Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies had been received from Councillor Ian Stephens.

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 approve the open minutes from the last Full Authority meeting, which took place on 27 July 2021.

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 he had been over to visit the Fire Stations over on the Isle of Wight on the 9^th August and there were also plans for another recruitment phase in early 2022, where the Service hoped to expand on a more diverse workforce.

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

The Chairman confirmed attendance at a Firefighters graduation that had taken place as well as a Governance and Leadership LGA conference that had also been attended by Councillor Fuller and Councillor Harrison.

Councillor Glen confirmed attendance at a Prince’s Trust event and Councillor Hughes thanked Waterlooville Fire Station for a beneficial visit.

Councillor Price had also attended a meeting of the Fire Commission.

To consider a report from the Chief Fire Officer, which seeks approval of the Authority’s annual Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority (HIWFRA) Modern Slavery statement for 2020-2021 and for subsequent publishing on the Authority’s website.

The Full Authority considered a report from the Chief Fire Officer on the Modern Slavery Statement for 2022-21 (item 7 in the minute book), which outlined the Service’s commitment to prevent modern slavery and actions proposed to be taken.

Members learned that despite close working with the Police being important, the Fire Service and paramedics were more often those who discovered cases of modern slavery taking place.

It was agreed that updated figures would be looked at as part on ongoing reporting to the Full Authority and further training would be looked at for Members.

RESOLVED

The HIWFRA Modern Slavery Statement 2020-2021 was approved by the HIWFRA Full Authority for publication on the Authority’s website.

To consider a report from the Monitoring Officer, which asks the Full Authority to approve the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer along with minor amendments to the Constitution.

The Full Authority considered a report from the Monitoring Officer (item 8 in the minute book) that captured some minor amendments to the Constitution as well as the proposed appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer.

Members felt that having deputies would be beneficial for sub-committees to ensure attendance and it was agreed that this would be discussed at a future APAG meeting.

Rob Carr was thanked for his work as the current Chief Financial Officer and Catherine was welcomed and congratulated in her new role.

RESOLVED

a) The Authority appointed Catherine Edgcombe as its Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 March 2022.

b)  The Authority delegated authority to the Chief Financial Officer to appoint a Deputy Chief Financial Officer from within the Shared Services Finance Team.

c)  The Authority delegated authority to the Chief Fire Officer to agree from time to time, in consultation with the Chairman, for individual members to act as Member Champions in respect of specific matters.

d)  The Authority approved the minor changes to the Constitution set out at Appendix 1.

To receive the open minutes from the Standards & Governance Committee meeting, which took place on 27 July 2021.

The minutes from the Standards and Governance Committee were received by the Full Authority.

To receive the open minutes from the Stakeholder Committee meeting, which took place on 29 July 2021.

The minutes from the Stakeholder Committee meeting were received by the Full 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 resolved 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.

To consider a report from the Chief Fire Officer regarding live fire training facilities.

The Full Authority considered an exempt report from the Chief Fire Officer (item 12 in the minute book) regarding the provision of live fire training facilities [SUMMARY OF EXEMPT MINUTE]

To receive the exempt minutes from the Stakeholder Committee meeting, which took place on 29 July 2021.

The exempt minutes from the Stakeholder Committee meeting were received by the Full Authority.