Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman until the Annual Meeting of the Authority in 2023.

Councillor Rhydian Vaughan was proposed by Gary Hughes. 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 2022/23.

Upon his election, the Chairman initiated a minute’s silence for the anniversary of the Grenfell disaster.

To appoint a Vice Chairman until the Annual Meeting of the Authority in 2023.

Councillor Gary Hughes was proposed by David Harrison and seconded by Derek Mellor. There were no other nominations and Cllr Hughes was unanimously voted in as the new Vice Chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority for 2022/23.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Tony Bunday (SCC), Debbie Curnow-Ford (HCC) and Keith Mans (HCC)

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 that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

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 for the meeting.

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

Councillor Zoe Huggins thanked officers for the induction that had taken place on the 6 June, which had been very beneficial and enabled new Members to fully appreciate the values and processes in place at the Fire Authority.

Councillor Gary Hughes confirmed that the Carbon Reduction Programme was moving forward and a report was anticipated towards the end of the year.

Councillor Derek Mellor had visited Kingsclere fire station and had beneficial discussions with the staff there.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman was pleased to announce the award of the Queen’s Fire Service Medal to the Chief Fire Officer, which was the highest award of its kind that a serving fire officer could receive.

The Chairman confirmed his attendance at the first ever Isle of Wight based HIWFRS Princes Trust Team Programme as well as highlighting a recent consultation by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services ( HMICFRS) on its proposed inspection programme and framework for 2023/24.

The Chairman also shared that there was a consultation on Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing by the Home Office, which aimed to establish a way forward in identifying and recording vulnerable persons in high risk (high rise) residential premises. The consultation was open until 10 August 2022.

Finally, the Chairman announced that Councillor Ian Stephens was stepping down from the Fire Commission Committee and thanked his for his work and support of the Fire Authority at the meetings he had attended.

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 2022-23.

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.

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 allocation of seats on the Standards and Governance Committee, and the Stakeholder Committee of the Authority were agreed as in Appendix 2

c)  That the Authority appointed 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 paragraph 5 (above) as follows:

With regards to the Pension Board, the Authority considered the position and confirmed the appointments as set out in paragraph 10 of the report.

d)  It was agreed that APAG include all appointed HIWFRA Members until the AGM in 2023.

e)  The Authority appointed three Members to an informal working group for the review of principal officer pay, as detailed in paragraph 7b of the report, until the AGM in 2023:

f)   The Minority Group Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat and Independent Party Group until the inaugural meeting of the Combined Fire Authority in 2023 was confirmed as Roger Price. The Spokesperson for the Labour Group was confirmed as Tony Bunday.

g)  The Authority noted the current appointments of the Independent Persons for HIWFRA as referred to in paragraph 7d of the report.

h)  The Chairman of the Stakeholder Committee was 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 7e of the report, until the HIWFRA AGM in 2023

i)    The Authority agreed to grant dispensations under Sections 33(2)(a) and (d) of the Localism Act 2011, expiring on 30 June 2023, 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 Council Tax or Precepts, when they would otherwise be prevented from doing so in consequence of a beneficial interest in land within the administrative area of the Authority; and

b.    to all Members in receipt of an allowance under the Authority’s Members’ Allowances Scheme or Members’ Allowances Scheme, enabling them to participate and vote in any business of the Authority where they may otherwise be prevented from doing so in consequence of being in receipt of a Members’ Allowance.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

To consider a report from the Chief Fire Officer regarding a White Paper, which consults on a series of reform proposals based around three headings: People, Professionalism, and Governance.

The Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 10 in the minute book) regarding a response to a consultation on the “Reforming Our Fire and Rescue Service: Building Professionalism, Boosting Performance and Strengthening Governance” White Paper.

The Chief Fire Officer summarised the high level themes within the White Paper and confirmed plans to discuss it further at an Authority Policy Advisory Group (APAG) meeting. There would be two separate responses for both the Fire Service and the Fire Authority and each would focus on the areas most applicable to them.

Councillor Corkery shared concerns over the risks in undermining employment rights for fire fighters and welcomed further discussion.

RESOLVED

The White Paper was noted by the HIWFRA Full Authority and authority was delegated to the Chief Fire Officer, in consultation with the Chairman, to finalise and submit a response to the consultation on behalf of the Full Authority following further discussion at APAG.

To receive a report from the Chief Fire Officer, which explores how Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service performed against key operational and corporate health measures in the period 1 April 2021 through to 31 March 2022.

Councillor Ian Stephens left the meeting

The Authority received a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 11 in the minute book), which explored how Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service performed against key operational and corporate health measures in the period 1 April 2021 through to 31 March 2022.

The officer summarised the report, emphasising the prevention work that had taken place as well as the close working with partners.

During questions, Members learned that whilst there were no powers of entry with Safe & Well Visits, the Service did work closely with partners and regularly review those most at risk.

In paragraph 11 of the report it was confirmed that one of the national fire standards did not apply to the Authority and officers would confirm what this was and confirm at a future meeting.

Members raised concerns regarding the number of false alarms being generated in newer developments and also the ongoing slower response times being recorded, and it was confirmed that there were both areas being investigated further to see where improvements could be made.

RESOLVED

a) The 2021/22 End of Year Performance Report was noted by the  HIWFRA Full Authority

b) The 2021/22 Safety Plan Year 2 Improvements Report was noted by the HIWFRA Full Authority

To receive a report from the Chief Fire Officer, which updates the Authority on progress made in relation to the expansion of Fire Cadet units across the Service since the Authority’s decision to fund the project in 2018.

The Authority received a report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 12 in the minute book), which the Authority on the progress made in relation to the expansion of Fire Cadet units across the Service since the Authority’s decision to fund the project in 2018. 

It was confirmed that a further four units were up and running and had been a great success with a strong uptake. It was anticipated that sponsorship would be achieved successfully and staff an volunteers were thanked for their work with the units.

RESOLVED

The progress the Fire Cadets project had achieved to date was noted by the HIWFRA Full Authority.