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.

It was noted that, in relation to matters on the agenda, no participating Member had any interest to declare under the Fire Authority’s Code of Conduct for Members.

Apologies were received from Councillor Redstone.  Councillor Azad had been appointed to attend as substitute.

In the absence of Councillor Redstone it was necessary for the Panel to appoint a replacement Chairman for the duration of the meeting.  Councillor Galley was nominated by Councillor Lambert and this was seconded by Councillor Taylor.

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.

There were none.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting of the Policy & Resources Panel held on 10 November 2022 be approved as a correct record 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 Panel to adopt without debate the recommendations and resolutions contained in the relevant reports for those items which have not been called.

Members reserved the following items for debate:

23        Revenue and Capital Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme 2022/23 to 2026/27 Monitoring at Month 8 (end November)

25        Fire Authority Service Planning processes for 2023/24 and beyond – Revenue Budget 2023/24 and Capital Asset Strategy 2023/24 to 2027/28

Report of Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer

The Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) introduced the report which detailed the findings of the Month 8 monitoring undertaken on the Revenue and Capital Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme 2022/23 to 2026/27.

The ADR/T informed the Panel that a net revenue overspend of £208,000 was forecast.  This was due to a number of pressures including staffing over establishment and overtime within Safer Communities, overtime within Training, utilities and fuel due to inflationary pressures, and unachievable savings.  These pressures were partially offset by additional income from business rates and Treasury Management activity, reductions in business rates and underspend in Protection, on call pay and the release of funds from the corporate contingency.  The ADR/T commented that the forecast had reduced by £45,000 since Period 6 (P6) with the cost of the backdated support staff pay award and additional equipment purchased in Engineering offset by additional Treasury Management income and the release of the corporate contingency.  It was highlighted that there were potential pressures in addition to the forecast overspend resulting from pay offers for grey book staff and inflationary pressures on non-pay spend above the 2% budgeted.  With regards to the Capital Budget, the ADR/T informed Members that the slippage had increased since P6, in part due to global supply chain issues which had affected Fleet schemes.

The Panel discussed the additional pressure that may arise from the grey and gold book pay awards.  The Chief Fire Officer (CFO) advised Members that national negotiations regarding pay awards were ongoing and the Chairman informed the Panel that the Chair of the National Joint Council (NJC) was aware of the financial pressures facing the Authority. 

The Panel queried the current savings position compared to the savings requirement.  The ADR/T explained that the primary reason for the underachievement of planned savings was delays in the delivery of projects including IRMP and CRM. 

The Panel also questioned the increased slippage on the Capital Programme.  The ADR/T informed Members that this was primarily due to worldwide supply chain issues and the impact of inflation requiring project plans to be reviewed.  However, the ADR/T highlighted the success of the refurbishment that had taken place at Hove informing Members that phases 1 and 2 had been completed.  The Assistant Director Safer Communities (ADSC) encouraged Members to visit the Station to see the work that had been carried out and informed them that feedback from staff had been positive.

Members questioned the proportion of the overspend attributed to Groups.  The ADSC informed the Panel that this was largely due to wholetime pay and overtime, and pressure caused by IRMP savings which had been delayed but were expected to be delivered by mid-2023.

Members queried the overall projected overspend reported under People Services and sought clarification regarding the use of agency staff and consultants to cover periods of sickness, and whether compulsory redundancies were being considered at this stage.  The Chairman advised that there were currently no plans for compulsory redundancies, and the Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) informed Members that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

Report of Chief Fire Officer

The Panel received a report of the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) which asked the Panel to agree to suspending the attendance standards of fire appliances to emergency incidents during periods of strike action.  The attendance standards had been agreed by the Fire Authority in June 2018, and the report informed the Panel that during periods of Industrial Action there would be reduced appliance availability.  A public communications campaign would be rolled out with important safety messages and making clear that 999 calls would continue to be responded to however the public may have to wait longer for a response during periods of Industrial Action.

RESOLVED – That the Panel agreed to suspend the Authority’s attendance standards during periods of industrial action.

Report of Chief Fire Officer and Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer

The Panel received a report from the Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) which presented the Fire Authority’s draft Revenue Budget 2023/24, Capital Strategy 2023/24 – 2027/28 and Medium Term Finance Plan (MTFP) for 2023/24 – 2027/28 for initial consideration prior to its formal consideration by the Fire Authority at its meeting on 9 February 2023.  It was emphasised that the proposals put before the Panel were in draft form and that the final decision on both the budget and the precept would be taken by the Fire Authority at their meeting on 9 February 2023.

The Panel was informed that the Government had announced a one-year settlement in December 2022 for 2023/24, accompanied by a Finance Policy Statement which set out the principles on which the 2024/25 settlement would be based.  However, Members noted that there remained significant uncertainty over the Authority’s future funding for 2024/25 and beyond and therefore the Authority would be required to continue to consider its long-term financial sustainability when setting the budget for 2023/24 and agreeing its MTFP for the next five years.  The ADR/T informed the Panel that whilst the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement had delivered a better outcome than had been expected, it would still require the Authority to use reserves to balance its budget for 2023/24 and to make significant additional savings to balance its budget for 2024/25. 

It was highlighted that the increased council tax referendum threshold enabled Fire & Rescue Services to put in place a £5 increase in council tax for 2023/24 only, before reverting to 3%.  The Panel also heard that there were a number of key elements that were outstanding, including confirmation of fire specific grants and final information regarding business rates from billing authorities.  Members were informed that the budget proposals had been developed using modelling assumptions previously agreed by the Fire Authority and that two options were presented for 2023/24 base on a 2.99% council tax increase or a £5 council tax increase, with the budget gap reported as £1.645m for the 2.99% option, and £1.033m for the £5 option.  It was proposed that the use of one-off measures during 2023/24 would be used to allow time for the additional savings proposals to be consulted on, approved, and implemented by 1 April 2024.  The ADR/T emphasised that while the use of reserves was a legitimate approach to take with regards to balancing the budget, this was not financially sustainable and could not form part of an ongoing budget setting approach.

The Panel acknowledged the difficulty faced in balancing the budget and emphasised that any decisions taken regarding the recommendations would not be taken lightly. 

Members discussed the options presented in the report regarding the council tax increase of either 2.99% or £5, and the impact that this could have on which tranches of additional savings would be recommended to the Fire Authority.  Members deliberated the potential impact the increase in council tax could have on residents and were informed by the ADR/T that there were various  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.