Report of the Chief Fire Officer

The Fire Authority considered the Report of the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) seeking approval for the draft 2020/2025 Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) to be published for the purpose of public and stakeholder consultation. 

The draft IRMP, detailing the strategic direction for the Fire Authority for the next five years (2020–2025), was ready for the Authority to consider and publish for the purpose of public and stakeholder consultation.  The Fire Authority were reminded by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) that no decisions were to be taken at this meeting on the proposals.  The Authority were reminded that they had been involved in the drafting process and that there had been 12 months of detailed work undertaken to get to this stage.  The draft IRMP was the most comprehensive that ESFRS had ever compiled and it was essential, as had been noted in the HMICFRS inspection, to ensure that ESFRS had the right resources in the right place in order to address risk.  Further detailed work would be required in relation to the impact assessments, planning assumptions, policy implications, delivery timeline and implementation options.  This work would be completed and presented to the Fire Authority at its meeting on 3 September 2020, alongside the public consultation feedback reports, in order to help inform the Fire Authority’s final decisions.  Following advice sought, there was a strong legal case for proceeding with the consultation as the requirement for the Fire Authority to have an updated and fit for purpose IRMP was not changed due to COVID-19.

Some Members were very clear that whilst they supported the need for a consultation to be conducted on the proposed IRMP, they believed strongly that now was not the right time to go out to consultation.  There was some anxiety that a consultation at this time would not be well responded to as people were, understandably, otherwise concerned with the impact that COVID-19 was having on their lives. 

Cllr Scott proposed the following motion, seconded by Cllr Evans:

“In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, where none of us know what the post COVID world will look like or even when it might arrive, we move that East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service defer the consultation process until the crisis and any Public Inquiry that may follow has passed, to allow both Government and ESFRS to have a better understanding of what resources, people and equipment may be needed in the future to deal with National Incidents such as coronavirus”

Members debated the motion at length with many stating that they had been sent some emotive emails about this consultation, and expressing concerns that there were many people currently in no position mentally to take part in the proposed consultation.  Some Members reminded their colleagues that the report following the Inspection of ESFRS had stated that the existing IRMP, which expired this year, was not fit for purpose.  They suggested that they may have been supportive of a short delay if it were deemed to be beneficial and there were dramatic changes to the requirements on fire service, but they could not support freezing the consultation for potentially a minimum of a couple of years particularly as Covid-19 did not immediately change the current risks faced by the Service and the need to improve current cover. 

Cllr Hamilton left the meeting at 11.15am.

Some stated that they struggled to understand why their fellow Members were requesting a delay as it was them as the Authority, not the Service, who had the responsibility for providing an IRMP which was fundamental to the work of the organisation.  There was a strong feeling of sympathy that this was not the ideal time to consult but that the need to do so was unavoidable.  Members then took part in a recorded vote on the proposed motion with the results being as follows:

FOR:            5        (Cllrs Ebel, Evans, O’Keeffe, Powell, Scott)

AGAINST:     12      (Cllrs Barnes, Dowling, Galley, Lambert, Osborne,

Peltzer Dunn, Pragnell, Sheppard, Smith, Taylor, Theobald, Tutt)

The motion was not carried.

Members then voted on the recommendations as set out in the report as follows:

FOR:            12      (Cllrs Barnes, Dowling, Galley, Lambert, Osborne,

Peltzer Dunn, Pragnell, Sheppard, Smith, Taylor, Theobald, Tutt)

AGAINST:     5        (Cllrs Ebel, Evans, O’Keeffe, Powell, Scott)

RESOLVED – That the Fire Authority:

       i.          approved the draft IRMP (and relevant associated appendices) for public consultation;

      ii.          noted the proposed minor wording changes to the Authority’s purpose and commitments and to agree formal adoption subject to public and stakeholder consultation;

    iii.          agreed the proposal to recommend an eight-week consultation period, alongside the associated draft consultation, communications and engagement plan; and

    iv.          noted the intention to bring back a fully costed project implementation plan, and additional suite of detailed impact assessments, to the Fire Authority meeting in September this year (2020).

Post Meeting Amendment:  After the meeting it was found that there were some data errors within Annexe 4; Appendix A to this Report.  A corrected version of this Annexe has been included in the papers for the Meeting.