Agenda for Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority - Community Safety on Friday, 8th January, 2016, 10.00 am

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters - Bestwood Lodge Drive, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 8PD. View directions

Contact: Catherine Ziane-Pryor  Email: catherine.pryor@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

14.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Councillor Mike Pringle (non-Council business)

15.

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Minutes:

None.

16.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 202 KB

Of the meeting held on 2 October 2015 (for confirmation).

Minutes:

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 2 October 2015 as a true record and they were signed by the Chair.

17.

FIRE INVESTIGATION UPDATE pdf icon PDF 141 KB

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Minutes:

Craig Parkin, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, presented the report updating the Committee on progress with regard to fire investigation activity, fatal fire reviews and the actions taken to share information and learning to assist in preventing loss of life, business and property.

 

The following points were highlighted:

 

(a)  The Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) Fire Investigation Team, based at Mansfield fire station, has a variety of duties with regard to fire investigations (FI), including training staff to carry out initial investigations or conducting more in-depth investigations.

 

(b)  The Service works collaboratively with Nottinghamshire Police to ensure investigative standards are high and consistent and has established a memorandum of understanding with key partners such as Trading Standards. This ensures a clear process of reporting products suspected of being fire risks is in place;

 

(c)  In 2014, NFRS attended 2,617 fires, of these fires 2,538 were able to be investigated by the operational staff who attended the incident. The NFRS FI Team have undergone a period of transformation and now have a team of non-uniformed officers led by a station manager, who focusses on investigations.

 

Following questions from the Committee, the additional information was provided:

 

(d)  NFRS FI Team have established a memorandum of understanding with other Fire Services so that in times of crisis or emergency, NFRS could call on an investigating officer from another region. Frontline operational staff have also been better trained to deal with operational issues;

 

(e)  NFRS FI Team makes referrals to Trading Standards, at both Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council. Although the FI Team meets Nottingham City and Nottingham County Trading Standards teams separately, it continues to share intelligence and data with both;

 

(f)  NFRS will make use of social media to better communicate a consistent message to the public about the dangers of faulty electrical equipment.

 

RESOLVED to note the contents of the report and support the continuing work and development of the Fire Investigation Team.

 

18.

NEW CROSS PROJECT pdf icon PDF 127 KB

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Minutes:

Craig Parkin, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, presented the report providing the Committee with an overview of the New Cross Project and its involvement in supporting the multi-agency approach. The following information was highlighted:

 

(a)  The New Cross pilot project provides a cross sector approach to more effectively supporting local communities, bringing together different agencies and taking an integrated approach with all frontline staff;

 

(b)  A member of the Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) was seconded to Ashfield District Council for 18 months in January 2015 to oversee the project which covers a small community of 1,200 homes within Sutton-in-Ashfield. The area was chosen because of its significant interest for local service providers, such Nottinghamshire Police and mental health services. The area of the pilot has the highest proportion of ‘troubled families’ in Ashfield with complex needs and service requirements that depend upon multi-agency interventions;

 

(c)  The Risk Reduction Officer who has been seconded to the team has been assigned as a case worker, currently overseeing four cases. The Officer coordinates relevant service providers to assist in particular cases and in the most recent case, has supported a particular individual in securing a tenancy following periods of drug abuse, homelessness and incarceration. In this particular case, the costs to the service has been around £2,000 whereas had the individual spent the last six weeks in prison, it would have cost in the region of £6,000;

 

(d)  Having a fire service expert within the New Cross Project has enabled earlier diagnosis of potential fire hazards and information sharing with the Fire Service. 

 

Following question and comments from the Committee, the additional information was provided:

 

(e)  In many cases, vulnerable individuals are more likely to speak to the NFRS that other agencies, such as the Police or Social Services, who they might perceive in an adversarial or authoritarian way. In this project, NFRS are able to coordinate multi-faceted interventions in an integrated way;

 

(f)  The 18 month project has been subject to periods of review and academic evaluation by Nottingham Trent University and although the forecasted public value of the programme based on cost/benefit analysis stands at a net public value of £5.7 million it is difficult to establish the tangible cost benefit in real terms. Any evaluation undertaken at the end of the project would do well to take account of the human factor and the multi-agency benefit in supporting the highest proportion of ‘troubled families’ with significant need.

 

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note the contents of the report and support the New Cross Project;

 

(2)  receive a report detailing the outcome of the evaluation process following the completion of the project.

 

19.

ON CALL REVIEW pdf icon PDF 219 KB

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Minutes:

Craig Parkin, Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented the report, informing members of the current work that is taking place as part of the On-Call Review. The following information was highlighted:

 

(a)  The On-Call Review was commissioned in 2015 with an aim of providing a long-term, sustainable solution for an on-call provision of emergency response in Nottinghamshire. The Retained Duty System (RDS) in conjunction with the Wholetime Duty System (WDS) is seen to provide a cost-effective approach to deliver services;

 

(b)  Both nationally and within Nottinghamshire, there is a historic challenge around the recruitment and retention of RDS personnel. A number of issues have affected the Service’s ability to recruit and retain individuals, such as fewer local employers and the increased work demands on individuals employed on the RDS;

 

(c)  The On-call Review will be an ongoing process in order to ensure that the provision of response to risk and demand is continually improved. Initial scoping indicates that the initial projects within the Review will be completed within 24 months.

 

(d)  The budget for the RDS over the next three years has been adjusted to take account of an increase in establishment and RDS delivery activity. Proposals will be taken to Fire Authority in Feb 2016 to increase the retained pay budget over the next three years. This change represents a readjustment of costs, not an overall net increase to the cost.

 

Following questions and comments from the members, the following information was provided:

 

(e)  Improvements to the retention of individuals on the RDS will reduce the costs associated with replacement kits and induction training.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note the content of the report;

 

(2)  support the ongoing review;

 

(3)  request a more detailed report on progress at a future Community Safety Committee.