Agenda item

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Candida Brudenell, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, presented the Annual Statement of Assurance 2021/22, seeking approval from the Authority to publish the statement which sets out how the Service has performed against the year three strategic actions of the Integrated Risk Management Plan (strategic plan), including specific information relating to the past year.

The following points were highlighted:

a)  the Service has launched a new public website which is even easier to use and more accessible;

b)  the key achievements of the past year are listed as either holding steady or improving and productivity has returned to pre-Covid levels;

c)  recognition of the Service included:

i.  National Fire Chiefs Council acknowledging the work of the Service during Covid to support communities and the East Midlands Ambulance Service;

ii.  OFSTED stating that the Service had made significant progress in meeting the requirements to provide the accessible firefighter partnership programme;

iii.  the Service has been awarded a gold standard and placed amongst the top 100 employers list within the UK with regard to inclusion in the workplace LGBT+;

d)  a summary of the range of key achievements against the Strategic Plan 2019 to 2022 are listed in the report and presented as an easy access infographic within the Statement document;

e)  citizens should feel assured that the Service is performing well and operating with transparency and accountability.

Members’ questions were responded to as follows:

g)  the height of the pandemic did impact on Service activity as the Service responded to additional social priorities whilst the demand for normal response reduced, but the Community Safety Committee will consider the comparative information with previous year’s activity;

h)  itis an ongoing challenge to make citizens understand that the Service is no longer just a fire brigade but undertakes much broader roles, including prevention work and its cost effectiveness, which is evidenced by the work of the National Fire Chiefs Council and Nottingham Trent University with regard to the value for money of preventative investment;

i)  with regard to collaboration, to improve community outcomes the Service has been working with Nottingham Trent University on several strands of work including the  examination of how effectively the Service is targeting and conducting safe and well visits. The results were reported to Community Safety Committee and stated that the Service is correctly targeting the CHARLIE profile of vulnerable citizens. This approach and nationally valuable work was noted by HMICFRS;

j)  with regard to the Cadet Scheme, discussions around finance are ongoing. An update will be available at the September member’s seminar.

Members’ comments included:

k)  the style of the easy-to-read and understandable document is welcomed as being accessible to more citizens, regardless of the language they speak;

l)  there’s a lot for the Service to feel proud about and this needs to be more readily shared with our communities;

m)  there needs to be consistency of reporting figures in each format presentation, even if the complete information is included elsewhere in the document;

n)  we need to promote the broad activity of the Service more thoroughly to our communities so they can better understand the value of the Service; 

o)  the Worksop Station staff provided a good turnout and presence at Worksop Pride event and promoted the Service well;

p)  the Service will also be attending the Nottinghamshire Pride event in Nottingham on 30 July 2022.

Resolved to approve the Annual Statement of Assurance 2021-22 for publication.