Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed members to the meeting and put on record his thanks to the 3 members of the Committee who were no longer councillors following the May local elections – Cllr Cleo Lake, Cllr John Robinson and Cllr Colin Spence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Nikki Hennessey (sub Cllr Jane Hugo)

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2021 were agreed as an accurate record.

Commissioner Andy Roe – London Fire Brigade – to attend

The Chair invited Commissioner Andy Roe (AR) of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to update members on the New Providence Wharf (NPW) fire.

There followed a confidential discussion on the update.

Decision:

FSMC noted the update.

Actions:

Officers to bring a report to the next meeting of the Committee on the issues raised by the NPW fire and possible LGA responses.

Karen Lancaster - Assistant Portfolio Director – People Pillar, Fire and Rescue Service Portfolio, HMICFRS – to attend

The Chair invited Karen Lancaster (KL) - Assistant Portfolio Director – People Pillar, Fire and Rescue Service Portfolio, HMICFRS, to address the Committee.

KL initially reminded members of HMICFRS’s principal findings from the round 1 inspections on the ‘people’ pillar. These included: values/culture in some services needing improvement, in particular the ‘watch’ culture; EDI still remaining an aspiration in many services; lack of diversity in leadership; and inequalities between operational and non-operational staff.

KL then went onto describe HMICFRS’s approach to round 2 of inspections. EDI would be embedded across the whole inspection framework and there would be a greater focus on meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty. There would be a new question  - “how well does the FRS promote equality, diversity and inclusion to ensure fair and open opportunities for all” – and a desktop review undertaken of the FRS’s approach to equality impact assessments and an analysis of social media output.

Finally, Karen spoke about what a ‘good’ service would look like under the new inspection regime. HMICFRS was hoping to have results of tranche 1 published by the end of 2021.

Members comments and questions:

·       Members requested that the slide pack be circulated after the meeting. Karen agreed to this.

·       How could a wider group of members be reached out to, other than the Champions’ Network? Rachael Aldridge (Policy Adviser) said the LGA was exploring options to expand on the work of the Champions Network, to FRAs more broadly. To inform the Network’s annual plan, a review of the topics covered to date was being conducted and therefore, where to focus learning and development in 2021/22. She agreed to circulate a list of key questions to members for feedback following the meeting. Members agreed that a discussion at the next Lead Member meeting should also take place on this issue.

Decision

FSMC noted the report and presentation.

Actions:

·       Rachael Aldridge to circulate list of questions on EDI work to FSMC members

·       Lead members to discuss how to expand on the work of the Champions’ Network

The Chair invited Rachael Aldridge (Policy Adviser) to introduce the report.

Rachael ran through the proposed induction and development offer for FRA members for 2021/22 and said that the new programme aimed to address gaps which had been identified. It was proposed to hold a series of workshops in July to inform FRA’s responses to the Government’s Fire Reform White Paper with a focus on governance models, and best practice in leadership and scrutiny. Two further Fire Leadership Essentials courses were planned for 2021/22 with the first due to take place in July 2021. FRA chairs would be contacted to outline the resources and member development programmes available, as well as details of all regional advisers.

Members comments and questions:

·       It was suggested that newly-elected members to FRAs could be reached through the political group offices at the LGA.

Decision:

FSMC agreed the proposed member induction and development offer for 2021.

Ian Taylor - Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Senior User and Business Change Lead (Fire) for National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) – to attend

The Chair invited Ian Taylor (IT), Senior User and Business Change Lead (Fire) for NFCC ESMCP to introduce the update.

IT briefly presented the Full Business Case (FBC) to members, which was now out to consultation. There followed a confidential discussion on the proposals.

Decision:

FSMC agreed to: a) write a joint response with the NFCC to the ESMCP Full Business Case; b) appoint Cllr Eric Carter to be the LGA’s second representative on the ESMCP Fire Customer Group.

The Chair invited Gill Gittins (Senior Adviser - Workforce and Negotiations) and Clair Alcock (Senior Fire Pensions Adviser) to introduce the confidential update.

Decision:

FSMC noted the update.

The Chair invited Mark Hardingham (MH), NFCC Chair, to introduce the update.

MH highlighted to members that he had appointed two new Vice Chairs – Justin Johnston, Chief Fire Officer, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Phil Garrigan, Chief Fire Officer, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. He also placed on record his thanks to the outgoing Vice Chairs, Phil Loach and Huw Jakeway for their significant contribution over the past four years.

Decision

FSMC noted the update.

Decision

FSMC noted the update.

The Chair invited Rachael Aldridge (RA), Policy Adviser, to introduce the update.

RA reported that a Governance Task & Finish Group was being set up to help inform the LGA’s response to the Government’s Fire Reform White Paper. Jonny Bugg from the Home Office, advised members that there would be a 12 week consultation on the White Paper which it was hoped would be published in late June.

RA reported that recruitment of an officer to support the Spending Review process had so far not been successful. With timelines likely to be tight, the process might need rethinking.

Decision:

FSMC noted the update.

There was no further business.