Agenda Items
To elect a Chairman of the Fire Authority.
30
Resolved that Mr D W Prodger MBE be elected as Chairman of the Fire Authority for the ensuing year, to hold office until his successor becomes entitled to act.
To elect a Vice-Chairman of the Fire Authority.
31
Resolved that Mr R J Phillips be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Fire Authority for the ensuing year, to hold office until his successor becomes entitled to act.
3
Apologies for Absence
To receive any apologies for absence.
4
Declarations of Interest (if any)
This item allows the Chairman to invite any Councillor to declare an interest in any of the items on this Agenda.
32
Mr R J Phillips declared he was the Vice-Chairman of the Local Government NJC employers.
To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Fire Authority held on 18 February 2015.
33
Resolved that the minutes of the meeting of the Fire Authority held on 18 February 2015 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
6
Chairman’s Announcements
To update Members on recent activities.
34
- The Chairman welcomed new Members and thanked outgoing Members.
- Congratulations were given to Councillor Fran Oborski who was recently awarded an MBE for political and public service in the Kidderminster and Wyre Forest area.
-
Congratulations were passed to James Clarke and Jayne Collins from Kidderminster who won this year’s Trauma Challenge and to the team from Ross on Wye who once again won this year’s Service Extrication Challenge.
-
Members were informed of forthcoming seminars and tours.
-
Finally, Members were made aware of the building works taking place over the next few months at Headquarters.
7
Public Participation
To allow a Member of the public to present a petition, ask a question or make a statement relating to any topic concerning the duties and powers of the Authority.
Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal Services in writing or by email indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 2 clear working days before the meeting (in this case by 9:00am Monday 15 June 2015). Further details about public participation are available on the Council’s website. Enquiries can also be made through the telephone numbers/email listed below.
To consider the allocation of seats on Committees to political groups and to authorise the Head of Legal Services, following consultation with Group Leaders, to make appointments to Committees.
35
A report was presented on the allocation of Committee seats to political groups and which sought to make appointments to those committees.
Resolved that:
i) the number of seats on each Committee and the allocation of those seats to political groups be as follows:
|
Group
|
Appointments Committee
|
Audit & Standards Committee
|
Policy & Resources Committee
|
|
Conservative
|
4
|
7
|
7
|
|
Labour
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
|
Independent
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
2013
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Non Aligned
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
(Total)
|
7
|
12
|
13
|
ii) the following Members be appointed as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the following Committees:
a. Appointments Committee
Chairman: Mr D W Prodger MBE
Vice-Chairman: Mr R J Phillips
b. Audit and Standards Committee
Chairman: Ms L R Duffy
Vice-Chairman: Mr G C Yarranton
c. Policy and Resources Committee
Chairman: Mr C B Taylor
Vice-Chairman: Mr R C Adams
iii) In accordance with the wishes of Group Leaders, membership of committees be as set out in Appendix 1;
iv) non-aligned Members Mr S C Cross and Mr J L V Kenyon be appointed to the Audit and Standards Committee and to the Policy and Resources Committee, respectively;
v) Ms P Agar and Mrs F M Oborski be appointed to the Equality and Diversity Advisory Group;
vi) Mr G C Yarranton be appointed to the Health and Safety Committee; and
vii) Mrs A T Hingley be appointed as the Chairman to the Young Firefighters’ Association Executive Committee.
1. To consider appointments to the Local Government Association.
2. To consider appointments to the Project Arrow Joint Project Board and Member Reference Group.
36
A report was presented to consider appointments to the Local Government Association.
Resolved that:
i) the previous practice for representation and voting on the Local Government Association be continued, as follows:
a. that the Authority’s four representatives on the Local Government Association should be the Leaders of each of the current four political groups or their nominees;
b. that the 13 Service votes on the Local Government Association Assembly be allocated between its representatives on a politically proportionate basis as follows:
| Conservative Group |
8 |
| Labour Group |
2 |
| Independent Group |
2 |
| 2013 Group |
1 |
| Total |
13; and |
c. the corporate vote on the Local Government Association Assembly be exercised by the Chairman or his nominee;
ii) the place and vote available to the Authority on the Local Government Association Fire Commission be exercised by the Chairman of the Authority;
iii) the Authority’s representative on the Project Arrow Joint Project Board be the Chairman or his nominee; and
iv) the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Political Group Leaders represent the Authority on the Project Arrow Member Reference Group.
To receive financial results for 2014/15 and to approve treatment of financial variations.
37
A report was presented with the financial results for 2014/15. Members were reminded that although this subject is normally a matter for the Policy and Resources Committee, this year the Committee did not meet between the end of the financial year and the date by which the Statement of Accounts had to be submitted.
During discussions about the transfer of staff to other stations, the Chief Fire Officer assured Members that where resources were available, staff that had been transferred would have the opportunity to have their skills updated as appropriate and they wouldn’t be unduly disadvantaged for a return transfer to their original station should a vacancy occur.
[Councillor Guthrie left the meeting at 10.59am].
Resolved that the Authority:
i) Notes the provisional financial results for 2014/15;
ii) Approves the transfer of £0.300m to the Operational Activity Reserve;
iii) Approves the transfer of £0.300m to an ear-marked reserve for late equipment delivery;
iv) Approves the transfer of the balance of £1.229m to a temporary earmarked reserve and require the Policy and Resources Committee to recommend its appropriate use; and
v) Approves the re-phasing of capital budgets to 2015/16 as detailed in Appendix 2.
This report is a summary of annual performance for 2014-15 using the set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) agreed by Senior Management Board (SMB).
38
The annual performance for 2014-15 was presented using the set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as agreed by the Senior Management Board.
Resolved that the Authority notes the following headlines taken from Appendix 1 relating to annual performance for 2014-15:
i) the total number of incidents attended in 2014-15 is the lowest overall total in the nine years that the current data set has been collected. It is also the lowest number of incidents for each of the three main categories of incidents individually;
ii) sickness levels for all staff continue to remain within tolerance and are comparable with 2013-14;
iii) the Service saw a 6.5% increase in attendances at building fires that met the 10 minutes attendance standard, compared with the same period last year; and
iv) retained (on-call) first appliances were available for operational duty 94.3% of the time.
To adopt the Fire Authority Annual Report 2015-16 and approve for publication.
[Appendix 1 is a separate document]
39
The Fire Authority's Report 2015-16 was presented for adoption and approval for publication.
Resolved that the Fire Authority Annual Report 2015-16 be adopted and approved for publication subject to any final minor changes as agreed by the Chief Fire Officer in consultation with the Chairman.
To update the Fire Authority on the progress made in the delivery of the Service’s Asset Management Strategy to replace five fire stations and build four strategic training facilities.
40
A report was presented to Members on the progress made in the delivery of the Service's Asset Management Strategy to replace five fire stations and build four strategic training facilities. Members were made aware of the revised financial position on the capital projects confirming the funding gap had been reduced to zero.
Resolved that the Authority notes that since the Asset Management Strategy was proposed in March 2011:
i) three fire stations have been replaced;
ii) three Strategic Training Facilities have been built;
iii) the Service has aligned its fire station replacement programme with the Police through closer collaboration; and
iv) the Place Partnership Limited venture has been registered as a company with a managing director having been appointed.
To provide an update on the Wyre Forest Blue Light Hub project and to gain authorisation for public consultation.
41
An update on the Wyre Forest Blue Light Hub project was presented to gain authorisation for public consultation.
Resolved that the Authority approves the commencement of formal public consultation for the Wyre Forest Blue Light Hub project.
To consider whether to make any alterations to the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2015/16 in light of the lack of change in the Consumer Price Index to April 2015.
42
A report was presented to consider whether to make any alterations to the Members' Allowances Scheme for 2015/16 in light of the lack of change in the Consumer Price Index to April 2015.
Resolved that:
i) the amended Members' Allowances Scheme 2015/16 be approved; and
ii) there be no change to the level of Members' Allowances for 2015/16.
To inform the Authority of recent key developments and activities.
43
The Chief Fire Officer informed the Authority of recent key developments and activities. The Chief Fire Officer was thanked for setting up the Day Crewing Plus system. Members thanked Malvern Fire Station for their help on 9 May 2015 with the VE Day Celebrations.
Resolved that the report be noted.
To update the Authority on issues raised at the recent Local Government Association (LGA) Annual Fire Conference and Exhibition 2015 (10th-11th March).
44
The Chairman presented a report updating the Authority on issues raised at the recent Local Government Association (LGA) Annual Fire Conference and Exhibition 2015 held on 10-11 March 2015.
Resolved that the report be noted.
To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 25 March 2015.
45
The Chairman of the Committee reported the proceedings of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting held on 25 March 2015.
Resolved that the minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting held on 25 March 2015 be received and noted.
To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 15 April 2015.
46
The Chairman of the Committee reported the proceedings of the Audit and Standards Committee held on 15 April 2015.
Resolved that the minutes of the Audit and Standards Committee meeting held on 15 April 2015 be received and noted.