Agenda item

Report of the Chief Fire Officer.

John Buckley, Chief Fire Officer, presented the report which outlines the potential budget shortfall of £4.5 million in future years unless further savings can be made by adjustments to the establishment and service delivery.

The report outlined the actions taken to date and proposed that the Chief Fire Officer is tasked to investigate the potential of further actions to ensure that the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) can meet the financial pressures and constraints anticipated up to 2020.

The following points were highlighted:

(a)  there has not been any discernible impact on outcomes of the efficiency savings made so far but the Service needs to retain a safe and effective level of response;

(b)  as some whole-time crews only respond to an average of one call per week during periods of low activity, it is proposed that there is a move towards retained crewing for some areas with further recruitment of retained firefighters to ensure that appropriate day time cover is in place;

(c)  as there is currently an overcapacity of whole time assets, a collective agreement with the workforce will be sought to find a financially effective and efficient solution;

(d)  the collaboration consultation results have been published and it is expected that the model proposed by Central Government will be in place by the Autumn;

(e)  all Fire and Rescue Services will have to collaborate, so it’s important to ensure that collaboration is considered in all decisions prior to the final arrangements;

(f)  work with Local Authorities and other partners will seek to find efficiencies to ensure an effective and efficient service.

The following comments were made:

(g)  further information on the potential impact of devolution is required as it could alter the position of the Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) if elected Mayors are approved. There is still some uncertainty as to how devolution would work;

(h)  once the PCC election has taken place, the Chair and Chief Fire Officer will seek to meet with the PCC to discuss the local implications and to promote an understanding of NFRS. All parties will need to collaborate but if the PCC doesn’t want to take responsibility for NFRS, they will have the ability to sit on the Authority;

(i)  the Chief Fire Officer currently meets with the Police Chief Constable at Blue Light meetings and it is evident that the two organisations operate within very different structures;

(j)  if the PCC wants to take responsibility for NFRS, then NFRS will have to provide information for the business case to support this;

(k)  if all parties (PCC, City and County Councils) agree that the PCC should take responsibility for NFRS, then the PCC will take responsibility. If there is disagreement, an independent person will be  appointed by Central Government who will consider the case highlighting the advantages of merging with the Police (which will have to be compiled by NFRS), and that person will make a decision as to whether the process progresses;

(l)  it is a concern that the Police and PCC do not have an in-depth  knowledge of the Fire Service so NFRS need to inform the PCC of NFRS’ s position;

(m)  there is an expectation that where the Police and Fire Services share co-terminus boundaries, transition will be rapid;

(n)  it would be wise to speak individually with PCC candidates to ensure they have an understanding of NFRS and even invite the candidates for a two way question and answer session;

(o)  it is a concern that many citizens don’t appear to be aware that the PCC is one person who will take control of the Police and the Fire Service, so Councillors need to ensure this is understood by citizens so they can pose questions;

(p)  citizens don’t feel that there is anything wrong with the FRS and often aren’t aware of the implications that the responsibility transfer will have.

RESOLVED for the Chief Fire Officer to:

(1)  explore the use of alternative crewing models and emerging technologies to maximise the availability of appliances where crew numbers are less than four;

(2)  identify opportunities where a mixed crewing approach utilising retained fire fighters at periods of lowest demand could be implemented to maintain appliance availability and reduce costs;

(3)  enter into negotiations with workforce representatives to revise the current crewing collective agreement to release the surplus capacity within the ridership and create the opportunity to crew appliances for less than the full 24hr period;

(4)  explore the use of voluntary secondary contracts to provide support for retained appliances at periods of highest demand and ease the transformation of the service through the change process;

(5)  engage with partners to explore all opportunities that may exist for collaboration;

(6)  provide reports on the outcomes of recommendations 1-5 above to future meetings of the Authority to inform the decision making process.