Agenda item

Report of the Clerk and Monitoring Officer to the Authority

Malcolm Townroe, Clerk and Monitoring Officer to the Authority, presented the report which seeks to update members on activity following recent changes during the past year.

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

a)  The governance review is ongoing in consultation with the Chief Fire Officer and Chair of the Authority, and further updates will be submitted to future meetings;

b)  Following consultation with the Chair, the Chief Fire Officer has utilised his powers within the revised scheme of delegation and commenced Phase 2 of the workforce review;

c)  The work of the Independent Remuneration Panel has progressed, as set out within the report, but in regard to members allowances it has been complicated by the recent award of a flat rate pay increase, rather than a percentage figure, which is not an appropriate approach to members’ allowances. A report will be submitted to the February meeting of the Authority with an update;

d)  The measures in place regarding business continuity now that the post of Deputy Chief Fire Officer has been replaced with a second Assistant Chief Fire Officer role need to be formalised and the proposal is set out in the report;

e)  It is also suggested that members consider the savings available to the Service if adopting a digital first approach to agenda.

Members of the Authority and officers commented as follows:

f)  With regard to Service continuity, the worst-case scenario needs to be considered whereby the Chief Fire Officer is unavoidably unavailable, so a named post immediately, and automatically steps in. In an emergency situation time could be precious and it could take too long to convene a meeting with the Chair. The arrangements need to be set out clearly in advance of any situation;

g)  Both current Assistant Chief Fire Officers are already capable of running the organisation, and would do so as necessary. However, it is stipulated in policy that in preparation of any executive decisions requiring urgent decision at a time when the Chief Fire Officer is unavailable or incapacitated, a named post to back fill is required. Members are being requested to give their opinion of how delegations, if any, are formally agreed;

h)  It is understood that a named officer would create a hierarchy, but responsibility needs to be clear in the Service and Authority members need to know who will make decisions. Convening a committee to determine who should lead on what will take time, and there is concern that a formal agreement may not be reached;

i)  The proposed arrangements are acceptable in circumstances when there is no immediacy, and the Chair, Vice-Chair and Clerk should be allocated this task, and it reflected in the constitution. This way the Authority can hold the Chair and Vice-Chair to account. Arrangements need to be in place for when an immediate response is required;

j)  The constitution will need to be amended to clearly reflect the arrangements and determine what to do if there is disagreement;

k)  There needs to be a clear distinction between the operational arrangements on a day to day basis and the formal arrangement of putting someone in the role of temporary Chief Fire Officer in case something happens to the Chief;

l)  Each Council appears to have a different electronic system with differing security which doesn’t always allow the document from another council/authority to be accessed, so accessing papers electronically will be harder. Whilst each Local Authority issues an electronic device to elected members, it is not necessarily possible to access online district papers on a device issued by the County Council, and visa-versa. There is no expectation that the Fire Authority would provide further devices, but this illustrates the potential complications of moving towards a digital only approach. It would be welcomed if paper copy were to remain an option;

m)  Members of the Authority need to lead by example with the digital first approach, but if a digital first approach were to be taken to save on costs, there should still be some flexibility of digital by default, and the ability to have paper copy agendas retained;

n)  A digital first approach is agreed in principle, but maybe it should be considered following the May AGM, with the suggestion that the Policy And Strategy Committee consider a digital approach with the new intake of councillors in the new municipal year and make recommendations;

o)  A digital first approach is supported, but there are concerns with regard to accessing exempt information. In addition there will be a requirement for members to have full access to Wi-Fi, which isn’t always the case, including in some Fire Service premises. Utilising G4 provision will cost the Service or Councils a lot of money so consistent access to Fire Authority papers and communications will be vital;

p)  Members with visual impairment can find reading digital documents difficult so would prefer paper copy. Paper copy is also more manageable for large documents. The need to achieve savings is wholly understood, but the option for elected members to pay for their own paper copies should also be considered as the financial and environmental savings available from a digital first approach are acknowledged.

Resolved to:

1)  note the proposals with regard to further reviewing the Authority’s Governance arrangements;

2)  note the activity undertaken by the Chief Fire Officer under the revised scheme of delegation following consultation with the Chair of the Authority;

3)  note the update on the work being undertaken by the Independent Remuneration Panel;

4)  approve the business continuity arrangements recommended to be put in place at paragraph 2.4 of the report, in the event that the Chief Fire Officer were to become incapacitated or unavailable to the Authority for any length of time;

5)  approve the principal of the adoption of a digital first approach to Authority reports at a date to be agreed following further review by the Policy and Strategy Committee.