The Chair welcomed members to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Mark Hardingham – NFCC.

There were no declarations of interest.

Cllr Chard proposed that in view of the late receipt of the report, and the importance of submitting a strong and united response to the White Paper on behalf of the LGA, that members be given more time to comment on the draft. It was suggested that members should submit comments on the draft to Lucy Ellender by 15 July and that an additional FSMC meeting be held on 22 July to finalise the response ahead of the Home Office submission deadline of 26 July, with any final amendments being agreed by Lead Members. FSMC agreed with this proposal.

Decision

FSMC agreed to defer finalising its response to the Fire Reform White Paper until a further meeting of the Committee on 22 July.

Presentation from CFO Rod Hammerton – Project Executive

The Chair invited CFO Rod Hammerton (RH), Project Executive, to give his presentation.

RH gave members an overview of the project including the issues it was seeking to address, how it fitted in with existing leadership development initiatives and the allocation of costs between the FRS and NFCC. RH stressed that the Government was supportive of the project (although not financially) and it was highlighted in their Fire Reform White Paper as best practice. Twelve FRS’s had already signed up to the project and it was hoped that the remainder would be approached to take part by August. Finally, RH set out the next steps for the project with recruitment taking place between September 2022 and March 2023. Area Managers and Station Managers would then undergo two-year and three-year development programmes respectively.

Members’ comments and questions:

·       Members felt that Direct Entry could be a useful tool for expanding diversity and expertise in fire service management but that it was also important to focus on development opportunities for existing firefighters. The current succession model was good for social mobility in the sector. It was suggested that Direct Entry schemes in other sectors had not been altogether successful. RH stressed that Direct Entry would be an additional string to the bow for FRAs seeking to diversify their management and was not designed to usurp existing processes of development. Direct Entry had worked successfully in other sectors and it was about looking for proven leadership ability, not a graduate entry scheme.

·       What opportunities would there be for on-call staff? RH said that the diversity of skills in on-call and existing green book staff was enormous and they would certainly be seeking to make best use of these wherever possible.

·       Political awareness was seen to be a key skill for senior management in FRSs.

Decision:

Fire Services Management Committee noted the presentation and the NFCC’s ongoing work on Direct Entry.

The Chair invited Lucy Ellender (LE), Senior Adviser, to introduce the report.

LE explained that the report set out the range of work carried out for FSMC over the previous year and some potential priorities and horizon scanning for the forthcoming year. She requested feedback from members on these priorities.

Members’ comments and questions:

·       Members felt that sector-led improvement should be added to the list of priorities for next year as it had become less visible since the HMICFRS inspection process began. FSMC should coordinate a supportive programme of peer review for services that had areas for improvement identified. Members expressed reservations about any LGA involvement in an intervention process led by the Home Office and HMICFRS, as currently happened with the Police. Emily McGuinness, Programme Manager in the LGA’s Improvement Team, said that there was a good appetite in the sector for a new LGA improvement offer but there was currently no funding to deliver this effectively. Conversations were ongoing in order to try and secure the required funding.

Decision:

Fire Services Management Committee noted the work carried out over the last year and with the addition of sector-led improvement, endorsed the proposed priority areas for 2022-23.

The Chair requested further information on the NFCC’s report - the Economic and Social Value of the UK FRS - and whether it would be possible for members to see a copy. LE said that the report process was still ongoing but she would follow up with the NFCC Chair to see when it could be shared with members.

Decision:

Fire Services Management Committee noted the update.

Action:

LE to speak to NFCC about Economic and Social Value report.

The Chair invited Cllr Nick Chard to introduce the update.

Cllr Chard drew members attention to the two leadership standards – service leadership and leading and developing people – which were currently out for consultation. These were expected to be adopted, subject to the consultation outcome, in late 2022.

Decision

Fire Services Management Committee noted the update.

The Chair invited Lucy Ellender, Senior Adviser, to introduce the update.

LE reported that the Leadership Essentials course due to take place in July would have to be rescheduled due to low take up.

Members’ comments and questions:

·       Cllr Carter reported that in relation to item 13 on the Fire Customer Group, he had received an update on ESMCP from Ian Taylor, the project lead, and that he hoped to be able to provide a formal update for members for the September FSMC meeting. LE confirmed that this had been put onto the FSMC forward plan as an item for discussion.

Decision:

Fire Services Management Committee noted the update.

Members received a confidential update on building safety issues.

Decision:

FSMC noted the update.

Members received a confidential update on workforce matters.

Decision:

Fire Services Management Committee noted the update.

Presentation from HMI Roy Wilsher

Members received a confidential presentation from HMI Roy Wilsher on the latest round of HMICFRS inspections.

Decision:

Fire Services Management Committee noted the presentation.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 May 2022 were agreed as an accurate record.

Members agreed that the Fire Commission and FSMC meetings scheduled for September and October 2022 respectively should be swapped around to enable Fire Commission to discuss the Government’s expected response to the White Paper.