Meeting Details

Cllr R Phillips declared that he was Vice Chair of the Firefighters Pension Scheme Advisory Board (England and Wales), Chair of the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board (England and Wales), and Chair of the NJC for Fire Service (Grey Book).

Cllr J Shaw declared that her husband was employed by the Fire Service.

The Assistant Chief Officer - Director of Prevention presented the Service's performance for Quarter Four (Q4) 2025-26 for scrutiny and
acceptance.

Members were informed that this was the last report in this format, the next performance report would be presented differently to align with the new CRMP.  Feedback would be appreciated at the next meeting.

Members' attention was drawn to the 1,931 incidents attended in this quarter, an increase of 94 incidents (5.1%) compared to the same quarter
last year. This was made up of 355 Fires (a decrease of 2.2%), 641 Special Service Incidents (an increase of 4.2%) and 935 False Alarms (an increase of 8.8%). The Chief Fire Officer assured Members that although False Alarms was a significant increase, it appeared to be linked to elderly/sheltered care systems and the Service would not have put vulnerable people at risk by not attending. A review was being completed to analyse the data now the HMICFRS inspection had taken place.

Members noted that 1,962 Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSVs) were completed in Q4 2025 to 2026; of those visits 420 (21%) were delivered
by Prevention Technicians and 1,542 (79%) were delivered by operational crews. All stations had exceeded their quarterly targets and the Chief Fire Officer was pleased to announce that the target for the year had been met.

There had been 180 Road Traffic Collisions attended in Q4, which was an increase of 13 incidents (7.1%) compared to the same period in 2024 to 2025. Unfortunately there had been 1 fatality which was one less than in the same period last year.

With regard to the Attendance Performance Measure (APM), 421 (80%) out of 523 incidents had met the APM.

The On-Call fire engine availability this quarter was 86.2%, which was an increase (3.9%) compared to the availability figure in the same
period last year. The Chief Fire Officer stated that he was particularly proud of the On-call availability as the Deputy Chief Fire Officer had spent a lot of time on this and the Service was now starting to see the benefits and hoped it could be sustained.

Staff sickness absence had increased this quarter from 2.45 to 2.78 days lost per person.

RESOLVED that Members noted the details of the Q4 2025 to 2026 performance headlines, in particular that:

i)   A total of 1,931 incidents were attended in Q4 2025 to 2026 which was an increase of 5.1% (+94) compared to Q4 2024 to 2025.

ii)  Fire incidents (355) decreased by 2.2% (-8) when compared to Q4 2024 to 2025 and were higher than the five-year average of 336.

iii) Special Services incidents (641) increased by 4.2% (+26) when compared to Q4 2024 to 2025. Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs) increased by 7.1% (+12) compared to Q4 2024 to 2025.

iv) False Alarms (935) increased by 8.8% (+76) compared with Q4 2024 to 2025.

The Assistant Chief Officer - Director of Prevention presented Members with the opportunity to scrutinise and review the Attendance Performance Measure (APM) data for the financial year 2025-26.

Following scrutiny of the report, Members noted that 2,520 incidents had been assessed and 82% of the incidents had met the expected response time (2,060 incidents). 1,557 incidents had required a Zone 1 response time and 1,263 incidents (81%) had met the expected time. 699 incidents had required a Zone 2 response time and 578 incidents (83%) had met the expected time. 264 incidents had required a Zone 3 response time and 219 incidents (83%) had met the expected time.

The top three recorded reasons for not meeting the APM were; difficulty locating the incident, road obstruction or traffic issues and not pressing the button for attendance on arrival. Members were advised that the new Fire Control system coming later in the year would provide up to date mapping software, What3Words and Google Maps. It was expected this would significantly improve the ability to locate the incident.

Members were pleased to note that following a new web application deployed by the Service's ICT department at the start of October 2025, streamlining the APM process had reduced processing time for both information analysts and officers. The response rate to requests for APM feedback had risen from 74% in the first two quarters of 2025-26 to 97% in the final two quarters after the application's launch.

RESOLVED that:

i)  The APM results for 2025-26 and the continuous improvements in processing the measure be noted; and

ii) In particular it be noted that for 2025-26 the APM was met on 82% of occasions.

The Assistant Chief Officer - Director of Prevention presented the annual review of the Authority's Modern Slavery Act and Human Trafficking Statement 2025-26 for scrutiny and approval.

Members noted that this year's review incorporated amendments to the Policy section, notably the inclusion of the Diversity Framework, which encompasses the Service's Equality Objectives. In addition, links to the Service's Safeguarding Policies had been incorporated.

Members were pleased to note that there was no evidence of modern slavery in Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service or supply chains and approved the Statement for publication on the Service website.

RESOLVED that Members endorsed the updated Modern Slavery Act and Human Trafficking Statement for 2025-26.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented an update on the establishment and activities of the Pensions Board.

Members noted that during 2025/26 the Board identified issues around the accuracy of membership data and a rising trend in scheme opt-outs. Actions were agreed to improve data quality and member engagement. 

Members were assured that succession planning was already in place in readiness for the Deputy Chief Fire Officer's retirement. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer would be taking over the role.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer thanked the Treasurer and his team for the gathering and processing of the data that was sent through to West Yorkshire to facilitate, which had put the Service in a strong position.

The report gave Members confidence that the Authority's fire pension schemes were being governed and administered properly, even during a period of significant national change and complexity in public service pensions.

RESOLVED it be noted that:

i)   The Pensions Board had continued to operate fully in line with its legal responsibilities under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 and the expectations of The Pensions Regulator.

ii)   Throughout 2025-26, the Board had provided effective oversight of pension scheme governance, administration, training and risk management. This had been during a particularly demanding period, with major national programmes such as the McCloud/Sargent and Matthews remedies placing additional pressures on pension administration.

iii) The Board had also ensured that key risks, administrative issues and any breaches of pension regulations were identified promptly, managed appropriately and formally reported where required.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer - Director of Prevention presented a report to inform and allow scrutiny of the activities of the Joint Consultative Committee since the last update provided on 26 November 2025.

Members noted the current and existing issues under discussion with employee representatives.

The Chief Fire Officer assured Members that there was now positive working relationships with the two current elected officials of the FBU and he hoped this continued.

RESOLVED that the following new and existing items currently under discussion by the Joint Consultative Committee be noted:

i)    HMICFRS Inspection Update

ii)   Diversity Framework

iii)  Professional Standards Board

iv)  Policies (consulted on or noted)

v)   Property Update

vi)  Projects Update

vii) Efficiencies Update