Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor David Simpson and Councillor Rhydian Vaughan. The Police and Crime Commissioner, Michael Lane, also sent apologies for this meeting.

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, which took place on the 12 July 2018.

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 confirmed that the National Joint Council (NJC) had agreed to an uplift in pay, but conversations continued regarding the pay relating to broadening the role due to achieving a suitable result across different constitute areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Chairman reminded Members that the Combined Fire Authority (CFA) consultation is still in progress. A presentation had been carried out for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Authorities (HIOWLA) meeting, in which most of the attendees presented to had explained that they had responded. Hampshire County Council had also shown unanimous support for proposals at the Full Council meeting on the 20 October.

The Chairman and Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the inspection at HFRS had been completed and a report would be brought back to Full Authority once it had been received. Geoff Howsego was thanked for his work on Tranche 1 Learning Event that had taken place.

Two Hampshire Firefighters had been filmed by the Ministry for Justice for a promotional video about ‘protecting the protectors’. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jail-time-to-double-for-assaulting-an-emergency-worker

The Chairman welcomed Matt Robertson in his new role as Chief of Staff and also congratulated staff who had taken part in the 75 mile sponsored cycle ride on the Isle of Wight.

Finally, Authority were reminded that donations were still being collected towards the ‘Silent Soldier’, with £145 remaining to cover the order.

To receive any updates from Members of the Authority

Cllr Carter confirmed he would be attending St Mary’s Fire Station on 27 September to celebrate the start of Black History Month.  Cllr Vaughan’s confirmed his visit to Tadley Fire Station earlier in the month. Cllr Carter had also attended a course on sign language, which had been very interesting.

Cllr Mintoff told Authority how she had attended a presentation by Nazir Afzal for the start of Inclusion Week, which had been extremely enlightening.

Cllr Glen had visited Hartley Wintney Fire Station.

To consider a report from the Head of Human Resources regarding and Appointment Committee for a new Deputy Chief Fire Officer.

The Authority considered a report from the Director of Human Resources (Item 7 in the Minute Book) regarding formation of a new Appointment Committee (AC) for the recruitment of a new Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO), to  ensure that the Authority is able to explore and consider all relevant issues, and devise a strategy and process, that meets both HFRA and Isle of Wight Council (IWC)  requirements.

It was confirmed that the current DCFO was due to retire in June 2019 and it was recommended that an AC be established to recruit to the post. IWC had confirmed that they were happy to send a Member as a non voting stakeholder.

The membership of the AC was agreed, and it was confirmed that arrangements would be made in due course regarding to meetings of the AC going forward.

RESOLVED

A) The Authority noted the Deputy Chief Fire Officer’s resignation which will take effect in June 2019;

B) The Authority agreed to establish an Appointment Committee on the basis set out in the proposed Terms of Reference at Appendix 1;         

C) The Authority appointed 5 Members of the HFRA to the Appointment Committee; consisting of the following:

1) Councillor Carter (Chairman)
            2) Councillor Roz Chadd
            3) Councillor Liz Fairhurst

            4) Councillor Roger Price
            5) Councillor Sharon Mintoff

D) Authority was delegated to the Clerk to the Authority to invite the IWC to nominate a Member of the IWC to join the Appointment Committee as a non voting stakeholder.

To consider a report from the Treasurer, which provides an update to the Authority on the budget development process for 2019/20 and the medium term position for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority’s (HFRA) finances to 2021/22.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Finance Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) regarding the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), which provided Members with an update on the budget development process for 2019/20 and the medium term position for HFRA finances to 2021/22.

It was confirmed that reductions in Government grant had been assumed as continuing for the foreseeable future, although there had been no announcements beyond 2019/20. Precept increases at the 2018/19 referendum limit of 2.99% had been included in the figures for 2019/20, then reducing back to 1.99% for future years.

Subsequent to the publication of papers, there was a Treasury review planned regarding the pension fund for Firefighters, which had changed due to the elevations in those of retirement age. This would draw a greater deficit on the pension fund and was anticipated to be up to a 10% increase, equating to around £5 million for HFRS. A meeting was scheduled with the Home Office in early October to discuss the impacts but it would not be known as to whether there would be any financial assistance from Central Government with the deficit. The Full Authority would be kept up to date of any progress going forward.

RESOLVED

1.         The update to the Medium Term Financial Plan and changes to the financial forecast to 2021/22 were noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

2.         It was agreed that the assumption for financial planning purposes council tax be increased by 2.99% for the 2019/20 budget, with final decision on this will being made by the Authority at the February meeting.

3.         It was agreed that savings targets of £211,000 from Training and £16,000 from Property Services be removed from the current savings plans and the shortfall be incorporated into this updated MTFP and included within future savings plans.

4.         The growth proposals listed in Appendix B of this report were approved for inclusion in the based budget from 2019/20.

5.         It was agreed that a new savings target of a further £4.0m by 31^st March 2021 be adopted by the Authority as a planning assumption.

To receive a report from the Chief Fire Officer, which provides Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority (HFRA) with a comprehensive overview of the Service’s performance against its strategic goals, the Safer and Stronger Priorities contained within the Service Plan 2015-2020.

The Authority received a report from the Chief Fire Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book), which detailed how the Service had been progressing against its strategic goals.

The Service Plan was a working document updated on an annual basis to ensure that the goals were relevant and progress was closely monitored. Areas of focus were clearly defined within the plan, with aims and progress of each area clearly defined. The amendments to priority deliverables were highlighted in paragraphs 8-10 of the covering report.

Whilst there were still some technical issues to rectify with IT, these were in-hand and only related to the FireWatch system and the mobilising software used. The FireWatch system is very big and complex due to the number of features within it, and therefore had required more investigation to network it seamlessly with another system. Manual intervention had been implemented to ensure that there were no problems as a result of the technical issues and it was enforced that this was not related to the control system used for emergencies and emergency calls.

RESOLVED

1. The removal of the Assets and Money deliverable as set out in paragraph 8 was noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

2. The amendment of the Working with Partners deliverable as set out in paragraph 10 was noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

3. The progress made against the Service Plan 2015–2020 was noted by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

To receive the Health and Safety Annual report for 2017-18, for endorsement by the Full Authority.

The Full Authority received a report from the Chief Fire Officer (Item 10 in the Minute Book) regarding the Health & Safety Annual Report for 2017-18.

It was confirmed that there was a new Health & Safety Manager in place, and there are likely to be changes and improvements going forward, with a particular focus on mental health provision. Proactive reporting now meant that the number of near misses reported outweighed the number of injuries which was a positive step forward.

RESOLVED

The Annual Health and Safety Report was noted by the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

To receive the draft Minutes from the Standards and Governance Committee meeting, which took place on the 26 July 2018.

The Minutes from the 26 July 2018 HFRA S&G meeting were presented to the Committee and there were no questions.

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.

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.

To consider an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer regarding the Station Investment Programme going forward.

The Authority considered an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer (Item 13 in the Minute Book) regarding the Station Investment Programme [SEE EXEMPT MINUTE]

To approve the exempt Minute from the HFRA Full Authority meeting on 12 July 2018.

The exempt minute from the 12 July HFRA meeting was approved by the Committee.