Agenda item

Notification of items which the Chairman considers urgent and proposes to take at the end of the agenda/Chairman's business items

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

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Members, the press and public to the first virtual meeting of the Fire Authority and gave all those in attendance a brief explanation of how the meeting would be conducted.

 

The Chairman informed the Authority that he had received the resignation of Cllr Scott from his post as Labour Party Group Leader.  Cllr Scott was thanked for his service to the Authority in that role over the past years.  The Chairman then welcomed Cllr Evans as the new Labour Party Group Leader.

 

The Chairman took questions on matters that Members wished to follow up after the last meeting of the Authority.  A query was raised regarding the additional grant of £136,000 which had been promised to the Service in order to be spent on its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  The Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) confirmed that all Covid 19 related spend was being tracked and reported via NFCC to the Home Office.  Members were informed that the Service was using contracts put in place via NFCC in order to purchase PPE. 

 

The ADR/T explained that the Service had received the first tranche of Covid-19 grant money of £136,000, a second tranche had been announced by the government totalling £1.6bn but as yet it was not known how this would be allocated.  The sector was working collectively via NFCC to bid for additional funding. 

 

As well as spending on PPE for frontline staff there had been some additional expenditure made on cleaning both additional services from our contractor and consumables, some staffing costs and on IT equipment in order to facilitate and support mobile working. 

 

The longer term financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic were clearly not yet known.  The Service was less exposed both to increases in costs through service delivery and also to loss of income from fees and charges than other local authorities.  The biggest impact was expected to be on Council Tax and Business Rates through the Collection Fund, which would impact on the 2021/22 budget, as collection rates reduced and claims for council tax support increased.  There would also be an impact on the taxbase in 2021/22.  Members were informed that there had been changes made to the way in which payment was made to suppliers, payment was now being made immediately and not with the usual 10 or 30 days delay before payment.  The Service had a healthy cash flow in the immediate short term and government was currently acting quickly and paying grants due promptly.

 

Members requested an update on the impact on staff well-being as a result of Covid-19.  Members were informed that the Coronavirus Working Group (CWG) was working very hard to look after all aspects of the health & safety of the entire workforce and was paying great attention to well-being.  The Assistant Director People Services (ADPS) informed the Authority that there had been a spike in March 2020 of staff sickness with absences at 8.6% but, at the time of the meeting, the sickness level had stabilised.  There had been no tested or confirmed cases of Covid-19 but some staff were now undergoing testing.  Staff who were symptomatic, or had household members who were symptomatic, were self-isolating in accordance with government guidance.  There were a handful of staff who were on the government list of those who were extremely vulnerable, this equated to 1.4% of the workforce.  The ADPS added that there was a focus on the well-being of all staff. Many were now working from home, and some of those were reporting that they felt isolated others were having to juggle working and home schooling.  There was a lot of work being undertaken, by both HR and line managers, to try to ensure that those working from home were being supported and a range of ways of staying in touch were being used, phoning, Webex meetings, buddies and a workplace group for more social and fun contact.  The CWG was working to create a wellbeing cell to address all these matters.

 

Members suggested that due to the changes in the work being undertaken consideration be given to revising the targets that are reported to the Scrutiny & Audit Panel, including adjusting or suspending the performance data.