Agenda item

The Chair introduced Adrian Thomas, whose report into the conditions of service for Fire and Rescue staff in England had been published in early November 2016. Mr Thomas invited Members to ask questions on the recommendations he had made in the report.

In the discussion which followed, Members raised the following points:

·         In response to a question on recommendation 19, that the National Joint Council (NJC) should consider operating regionally to reflect the requirements of the different fire authorities whilst retaining a national umbrella with respect to basic pay, Mr Thomas explained that he had not commented on how this should be implemented. He also commented on the range of local variations on the national provisions in the Grey Book, and that he had recommended that the Grey Book be slimmed down to allow even more local flexibility.

·         In respect of recommendation 20 which suggested greater involvement of ACAS in local dispute resolution, a number  of members highlighted the success of the NJC’s joint conciliation process, which was greater than their experiences of ACAS.

·         In response to a question on recommendation 27, that legislation should be brought forward to provide employment protection to firefighters employed on the Retained Duty System, Mr Thomas highlighted that he had received a lot of feedback that local employers were negative about staff becoming retained firefighters. It would be preferable for the fire service to work closer with local employers to come to a positive outcome in a non-legislative way. It was suggested that the fire service could liaise with the Ministry of Defence to ask how they worked with local employers regarding reservists.

·         Regarding recommendation 30, that fire authorities should keep the number and level of commitment of fire authority elected Members under review, Mr Thomas clarified that this was not directed at any one authority, but some had a larger number of Members which created an additional burden on the authority senior management. Authorities should have the ability to review their own oversight arrangements.

·         Adrian Thomas highlighted that his most important point was recommendation 45, that where change is common sense it should become common practice. Often neighbouring services operated differently and services should be standardised to improve practice across the sector. The role of FRAs was important to make it easier for change to happen.

·         In response to a question on the role on the 21^st century firefighter, Adrian Thomas explained that non-firefighting roles in the service were in the majority, and a large amount of non-firefighting work was taking place in the community. The sector should examine if shift systems were appropriate, and if geographical location such as living within close proximity to the station were still required for retained firefighters..

·         Members agreed that the FSMC should have a lead role in delivering the recommendations related to the LGA in the report, and would be a major influencing factor in work undertaken through the NJC. Adrian Thomas explained that some groups he had spoken to had commented that certain groups felt disenfranchised, so the structure of the NJC should be reviewed by the Independent Chair. Members requested that a report on reform of the NJC be considered at the next meeting.

Decisions

The Committee:

1.    Noted the publication of the review;

2.    Agreed that where possible the LGA should coordinate its response to the Review with other bodies and organisations in the sector as well as other partners; and

3.    Agreed that a report on reform of the NJC should be considered at the next meeting of FSMC in January 2017.

Action

Report on reform of the NJC to be brought to the next meeting as requested.