people. The continuous learning opportunities and development of our staff is essential to delivering a safer Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. We will make sure we recruit and continually develop the right people with the knowledge and skills to ensure we deliver the service our communities expect and deserve. Continually improving health, safety and wellbeing The health, safety, and wellbeing of all our staff and communities is of the highest importance to us. We promote an open and transparent approach to make sure that safety is “owned” by all, and that any learning and improvements are shared both internally and in the wider safety community. Being accountable to our communities and helping them to help themselves We recognise that true success is helping communities to take control and responsibility for themselves. Communities are central to shaping the services received from all public and voluntary organisations, as they are best placed to understand the challenges faced by individuals, families, and communities. We will involve local people, where possible, in decisions about the Service that affect them and promote ownership and participation in shaping the service we deliver. Information, Security and Intelligence We collect and process data according to our protective security strategy to ensure security and confidence in line with national standards. Appropriate information is shared with partners and intelligence is developed to support decision making in the organisation. We make information available to our communities and meet our requirements under the Local Government Transparency Code.

Protecting the environment

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment both in day to day activities and during emergencies. We proactively monitor our energy usage and waste management. Embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across all we do. Engaging and embracing the diversity within our communities gives us a true understanding of their aspirations and needs. This will help us to shape and deliver the most effective services that they need to remain safe. We will meet our duties by:

(a) Eliminating any lawful discrimination (b) Advancing equality of opportunity (c) Fostering good relations between different groups

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6. Our priorities

Education and Engagement

We will prioritise our efforts to educate ourselves, our partners, and our communities. We

will engage to build a safe, informed, and inclusive Staffordshire.

Engaging with the voices of our communities helps us to better understand the needs of those

communities and, importantly, supports the continued development of your Service. Providing

opportunities to engage with our staff members and the communities we serve enables better

service adaptations for you, and helps us understand what it is that your communities need from

your Fire and Rescue Service. The residents of Staffordshire felt very positively towards maintaining

and developing our culture of openness, transparency, and trust.

Through our Safety Plan consultation our residents have suggested that they strongly support the

further development of our business sector support; ensuring that they are safe, well informed of

their legislative fire safety duties, and that we help them maintain this. Our exciting partnership with

The Prince’s Trust through the Safer Communities Community Interest Company is one way this

improvement has been enabled, transforming the Service’s approach to youth engagement, along

with the work that is undertaken within local communities.

Consistency was identified as a key area of improvement, regarding engagement, with communities

noting that sustained contact would be beneficial to them, with a greater longevity of engagement

plans implemented by the Service.

The Service should empower county residents to be self-reliant, enabling them to stay safe in their

own environments and communities. Improving opportunities for communication, education, and

engagement will allow for improved promotion and support of community health.

What we will do:

We will develop our education and engagement activities through innovative schemes and

advances in technology, which will help provide education and engagement opportunities

for partners and communities.

We will continue to provide fire safety training, support, and other education efforts to our

communities, partner agencies, and local businesses. We will promote the good work the

Service carries out, and how the aforementioned communities and groups can be involved in

staying safe.

We will work towards sustained contact with our communities, providing consistent

education and engagement across the service, which will help bolster transparency,

openness, and trust with our communities.

We will demonstrate a more integrated and collaborative approach with our partners in

order to focus on current safety and education issues, as well as new and emerging risks.

We will continue to engage with and develop our volunteers as a way to enrich public

engagement with the Service.

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We will develop our knowledge of information to target business premises to stop them

having fires, supporting them with fire prevention, fire safety training, business continuity

support and fire engineering solutions.

We will maximise engagement with our communities through a range of options e.g. Fire

Station community rooms and outreach programmes.

The Service will indicate their future plans to the public more clearly, and provide more open

communication about its processes, enabling our culture of openness.

During our consultation, you said:

'More community training needs to be improved and interactive and better presence in the community public sector and private sector’

'A continued presence needs to be offered through a greater longevity of plans. Increasing frequency

of school visits […] in order to continue the work that is done'

'…communicate future plans'

'Open communication about why the things we do are done’

'Empower People’

'We should make people as self-reliant as possible

'Education and teaching is a priority'

The education of young people is important, we should engage through youth clubs, more fire service interaction’

'Education is key, we need to educate kids about the costs of what they do before they do it’

'We need to keep our communities safe by training our staff more and involving our partners in that training'

'education is imperative, make a connection with kids at a young age!'

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Community Safety and Wellbeing

We will develop innovative prevention services to ensure we can deliver the right activities to

the people who we prioritise within our communities. The Service will work with partners to enable

us to deliver a range of services and improved outcomes, which will ensure safety and wellbeing for

the communities of Staffordshire

The Service will use opportunities to develop the prevention activities that we deliver to make them

more innovative and focussed. Knowledge and intelligence will be used so that we can understand

how this should be done.

The Service continues to support national work around the built environment, along with the

national work being undertaken to support the health agenda and accident prevention. Working

with other Fire and Rescue Services, partners and stakeholders supports an integrated approach to

providing services and education that are fundamental to delivering high-quality care to people who

may be vulnerable to the risks from fire. These are the same risk factors for people’s health and

wellbeing and therefore it is in the interest of the Service to utilise its brand, assets and workforce to

deal with the underlying cause and effect of public health issues which will also reduce the

vulnerability to the risk of fire.

Home Fire Risk Check visits will be developed into Safe and Well visits in order to incorporate a

broader range of wellbeing issues and focus on the people who need them the most. The person-

centred approach to the delivery of Safe and Well visits will enable us to make a positive difference

to people’s health and wellbeing as well as safety from fire, by making interventions during the visit

or bringing in other agencies as appropriate.

The programme to implement sprinklers into high rise residential blocks will help ensure better

safety outcomes for residents of these dwellings and the safety of firefighters for whom fires pose

additional risks where they occur in these buildings. This will be done through our ambitious and

innovative Community Sprinkler Project. In addition to this we will make residents more resilient to

the risks they face by ensuring that self-help advice is available for those who want it and are able to

access and use it.

Partnerships will be utilised to develop joined up working to deliver better outcomes for the

community, sharing data to identify which people need services the most and prioritise them. This

will provide a more holistic approach to enabling a safe and well community. We will evaluate the

outcomes of partnership working, as with other areas of delivery, so that we can establish the

effectiveness of our prevention work and report this back to the public.

We will develop commercial links with partners and businesses so that the skills and expertise in the

organisation can be utilised to enhance the safety and wellbeing of the community, with the funds

raised from this used to secure prevention and wellbeing delivery.

Through our business support team, we will continue to provide support to businesses who have

been involved in fire with a focus on returning them and the surrounding business’s to ‘business as

usual’ as soon as possible, supporting the economy of Staffordshire.

9

What we will achieve during this plan:

We will use information to identify the people most at risk in our community & support to

maintain their health, wellbeing and keep them safe in their homes

We will continue to develop our intelligence to enable us to focus on the individuals &

communities within Staffordshire who need us most

We will deliver a different approach tailored to individual needs

We will develop Safe and Well visits to improve people’s health and wellbeing, as well as

their risk from fire

We will work with social housing providers and other partners to fit sprinkler systems into

buildings which pose higher risk to residents and firefighters should a fire occur

We will evaluate the activities we deliver and understand what outcomes are achieved for

the community

We will share data and work with partners to deliver more joined up services and enhanced

wellbeing outcomes for the community

We will collaborate with other agencies and identify efficiencies in services which can be

jointly delivered whilst ensuring the quality of our delivery is maintained

We will evaluate collaboration and partnership working, considering both the impact on the

Service and its brand/reputation and the effect on the quality and range of prevention work

that can be delivered

During our consultation, you said:

‘Closer organisation integration would help underpin prevention […] opening [the service] up to

provide further services and applications’

‘Offer self-help services for those that could use them’

‘More prevent needs to be done, we need to be identifying trends because issues are ever changing’

‘We all have the same agenda - maintaining safety in the community, providing a secure, safe, and

supportive community for everyone within it’

‘We need better/smarter collaboration’

‘Keep our strength in development and wellbeing’

‘it is essential that the blue light services [share] intelligence and insight’

‘allow the sharing of information easily with partners, increasing ability to anticipate, collate, and

manage information on risk in communities’

‘Identify gaps in provision by other services; build information from those services’

‘Cooperation is a long term venture, the cost implications in terms of savings would not be seen

immediately, but this doesn't make it of less importance’

‘Preventative work cross-organisations, discuss further vulnerabilities’

‘I totally support SFRS working closely with other agencies in order to provide excellent services for

the communities of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove’

10

Planning, Resilience and Response

We will use our resources efficiently, and plan for the development of the services we deliver

based on information and knowledge.

Our approach will be refined to ensure that we send the right resources to incidents based on

demand, and we will develop intelligence so that we can plan the delivery of the most effective

services to the people who need them the most.

The services we deliver will be evaluated so that we can reduce the impact on our communities. We

will continue to invest in innovative approaches to prevention activities in order to improve

outcomes for residents and reduce the response demand on the Service. Our activities will be

developed to compliment the priorities of our partner organisations, in order to deliver an efficient

and joined up service to the community.

Investment will be made in the right activities in order to reduce the demand faced by the Service

and other public bodies as this is an effective approach to action planning. We will develop and

understand what works best by utilising evaluation techniques and processes which will be vital to

moving forward as a Service. Financial efficiencies can be achieved by reducing demand and cutting

unnecessary emergency responses which will in turn help us to ensure that standards of response

and the safety of firefighters are maintained.

The Service has a continued commitment to risk based inspections, developing partnerships to share

information and advice, ensuring risk information is available to operational crews in the event of an

incident.

The Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP), established by central

Government, has been embraced by the Service who has been at the forefront in the programme at

a regional level. The programme provides working principles and seeks to enable the Emergency

Services and wider responders to work together, saving lives and reducing harm at all incidents. To

measure the effect of JESIP, Joint Organisational Learning ensures that the emergency services and

wider responders through Local Resilience Forums can capture learning that may impact on the Joint

Emergency Service Interoperability Principles.

Through CFOA National Resilience, we continue to play a key role in support of the national agenda,

providing specialist capabilities to large scale incidents that have occurred across the country in

recent years.

Through our commitment to learning and operational assurance, we will continue to work with and

learn from our colleagues in other Fire and Rescue Services to improve our operational response to

incidents. Through innovation and greater collaboration, we will invest in people, training,

appliances and equipment to ensure the provision of the most efficient response options to our

communities.

11

What we will achieve during this plan:

We will continually improve the safety of firefighters and safety of the community

We will continue to develop our response options which will look at opportunities to

develop new equipment and technology

We will ensure we provide firefighters with the most up to date equipment and safe systems

of work in order to underpin the premise of improving firefighter safety

We will collaborate with Fire Services nationally in support of single research and

development hub, which will remove duplication and a broader sharing of knowledge.

We will plan for and deliver response arrangements and prevention activities based on

analysis of information on changing demands, community demographics and any other

relevant risks

We will evaluate what we deliver so that we can understand what works best and deliver

value for money service to the community

We will reduce response demand by investing in the right prevention activity and removing

unnecessary responses to incidents

We will ensure that we work with partner organisations to share capabilities and equipment

to improve the outcomes for our communities

We will ensure there is an appropriate level of operational resources to deal with risk and

demand locally, regionally, and nationally, ensuring our standards of response and service

delivery alongside other emergency services and partners.

We will continue to be an advocate for principles of JESIP with a multi-agency training

culture embedded into the Local Resilience Forum.

During our consultation, you said:

‘There needs to be a smarter emergency response’

‘We have to have confidence in the quality of our delivery’

‘Coordinating resources smartly, if we can make someone's house safer it takes demand away from other services’ ‘We need to maintain Fire Fighter Safety standards, or improve them’

‘'It's easier to be positive about your work when you're on a job because of immediacy; we need longer term feedback as well so that we can see the difference we make, not just in putting out fires but preventing them' ‘Elderly, ethnic minorities, learning disabilities - understand cultural differences for prevention and response’ ‘Only send the appropriate response for purpose in order to cut down’ ‘Uphold our response training despite moving our priorities to prevent’

‘Better project management and planning would mitigate some of the problems that exist with some activities’

‘We need to get better at planning’

‘We need strong enforcement in leadership of what we are, who we are’

‘Full evaluations of everything we do’

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7. Risk

Efficient Risk management is key to ensuring the effective delivery of our Service.

Risk mitigation falls into 3 broad areas; risks to and within our community, risks to firefighters and

risk analysis and mitigation in pursuance of the Civil Contingencies Act.

The service responds to these issues in the following ways:

Community risks

o Prevention- Education and engagement to reduce the risk of fire and other emergencies.

o Protection- To influence regulation and reform around the built environment to protect,

people, property and the environment.

o Response. – provide safe, effective, efficient and resilient response arrangements

Risk to firefighters

o Risk information gathering and analysis, sharing information and training.

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

Assess the risk of emergencies occurring and use this to inform contingency planning;

o Put in place emergency plans

o Put in place Business Continuity Management arrangements

o Put in place arrangements to make information available to the public about civil protection

matters and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an

emergency

o Share information with other local responders to enhance co-ordination

o Co-operate with other local responders to enhance co-ordination and efficiency

Within Staffordshire, the framework used to support a multi-agency approach to managing risk and

threats is the Local Resilience Forum. This is a public sector partnership investing in multi-agency co-

ordination of incidents.

The Staffordshire Community Risk Register demonstrates that Staffordshire partners and authorities

are working collaboratively to meet the demands of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Based on the

assessment process appropriate considerations have be made and actions taken to control and

mitigate the impacts of hazards and risks on the population of Staffordshire.

13

8. The Future

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is committed to a strategy which prioritises prevention,

innovative protection and support coupled with a highly effective and efficient emergency response

capability. The aspiration of the Service is to achieve zero preventable deaths by working effectively

with partners and the community.

The Service is progressing ambitious plans to redevelop Stafford Fire Station into a new facility to

provide a realistic learning environment through the Life Skills efforts. The Life Skills project (‘Safe

and Sound’) will help facilitate open communications, whilst also aiding in the development of

partnership engagement, and co-operative working. The project will be delivered through the

Charity ‘Safe & Sound', delivering an education platform to multiple client groups. Through both

interactive, hi-tech environments and outreach efforts, people will be able to experience danger and

risk in a controlled manner, boosting their knowledge of safety in the home, on the roads, in leisure

activities and in other settings. Life Skills activities will benefit the wider public sector by reducing

accidental deaths and injuries through better education and engagement. At the heart of its work is

the aim of improving the safety of residents, particularly children and young people, through

innovation and experience.

As a key partner and shareholder in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Safer Communities Community

Interest Company (CIC), the Service will continue to employ innovative new ways to generate

income with purpose to support re-investment into our communities.

The result of our future transformation is that the service is likely to be smaller, utilising volunteers

in wider areas, using different and improved technologies and approaches to provide prevention,

protection and response activities.

Future Fire Service reforms will provide a clear drive towards a more accountable and transparent

Service, that maximises its efficiencies, offers a first class service to its communities, and maintains

an excellent standard in its workforce and culture.

The Service is committed to continual transformation and improvement in order to meet future

challenges. Whilst the future may hold many uncertainties, we believe, by taking a consistent and

considered approach to the way in which we transform our Service, we can continue the success

that we have already achieved.

14

9. Our Performance

Performance Management is pivotal to generating continuous improvement for the Service

so that we can make Staffordshire ‘The Safest Place to Be.

The 2014-17 Corporate Safety Plan contained a number of performance priorities which were:

Risk Analysis and Planning

Engaging with our Communities

Culture Leadership and Learning

Prevent, Protect, Road Safety and Wellbeing

Response and Resilience

There have been a number of key achievements in these areas during the life of the plan. The

Staffordshire Efficient Response Options project delivered improvements in technology and

equipment, enabling the Service to introduce new delivery methods for our response arrangements.

The Community Safety Options also utilised intelligence relating to demand, allowing us to align our

resources to risks in the community.

Risk Analysis has evolved so that information can be used to identify those most at risk in the

community, which means that we can target our prevention services more effectively. Through the

development of the Safe and Well programme we have been able to work with partners to offer

support and advice on a range of health and wellbeing issues, as well as providing fire safety advice.

For the period 2014-16 we have seen a reduction of 15 percent to the total number of incidents we

attended. Of the life risk incidents we do attend, the Service will have a pump in attendance within 8

minutes for high risk, 10 minutes for medium risk , and 18 minutes for low risk . We have also

delivered over 70,000 Home Fire Risk Checks, with the period 2015-16 seeing the lowest number of

deaths and injuries in accidental dwelling fires that we have ever recorded.

We have identified a number of key objectives under each of our priority headings,

continuing many of the themes identified in the 2014 - 17 plan as a progression and improvement

of our Service.

Through consultation, we have transformed our previous five priorities into the current three,

through the thematic analysis of community feedback. This has provided us with a more focussed

approach to service-wide transformation and improvement.

The Service has been the subject of a Peer Review with the support of the Local Government

Association (LGA) in March 2016. The Fire Peer Review challenge is part of sector led improvement.

This process was a clear reflection of the Service’s willingness to undertake external challenge and

learn from others. The Service benefits from a strong performance management culture embedded

within our leadership message and this is reflected within all strategies and delivery plans and

evidenced through our continual year on year improvements. This Peer review can be found at:

http://www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk/Documents/sfrs_peer_challenge_report_2016.pdf

Comprehensive information relating to our performance, as well as ongoing narrative of key

performance initiatives can be found on our website: performance/statement of assurance.

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10. Our Finances

The Authority’s strategy for the provision of services is driven by this Corporate Safety Plan

and the Government has offered authorities a guaranteed four-year funding settlement in order to

provide increased certainty and to aid planning that covers the period of this Plan to 2020.

The Authority has published a detailed efficiency plan in order to accept this settlement from the

Home Office which can be scrutinised by local people within Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire on an

annual basis.

The table below is a summary of the cash savings that are required to be delivered during the period

of this Corporate Safety Plan that will importantly ensure that we have a balanced financial position

by 2020. This programme of savings has been approved by the Members of the Authority, and

supports the assumptions incorporated within our Medium Term Financial Strategy.

EFFICIENCY PLAN SAVINGS 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

£m £m £m £m

Structures

0.1 0.4 0.5 0.6

Prevention and Protection

0.1 0.1

Efficient Response Options 1.1 2.0 2.2 2.2

Collaboration Opportunities 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.5

Procurement and Cost Efficiency 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.6

Total Cashable Savings (cumulative) 1.2 2.7 3.5 4.0

There are 5 key areas of efficiency that the Service plans to deliver by 2020, detailed as follows:

Structures - The Authority is committed to ensuring that the staffing structures at all levels are

appropriate and as efficient and effective as possible. Part of this identified saving has already been

delivered with a more streamlined executive team. Options for further establishment savings will

continue to be developed and supported by a robust and fair voluntary redundancy programme.

Prevention and Protection - The Authority will continue to work with local Clinical Commissioning

Groups (CCG’s) and also NHS England as the concept of Safe and Well visits for our communities is

better supported by the local NHS; it is only through these commissioning arrangements that the

Fire and Rescue Service can fully support, and be a real asset to, health.

Efficient Response Options and capability reviews - The Authority has demonstrated that continued

development of how we provide our front line services and the technology we use has resulted in

more efficient ways of working. This concept will continue to be developed alongside our

representative bodies ensuring that we are not compromising safety or service provision but can

deliver an even more efficient service at a lower cost through adept resource allocation and

streamlined management.

16

Collaboration Opportunities -The Authority will continue to work will all partners but will also

support the Police and Crime Bill and work closely with the Police and Ambulance Services. Cashable

savings are already being achieved through a number of ongoing workstreams, already discussed

within this document, with additional sensible collaboration and integration opportunities being

given due consideration.

Procurement and Cost Efficiencies - The Authority has a strong track record of delivering cost

savings which includes more efficient procurement. In addition, opportunities to develop our

Community Interest Company and market our enhanced training facilities will lead to more

commercial opportunities and additional income generation that will support our prevention

agenda.

A more detailed version of the savings plan is available online: www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk.

17

11. Your Contribution

The 2017-2020 Plan’s delivery has been pursued in an effective and timely manner in the

form of a project reporting through our Prevent and Protect Directorate, its procedures, and under a

project guideline and timetable.

The initial consultation proposal identified our duties to consult with representatives of a

wide range of local persons. It was felt that to increase our understanding of the diverse needs of

Staffordshire’s communities, and to provide those communities with the opportunity to influence

their local service, multiple engagement avenues should be taken. The consultation processes was

carried out with fair representation, equality, diversity, and inclusion in mind at each instance. The

Service entered consultation with a ‘blank-page approach’ to its priorities, in order to allow the

public to help develop Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s future activities and define its new

priorities.

Research Method

The engagement process began through identifying target stakeholders, internal staff, and

community members alike, via an online survey, in-person focus groups, and through personal

interviews. Using a mixed method design of both quantitative and qualitative methods allowed for

the capture of great detail that may have otherwise been missed, whilst also providing quantifiable

numbers on opinions and thoughts.

Once obtained, the qualitative data was prepared for thematic analysis, which in turn was developed

into five themes: Education; Communication; Partnerships; Finances; and Evaluation. Gathered data

was consolidated to provide descriptive statistics, with percentages and averages being developed

and compared in order to establish public and staff majority opinions of the Service’s future

prospects.

Through the use of all three methods of consultation, a broad, representative, and detailed level of

data was collected. Final data from each source were used in developing a well-rounded and

illustrative set of results on the public’s expectations of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service in the

future.

We are constantly striving to provide the best service we can for our communities. Continued

feedback is an integral part in our development; therefore the Service welcomes your ideas and

queries in order to provide the best for you. If you are interested in providing your Service with

feedback, thoughts, or suggestions please email

Corporatesafetyplan.consultation@staffordshirefire.gov.uk so we can all help keep Staffordshire

safe.

18

12. Glossary

Community Safety Options (CSO)

A range of potential options consulted on during the previous Corporate Safety Plan, helping

address future risks, meet expected demands and achieve financial savings targets.

CFOA

Chief Fire Officers Association

Duty Systems

o Day Duty Stations

Stations that have firefighters available during normal office hours.

o Retained Stations

Stations that have retained firefighters, providing emergency response cover

from home or work, within five minutes of their local station.

o Wholetime Stations

Stations that have available Firefighters 24 hours a day.

Fire and Rescue National Framework for England:

A document published by the UK Government that sets out the Government’s expectations

and requirements for Fire and Rescue Authorities.

Fire Control

Emergency call handling centre.

Home Fire Risk Checks (HFRCs)

These are free service to domestic households to highlight safety hazards and provide advice

on how to stay safe from fire.

Joint Engineering and Transport (JET)

A partnership with Staffordshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner,

where fleet engineering, vehicle specification design and conversions for all Fire and Police

Service vehicles are carried out.

Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) A two year programme aiming to improve the way in which the three blue light services work together at major

and complex incidents

Local Resilience Forum (LRF)

A Multi-agency partnership made up of representatives from local public services, including

the emergency services, local authorities, the NHS, the Environment Agency and others.

Qualitative Data

Descriptive data, based in words, containing great deals of depth and information detail.

Quantitative Data

Data involving quantities, which are often based in numerical figures.

Risk Based Inspections

An inspection carried out to determine risk levels at premises in the event of incident

attendance.

Safe and well

An enhancement to the ‘traditional’ Home Fire Risk Check. It is person centred visit to

identify and reduce risk to the occupier, taking into account their behaviours and the

environment that they live in.

19

Service Delivery Groups

The Service is divided into three geographical areas North, West and East.

Thematic Analysis

An analytical method for identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns within data sets.

1

Item No. 8 on Agenda

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority

15 December 2016

Development of a Police and Fire Emergency Services Organisation for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive

SUMMARY Over the last 10 months through the leadership of a Member-led Joint Collaborative Working Group (5 Members of the Fire and Rescue Authority, Deputy Leaders of Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner), the potential for the development of an emergency services organisation for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (with police and fire services within it) has been explored, through the work of a joint team led by an Independent Project Lead. The report they have produced is attached. The Group, in the consideration of this task, formulated the question “Is there a case for full integration?” Attached to this report as Appendix 1 is a report prepared by the Project lead and the joint team considering this question. The report in particular seeks to provide some preliminary answers to the question posed. Whilst not written to be a full business case the report concludes with the view that the potential benefits set out in the report are significant and that further detailed investigation and progress towards a final agreed model with an indicative timetable should occur. The Appended report is being presented for consideration by the following forums:

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA);

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC);

Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that:-

1) Members note the contents of the appended Independent Report (Appendix 1) and comment thereon as appropriate.

2) That the joint team continues its work in further considering the viability of a Joint Emergency Organisation.

2

Financial Implications Non-Recurring A cost centre has been set up for the project held by SFRS. It has been agreed each organisation will invest £2000 into the centre to enable the Project team to function appropriately. Legal Implications The Government intends to legislate to:

Introduce a high-level duty to collaborate on all three emergency services, to improve efficiency or effectiveness.

Enable Police and Crime Commissioners to take on the functions and duties of fire and rescue authorities, where a local case is made.

Further enable Police and Crime Commissioners to create a single employer for police and fire staff where they take on the responsibilities of their local fire and rescue service, and where a local case is made.

Enable Police and Crime Commissioners to have representation on their local fire and rescue authority with voting rights in areas where they have not become responsible for fire and rescue and where the fire and rescue authority agrees.

Abolish the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and give the Mayor of London direct responsibility for the fire and rescue service in London.

It is envisaged that this legislation will be enacted in January 2017. Equality and Diversity The Public Sector Equality Duty will be a consideration for any initiatives that are formulated or trialled under the work-stream of integration and collaboration. SFRS’s Equality and Diversity Manager will be fully consulted to ensure the General duty of the equality act is complied with throughout the programme. Risk Implications As part of the Define stage of the project a joint risk, assumptions, issues and dependencies (R.A.I.D) log has been completed, specific to the work of the Joint Project Team. This is being utilised as a Risk Register for the work of the Joint Project Team and is managed by the Project Manager. Consultation and Engagement undertaken Review and Scrutiny Process:

Following a 10 month independent review, a draft report “Is there a case for full

integration?” was circulated to the Joint Transformation Board for factual review.

3

Following review, amendment and discussion at the Joint Transformation Board meeting on the 15th November 2016 the group agreed to present the report to the Joint Collaborative Working Group.

Following discussion at the Joint Collaborative Working Group on the 21st November, 2016, the group agreed to feedback to their respective bodies, subject to a caveat around the recommended timelines which were noted as being too optimistic.

A formal update was given to the Unions and Employee Representatives Groups on the 28th November, 2016.

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA)

o Purpose: For discussion at the FRA meeting, 15th December 2016 to gain views

and agree the next steps.

Strategic Executive Group (SEG – Police and Crime Commissioner and Staffordshire Police) followed by PCC Decision

o Purpose: Collective agreement to recommendations, 20th December 2016.

Staff Engagement A joint communications to advise employees of the next steps will be completed post the Unions and Employee Representatives meeting and prior to the report being made public in the FRA Agenda. The recommended date for the release of this communication is the 6th December 2016 before the FRA reports are made public on the Service’s website. Protective Security Protective security is part of the day to day activities of the team due to the sensitivity and nature of the programme. Documents are protectively marked in accordance with the protective security principles and procedures; ensuring they are handled and stored in the appropriate manner. The team has a documents folder with restricted access on the SFRS ‘G’ drive, to enable the appropriate storage and sharing of information. The team also has secure office space which can provide restricted access as required. Social Value and Procurement The report identifies potential significant benefits from joint working, to be realised across public services and communities. Background The attached report has been developed by a team comprising an Independent Lead and Officers from the Fire and Rescue Service and the Police. The Joint Working Group, which has overseen this work, has requested the preliminary report relating to the potential for

4

integration, be presented to the respective organisations involved in the potential emergency services organisation. During the consideration of the report, the Member-led Joint Collaborative Working Group deemed that the timetable for the recommendations as contained within the appended report were too optimistic and should be revisited in the development of a business case. Within the report a number of examples of what could be achieved have been outlined. The key milestones and expected order of delivery are:

Single Governance:

o Single governance for emergency services in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. o A transitionary Advisory Group made up of members of the Fire and Rescue

Authority to be established for a period as deemed necessary. o A specific date would be agreed.

A Single Employer Organisation for Emergency Services:

o The transfer of employees to a single employing organisation. o A specific date would be agreed.

An Emergency Services Organisation (with police and fire services within it):

o A phased implementation of a number of areas of change with multiple delivery dates for; Prevention, Operations and Business Support.

o Specific dates for each phase would be agreed.

Rebecca Bryant Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive

Page | 1

Protecting and Enhancing Frontline Services

“Is there a case for full integration?”

Prepared by: Fiona Tamplin

Independent Consultant

Staffordshire County Council - Transformation Support Unit

Date: 5th December, 2016

Status: PUBLIC

Page | 2

About the Author

Fiona Tamplin has an extensive background in change management with almost 30 years’

experience working in multiple industries and all sizes of organisations, from the small to the

largest in the world. Having spent the majority of that time in the private sector, she moved to

the public sector in 2014, joining Staffordshire County Councils Transformation Support Unit, as

an independent consultant. She brings a different perspective and challenge of how the

public sector works and through this report, will give an independent view of how Fire and

Police work together.

The Question

The question asked by the Joint Working Group was, “Is there a case for full integration?”

Firstly, we explored if there is indeed a case for joint working and what the expected benefits

are.

Secondly, we explored how this is best achieved, either through integration or collaboration.

This challenges traditional thinking of how the two services work together and for many it’s an

emotive subject, but the question needed to be asked, as the conclusions demonstrate.

Note from the Author

“When I first started this piece of work back in December 2015 my expectations were that we

would not find a case for full integration and that smaller collaborative projects would be the

way forward.

Research and examination of the facts over the past 10 months and understanding how the

services work together has led to the conclusions within this document. This has been a

challenging piece of work to demonstrate the view is balanced as the evidence has

consistently led to the conclusions set out.

Working with both Police and Fire the last few months has shown me the extraordinary

professionalism and dedication to public service that they have day in day out and it’s been

a privilege working with them.

There will always be distinct differences between those working on the frontline in Fire and

Police but future challenges, both practical and financial, will require more cooperative and

effective working.”

The Approach

To undertake this piece of work a small team was assembled with both Police and Fire

representation. Under the guidance of Fiona Tamplin, 90 people were interviewed through

over 150 meetings and workshops and multiple documents were collated and analysed. The

team liaised with executives, senior leads, managers, officers, firefighters and staff from Fire,

Police, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Councillors from the Fire and Rescue

Authority, the Fire Brigade Union, Unison for Fire and Police and the Police Federation. This

covered all areas of the services, reviewing all 44 departments and 100 functions.

Page | 3

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 5

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 6

1.1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 6

1.2. THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE ................................................................................................................ 6

1.3. PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT ................................................................................................................... 7

1.4. SCOPE .............................................................................................................................................. 7

1.5. THE CHANGING FACE OF EMERGENCY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS........................................................... 8

1.6. FRONTLINE SERVICES .......................................................................................................................... 8

1.7. JOINT WORKING: COLLABORATION V. INTEGRATION ........................................................................... 9

1.8. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT ............................................................ 10

1.9. CURRENT STATE AND FINDINGS ......................................................................................................... 11

1.10. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................ 15

1.11. IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................................. 17

1.11.1. WHAT CAN BE DONE? .............................................................................................................. 17

1.11.2. HOW CAN IT BE DONE? ............................................................................................................. 18

1.11.3. RECOMMENDED TIMELINES ........................................................................................................ 19

ANNEX 1: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE ................................................................................ 21

2. DETAILED FINDINGS .......................................................................................................................... 22

2.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 22

2.2. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT ............................................................ 22

3. THE CASE FOR JOINT WORKING ........................................................................................................ 23

3.1. DEFINITION ...................................................................................................................................... 23

3.2. RATIONALE ...................................................................................................................................... 23

3.2.1. THE COMMON SENSE THING TO DO .................................................................................................. 23

3.2.2. FIRE AND POLICE OVERLAP .............................................................................................................. 23

3.2.3. SERVICE SUSTAINABILITY .................................................................................................................... 26

3.2.4. PUBLIC SAFETY ................................................................................................................................. 26

3.2.5. EFFICIENCY...................................................................................................................................... 27

3.2.6. EFFECTIVENESS ................................................................................................................................. 27

3.2.7. ECONOMY ...................................................................................................................................... 28

4. WHAT’S GETTING IN THE WAY? ......................................................................................................... 31

4.1. ENABLERS AND BARRIERS .................................................................................................................. 31

4.2. MAIN ISSUES .................................................................................................................................... 32

5. THE CASE FOR A FULLY INTEGRATED ORGANISATION .......................................................................... 33

5.1. DEFINITION ...................................................................................................................................... 33

5.2. RATIONALE ...................................................................................................................................... 33

5.2.1. STREAMLINING ................................................................................................................................. 33

5.2.2. SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................................................................................. 34

5.2.3. PUBLIC SAFETY, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND ECONOMY ............................................................. 34

5.3. GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................................ 35

Page | 4

6. IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................................. 36

6.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 36

6.2. RATIONALE ...................................................................................................................................... 36

6.3. DEPENDENCIES ................................................................................................................................ 36

6.4. CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 36

6.5. TIMELINE AND SUMMARY ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................. 37

6.6. CONSULTATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 38

ANNEX 2: CURRENT ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. 39

7. CURRENT ASSESSMENT PROCESS ....................................................................................................... 40

7.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 40

7.2. INFORMATION COLLECTED ............................................................................................................... 40

Page | 5

Protecting and Enhancing Frontline Services

“Is there a case for full integration?”

Executive Summary

Page | 6

1. Executive Summary

1.1. Introduction

This work was jointly instigated by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire (PCC), Stoke-

on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA), Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service,

Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

It describes how Police and Fire currently work together and apart and how there are significant

further opportunities to work more effectively to improve public safety because of the many

overlapping functions and activities.

1.2. The National Landscape

The following is taken from the ‘Enabling Closer Working – Consultation’ document attached:

The government believes that greater joint working can strengthen the emergency services and

deliver significant savings and benefit for the public. It has already invested over £70 million to help

drive blue light collaboration programmes. Although there are many good examples locally of joint

working between the emergency services, the overall picture remains patchy and much more can

be done to improve taxpayer value for money and the service to communities.

On 11 September 2015, the Government published a consultation paper seeking views on a range

of proposals to increase joint working between the emergency services.

The key objective being:

Improve outcomes for the public through closer joint-working across all emergency services.

The consultation ran for six weeks, ending on 23 October 2015. A total of 318 full or partial responses

were received from a range of organisations and interested individuals, using the online survey and

via email and post, commenting on the 16 questions posed in the consultation paper.

Having carefully considered the consultation responses, the Government intends to legislate to:

1. introduce a high level duty to collaborate on all three emergency services, to improve

efficiency or effectiveness;

2. enable Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on the functions of fire and rescue

authorities (FRAs), where a local case is made;

3. where a PCC takes on the responsibilities of their local FRA, further enabling him or her to

create a single employer for police and fire personnel;

4. in areas where a PCC has not become responsible for fire and rescue services, enabling them

to have representation on their local FRA with voting rights, where the local FRA agrees.

Readers of this document should also read the consultation paper and the response per the

attached to gain the full background of the programme:

Enabling Closer

Working Response

Enabling Closer

Working

Consultation

6.1722_HO_Enabling_Closer_Working_Between_the_Emergency_Services_Consult....pdf

Consultation_-_Enabling_closer_working_between_the_Emergency_Services__w__2_.pdf

Page | 7

1.3. Purpose of Document

The specific question that has been asked is “Is there a case for full integration?”

This document aims to answer that question.

It highlights the primary opportunities and how integration could enable those opportunities

to be realised.

It does not attempt to identify all opportunities and their detailed benefits which are many,

but these will be uncovered and capitalised through further analysis.

The primary opportunities are so significant and compelling that they in themselves support

the case for change without further detailed analysis at this time.

Note: Source Information is based on 2015/16 budgets and demand data is over a 12 month

period for 2015/16.

1.4. Scope

This work has examined the following areas in the development of the findings and

conclusions.

Effective organisation and governance should ensure that the prevention, operations and

business support areas are run efficiently.

The core principle of this review recognises the distinct specialisms of Fire and Police. The brief

has been clear that we should maintain the professional identities and does not seek to blur

the roles between frontline Police Officers, PCSO’s and Firefighters.

Page | 8

1.5. The Changing Face of Emergency Service Requirements

Over a number of years the service requirements of Police and the Fire and Rescue Services

have changed significantly.

Fires attended have reduced nationally by 52% over the last decade. Prevention and

education activities, by both national bodies and local Fire and Rescue Services, along with

design changes to buildings, vehicles and furniture, mean fires and similar incidents are less

likely to occur and less devastating when they do.

The changing landscape of crime has seen a reduction in traditional incidents such as,

property crime, including burglaries, vehicle crime and personal theft, again due to

prevention, education and better designed vehicles and buildings for example. However,

there have been significant increases in emerging crimes, such as, cyber-crime, terrorism,

domestic violence, child sexual exploitation and modern slavery. The profile of offenders has

also changed, with many crimes no longer being instigated locally. They can be committed

from anywhere in the world but affect local people, making it increasingly difficult to detect

and bring offenders to justice, putting further strain upon Police services.

Improved joint working, not only between Police and Fire but with other agencies, particularly

around prevention, protection and early intervention has seen an increase in multi-agency

responses to protect vulnerable people. However, a further strengthening of the way Police

and Fire work towards common outcomes, should be seen as a significant and important step

change towards improved public protection and better value for money.

1.6. Frontline Services

For the purpose of this document the term ‘Frontline’ refers to the services Police and Fire

deliver to the communities of Staffordshire. This includes, but is not limited to the core areas

shown and reflects the changing nature of how Police and Fire target demand reduction

through activities designed to reduce incidents occurring.

Page | 9

1.7. Joint Working: Collaboration v. Integration

This document is the result of 10 months’ work and an evidence based approach to examine

the opportunities arising from joint working between the Police and Fire services and whether

this is best achieved through collaboration or integration.

It examines the pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats of

collaboration or integration. It is important to be clear about what is meant by either term

and these are discussed throughout in order to support the conclusions made.

Collaboration

Services remain with separate employers as they are today with:

o Two Chief Officers and their management teams

Governance can be either:

o As it is today with the FRA and PCC or

o Single governance

Joint working occurs through collaborations:

o Specific projects

o Contractual agreements required between the services

Other methods could be for one of the services to provide the service e.g.

o Police take on Finance, Payroll, HR etc. for Fire and provide it as a service, cross

charging for the service

Full Integration

Services are merged into one employer organisation with two distinct services with a:

o Single Chief Officer and one management team including a Deputy Chief Officer

for Fire and a Deputy Chief Officer for Police

o Single governance

o Single operations and prevention teams with Fire and Police represented

throughout.

o Single support functions recognising where Fire or Police need specific skills and

facilities to ensure frontline officers are supported.

Service delivery at the frontline would remain as Fire and Police retaining service identity but

working more closely together than they do today.

Page | 10

1.8. The Opportunity for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

Formation of a Staffordshire Police, Fire and Rescue Organisation

to better serve communities and is sustainable in the future.

Focusing on:

Page | 11

1.9. Current State and Findings

In examining the two services, their commonalities and their differences we can start to get a

picture of what the opportunities being missed may be.

The following table demonstrates:

The significant differences in demand across the two services

The sizeable commitment by both services to overheads and support functions to the

frontline e.g. premises, management and business support, much of which is duplicated

The sizeable savings that both services need to make in future years

Page | 12

The following table demonstrates an overview of both services indicating:

Where there are major overlaps of objectives, functions and activities

Where, despite those overlaps these are two services that have a different approach to

addressing often similar challenges and work within different organisational cultures that

result in waste and inefficiency, both financial and service delivery

Analysis of the services overview leads to the question, “could the two services work differently

to support the challenges and common objectives of each other?” Where one has high

demand and the other has low, where one is reactive and the other more proactive, where

one is investing in technology and the other could benefit, where one has estates capacity

and the other does not, where both deliver similar services, could they look at doing more

together and achieve greater effectiveness, efficiency and better use of public resources.

The opportunities then start to emerge.

Page | 13

On further analysis of the evidence it becomes clear that the similarities of the services are

greater than the differences. The following table summarises these similarities, how both

services act separately and differently and how there are opportunities to do things more

effectively together.

The evidence shows the commonalities across the two services are great, but that the

opportunities that could arise as a result are not identified, or taken advantage of.

It is therefore helpful to understand what the enablers and barriers are in addressing this for the

future.

Page | 14

The following diagram shows both the enablers and barriers, with the main issues highlighted

by those interviewed.

Source: ‘Research into Emergency Services Collaboration’ - cross-sector Emergency Services

Collaboration Working Group. *Additional items identified by the programme team

To ensure joint working is successful, it is important to establish how barriers can be alleviated

or removed and enablers strengthened, so that joint working and outcomes can be improved.

Page | 15

1.10. Conclusions

The opportunities for a step change to joint working and better outcomes as a result,

are very significant and are supported by both Fire and Police in principle as being

the ‘common sense thing to do’. These opportunities would see significant

improvements in public safety, efficiency, effectiveness and value for the public

purse.

However, the cultural differences between the services and different ways of

working, overarching objectives and national frameworks, mean that these

opportunities are not fully capitalised on by the Police and Fire services.

The options available are to continue with collaborative working on a tactical

project by project basis or to integrate to a single organisation with two services

within it.

In considering the case for full integration it’s helpful to reach a conclusion as to the

benefits of integration and risks of continuing as two separate services.

Page | 16

Integration is the enabler to achieve the opportunities set out within this document and

will focus on dealing with the barriers that currently halt or dilute solutions and will

improve service delivery to the public, at a reduced cost.

Although both services have undertaken various transformation activities over the years,

both require more.

The investment that is already being made in Staffordshire Police to overhaul systems,

processes, supporting infrastructure, ways of working, organisation design and culture

creates the opportune time for Police and Fire to join-up their transformation activities.

Police and Fire would then work together, to design a fully integrated Police, Fire and

Rescue Organisation for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

The Detailed Findings describe in more detail how these conclusions have been

reached.

Page | 17

1.11. Implementation

1.11.1. What can be done?

The following describes in summary what Police and Fire services could do to improve

public safety and at the same time reduce current costs. It focuses on aligning

strategies to better deliver services and indicates some of the savings that could be

made through reducing unnecessary duplication so that money could be reinvested

into frontline services. The savings shown are prudent estimates at this point in time.

#Estates – estimated target saving across the whole estate for standard cost reduction.

Estates Capital Receipts - Based on a 7 site example, including costs of £190k, £1m capital

released. The full benefit would require a full estates strategy looking across all 33 Fire Stations,

18 Police Stations and 131 other use estates.

*Prevention – example of what could be done for one service delivery area. The full benefit

requires review and redesign of all service areas noted above.

Costs of change – are discussed within the Economy section of ‘The Case for Joint Working’

The savings above are supported by detailed analysis, but are only indicative and are

expected to be a minimum as to what could be achieved. It is expected that detailed

design of an integrated organisation with two distinct services will identify significantly

more savings as systems, estates, processes and functions are aligned.

Page | 18

1.11.2. How can it be done?

The following describes how frontline response services should remain distinctly

Police and distinctly Fire in identity and respects their unique skill sets. It recognises

however, that there are areas where improvements could be made to joint

working at the frontline to response, prevention, protection, early intervention,

community engagement, tactical planning and other activities.

Changes could also occur in supporting the frontline. Firstly, by aligning their

strategic objectives and secondly, by taking a shared approach to service

delivery strategies and ways of working to better support frontline delivery.

Page | 19

1.11.3. Recommended Timelines

If agreement can be reached to move to an integrated organisation and to ensure

changes are managed carefully and effectively, it is recommended that implementation

should not be rushed.

New shared functions, whether these are business support, operational or preventative,

should be designed to minimise disruption, with the principle of ‘a soft landing’. Equally

the supporting infrastructures should be designed to support the new organisation,

whether that be estates, technology, policies and procedures.

Rushing implementation could result in unnecessary disruption or failure, particularly

where culture is concerned. The difficulties of moving to an aligned culture, taking the

best of both services, should be understood and then used to deliver sustainable services.

The following timetable for change is suggested, although, agreement between Fire and

Police Services should confirm agreed dates and would be subject to the practicalities

of implementation.

The earliest date for single governance is April 17, although practicalities around public

consultation requirements that are currently being drafted by the Home Office may

mean this moves to a later date.

Page | 20

Page | 21

Protecting and Enhancing Frontline Services

“Is there a case for full integration?”

Annex 1: Supporting Evidence

Detailed findings to support the Executive Summary

Page | 22

2. Detailed Findings

2.1. Introduction

The following details more around the opportunities for Fire and Police of doing more joint

working together to better serve the public.

In theory this could be achieved through collaboration or integration however, it then

details what’s getting in the way of achieving effective joint working today and how

integration is described as the enabler for effective joint working to address these barriers.

2.2. The Opportunity for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

The following is a reminder of the opportunities and benefits that could be achieved

through more effective joint working.

Formation of a Staffordshire Police, Fire and Rescue Organisation

to better serve communities and be sustainable for the future.

Focusing on:

Page | 23

3. The Case for Joint Working

3.1. Definition

Fire and Police services working together for better public safety, efficiency, effectiveness

and economy through either collaboration or integration.

3.2. Rationale

3.2.1. The common Sense Thing to Do

Throughout the discovery phase of the programme there has been consistent support from

100% of those interviewed for more and better joint working. The support for this arises from

a clear logic and good evidence in joining forces for a significant number of activities

across both services.

Joint working can bring obvious benefits around a reduction in duplication and the cost

savings that result from this.

However, there would also be a wider range of benefits focused on improved community

and public safety, enabled by greater efficiency and effectiveness.

3.2.2. Fire and Police Overlap

The following diagrams in the Executive Summary are further explained within this section

to demonstrate where there is clear cross over of the Fire and Police services and the

comparisons that start to elude to the opportunities where the services could support each

other better to reduce duplication and improve service to the public.

Overview of Services

Summary Comparisons

The Current State – Fire and Police

Page | 24

The following table demonstrates the significant overlap and therefore opportunities between

Police and Fire.

Page | 25

The following table demonstrates the differences between the demand profiles in terms of

response calls to service being 8,300 p.a. for Fire and 160,000 p.a. for Police. Additional

demand is also shown where this has been quantified.

Calls where a response isn’t required are 17,128 p.a. for Fire and 1,388,000 p.a. for Police.

This includes, duplicate calls for the same incident, calls for ongoing investigations,

administration and for Police 30-40% of calls that are not for the Police.

The following table demonstrates the different make-up of the people budget for each

service. Demonstrating the higher ratio for the Fire executive and management team and

the higher support functions for the Police. Police are expected to have higher support

functions as they include departments such as Justice Services, Crime Recording, and

Corporate Resourcing for example.

In summary, although Police have 4 times the budget and people their calls for service are 19

times more and they have significantly more support requirements. The budgeted Fire

executive and management structure is 2.5 times more of their budget compared to Police.

Taking into account recent changes to the Fire and Police executive teams, it has reduced

slightly to 2.4 times more.

+ Secondary Demand

Justice Services 60,000 Witness Care 98,000

Custody 21,000

Page | 26

3.2.3. Service Sustainability

Although both services could conceivably remain separate this could create major

challenges. The greater opportunities are found in working together to deliver more

efficient and effective services that are better for public safety and better value for

money.

Both have savings to be made, some £13m between them by 2020. Beyond 2020 there

would undoubtedly be more financial and service delivery challenges.

Although both services could make the savings that will be required of them, they both

use the great majority of their funding on officers and staff. Therefore, there is a risk that

frontline services are directly, or indirectly impacted by savings plans that are single

organisation based.

An integrated organisation would look to streamline the management teams of both

services, reduce avoidable duplication in support processes by creating single support

functions to both services, utilising the estates better and procuring together. They would

also be working to reduce demand across both services. This would protect frontline

services for both Fire and Police and would allow savings made elsewhere to be invested

where it’s needed such as, response, prevention, protection, early intervention,

community engagement, tactical planning and other frontline activities.

3.2.4. Public Safety

Sustainability and operational resilience of both services through costs savings, efficient

and effective working, in turn, would deliver better public safety.

Increase in vulnerable people – These numbers are expected to increase, impacting

multiple agencies. Fire and Police working on prevention together to focus on

identification and shared approaches would look to reduce demand in these areas.

Cost savings throughout an integrated organisation, would allow greater investment in

front line services, to better deliver to our communities for response, prevention, protection,

early intervention, community engagement, tactical planning and other frontline

activities.

Page | 27

3.2.5. Efficiency

Service Delivery

Shared strategies and activities around the service delivery areas already mentioned,

would in turn, deliver more efficient services to the public. Duplication would be

reduced by combining service activities, rather than both services targeting the same

people in different ways. Targeted approaches through shared and better intelligence

would reduce the volume of activities both services complete.

Intelligent resourcing across response, tactical planning, community engagement and

prevention activities, challenging traditional thinking around who is best to attend.

Allows intelligent resource allocation proportionate to demand type, for both

operational and prevention activities.

Allows a streamlined management team for more efficient decision making and

management of the organisation.

Business Support

Note: Single shared business support functions, where Fire and Police remain separate,

would create some efficiencies, although significant challenges would remain where

the services are not fully aligned, affecting the majority of areas of the services.

The bigger efficiencies and economic gains would be made where business support,

not only removes duplication by creating single support functions but, also where those

functions are supporting a single integrated organisation, rather than two.

Reduced duplication across all support functions by creation of single functions,

reducing waste in processes.

Streamlined management teams and staff.

3.2.6. Effectiveness

Creating coherent and holistic strategies and activities across the multiple areas gives

the services the best opportunity to be significantly more effective than they are today.

Using best practice and knowledge from both services where each can learn from the

other and problem solve together they are more likely to find better solutions than they

have today.

Working together towards a common goal, rather than apart, with competing

demands and different priorities.

Agreeing a shared route through problems, rather than acting separately and

sometimes contradictory, to solve the same issues.

Page | 28

3.2.7. Economy

The opportunities around joint working provide for a number of costs savings and improved

value for the public purse. The following gives examples of where savings could be made

being based on a very prudent and therefore low estimates:

Approximate Savings

Examples

Potential Pay

Saving £*

Non-Pay

Saving £ Total Annual

Saving

One Off

Capital

Receipts

Exec / Support –

Streamlined £0.2m TBD^ £0.2m -

Single Governance

FRA Removed £0.15m £0.15m £0.3m

Single Business Support

27% to 38% reduction

£2.2m to

£3.2m TBD^

£2.2m to

£3.2m -

Single Prevention Team

7% to 12% reduction

£0.3m to

£0.5m TBD^

£0.3m to

£0.5m

Single Control Room

66% saving £0.3m £0.5m £0.8m -

Shared Estates# Example

based on 7 sites only - £0.4m £0.4m £1m

Total £3.15m £1.05 m + £4.2m to

£5.4m £1m +

*Budgeted salary 2015/16 plus average 32% on cost. Actual ranges from 25% to 62%

#Examples shown would require a full estates strategy to be completed across both

services, to identify all opportunities. See examples on the following page.

Non Pay Items TBD (To be Determined)

It is important to note that not all the opportunities of creating single functions have been

identified. Scrutiny, through OPCC (Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner)

governance and restructure would determine the actual amount of non-pay savings

shown as TBD^ in the above table that can be made through a restructured model taking

into account shared procurement, shared facilities, alignment and reduction of systems,

standardised processes and a range of estates options. For systems, there would be a

significant opportunity for both services to be moved onto the same systems, such as,

payroll, finance, HR, e-recruitment, corporate resourcing and websites to name but a few.

This would expect to see significant overall savings within a number of areas.

Page | 29

Shared Estate – 7 Examples

The Fire and Police estate have significant synergy. The Police have more flexibility around disposals and moves compared to Fire who have a standing and

new estate in a number of locations due to 21 PFI premises. This means there’s a logic around utilising the Fire estate better and moving Police into those

premises and out of older premises.

The following example offers a comparison on asset value, running costs and any estimated fit out costs to move resources from a Police Station into a Fire

premises. The following demonstrates only 7 sites and a full estates strategy across over 180 locations based on service delivery requirements for Fire and

Police would need to be undertaken to establish the full extent of the opportunity. Therefore, the following numbers are very prudent and low estimates. The

full estates strategy would also identify opportunities for full partnership working with other agencies co-locating.

Fire sites are often on the periphery of towns such as Stone and Penkridge therefore a drop in or post for police may be required. This could be a shared or

multi-agency drop-in with Fire personal gaining a town centre presence.

Police

Station Notes

Running

Cost £

Revenue

Savings £

*Capital

Released

£

^Relocation

Costs £ Yr1 Yr2 Yr3 Yr4 Yr5

Gnosall Replace 10,297 10,297 75,000 10,000 75,297 10,297 10,297 10,297 10,297

Burslem Complement, leased site 86,259 2,590 - 20,000 17,410 2,590 2,590 2,590 2,590

Tamworth Complement, leased site 169,156 - - 10,000 10,000 - - - -

Uttoxeter Replace 40,109 40,109 450,000 75,000 415,109 40,109 40,109 40,109 40,109

Eccleshall Replace 6,318 6,318 100,000 10,000 96,318 6,318 6,318 6,318 6,318

Rugeley Replace 36,934 36,934 330,000 65,000 301,934 36,934 36,934 36,934 36,934

Watling LPT moved to Penkridge 10% saving 187,638 18,764 - - 18,764 18,764 18,764 18,764 18,764

Total 536,711 115,012 955,000 190,000 880,012 115,012 115,012 115,012 115,012

*Capital Released = Book Value

^Relocation = Estimate Example: Cumulative Savings 880,012 995,024 1,110,036 1,225,048 1,340,060

Changes to the PFI unitary charge may incur additional costs to those shown

Example of 7 sites only

Opportunity across all estates: 33 Fire Stations, 18 Police Stations + HQ, and other locations

Combined Premises Costs

£10.7m Incl. Rent. Excl. £7m Government grant for Fire PFI premises

Page | 30

Estate Management Examples

PFI

The PFI contracts would be reviewed to identify if they can be better managed

financially, or released. It is advised that PFI already receives a lot of scrutiny

and challenge and are managed well.

It is advised there will not be any capital expenditure required for PFI sites.

Procurement Negotiations / Novated Contracts

Estates and facilities management would be reviewed as a single estate to

identify potential savings around items such as rent, rates, utilities, leases and

maintenance. This is may be limited due the PFI containing a number of items

being included in the unitary charge.

The following table gives examples of savings across the whole estate with an

expected target reduction of 4% being £428k plus any capital released for

disposals.

Examples Estate Costs

Fire 5,100,000

Police 5,600,000

Combined 10,700,000

Sa

vin

g s

%

1% 107,000

4% 428,000

7% 749,000

10% 1,070,000

Programme Costs

The direct costs of change would include:

Project management

Financial and legal advice

Other development costs

Potentially, redundancy costs

Police Programme Costs

The Police Programme investment already includes the following items and would be spent

whether or not Fire and Police integration occurs:

Consultancy

ICT Solutions

Organisation Design

Communications

Training and Development

Page | 31

4. What’s Getting in the Way?

4.1. Enablers and Barriers

Throughout the discovery phase of the programme everyone interviewed, whether from

the FRA, OPCC, Fire, Police, Unions or Staff Representatives consistently said there are

multiple joint working opportunities across operations, prevention and business support.

Furthermore, these were cited as being better for public safety, economy, efficiency and

effectiveness. When asked ‘What’s stopping you from doing it now?’ the following

consistently raised themselves as the key barriers:

• Different organisational priorities and cultures

• Politics

• Technology and data share

The evidence clearly suggests separate governance and separate service structures

create inertia around joint working opportunities where, decisions to change take so long

or become political discussions, both at a political and service level that opportunities

either get shelved, are diluted in their impact or are done separately and therefore

inefficiently and likely at higher cost.

This is supported by research undertaken in September 2014 by a cross-sector Emergency

Services Collaboration Working Group that identified the enablers and barriers of

collaboration. In addition to these, the items marked* have been identified by the

Programme team.

Source: ‘Research into Emergency Services Collaboration’ - cross-sector Emergency Services Collaboration

Working Group. *Additional items identified by the programme team

In a gap analysis of these, there were clearly significant gaps today that would be closed

to varying degrees with shared governance and resolved through full integration.

Page | 32

4.2. Main Issues

Politics

There have been and are still a number of issues where joint opportunities have been

impacted by politics and differences of opinion where, agreements between the services

has not been reached and have therefore been done separately or, the solutions diluted

in their impact. The differences between the two governance structures also creates issues

where party politics get in the way of agreements. The following summarises the two

governance bodies:

Fire and Rescue Authority

21 councillors appointed by the leader of Staffordshire County Council and the

leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council to reflect the political make-up of the two

councils.

Oversees that the Fire Service performs all its duties and responsibilities in

accordance with appropriate legislation and regulations.

Decisions are by committee and tend to be along political party lines.

Voting decisions often falling as expected based on political party mix.

Those within the Fire Service advised there is a desire for a higher level of scrutiny.

A recent peer review reported ‘There does not always appear to be a consistent

understanding amongst members of the value of scrutiny. The overall sense of the

team is that this key function is often seen to be about receiving reports with some

debate of the issues.’ Recent changes to the authority to improve their service

have been implemented and the Fire Service Leadership team expect to see

improvements.

Police and Crime Commissioner

A directly elected individual.

Accountable to the public and is subject to ongoing scrutiny.

Holds the Chief Constable to account for delivering an effective and efficient

police service.

PCC post was first introduced in November 2012 replacing the old Police Authority

due to the poor performance of the Police Authorities, thereby replacing

bureaucratic accountability with democratic accountability.

The OPCC for Staffordshire pursues significant reform, working daily with the Police.

Strong and consistent recognition throughout the force of the benefits that the

OPCC has bought.

Different Organisational Priorities and Cultures

The services have developed over many years and their cultures, beliefs and values are

deep seated. The difference in the size and complexity of Fire and Police also adds to the

differences in priorities and approaches to work. Tackling these differences whilst the

services remain separate, is likely to be impossible and although there are examples of

where there have been, and continue to be joint working, there are still a number of

unresolved issues that hinder truly efficient and effective working.

Technology and Data Share

There are consistent difficulties with the two services sharing data and intelligence, being

able to access each other’s systems, having different ways of processing, managing and

storing data. This means there are a number of missed opportunities for both public safety

and officer safety. This impacts every area of service delivery, such as, operations,

response, prevention, community engagement and business support. It means both

services only have part of the picture and together, the benefits of a single IT platform and

single source of intelligence, with one version of the truth, are incredibly high.

Police have recently chosen Boeing to be its Strategic IT Partner. Awarding a 10 year

contract to support the service through a significant ICT change programme, to

modernise the IT estate and deliver forecasted savings of up to £1.3m p.a. This creates the

perfect opportunity for Fire and Police to be involved in the development of this together.

Page | 33

5. The Case for a Fully Integrated Organisation

5.1. Definition

A single organisation with two distinct services for Fire and Police.

5.2. Rationale

Integration is the Enabler to Realise the Benefits of Joint Working

Throughout the discovery phase it was suggested by many that single governance would

resolve the issues that hinder joint working and collaborations. However, single governance

can only go part way to bringing the services together as the OPCC role is to hold the

services to account. It is service leaders that have the direct influence to lead and make

change happen.

Therefore:

Bringing the services together through a single Chief Officer and a single leadership team

fully exploits the opportunity to align the strategic direction of both Fire and Police,

removing any differences in direction between the services.

It increases the opportunities for truly effective interoperability, whether in operational

service delivery, prevention activities, business support, data, systems and processes.

It gives the best opportunity to sustain, protect and enhance front line services delivered

to the public.

5.2.1. Streamlining

A single integrated employer model creates the opportunity to fully streamline the staffing

requirements for both services where the establishment is designed to support the strategic

direction of the organisation and the demand placed upon the services.

Specific areas where reductions would be seen:

Operational Leadership and Management Structures

A single leadership and management team can be implemented to support the

organisation requiring less staff than two separate services.

It should be noted that although there would be a natural desire to retain two chiefs by

some, one of the roles naturally becomes surplus to requirements when aligning the

strategic objectives of the services. The Deputy Chiefs should be the key specialist leads for

Fire or Police.

Business Support Shared Services

Integrated business support solutions reduce duplication and the staff required to service

both Fire and Police reduces.

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5.2.2. Sustainability

Provides a much stronger model than two separate services to ensure sustainability of the

Fire Service by protecting front line Firefighters and allows for more frontline Police Officers

due to savings made elsewhere.

How Streamlining Through Integration Supports Sustainability

If both services remain separate the savings that need to be made within each service is

expected to directly impact frontline services and management structures, as both would

need to be streamlined in order to make savings. Therefore, decisions would need to be

made around which roles would need to be removed that present the least risk, although

there would undoubtedly be a need to remove key roles to make required savings and in

turn increase risk.

However, by integrating the two services into a single organisation with distinct services

within it, the opportunity then arises to allow a single management structure that still has all

the necessary component roles to mitigate any risks and retains skills and capability from

both services. Streamlining the operational leadership and management structures across

the two services ensures a robust management structure is retained and is fit for purpose.

Economies of Scale

The opportunities through procurement, estates, intelligent use of assets, whether

equipment, vehicles, IT and data, directly impact sustainability. An integrated service gives

a genuine opportunity to optimise utilisation that two separate services cannot achieve.

Demand Reduction

Fire working with Police to reduce demand across both services in an aligned and targeted

approach focusing on shared prevention and shared community engagement, working

with vulnerable people together, rather than separately.

5.2.3. Public Safety, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy

Integration should be seen as the enabler to realise the benefits of joint working, without

which the services are likely to continue with some collaborative working but would not be

truly reformed and would not achieve what they could.

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5.3. Governance

A fully integrated Police, Fire and Rescue organisation requires only a single governance

body.

The suggested implementation of governance first in April 17 and full integration by April 18

would first see the OPCC introduce robust targeted and strategic scrutiny to pursue

ambitious reform, accountability and transparency.

It would remove the current barriers created through separate governance structures

where, decisions are hindered by competing political objectives to support the

development of the new organisation, ensuring both Fire and Police requirements are

supported equally through that journey.

The OPCC would therefore focus on the following areas to improve Fire and Police ways of

working both individually, with each other and other agencies for improved public safety

through:

Strategic alignment of the objectives for Fire and Police.

More agile and effective decision making in line with a shared purpose.

Robust scrutiny and challenge of the Police and Fire Service ways of working and

measurement of activities to outcomes.

Robust scrutiny and challenge of finances and identification of further opportunities for

reduced operating costs, which are expected to be significant.

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6. Implementation

6.1. Introduction

The Timelines diagram in the Executive Summary and the next section Timelines and

Summary Activities detail a high level overview of the expected key milestones. This section

explains the rationale, dependencies and considerations that need to be taken into

account to deliver the changes.

6.2. Rationale

The following describes the rationale of the key dates and activities.

The expected date of change for the primary legislation through the Police and Crime

bill is Dec 16 / Jan 17. Therefore preparation towards this date is key for the following

activities:

o Obtaining Local Authority and Public support.

o Preparation for the public consultation

Public consultation cannot commence until Primary Legislation is in place.

The logical date for a change for Fire governance from the FRA to the OPCC is the

beginning of the fiscal year due to the budget process, therefore April 17.

A smaller cohort of the FRA suggested as 4 members to support the transition.

The earliest recommended date for a single employer is April 18, giving 12months to

properly prepare and deliver a single employer. Note: this is not be a fully redesigned

organisation at this point, it is part way through the journey.

Upon PCC governance being in place for Fire, the PCC and the OPCC team would be

able to fully understand further opportunities through full challenge and scrutiny of the

Fire Service ways of working and value for money alongside OPCC scrutiny and

challenge of the Police that already occurs. This is expected to give further major

opportunities to be capitalised.

The redesigned functions are expected to deliver earlier than April 18 and any

opportunities to implement Fire and Police joint working teams in specific areas would

be done prior to April 18. It is yet to be decided whether this will be a TUPE arrangement

ahead of the single employer date, or, whether this will be on a collaborative

arrangement until full integration when TUPE will apply.

6.3. Dependencies

Police and Crime Bill - Primary Legislation implemented

Secretary of State granting implementation of Secondary Legislation

Local Authority support

Public Consultation completed

6.4. Considerations

The following areas will be included in the detailed planning for implementation:

Legal – practical requirements

Legislative – e.g. Equalities act, Employment Law etc.

Financial – accounting treatments, precepts, council tax, budget flexibility

Detailed costings

Lessons learnt from previous projects

Page | 37

6.5. Timeline and Summary Activities

The following demonstrates the timelines for implementation and assumes agreement with

local authorities has been made and therefore a full Business Case submission to the

Secretary of State is not required.

Key Milestones are highlighted in bold.

Key Milestone Summary Activities Dates

Legislation Primary Legislation Implemented Dec 16 / Jan 17

Public Consultation

Period and process to

be agreed

Consultation preparations

Consultation

Nov 16 / Dec 16

Jan17 – Mar 17

Request to Secretary

of State

Preparation of request documentation

Request to move to Secondary Legislation

Secondary Legislation implemented by Government

Jan 17 / Mar 17

Feb 17 / Mar 17

Mar 17 / Apr 17

PCC Governance of

Fire

Implementation activities

Governance of Fire Implementation

FRA Advisory Role (if agreed)

Scrutiny – More detailed discovery of Fire ways of

working, finances and further opportunities

Mar 17

Apr 17

Apr 17 to Mar 18

April 17 Onwards

Single Employer and

Fully Integration

Detailed restructure activities

Any early TUPE transfers in line with early implementations

or collaborative working arrangement until main TUPE

transfer date (Apr 18)

Main TUPE transfer activities

Single Employer Implemented

Continued design and restructuring of the new Police,

Fire and Rescue Organisation

Apr 17 Onwards

Apr 17 to Mar 18

Apr 17 to Mar 18

Apr 18

Apr 18 onwards

Page | 38

6.6. Consultations

6.6.1. Public Consultation

Public Consultation can commence upon Primary Legislation being in place which is

expected Dec 16/Jan 17.

There is much discussion around the correct process due to a number of cases being

bought, therefore legal advice will be sought to understand the requirements. It is

expected that further support In terms of the process and requirements will be provided by

the Home Office.

The consultation period is expected to be agreed at somewhere between 4 and 12 weeks.

6.6.2. Local Authority Consultation

The two local authority deputy leaders for Staffordshire County Council, Ian Parry and

Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Abi Brown are members of the Joint Collaborative Working

Group to which the Programme Board reports into.

They have received regular updates throughout the discovery phase and are representing

the programme and this case to their respective authorities for full council review, with the

intention of gaining agreement to proceed to single governance and a fully integrated

Fire and Police organisation.

6.6.3. Unions and Employee Representative Consultation

The unions and employee representative bodies for both Fire and Police have been liaised

with throughout the discovery phase of the programme to ensure we understand concerns

and work with them to support employees through any change process that may result

from this work.

Regular updates have been given of progress made and findings at each stage. This has

been through both formal and informal meetings and will continue throughout future

stages of the programme.

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Protecting and Enhancing Frontline Services

“Is there a case for full integration?”

Annex 2: Current Assessment

Current assessment approach and source documents

Page | 40

7. Current Assessment Process

7.1. Introduction

The discovery phase of the programme was conducted between February and September

2016, reviewing all of the scope areas of the programme. The following gives a summary

of the activities and the groups of people who were consulted.

90 People Interviewed

150 Meetings and Workshops

All areas of the services, 44 Departments, 100 Functions

Across Executive, Senior Leads, Managers, Officers, Firefighters and Staff and

Councillors

Fire, Police, OPCC and FRA

FBU, Unison Fire, Unison Police, Police Federation and Staff Representatives

7.2. Information Collected

Information collected where available covered:

7.2.1. Department Discovery Meetings: General Information

Functions

Directors / Heads of / Managers

Locations

Annual Budget

Number of Staff

Service Specific

Complexity

Organisation Impact

Demand Profile

Statutory

Vision

Purpose Summary

Purpose Detail – Strategic, Compliance, Transactions, Operational, Prevention

Value Added and opportunities to add more

In Flight Projects

Opportunities for Collaboration with Fire, Police and Other Organisations

Main Customers and What Matters to Them

Main Internal Department Interfaces

Main External Agency Interfaces

Systems Used, Purpose and Frequency

SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Page | 41

7.2.2. Discovery Meetings: Public Safety

Focus on how does joint working improve public safety and improve outcomes?

Question asked: What’s stopping us from doing it now?

7.2.3. Other Meetings

Why Wouldn’t You Integrate?

Fire Control Review

Transport Review

Supplies Review

7.2.4. Statistics and Reports Obtained from Both Services

Vision 2020

Budgets 15/16

MTFS – Medium Term Financial Strategy

Demand data

Headcount, resource reports and functional structures

Various department reports, strategy and proposal documents

Systems / Application reports, reviews and training notes

Procurement reports

National Frameworks

Page | 42

1

Item No. 9 on Agenda

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority

15 December 2016

Stafford Fire Station and Life Skills Centre (Safe+Sound) Update

Report of the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive

1. Summary On 18 October 2016, the Fire and Rescue Authority were given an update on the progress of the Safe+Sound (Life Skills) project detailing the significant progress made to date. This update had been requested by Members following the Efficiency Round Table event held on 2 September 2016. Following the presentation of the paper, Members asked for a further update giving confirmation of the financial sustainability of the project detailing the predicted ongoing costs and how these would be met. In addition, Members asked for a letter from the Home Office reaffirming their continued support for the project. As one of three similar Safety Centres funded by HM’s Governments’ Transformation Fund for Fire and Rescue Services, the project has been endorsed by the Home Office Fire and Efficiency team despite the additional scrutiny and challenge in regard to the net present value associated with the original bid. Chris Sewell (Home Office) has confirmed verbally that the bid still meets the original evaluation criteria and the strategic case demonstrates ambition to support the wider public sector with a particular focus on health and education. On 16 November 2016, a meeting took place between the Fire Minister, Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Authority and the Chief Executive/Chief Fire Officer. This meeting led to a number of further queries by the Home Office around crewing savings, wider savings to the public purse and local engagement. A detailed response to these queries was sent on 21 November 2016 and is contained within the Report of the Secretary (Agenda Item No. 5). Planning Approval for the project is expected around 30 December 2016 and a contractor has been identified utilising the Framework Agreement used by Entrust. Construction work can commence in early 2017 should the project be supported by the Authority. A major milestone was achieved on 22 November 2016, when the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) who will manage the centre, was formally registered by the Charities Commission. This enables formal applications for funding to be submitted to organisations such as the Big Lottery and is a key component for the long term sustainability of Safe+Sound. Recognising the current stage of the project, a commercial model has been developed (summarised in Appendix 1) with a clear commitment from partners to the project. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) have also reaffirmed their research in regard to the worsening picture of accidental injuries across a broad range of circumstances and the evidence shows that Centres such as Safe+Sound, can deliver immediate and beneficial changes in behaviour to improve the situation.

2

The Centre should be economically sustainable based on the income and expenditure predictions shown and new financial supporters such as MKG foods have come forward since the previous update to support the project. This model does not take into account additional support provided by partners, such as Aico, who have pledged resources rather than direct financial support at this time. RECOMMENDATION That Members note the information provided within this report as requested by the Authority at the last meeting held on 18 October 2016 (Members should also note that this report draws extensively on the information that was provided within the previous report considered by the Authority in October). Financial Implications The financial risks associated with terminating the project, as reported at the Authority meeting on 18 October, are still relevant in as much as the £3.9m grant funding would be required to be returned to the Home Office and the Authority would be responsible for absorbing the costs incurred to date as part of progressing the project to its current status as well as covering the cost of contractual penalties for withdrawal. The financial implications of the estimated running costs are summarised in Appendix 1, which demonstrates a forecast position for the long term sustainability of the resource. Legal Implications If the project were not to progress the Authority would be responsible for fulfilling all contracts in place at the point of termination. Equality and Diversity Implications The Authority’s Equality and Diversity Manager has been fully engaged in the process and has developed an Equality Impact Assessment which has been dynamically updated at regular intervals. The assessment endorses the potential benefits to the wider community of the Life Skills resource. Risk Implications A full Risk Register for the project is being maintained in accordance with PRINCE2 guidelines and in consultation with the Authority’s Strategic Risk Management Team. The risks of terminating the project were reported to the Authority and as the CIO has achieved a formal charitable status, there may be implications for the Authority and partners if the Charity is closed down. Consideration will also need to be given to the implications for the two other Safety Centre projects which are supported by the Home Office with transformational funding. Consultation and Engagement undertaken Consultation and engagement with partners continues to be extensive as reported at the Authority meeting on 18 October.

3

Background In April 2014, the Fire and Rescue Authority approved the submission of a bid to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for Transformational funding for the redevelopment of the Stafford Fire Station and the creation of a Life Skills Centre. Having been successful in this bid, the Authority and the Integrated Asset Development Strategy Board (IADS) have subsequently reiterated their approval for the project at several stages of the development process through to the present day. Within this period, the Authority and its partners have committed substantial resources to further the project, including the collective development of the “Safe and Sound” brand. The Project involves:

• Re-purposing the existing Fire Station at Stafford to create both a re-sized response base, together with a co-located Ambulance facility.

• Providing a flagship “Lifeskills” facility delivered centrally, incorporating outreach work (hub and spoke model) for use by all public and third sector partners.

• NHS Partnership Trust (SSOTP) co-locating their training academy on site.

• Richmond Fellowship delivering ‘Sparky’s’ Community Café within the Lifeskills facility.

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) has been registered with the Charities Commission and will independently run the centre and be responsible for its sustainability. Report Author: Glynn Luznyj, Director of Prevent and Protect Contact Details: 01785 898762 / 07971 893239 Email: g.luznyj@staffordshirefire.gov.uk

4

Appendix 1

Financial Sustainability Summary The table below is based upon the estimated costs for the running of the Life Skills Centre for the period to 2020/21, which by this time it is forecast that the Centre will be in a break even position with income generated covering the estimated £259k per annum of running costs by that time.

It is estimated that the Centre will require a total of six full time staff by 2018/19 who will be supported by a number of volunteers. It is proposed that three of these posts will be funded by the Service, as Community Support Officers will be relocated from the local prevention teams in order to deliver an enhanced level of key prevention work across both the local area and Service area as a whole.

The table shown is a summary of a more detailed business plan that is currently being developed and will be ultimately owned and become the responsibility of the CIO.

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

Plan Plan Plan Plan NOTES

£000s £000s £000s £000s

PAY COSTS

Pay Costs 134 191 193 194 Total pay costs for Lifeskills Centre

Other Employee Costs 18 18 17 17 Other Employee Costs e.g Expenses

Total Pay Costs 152 209 210 212

Premises Costs 38 39 40 40 Including utilities and rates

Supplies and Services 7 7 7 7 Including waste disposal and photopcopier etc

Other

Non Pay Costs 46 46 47 48

TOTAL COST FORECAST 197 256 257 259

INCOME / FUNDING

Community Café (Richmond Fellowship) (10) (10) (10) Funding secured 5 year agreement

West Midlands Ambulance Service (2) (7) (7) (7) Funding secured 5 year agreement

Revenue support from SFARS (BD Post) (41) Business Development posts funded by Service

SSOTP (Rental income) (8) (30) (30) (30) Secured 10 year agreement

Income from Community Interest Company (20) (20) (20) (20) Secured Funding

Fundraising Officer / CIO Income Generation (35) (55) (68) (85) This is estimated fnding to be raised by this post

Sporting Communities (5) (5) (5) Secured and confirmed

CSO Posts Funded by SFRS (44) (91) (95) (100) Based upon existing posts

Sponsorship from MKG Foods (2) (2) (2) Confirmation received from MKG Foods

Total Income (149) (220) (238) (260)

NET FUNDING Deficit/(Surplus) to 2020/21 49 36 19 (0) Forecast break even position by 2020/21