Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Fairhurst, Glen and Stubbs. It was noted that Cllr Jonas was in attendance as the deputy Member from Portsmouth City Council, in place of Cllr Stubbs.

Apologies were also received from the Police and Crime Commissioner, who has a standing invitation to meetings of the Full Authority.

To enable Members to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest is not already entered in the Authority’s register of interests, and any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members may wish to disclose.

Members were mindful of their duty to disclose at the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they had in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest was not already entered in the Authority's register of interests, and their ability to disclose any other personal interests in any such matter that they might have wished to disclose.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting on 25 July 2017 and of the Special Meeting of the Authority on 15 September 2017.

The minutes of the meeting of 25 July were reviewed and agreed, subject to noting that Cllr Chadd had in fact not attended and had given her apologies.

With regard to Minute 21 (Grenfell Tower Fire), the Chairman invited officers to provide an update on the progress of the Working Group. It was confirmed that a position was being developed and that a report would be presented at the December Authority meeting.  

The minutes of the Special meeting of the Authority on 15 September were reviewed and agreed.

Pursuant to Standing Order 19, to receive any deputations to this meeting

It was confirmed that no deputation requests had been received.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and noting the outcome of the recent process for the recruitment of a new Chief Fire Officer congratulated Neil Odin on his appointment to the role. Congratulations and thanks were extended to all candidates who had put themselves forward and the many officers who had provided support to a thorough and robust process. Neil Odin briefly thanked the Chairman and other Members for their faith in him and confirmed that he was looking forward to supporting the Authority and leading the Fire and Rescue Service.

With regard to the appointment of a new Chief Officer and noting that this created a vacancy for the position of Deputy Chief Fire Officer, the Chairman announced an additional urgent item would be added to the agenda to consider options to fill this vacancy.

The Chairman updated the Authority on a number of other matters, including national firefighter pay negotiations, participation in the UKRO rescue challenge, progress on the review of future fire governance options, a visit from the Mayor of Eastleigh, events relating to national inclusion week and events supported by the LGA. On behalf of the Authority he particularly wished to formally record thanks to those members of the Hampshire UKRO team, noting the positive impact of a strong performance and the wider training benefit.

To receive any updates from Members of the Authority

Cllr Price reported on a review of pension administration with the intention of ensuring consistency. He confirmed that he believed the Service to be doing well in terms of compliance with the legislation.

To consider a report of the Chief Financial Officer regarding the Medium Term Financial Plan

The Authority received a report of the Chief Financial Officer regarding the Medium Term Financial Plan.

The report was introduced and key points set out with an explanation of the methodology that had been used. Clarity was provided on a number of specific budget elements, including vehicle maintenance, the pay award and the arrangements for income to be derived from business rates and Council Tax. It was noted that a revised budget deficit of £3.4 million was predicted by 2021/22.

The recommendations were introduced and it was explained that the move to professional status for investment purposes effectively amounted to retention of the status quo and that investments were managed by specialist professional officers and advisors. The recommendations in the report were agreed and it was

Resolved:

1.     That the update to the Medium Term Financial Plan and changes to the financial forecast to 2021/22 be approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

2.     That the assumption that for financial planning purposes council tax will increase by 1.99% year on year to 2021/22 be endorsed by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

3.     That the estimated gap in the budget of £3.4m by 2021/22 be adopted as a new target for savings by the Authority

4.     That capital funding of £220,000 to replace and upgrade the uninterruptable power supply and Headquarters be approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

5.     That the mid-year review of treasury management activities be noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority and the recommendations in appendix D are agreed, specifically:

i.       That the potential impact on investment strategy of defaulting to a retail client with effect from 3rd January 2018 be noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

ii.      That the immediate commencement of applications for elected professional client status with all relevant institutions in order to ensure it can continue to implement an effective investment strategy be approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

iii.     In electing for professional client status the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority acknowledges and agrees to forgo the protections available to retail clients attached as Annex 1 of Appendix D of this report.

iv.     That the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority approves delegated responsibility to the Section 151 Officer for the purposes of completing the applications and determining the basis of the application as either full or single service.

To consider a report of the Chief Officer regarding the Service Plan

The Authority received a report of the Chief Officer regarding the Service Plan.

The report was introduced and progress against each of the nine priorities was highlighted. The Chief Officer explained that the report gave a snapshot of the current position and was brought before the Authority at this time to mark the imminent transition to a new Chief Officer.

The recommendations in the report were agreed and it was resolved:

1.     That the Authority notes the progress made in delivering the Service Plan to date.

To consider a report of the Chief Officer regarding Service Delivery Redesign

The Authority received a report of the Chief Officer regarding service delivery redesign.

In introducing the report, key elements relating to projects, savings, recruitment and work with partners were highlighted. An update on the renovation of Basingstoke fire station was provided and it was confirmed that details of a formal opening event would be provided. Members raised questions regarding the reliability of vehicles on trial and it was confirmed that those particular vehicles had provided a learning opportunity, were not necessarily a finalised product and their use did not put anyone at risk.

The recommendations in the report were considered and it was

Resolved:

1.     That the content of the report and the progress made to date be noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

2.     That £780,000 of the approved efficiencies resulting from early underspends be allocated for continuation of the SDR programme.

To consider a report of the Clerk regarding the Authority’s Governance Improvement Plan

The Authority received a report of the Clerk seeking closure of the Governance Review Improvement Plan.

Introducing the report, it was confirmed that all actions were complete, however unfortunately the appendix demonstrating this had not been included in the agenda pack as intended.

It was proposed that further consideration be given at a future time and it was proposed and resolved:

1.     That Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority note the report as a progress update and agree that a further update be brought to a future meeting of the Authority.

To consider a report of the Chief Fire Officer regarding Prince Phillip Barracks and decentralised training

The Authority received a report of the Chief Officer regarding Prince Phillip Barracks and decentralised training.

The importance of continual development and the value of the barracks as an opportunity to provide live fire training were highlighted to the Authority to underline the context of the funding request. The potential for income generation was questioned and it was confirmed that although Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service would be the primary user of the facility, spare capacity could be sold on a cost recovery basis. Risks to this investment identified in the report were questioned and clarity provided to assure the Authority that this was low.

The recommendations in the report were considered and it was resolved:

1.     That £499,521.40 is approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority to enable the HFRS Academy to deliver realistic, live fire training through Prince Philip Barracks and locally at station level over a five-year period, until 2021-22.

To receive the Minutes of the Standards and Governance Committee held on 15 September 2017

The Authority received and noted the Minutes of the Standards and Governance Committee on 15 September 2017.

To consider an urgent report of the Chief Fire Officer regarding the role and recruitment of a new Deputy Chief Fire Officer

The Authority received an urgent report of the Chief Officer regarding the appointment of a new Deputy Chief Fire Officer.

It was noted that this item could not reasonably await consideration until the December meeting of the Authority as this would leave insufficient time to fill the vacancy caused by Neil Odin’s recent appointment to the role of Chief Fire Officer. The proposal that delegated authority be given to Neil Odin to make an interim appointment was considered and it was noted that this would be an internal, ring-fenced process to ensure stability and service continuity in the short term. In the longer term, there would be the possibility to develop the role and run a full recruitment process for a long term appointment. Members felt that Authority input was required and acknowledging the timescales it was proposed and agreed that:

1.     Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority delegate authority for the appointment of a new Deputy Chief Fire Officer to Neil Odin, in consultation with Cllrs Carter, Price and Mintoff.