Agenda item

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

A representative from the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) asked the following three questions of the Chair regarding this item;

Question One

‘although the report in itself does not recommend a reduction below 30 available pumping appliances, are the CFA, through its Chief Fire Officer, still comfortable that the number of pumping appliances could be reduced to 30 without compromising the safety of the community and fire-fighters? The FBU obviously have deep concerns about any cuts to frontline services and are strongly opposed to the downgrading of response in Nottinghamshire yet again.’

The Chair replied as follows:

‘the Fire Authority relies on the advice of the CFO on how to organise its operational resources to best deliver the service to the community as well as meeting all of the legislative requirements under Health and Safety law which affect Fire-fighter safety.

The FA are equally concerned that we may have to take steps again to down size the organisation which includes the operational delivery, however given the budget challenges we face there are little alternatives.

In recommending consulting on the stations contained within this report, the CFO has given a professional view on a variety of factors which include activity levels, support from other stations, availability, total number of appliances, location and crewing. I am sure that all of these aspects will be something that the FBU would also consider relevant.

We can take comfort in the significant prevention work that has been undertaken by our employees and the results that are presented elsewhere on this agenda, however this does not make these decisions any easier and we recognise the FBUs concerns.

If the FA decides to consult on these proposals today then the public and the FBU will be fully engaged in the process and the outcomes will be brought back here for a decision in the future.’

Question Two

‘can you confirm that the CFA have done everything in their power to query the allocation of monies made to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service by Government and believe the removal of frontline appliances, Managers and Control Operators is the correct ultimate sacrifice?’

The Chair replied as follows:

‘following the meeting of the Fire Authority in June 2013, I wrote on behalf of this Authority to request a meeting with the Minister to discuss how the funding issues were affecting Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service. The letter I received back unfortunately declined my request for a meeting until after the funding levels for the next two years had been confirmed. As you may be aware from elsewhere on this agenda, Nottinghamshire did not receive its final grant settlement amounts until 5th February 2014. I have since written to the Minister again requesting a meeting to discuss the funding issues and await his response.’

Question Three

‘have Derbyshire and Leicestershire been consulted with regard to the proposal to have a single control room servicing three services prior to this report being published? If so, do they concur that this is a viable option to negotiate on?’

The Chair replied as follows:

‘the current requirement for the provision of dealing with calls for help and summoning personnel is laid down in Part 2, Section 7, paragraph 2(c), of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. It is a function of the Fire and Rescue Authority and one that this Authority currently delivers in house. The CFO could not approach either Derbyshire or Leicestershire without formally obtaining the approval of this Fire Authority to do so, and this is the request contained within this paper. We do not know what the response of these services may be at this time, but will formally write if approval is given by the FA today to explore this as an option. Only when we know the appetite of those Services will we know whether this may be worth taking forward. If this is ultimately ruled out then the FA will be faced with obtaining the requisite savings required from elsewhere within the service.’

The Chief Fire Officer presented his report outlining proposals, highlighting strategies and seeking approval for actions to ensure that the Authority is in the best position possible to set a balanced budget in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Members were concerned about the issue of consultation with the public on proposals. Historically there had been very little response from the general public when the Authority has gone out to consultation. Members were in agreement that for the consultation to be meaningful it will need to be targeted. Members will need to be involved with the formulation and monitoring of the consultation process.

RESOLVED:

(1)  to task Officers with consulting on the potential of reducing operational resources from within the locations identified at paragraph 2.9 of the report and providing an options report to a future Fire Authority meeting on the outcomes;

(2)  to task Officers with approaching partner Services with a view to implementing a single Control facility;

(3)  to task Officers with reviewing the operational management structure;

(4)  to approve Officers to use compulsory redundancy processes, where appropriate; in conjunction with voluntary redundancy, post conversions, and vacancy deletions;

(5)  to task Officers to undertake an updated Fire Cover Review during 2015 with a view to considering a risk based attendance standard based upon high, medium and low risk outcomes;

(6)  that the Policy and Strategy Committee be requested to help formulate and monitor the consultation process.