Agenda and minutes

Gary Godden – Police and Crime Commissioner

Councillor Tom Smith

Councillor Jason Zadrozny

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 2024

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 2024 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair, Councillor Michael Payne, made the following announcements:

(a)  Given the changes to the local MPs in the General Election, a letter will be sent to offer all local MPs a meeting with the Fire Authority Chair and Chief Fire Officer, which is a great opportunity to promote the Service and lay out future challenges, and how our MPs could support the organisation.

(b)  The final report from the Service’s recent His Majesty’s Inspectorate inspection is due for publication week commencing 12 August. The Chair thanked everyone across the Service who engaged with the inspection team and looks forward to receiving the report, and how that underpins the ambition to be an outstanding fire and rescue service. A link will be circulated to Members for the report once published.

(c)  Dame Diana Johnson is the new Fire Minister and the Chief Fire Officer has written to invite the Minister to Nottinghamshire at the earliest available opportunity. Dame Diana Johnson previously chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee in to fire service culture and the Authority looks forward to a positive reply.

(d)  Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service hosted the summer conference with the Asian Fire Services Association, with over 30 fire and rescue services represented, and approximately 200 delegates. This was a great opportunity to showcase the Service on a national stage, hear from others and learn how the sector can improve together.

(e)  Given the length of the agenda, no Strategic Inclusion Board will take place today, however, following September’s Authority, staff networks will be attending to engage with Members and all Members are encouraged to join in.

(f)  The annual Nottingham Pride march is taking place tomorrow. The Chief Fire Officer and many staff will be in attendance and all Members are encouraged to join staff and visibly support the values of the organisation at this event, which starts from 11:00 on Listergate.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Tracey Stevenson, Assistant Head of Finance, presented the report detailing the provisional financial performance of the Service for 2023/24, analysing significant variances against the original revenue and capital budgets, and the outturn position provides an overview of the financial position following the completion of the unaudited Statement of Accounts for 2023/24, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  The 2023/24 revenue budget of £49.965m was approved by the Fire Authority in February 2023. The approved budget included a £404k use of the budget pressure support reserve to address the budgeted funding deficit. During the year, additional use of other specific earmarked reserves were approved, increasing the budget to £50.258m. Total expenditure for 2023/24 was £48.931m, representing an underspend by £1.327m (2.64%). 

(b)  From this underspend, £327k carry forward requests have been received, where the Service has not been able to complete a specific piece of work in-year and the work and costs will be completed in 2024/25, this reduces the underspend to £1.000m (1.99%). In addition to the carry forwards, £475k is being requested to be moved into earmarked reserves, £300k for future anticipated costs regarding the existing mobilisation system whilst the replacement system is being implemented, and a new reserve of £175k is to be established to support the revenue costs of capital schemes. The £404k use of the budget pressure reserve is not required, and £121k is to be moved to the general fund reserve.

(c)  Expenditure and funding can be summarised as follows:

(d)  Wholetime pay is underspent by £379k in total as at March 2024, due to vacancies in the establishment.  At the end of March 2024, the number of posts was 16 Full Time Equivalent below the approved establishment. There were 11 transferees from other fire and rescue services in year and 20 apprentice firefighters commenced their training in April 2024. Overtime has been used to cover the ridership in the short term, resulting in a £85k overspend against the pre-planned overtime budget.

(e)  The On-call pay budget is underspent by £219k. The largest variances relate to retaining fees (£62k) and training (£55k). On-call pay can vary significantly from month to month depending on levels of activity. The number of mobilisations can  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Andrew Howarth, Audit Team Manager, Nottinghamshire County Council, presented the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report for 2023/24, identifying the key outcomes arising from the work of Internal Audit for 2023/24 and providing an audit opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Authority’s arrangements for governance, risk management and internal control, the Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25, and the outcome of the 5 audits completed during 2023/24, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  Based on the coverage and detailed outcomes, it is considered that the collective evidence provides Substantial Assurance concerning the arrangements in place for governance, risk management and the control environment.

(b)  In the areas reviewed in 2023/24, the following opinions were given, and the following number and priority level of recommendations were made:

(c)  The recommendations and actions can be summarised as follows:

(d)  There is a high implementation rate of 88% on all actions raised since 2018/19.  63% of the actions from 2022/23, whose dates for implementation have now passed, have been implemented. The new Head of Finance will set up a tracker for all actions so that their implementation can be better monitored by the Assurance Board.

(e)  There is substantial assurance over the Governance arrangements as they are well structured with comprehensive reporting; plans are in place to achieve strategic goals and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Hassan Rohimum, Partner, Ernst and Young (EY) LLP, presented the External Auditors’ interim value for money (VFM) report for Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority on the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  Both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 audits have been delayed due to resourcing issues at EY. This is a national issue caused by the increased amount of regulatory requirement and the lack of audit resources within the public sector. The 2021/22 audit commenced during July 2023 and a substantial amount of the audit had been completed. In February 2024, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities opened a consultation on ‘Addressing the Local Audit Backlog in England’. The consultation proposed a backstop date for all accounts up to and including financial year 2022/23 to be cleared by 30 September 2024 and proposed to allow auditors to issue a modified or disclaimed opinion due to the backstop.

(b)  In light of the consultation, EY is not progressing any further work on the 2021/22 and 2022/23 Statement of Accounts. EY is continuing to progress their work for their commentary on VFM for 2021/22 and 2022/23.

(c)  The response to the consultation or any further guidance has not yet been published and has been delayed by the General Election, it is anticipated the initial proposed backstop date of the 30 September 2024 will be amended to a later date.

(d)  The reporting criteria include financial sustainability, governance, and improving economy, efficiency and effectiveness. There are no risks of significant weaknesses identified in any of the criteria, and no actual significant weaknesses in arrangements identified.

Resolved to note the report.

Report of Chief Fire Officer

Richard Walton, Director, KPMG LLP, presented the report detailing the external auditors’ audit plan for work which they intend to carry out on the Authority’s 2023/24 financial statements and Value for Money arrangements, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  The external auditors are appointed through a national contract via Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA). A new national contract is in place for 2023/24 to 2027/28. The external auditors appointed for the Fire Authority for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28 are KPMG LLP. As part of their responsibilities under the external audit regime, the auditors produce an annual plan setting out the areas that they will cover during their audit.

(b)  The External Audit Plan provides an overview of the planned scope and  timing of the statutory audit of Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire  and Rescue Authority for those charged with governance, and covers the following areas:

·  scope and materiality;

·  significant risks, audit risks and approach;

·  mandatory communications

·  Value for Money risk assessment and approach;

·  the audit team;

·  the audit cycle and timeline;

·  fees;

·  confirmation of independence;

·  the audit quality framework;

·  revised International Standards on Auditing (ISA).

(c)  The plan identifies those risks requiring special audit consideration and procedures to address the likelihood of a material financial statement error as being:

·  the presumed risk of management override of control;

·  valuation of pension liability;

·  valuation of land and buildings.

(d)  The external auditors commenced their interim fieldwork in April 2024 and are planning to conclude their interim work and the undertake their final fieldwork in July and August 2024. The plan identifies the external auditors’ aim to deliver their audit report by 31 October 2024. However, this is subject to change due to the level of consultation in the sector, regarding the scope and timing of local government audit.

(e)  The contracted audit fee for the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts is £94,838 (£32,648 for 2022/23). There has been a significant increase in audit fees, this is due to additional work being required by the Code of Audit Practice, this additional work has been built into the fees, then fees have been increased further following the PSAA’s national auditor appointment procurement for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28, which has resulted in a procurement adjustment of 151% for the new contract rates for audit firms. The increase in the audit fee has been included in the approved budget.

Resolved to note the report.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Tracey Stevenson, Assistant Head of Finance, presented the report detailing the Annual Governance Statement for 2023/24, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  The Annual Governance Statement 2023/24 sets out how the Service has complied with the current local code of corporate governance during the year and meets the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 with regards to the preparation and approval of an Annual Governance Statement. It concludes that the Service has well developed and evolving governance arrangements in place that are fit for purpose.

(b)  The Local Code of Corporate Governance was adopted by the Authority in February 2017 and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s Financial Management Code was adopted by the Authority in July 2021.  The Authority’s compliance against the Financial Management Code was reviewed by internal audit in 2021/22 – the report acknowledged that effective controls were in place regarding self-assessment, leadership, accountability, long term sustainability and value for money.

(c)  Whilst the 2021/22 and 2022/23 Statement of Accounts are yet to be audited, the external auditors, Ernst & Young (EY), issued unqualified audits for the first three years of their contract (2018/19 and 2020/21), which indicates that the financial systems in place are robust. 

(d)  Five internal audits have been completed within the year, four being graded as having ‘Substantial Assurance’ and one having ‘Limited Assurance’, where limited assurance was received, six recommendations have been agreed by management and actions to implement the recommendations are in progress. 

(e)  The Service’s second full His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) final inspection report issued in July 2022 provided a rating of ‘Good’ against all 11 areas of assessment. The Service is currently waiting for the HMICFRS final inspection report and ratings for the third inspection that took place in March and April 2024. 

(f)  The Service continues to address any governance issues as they arise and commits to keeping governance arrangements under review.

Resolved to

(1)  Approve the draft Annual Governance Statement 2023/24.

(2)  Delegate authority to the Chair of the Authority and the Chief Fire Officer to update the final Annual Governance Statement 2023/24 for any retrospective factors that occur between the draft Annual Governance Statement and the publication of the final Annual Governance Statement.

Report of Chief Fire Officer

Mick Sharman, Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented the Annual Statement of Assurance for 2023/24, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  The Fire and Rescue Service National Framework places a statutory requirement on fire authorities to provide assurance on financial, governance and operational matters, with due regard to the expectations set out in the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP).

(b)  The production of an Annual Statement of Assurance (ASoA) contributes to the requirement for greater public-sector transparency and accountability and through its publication offers and promotes accessibility to information.

(c)  The ASoA 2023-24 provides a review of how well the Service has performed, in the second year of the CRMP 2022-25, against the stated commitments.

(d)  The ASoA is designed to give the public assurance on performance in key delivery areas, defined as the Service’s six strategic goals. An accessible version will be hosted on the Service’s website, providing access to all.

(e)  Highlights within the ASoA 2023-24 include:

·  attended 10,595 incidents, a decrease of 7% on last year;

·  2,804 fires (a decrease of 30%) and 560 road traffic collisions

·  1,335 incidents which involved rescues and humanitarian assistance from either buildings, vehicles, water, confined spaces, or heights

·  on-call appliance availability was 86.47% (against a target of 85%);

·  delivered 15,765 safe and well interventions, (against a target of 14,000) supporting a total of 16,248 people – more than the Service has ever achieved before;

·  delivery of community safety activities including:

o  Safety Zone events to 1,896 Year 5 and 6 pupils from across the City and County;

o  290 road, fire and water safety initiatives;

o  44 national safety campaigns;

o  130 Firesetter safety interventions with young people;

·  delivered 34 Data Intelligence Community Engagement (DICE) activities targeting the most vulnerable in communities;

·  undertook 11 Community Reassurance and Engagement (CRaE) activities throughout Nottinghamshire;

·  completed 1,180 full fire safety audits and 1,039 business safety checks (short fire safety audits) – within business premises. An increase of 96%;

·  the Service delivered 765 training courses, attended by 3,994 delegates, from a portfolio of 140 different training courses;

·  recruited to 93 roles - 39 wholetime firefighters, 25 on-call firefighters and 29 support staff roles;

·  99.2% of the operational staff successfully passed annual fitness tests;

·  Fire Investigators investigated 87 serious fires across the county.

(f)  The Service responded well when Storm Babet brought exceptional levels of rainfall to Nottinghamshire which resulted in the flooding of some areas of the county. During this period, NFRS attended over 40 flood related incidents, led around 100 people to safety and evacuated over 200 residents from their homes.

(g)  From November 2023, the Service has returned to a wholetime crewing model at Ashfield fire station. This project also saw significant investment in a refurbishment of the station to ensure modern inclusive facilities.

(h)  Improvement building works have been started at nine on-call stations to improve accessibility and provide an inclusive environment for staff and visitors.

(i)  17 new fire appliances have been purchased which are currently being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Craig Parkin, Chief Fire Officer, presented the Statement of Pay Policy, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  The Localism Act 2011, Section 38(1), places a requirement on ‘relevant authorities’ to prepare pay statements for each financial year. The Fire Authority is a ‘relevant authority’ as defined by Section 43(1) of the Act.

(b)  Pay statements must articulate an authority’s own policies towards a range of issues relating to the pay of its workforce, particularly those of its senior officers and its lowest paid employees.

(c)  The pay statement must be agreed by the Fire Authority annually and be published and accessible.

(d)  The policy provides a summary of pay policy and practices across the Service, and in particular, details the pay policy for the Chief Fire Officer and other Principal Officers.

(e)  The main changes to the previous Statement of Pay Policy are as follows:

·  reference to the gender pay reporting outcomes which have been introduced from April 2017 under the Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations 2017, which shows a gender pay difference in median pay of 7.78% (was 9.49 %);

·  updates to pay information relating to mean average pay and pay multiples. Mean average pay is now £37,974 per annum;

·  confirmation of national annual pay awards applied in 2023/24;

·  increase in national annual rates of pay for Chief Fire Officers based on population band;

·  confirmation that there were no compensation payments agreed in 2022- 23 as a result of compulsory redundancy;

·  confirmation that there were two settlement payments made in 2022-23;

·  confirmation that there was one instance of early payment of pension payments to Local Government Pension Scheme members during 2022- 23 on grounds of efficiency.

Resolved to approve the Statement of Pay Policy.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Mick Sharman, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, presented the report providing an overview of the State of Fire and Rescue 2023 report published by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and to provide an update on Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s most recent inspection, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) is, by Royal appointment, the inspectorate body for fire and rescue services in England.

(b)  Each year, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector publishes a ‘State of Fire and Rescue, Annual Assessment’, which summarises the findings from the year’s inspections of the sector.

(c)  On 9 May 2024, Andy Cooke QPM DL, published his second report to the Secretary of State under Section 28B of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, based on the inspection reports published by HMICFRS between 20 January 2023 and 31 March 2024.

(d)  In March 2023, HMICFRS commenced the third full round of inspections, aiming to inspect all 44 Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) within an 18 month period. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (NFRS) inspection took place between 23 February 2024 and 19 April 2024.

(e)  The report is split into two chapters; chapter one sets out the systemic challenges facing the fire and rescue sector and chapter two sets out the interim findings from the Round 3 inspections, identifying some key themes.

(f)  In relation to systemic challenges, there are four main points highlighted:

·  at a national level, the fire and rescue sector has made some good progress, but the Government must press ahead with reforms;

·  values, culture and the management of misconduct needs to ‘urgently improve’ across the sector;

·  fire and rescue service leaders need to take a strategic approach to service improvements; and

·  HMICFRS requires additional powers to continue to make communities safer.

(g)  In 2019 HMICFRS made six national recommendations covering some of the structural aspects of the fire and rescue sector. The report highlights that three of these have been completed with the outstanding three recommendations – determining roles of FRS and their staff; reviewing and reforming structures for determining pay and conditions; and giving Chief Fire Officers operational independence – being a matter for the Government to resolve. The Inspectorate notes slow progress being made against these three areas and therefore highlights the need for sector reform.

(h)  The report covers in detail the need for the sector to improve its culture, values and misconduct management, citing that despite the focus on this area from HMICFRS, instances of inappropriate behaviour were still commonplace.

(i)  Following the second round of inspections, based on the Inspectorate’s findings on values, culture, and fairness and diversity, causes of concern, inadequate grades and areas for improvement were issued to a significant number of fire services. Members can be assured that the Strategic Leadership Team continues to place the highest priority on ensuring an appropriate and inclusive culture exists at every level within the organisation, and that cultural considerations are embedded within decision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

The report detailing the business and actions of the Fire Authority committee meetings which took place in March/April 2024 was considered.

Resolved to note the report.

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining items in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, under Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraph 3, on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining an exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Resolved to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining items in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, under Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraph 3, on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining an exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Mick Sharman, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, presented the report detailing proposed compensation payments in relation to Futures 25 phase two outcomes 

Resolved to approve the recommendations as detailed in the report.