In relation to matters on the agenda, seek declarations of interest from Members, in accordance with the provisions of the Fire Authority’s Code of Conduct for Members.

There were none.

Apologies were received from Councillor Osborne.

Any Members wishing to raise urgent items are asked, wherever possible to notify the Chairman before the start of the meeting.  In so doing they must state the special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being considered urgently

The Chairman notified the Fire Authority of the strike ballot being undertaken by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU); this was a five week process.  The FBU had rejected a 2% pay award but discussions were continuing nationally, and the Chair of the National Joint Council (NJC) was regularly updating Fire Authority Chairs and Chief Fire Officers with the progress of talks. 

There were none.

There were none.

To approve the Non-confidential Minutes of the last meeting held on 9 June 2022

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2022 be approved and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman will call the item numbers of the remaining items on the open agenda.  Each item which is called by any Member shall be reserved for debate.  The Chairman will then ask the Fire Authority to adopt without debate the recommendations and resolutions contained in the relevant reports for these items which have not been called.

Members reserved the following items for debate:

178      Annual Performance Outcome Report 2021/22

179      Revenue Budget & Capital Programme Monitoring 2022/23

180      Strategic Service Planning & Medium Term Financial Plan 2023/24

181      Core Code of Ethics

RESOLVED – The Fire Authority agreed that all remaining reports on this Agenda be approved in full.

Report of the Assistant Director Planning & Improvement

The Fire Authority considered the report of the Assistant Director Planning & Improvement (ADP&I) presenting Members with the annual performance results for 2021/22.  In total there were twenty-one indicators, but only sixteen had comparable data due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Eight of the top-level indicators improved or met the target set in 2021/22 and eight showed a decline against the previous year.

The ADP&I presented the report to Members, highlighting that comparison would remain difficult with the years affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, there was already a noticeable direction back to pre-pandemic levels.  There had been an increase in both the number of incidents and the levels of staff sickness.  There had been a reduction in serious fires and the Service was performing as expected with regards to containing a fire to the room of origin.  The report contained detail on both complaints and compliments and richer detail with regards to information presented on a District level. 

Members thanked the ADP&I and her team for the complex report and the updates contained within.  They were keen to highlight that when dealing with statistics it was easy to forget that a small numeric change could reflect significantly in a percentage figure, the language used occasionally made the figures seem more concerning than they were.  A lengthy discussion followed, Members queried what were the improvements that were so successful in Eastbourne and Rother and sought clarity on increases in Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF) despite the significant outreach work being undertaken.  The Assistant Director Safer Communities (ADSC) explained that the Covid-19 pandemic had changed and impacted how the Service had to work.  The Annual Assessment of Risk was used to target those groups that were most in need of safety advice especially in the prevention of ADFs, the improvements in Eastbourne and Rother demonstrated the success of targeted initiatives.

Members sought clarity regarding attendance at Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) and response times.  The ADSC reminded the Authority that they had taken the decision not to attend AFAs, as it was still early days it would be a while before the figures would be available on this change.  The Control officers provided challenge to calls, under a nationally recognised process, to establish that it was indeed a false alarm, if there was any doubt the Service would attend.  The Service had consulted with the public on how they would like to see response standards reported, there were two ways of measuring; an ‘on station’ response and an ‘on-call’ response.

There was a question regarding the number of vehicles, whether the increasing number of Electric Vehicles (EV) presented an increased risk due to the batteries.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) agreed that this was a well known risk, lithium batteries burned in a specific and difficult to control way, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) had provided national guidance and additional local guidance had been put in place.  The Chief Fire Officer (CFO) added that Members could assist in the management  ...  view the full minutes text for item 115.

Report of the Assitant Director Resources/Treasurer

The Fire Authority received the report of the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) presenting Members with the findings of the Month 4 monitoring undertaken on the Revenue and Capital Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme 2022/23 to 2026/27.  It was agreed by the Fire Authority, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, that this item could be discussed simultaneously with item 180 – Strategic Service Planning & Medium Term Financial Plan 2023/24 as there were many overlaps that would affect this report. 

The ADR/T explained that the current year forecast was for a Revenue overspend of £446,000 due to pressures including being over establishment with Firefighters and costs of overtime in the Safer Communities Directorate and Training.  There was an underspend/slippage of 40% regarding the Capital Programme, this affected both fleet/engineering and estates.  There were worldwide supply chain disruptions affecting both programmes, both in terms of availability of vehicles and the cost of materials for estates projects.  Officers described work taking place to prioritise projects and Members supported an approach that committed to a smaller number of projects, delivered them in full and then moved on to the next tranche rather than trying to deliver more than was possible at once.

The ADR/T highlighted several risks affecting the organisation these included additional pay awards and inflationary pressures on non-pay spend above the 2% budgeted.  There were national pay negotiations ongoing for all staff.  The offer to Green book had been £1,925 per person, currently in consultation, and the 2% offer made to Grey/Gold book staff had been rejected.  Recent public sector pay awards more generally, for example to police and NHS staff had been around 5-6%.  It was expected that risks resulting from both pay and non-pay inflation may be in the region of £1,300,000 to £2,000.000 on top of the forecast Revenue overspend.

Members were deeply concerned by the inflation figures and that these were predicted to rise further.  There was no indication of when the rises would end, and that the Authority were clearly not in times of “business as usual” in terms of budget setting.  Members were keen that the Service continue to seek additional funding from central Government. 

The ADR/T explained that this year the Finance team were working closely with other departments to get more accurate budget forecasts.  The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) had agreed some actions including management of vacancies and oversight of overtime claims.  They would also be reviewing options to manage non-pay related spending including expenses, travel, hire of external venues and printing costs.  The ADR/T reminded Members that the Authority had some contingency within the Revenue budget and reserves which it could use to fund unplanned spend in the current financial year.

The ADR/T explained that the Authority has been well managed financially and this put it in a good position when compared to some other Fire Authorities, to tackle the financial challenges ahead.  Because of the uncertainty surrounding both funding and costs a full update of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

Report of the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer

The Fire Authority considered the report of the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) providing Members with an update on the Authority’s financial planning position in advance of the start of the Service Planning and Budget Setting process for 2023/24 onwards.  It was agreed by the Fire Authority, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, that this item could be discussed simultaneously with item 179 – Revenue Budget & Capital Programme Monitoring 2022/23 as there were many overlaps that would affect this report.  The key discussion points on this report are covered in the minutes for the previous item. 

The Fire Authority agreed to accept an additional recommendation to this report, proposed by Cllr Galley and seconded by Cllr Maples, which stated:

“The Fire Authority requests a report to a future meeting outlining the range of options available to deal with the risk factors raised in the report.”

RESOLVED – The Fire Authority agreed to:

       i.         note the report and its assessment of the potential funding gap for 2023/24;

     ii.         consider and commented upon the risks set out in section 4.6 and the assumptions set out in the report;

    iii.         consider their policy preferences for Council Tax should the Government set the referendum threshold higher than the 2% currently included in the MTFP;

    iv.         approve the planning assumption that the Protection Grant would continue at its current level and to build this into the MTFP; and

     v.         request a report to a future meeting outlining the range of options available to deal with the risk factors raised in the report.

Report of the Assistant Director People Services

The Fire Authority considered the report of the Assistant Director People Services (ADPS) providing Members with an update on progress in implementing the national Core Code of Ethics Fire Standard that had been developed in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).  The Core Code of Ethics had been introduced in May 2021 and was designed to help employees of Fire and Rescue Services act in the best way towards each other and while serving the public.  Those who govern fire and rescue services are asked to demonstrate their commitment to the Core Code of Ethics by championing its use. 

The Service had long been committed to ensuring staff had clear guidance on expectations regarding behaviour, including the Service values of Proud, Accountable, Integrity, and Respect.  This had been further enhanced with the creation and implementation of the Leadership and Behaviour Framework and rolling reviews. 

Members thanked the ADPS for the update and were pleased to see that there was significant reference to equality, diversity and inclusion in the code.

RESOLVED – The Fire Authority agreed to:

       i.         note the progress of the Service in implementing the National Code of Ethics;

     ii.         note the move into business as usual as set out in section 4; and

    iii.         confirm its commitment to the Code of Ethics.

To consider whether, in view of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, the press and public should be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that, if the public and press were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

Note: Any item appearing in the confidential part of the Agenda will state the category under which the information disclosed in the report is confidential and therefore not available to the public.

Report of the Assistant Director People Services

The Fire Authority considered the report of the Assistant Director People Services (ADPS) seeking Member approval to write off an overpayment that had been made to a current pensioner.  An overpayment had been identified and the write-off figure was greater than that which could be delegated to the Chief Fire Officer & Chief Executive.  Therefore, it was necessary for the Fire Authority to be asked to authorise this amount.

RESOLVED – The Fire Authority approved the write off in line with paragraph 12.8 of the Authority’s Financial Regulations.