Agenda and minutes

Councillor Fielding

Councillor Lee

None

Of the meeting held on 12 November 2021 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on the 12 November 2021 were agreed.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

John Buckley, Chief Fire Officer, presented the report which provided an update on the work of the National Fire Chiefs Council Fire Standards Board and outlined the Service’s strategic intent and progress on the adoption of National Fire Standards.

The following points were highlighted and questions from members responded to:

a)  The Fire Standards Board (FSB) has been established by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to oversee the identification, development, and maintenance of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England.

b)  A Standards Board had been established with an Independent Chair and Vice-Chair with representations from the Home Office and National Fire Chiefs Council.

c)  Eight fire standards have been produced with a further seven standards planned to be released in 2022.

d)  The Standards that have been created are based on legislation and best practice are not dissimilar to how the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service currently operates and will therefore, be easy to embed.

e)  The adoption of the National Fire Standards is not mandatory however the standards are considered to be best practice and there is an expectation from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) that Services are using them as a tool to promote continuous improvement. The standards will be used as part of the inspection criteria.

f)  The NFCC have created an implementation group of officers who will be providing additional support and capacity.

g)  Although the adoption of the standards were not mandatory, Fire and Rescue Services who do not adopt them would need to have credible reasons for not doing so. As Standards were strongly based on best practice and having considered industry and sector knowledge there would be more clarity on some of the standard’s requirements.

Resolved to endorse the Service’s approach to the adoption of National Fire Standards

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

John Buckley, Chief Fire Officer, presented the report which provided Members with an update on the Service’s Joint Headquarters Programme.

The following information was highlighted:

a)  Early January 2022 the Fire Investigation Team relocated to Sherwood Lodge now shared with the Crime Scene Investigation team in the refurbished accommodation.

b)  On 17 January 2022, the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) People and Organisational Development (POD) team moved from Bestwood Lodge to Sherwood Lodge. They now occupy the ground floor of the new building, along with colleagues from the Police Human Resources team.

c)  There has been a short delay in the project due to supply chain issues and subsequent impacts on development and at present, there are a number of issues with parking which will be resolved once the contractors are finished.

d)  Open-plan working has been positively adopted by staff and the facilities are considered to be of a very high standard.

e)  The financial costs of the Programme are monitored closely and are currently within budget and due to complete within the predicted spends. Members are reminded that the Service has a capped liability for contributions to the programme and therefore there is no risk of an over-expenditure for the Authority.

f)  The first ‘significant’ meeting of the Fire Authority held at Sherwood Lodge would be the Annual General Meeting; prior to this, members will be given an induction and written brief about the facilities.

The Chair echoed the comments of Members offering praise to everyone involved in getting the project completed on budget and commented that it was a positive demonstration of collaborative working between Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority and Nottinghamshire Police.

Resolved to note the contents of this report.