LGA Governance


Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: South side, 5th Floor, Layden House, Turnmill Street, London, EC1M 5LG

Contact: Felicity Harris  0207 664 3231 / Email: felicity.harris@local.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome, apologies and declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

2.

Nick Hurd MP - Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service pdf icon PDF 110 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd MP, who was appointed to this role on 12 June 2017.

 

The Minister thanked the LGA for the invitation to speak at the Fire Commission meeting, stating that this was a valuable opportunity to have a conversation with members and acknowledging that this was a challenging role. The Minister emphasised the need to work together in the coming weeks, months and years ahead following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower. He said that there was a demand for change following the fire and that there were many lessons to be learnt. The Minister felt that we did not need to wait for the public inquiry before enacting change and he called on local government to come forward to help inform a proportionate response in terms of regulation and compliance with regulation.

 

The Minister praised the outstanding response by the emergency services to the Grenfell Tower fire and said that the service should be proud of their response, as well as the number of lives which were saved. He noted that the fire service had the trust and respect of the public, but that there was a need to continually challenge the service to improve, and to recruit and retain the best work force.

 

On issues aside from Grenfell Tower, the Minister stated that the fire service had made substantial progress in recent months and that he had been impressed with how the National Fire Chief’s Council under Chair Roy Wilsher’s leadership had worked to support the reform agenda. The Minister provided an update on the reform agenda, referring specifically to three areas: accountability and transparency, efficiency and workforce reform.

 

On accountability, the Minister suggested that an announcement on a future inspectorate would be made imminently. He said that while inspection can be uncomfortable, it was a necessary means to challenge the fire service to get better. On legislation for different governance arrangements and the decision to allow Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on responsibility for fire and rescue in their area, the Minister said that authorities could have the argument about accountability but not obstruct the process. He said that it would need to be a locally led decision effectively, because it was for local areas to determine the best governance for them.

 

In terms of efficiency and collaboration, the Minister said that there were effective existing examples of collaboration between fire and rescue services and police forces, and he would like to see more of this. He said that there was an opportunity for more efficient procurement and he suggested that goods data would continue to be published to ensure that public money was spent smartly. On workforce reform, the Minister confirmed that the Home Office was undertaking a review of the national framework and that the LGA was a member of the core working group looking at this. He said that views would be sought to ensure that the new framework  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Grenfell Tower pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced Dany Cotton, the London Fire Brigade Commissioner, and Phil Loach, Vice Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), and noted that efforts were being made to hold a joint meeting between the lead members of the Fire Services Management Committee, Safer and Stronger Communities and Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport boards, as well as the NFCC to discuss fire suppression methods following Grenfell.

 

Dany Cotton spoke to members about her involvement in the Grenfell Tower fire and noted that many of the firefighters who responded had never witnessed previous incidents of this scale, complexity and horror. She gave thanks to all who had supported the London Fire Brigade following these events and she acknowledged that the long-term psychological impact on the firefighters involved would be significant.

 

The Commissioner outlined some of the challenges the fire crews faced as events were unfolding, including the number of residents still inside the building, the complexity of receiving so many emergency calls from people both inside and outside the building, the reaction of the public in the local area and concerns about the structure of the building. It was suggested that this would have a considerable impact on London and that fire services were battling continuously with carrying out fire safety inspections and reassuring the public.

 

The Commissioner noted that local authorities had been quick to fix some problems but she was concerned about a knee jerk response to remove cladding from buildings as it can be perfectly safe on many buildings. She said that more needed to be done about fire prevention inside buildings but that the coordinated response so far had been helpful. There had been some frustration, however, over stories reported in the media which could not be responded to as events would be subject to a public inquiry. The Commissioner noted that a number of unfair comments had been made which harm the fire service but they could not be challenged in the circumstances. The Commissioner was clear that the important thing was to stay united in order to provide a consistent response to such reports.

 

The Vice Chair of the NFCC, Phil Loach, echoed members’ praise for Dany Cotton and wanted his thanks recorded. He said that the NFCC had provided support in engaging with government departments in the wake of the fire and he noted that a key aspect of this had been dealing with local authorities carrying out safety inspections. Mr Loach said that this work had been underpinned by the Chair, Roy Wilsher’s, leadership but also supported by contemporary expertise within the NFCC. He said that Chief Fire Officers and technical experts had underpinned the support effort.

 

Following these statements, members made the following comments:

 

·         Members gave praise to the role the Commissioner, her firefighters and support staff had following the fire, and made clear that we should recognise the risks they take in the name of public safety.

 

·         It was agreed that improvements needed to be made and that a clear  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Workforce paper pdf icon PDF 192 KB

Minutes:

Cllr Nick Chard introduced this item and gave thanks to the members and officers who had contributed their time and expertise to this agenda.

 

The main item for discussion was the NJC Employees’ pay claim. Cllr Chard reminded members that the NJC covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and discussion had subsequently taken place with all four employer stakeholders. As agreed, all FRS Chairs and CFOs had then been invited to attend one of three consultation meetings in Birmingham, Manchester and London. He noted that there appeared to be a difference in mood between meetings given two followed the fire at Grenfell Tower but there had been general consensus in all meetings that employees should be paid more, in the contact of broadening the role of the firefighter. Securing continuation of the work being undertaken through the NJC trials was therefore also a major issue.

 

Cllr Chard explained that in developing an offer in response to the claim employer representatives had looked at a 1 per cent offer for 1/1/2017 but, mindful of the views at the consultation meetings as well, felt strongly that it would be necessary and appropriate to show a firm commitment at the outset of negotiations to increased salary levels. An additional non-consolidated 1 per cent was considered recognising the difficulties in doing so. This was discussed as part of the negotiation and it was very clear that such an approach would not be worth pursuing. The offer therefore, as set out in the report, was a simple 2 per cent at this time and a commitment to a further 3 per cent on 1/4/2018 subject to a deal having been agreed and government funding to cover the cost. Increases in the subsequent 2/3 years would be discussed as part of the deal. The FBU is currently consulting its membership on the offer as a whole, albeit that its Executive Council has indicated it believes the package is not acceptable. Cllr Chard confirmed that they expected to hear back from the FBU on or shortly after 24 July. He said that there were no intentions to change the existing offer and reminded members that the offer was conditional on the Employees’ Side continuing its support for the emergency medical response (EMR) trials.

 

Members made the following comments:

 

·         Members noted that alongside the 2 per cent pay increase offer was the offer of a further 3 per cent increase, though Cllr Chard explained this was a conditional offer subject to the government agreeing to commit additional funding and a permanent deal being in place to broaden the role of the firefighter. There was recognition that members want to see better paid firefighters but that the additional 3 per cent increase needed to come from the government, alongside a longer-term broad agreement to ensure work such as that undertaken through the EMR trials continues now and on a permanent basis in the future.

 

·         Members felt that the LGA needed to lobby hard to support the National employers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Fire Commission update paper pdf icon PDF 196 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the Fire Commission update paper and asked for comments:

 

·         A discussion was had about the business case assessments for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) taking over responsibility for fire services. The Minister said that the decision would be led locally but this was contrary to the details given in the update paper. The Chair suggested that the LGA policy was that if it would be a locally agreed decision, there must be a panel set up to look at the business case. LGA Adviser, Charles Loft, confirmed that an updated set of proposals had been sent to the LGA and that this would be forwarded to lead members with some commentary.

 

Decision

 

The Fire Commission noted the report.

 

Action

 

Officers to forward updated proposals on PCCs to Fire Services Management Committee lead members.

6.

Notes from the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 180 KB

Minutes:

Decision

 

The Fire Commission agreed the notes of the previous meeting held on 14 October 2016.