Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman until the Annual Meeting of the Authority in 2019

Councillor Chris Carter was proposed by Councillor Fairhurst and seconded by Cllr Vaughan for the position of Chairman of the Fire Authority for 2018-19. In the absence of further nominations, Councillor Carter was duly appointed.

To appoint a Vice Chairman until the Annual Meeting of the Authority in 2019

The Chairman called for nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Authority for 2018/19

Councillor Chadd was proposed by Councillor Carter, who was seconded by Councillor Fairhurst.

Councillor Vaughan was nominated by Councillor Glen, but there was no seconder.

Councillor Price was nominated by Councillor Simpson, who was seconded by Councillor Fazackarley.

A vote ensued with the result:

5 in favour of Councillor Chadd

3 in favour of Councillor Price

There was on abstention.

Accordingly, Councillor Chadd was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Authority for 2018/19

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Chadd and Michael Lane.

A representative from the Police and Crime Commissioners office attended as an observer.

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.

There were no declarations of interest received for the meeting.

The Chairman reminded Members of the Disclosure of Pecuniary Interests form that had been circulated for completion in light of a new municipal year, to ensure that they were all up to date.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed

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

There were no deputations.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

Local elections

The local elections took place on 3 May and changes in Portsmouth City Council meant Luke Stubbs was no long on the Fire Authority. Cllr Stubbs was thanked for his time serving on the Fire Authority and Members wished him well for the future.

Jason Fazackarley from Portsmouth City Council was welcomed back to the Authority on behalf of all Members.

Fire and Rescue National Framework for England

On 8 May, the revised Fire and Rescue National Framework for England was published by the Home Office which cam into force on 1 June. The new Framework reflects the changing landscape for Fire and Rescue Authorities and outlines the roles and responsibilities of Authorities. Authority Members will receive a report highlighting the key changes within the Framework at the next Authority meeting in July.

To receive any updates from Members of the Authority

A Member briefing session took place relating to Autism and a presentation was arranged for Fire Officers, which was found to be very beneficial. HFRS are intending to host further sessions in the future, which Members will be invited to.

Cllr Carter confirmed that he and Cllr Price attended the SIMEX event on the 15 May in conjunction with Portsmouth University and the emergency services. The event was a mix of live, simulation and command and control events in order to provide a neutral platform to test both national and international emergency response mechanisms.

Cllr Glen attended a SIMEX presentation in March at Phillips Barracks and also Prince’s Trust ceremony in April, which was very moving. Cllr Glen also attended the 100 Year RAF celebration in Odiham on the 9 June.

Cllr Price also spoke of the SIMEX event and how beneficial it was.

Cllr Mintoff also went to a Prince’s Trust presentation in Southampton and spoke of the brave young people who had completed the programme. Cllr Mintoff also attended St Mary’s Fire Station for the Vaisakhi festival in April.

Cllr Simpson had been doing more with RDS staff and good progress was being made. He anticipated more information and further developments coming to the Full Authority later in the year.

To appoint Members to the Standard’s and Governance Committee and other appointments within the Fire Authority.

The Authority considered a report from the Clerk to the Authority (Item 9 in the Minute Book). It was confirmed that an updated Appendix 2 had been circulated and published online.

It was noted that whilst being a member on both the Standards and Governance Committee as well as the Pension Board could be a potential conflict of interest (paragraph 3.2 in the report), this was only a consideration and something that could be overcome by a Member declaring an interest and not taking part in discussions should such a conflict arise.

RESOLVED:

1.            That, for the purposes of Part 1 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the allocation of seats on the Standards and Governance Committee of the Authority were agreed as set out in the updated Appendix 2 of the report, with Members being Cllr Fairhurst, Cllr Glen, Cllr Hockley, Cllr Price and Cllr Mintoff.

2.            That Cllr Fairhurst be appointed as the Chairman and Cllr Mintoff be appointed as Vice-Chairmen of the Standards and Governance Committee following the agreed allocation of seats at paragraph 7 (above), until the Annual meeting of the Authority in 2019.

3.            That Stew Adamson, Tom Simms and Cllr Price continue as Employer Representatives on the Pension Board for the final year of the four year term.

4.            That the Corporate Management Team (CMT) include all Members as set out in paragraph 4a of the report.

5.            The Authority appointed Cllr Fairhurst, Cllr Price and Cllr Vaughan to an informal working group for the review of principal officer pay, as detailed in paragraph 4b of the report.

6.            Cllr Chadd was appointed as the Member Development Liaison Champion as set out in paragraph 4d of the report, until the Annual meeting of the Authority in 2019.

7.            That Cllr Price be appointed as the Minority Group Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat Party Group until the Annual meeting of the Authority in 2019 is confirmed, as set out in paragraph 4e of the report.

8.            Cllr Chadd was appointed as a Shareholder Representative by the Authority pursuant to Article 39 of the Articles of Association of 3SFire Ltd as set out in paragraph 4f of the report, until the Annual meeting of the Authority in 2019.

9.            Cllr Carter, Cllr Price and Andy Bowers were appointed as the Executive Directors of 3SFire by the Authority pursuant to Articles 18 and 19 of the Articles of Association of 3SFire Ltd as set out in paragraph 4g of the report, until the Annual meeting of the Authority in 2019.

10.         A report on the Crime and Disorder Partnerships and current work would be prepared for CMT.

To consider a report from the Chief Officer regarding the proposed creation of a new Combined Fire Authority.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Officer (Item 10 in the Minute Book)  regarding a new proposed Combined Fire Authority. It was confirmed that the item had previously come before the Full Authority and a full business case and consultation had since been prepared for Member approval.

The operational analysis on page 32 of the pack was highlighted and the Chief Finance Officer summarised the financial position and how council tax would be harmonised across the combined authority.

On page 29 of the pack, Members felt that wording should be amended to reflect that the Police and Crime Commissioner ‘can’ take part in meetings rather than ‘regularly attends HFRA meetings as a non-voting participant and actively comments on the debate’. On page 46, Members queried whether there were implications of redundancies as part of the formation of the combined authority, but the Chief Officer reassured it was about using the current workforce more effectively.

In paragraph 2.3.9 it was confirmed that there were one-off costs, which would be met by Hampshire, but these were not anticipated to be significant and would return to the Authority for approval before any spending was done.

It was agreed that a breakdown (Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth) of the Key Comparator figures on page 31 of the pack would be provided for a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

Authority was delegated to the Chief Fire Officer to carry out a consultation exercise about the proposal for the creation of a new CFA, based on the information at appendix A, with the outcome of the consultation to be presented to the HFRA during November 2018.

To consider a report from the Chief Officer regarding the Annual Governance Statement, presented to Members of the Fire Authority for approval.

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Officer (Item 11 in the Minute Book), which asked Members to approve the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2017/18.

The report was summarised and it was confirmed that the AGS formed part of the Statement of Accounts, and focussed on mitigating risks within the Fire Service. IN paragraph 3.2.4, it was confirmed that it would be amended to read “Through the Service, the Authority enjoys a constructive relationship…”

RESOLVED:

The Annual Governance Statement 2017/18 as set out in Appendix 1 and amendment above, was approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority for inclusion into the Statement of Accounts.

To receive the minutes of the Standards and Governance meeting, which took place on the 8 March 2018.

The Minutes from the last Standards & Governance meeting were received by the Authority.

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the following items of business, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during these items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the reports.

To consider an exempt report from the Chief Officer regarding a Specialist Response Team.

The Authority considered an exempt report from the Chief Officer (Item 14 in the Minute Book) regarding a specialist response team (SRT).

[See exempt Minute]