Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman until the Annual Meeting of the Authority in 2025.

Councillor Rhydian Vaughan was proposed by Councillor Derek Mellor and seconded by Councillor Roger Price. There were no other nominations and Cllr Vaughan was unanimously voted in as the new Chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority for 2024/25.

To appoint a Vice Chairman until the Annual Meeting of the Authority in 2025.

Councillor Fran Carpenter was proposed by Councillor Zoe Huggins and seconded by Councillor David Drew. Councillor Roger Price was also nominated by Councillor David Harrison and seconded by Sally Goodfellow. A vote was taken with Councillor Capenter receiving six votes and Councillor Price receiving three votes. Councillor Carpenter confirmed as the new Vice Chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority for 2024/25.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Karen Lucioni and George Madgwick. Apologies were also received from Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire.

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 to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest was not already entered in the Authority’s register of interests, along with any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members wished to disclose.

To approve the open minutes from the Full Authority meeting that took place on 27 February 2024.

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 for the meeting.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Stephen Parker to the Authority as a new member on behalf of Hampshire County Council. He also thanked previous member Hugh Lumby for his contribution whilst on the Authority as well as Assistant Chief Fire Officer Stewart Adamson, who had recently retired from the Fire Service. Rob Cole was welcomed as the new Assistant Chief Fire Officer.

Members learned of the Service’s contribution as part of a multi-agency group to ensure that the recent D-Day event took place successfully and all those involved were thanked for their work. They were also updated on various awards and the hosting of the HMICFRS Board and Chief Executive of the Firefighters Charity by the Service.

The Chairman also sent condolences to retired Chief Fire Officer Malcolm Eastwood, whose wife had sadly passed away.

To receive any updates from Members of the Combined Fire Authority.

Members provided the following updates:

-       Councillor David Harrison had attended a Fire Service volunteers evening as well as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training and a Firefighter Graduation parade on the 16 May.

-       The Chairman had attended the volunteers recognition evening and graduation parade.

-       Councillor Sally Goodfellow had attended the St Mary’s Prince’s Trust event on the 26 April

-       Councillor David Drew had attended the graduation parade.

-       Councillor Roger Price had attended the EDI Champion’s Network in London as well as the Fire Service Management Committee (FSMC). Councillor Price also shared his deep appreciation to Fire Service officers, and in particular the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, for their assistance following a recent medical episode at an event.

-       Councillor Derek Mellor had attended the EDI training and graduation parade.

-       Councillor Zoe Huggins had attended the graduation parade and also met with the Childre and Young People team to discuss new programmes. Councillor Huggins also thanked firefighters for attending a recent large domestic fire in Gosport and the subsequent advice provided around the storage of lithium batteries.

-       Councillor Fran Carpenter advised Members of LGA training that was taking place in October in Warwick.

To consider a report from the Monitoring Officer, which seeks various appointments to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) for 2024-25.

The Fire Authority received a report from the Monitoring Officer (item 9 in the minute book), which summarised the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) appointments required for the municipal year.

It was noted that there would again be one ‘Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent’ Opposition group and the political balance remained the same.

RESOLVED

a)    The Authority approved the current schedule of meetings of the Authority and its committees for the coming year at Appendix 3.

b)    For the purposes of Part 1 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Authority agreed that the allocation of seats on the Standards and Governance Committee, and the Stakeholder Committee of the Authority be as set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

c)    That the Authority appoint members of the Standards and Governance Committee, and the Stakeholder Committee and their respective Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen following the agreed allocation of seats at paragraphs 5.

d)     With regards to the Pension Board, the Authority considered the position as set out in paragraph 19of the report and approved the appointments as set out.

e)     The Authority agreed that APAG include all appointed HIWFRA Members as set out in paragraph 20a of the report, until the AGM in 2025.

f)      The Authority appointed Councillor Derek Mellor (Chairman), Zoe Huggins and Roger Price to the informal working group, the Principal Officer Pay Review Group, as detailed in paragraph 20b of the report, until the AGM in 2025.

g)     The Minority Group Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent Group was confirmed as Councillor Roger Price until the annual meeting of the Authority in 2025, as set out in paragraph 20c of the report.

h)     The Authority noted the current appointment of the Independent Person for HIWFRA as referred to in paragraph 20d.

i)       The Authority agreed that the Chairman of the Stakeholder Committee be appointed as the Shareholder Representative for 3SFire CIC pursuant to Article 42 of the Articles of Association of 3SFire CIC as set out in paragraph 20e of the report, until the annual meeting of the Authority in 2025.

j)       The Authority agreed to grant dispensations under Sections 33(2)(a) and (d) of the Localism Act 2011, expiring on 30 June 2025, in respect of the provisions of Sections 31(4)(a) and (b) of the Localism Act:

a) To all Members to enable them to participate and vote in any business of the Authority relating to the setting of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 249.

To consider a report from the Chief Financial Officer, which provides a summary of the revenue outturn position for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service for the 2023/24 financial year.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Financial Officer (item 9 in the minute book) which provided a summary of the revenue outturn position for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service for the 2023/24 financial year.

It was highlighted that the Grey Book pay award had been higher than previously assumed at 4% rather than 3%, but a Fire Futures Board had been set up to look at savings to bridge the current gap.

During questions of the report, the following points were clarified:

-       The anticipated refund from Airwave radios was still ongoing and therefore not yet reflected in the report.

-       Work was being done with Treasury Advisors in order to establish the best and most cost effective way of borrowing and managing interest rate fluctuations.

-       The Authority continued to prioritise services to the community.

RESOLVED

The HIWFRA Full Authority approved:

a)        Splitting the underspend of £0.562m and its addition to the Transformation Reserve (50%) and Capital Payments Reserve (50%) to fund future priorities of the Authority as set out in paragraph 42. An update is provided on balances held across all reserves at the end of 2023/24.

b)        The virements set out in paragraphs 11 - 14

c)         The updated capital programme as shown in Appendix B1 and Exempt Appendix B2.

To consider a report from the Chief Fire Officer, which explores how the Service performed against priorities over the last year.

The Authority received a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 11 in the minute book) which explored how the Service performed against priorities over the last year.

Members welcomed the report and significant improvement in the presentation of it, which made information clear and easy to digest.

During questions, the following points were clarified:

-       The ‘Family Group’ had been defined by the Fire Commission and the HIWFRS had been grouped with others that have similar risks and attributes, such as coastline or size of population etc…

-       Regarding preventative work, the number of home visits was calculated each year and depended on the number of referrals and partners involved and a lot of time was invested in building trust with vulnerable residents.

-       Response times did not give a full picture or true measure of success as there were many other factors to consider.

-       Any feedback and challenges identified as part of an Inspection would be looked at by the current Standards & Governance Committee.

-       There were various factors involved in and medical co-responding by the fire Service, including availability and prioritising what was neededby the amvulance service. It was also highlighted that the NHS guidelines for call types had reduced demand by 50% for responders.

-       False alarms were often caused by unsafe behaviours or faulty alarms and it was important to continue to try and educate people on fire safety rather not to respond to their alarm. Enforcement teams worked with commercial premises owners following a false alarm to determine the best course of action and where it was felt necessary, enforcement or charges could be implemented.

RESOLVED

The 2023/24 Annual Performance Report was noted by the  HIWFRA Full Authority.

To consider a report from the Chief Fire Officer, which seeks approval of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) new Health and Safety Policy and its appendix, the Health and Safety Statement of Intent for 2024/25.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 12 in the minute book), which sought approval of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) new Health and Safety Policy and its appendix, the Health and Safety Statement of Intent for 2024/25.

The presenting officer highlighted that the ‘wellbeing’ element of the Statement had been removed to form a separate strategy. It was confirmed that it was up to the Authority to decide what it chose to focus on as part of the policy.

RESOLVED

a)    The proposed Health and Safety Policy was approved by the HIWFRA Full Authority.

b)    The Health and Safety Statement of Intent 2024/25 was approved by the HIWFRA Full Authority.

c)   The amendment to the Constitution as described at paragraph 16 was approved by the HIWFRA Full Authority.

To receive the minutes from the Standards & Governance (S&G) meeting that took place on 9 April 2024.

The minutes of the Standards & Governance Committee meeting (item 13 in the minute book) that took place on 9 April 2024 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 3 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.

It was agreed that the public be excluded from the meeting during the following items of business, as it was 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 3 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 outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the reports.

An exempt appendix to accompany agenda item 10.

This appendix was considered as part of the 2023/24 Outturn Report (agenda item 10).

To consider an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer regarding Cosham Fire Station.

The Authority considered an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 16 in the minute book) regarding the previous Cosham Fire Station.

Members were happy with the report and there were no questions.

RESOLVED

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Full Authority approved the Chief Fire Officer to receive delegated authority to sell or lease the Cosham Fire Station (Wayte Street) site for the most economically advantageous price, as recommended in Option 3 of the exempt report.

To approve the exempt minutes from the Full Authority meeting that took place on 27 February 2024.

The exempt minute (item 17 in the minute book) was approved by the Authority.