Meeting Details

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the disussion of, or voting on, any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

Members are asked to recieve any questions, statements or petitions, of which notice has been received, from members of the public.

Members are asked to agree the minutes, attached marked 4a, of the Fire Authority Annual Meeting, held on 15 June 2016, and that they be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Members are asked to agree the minutes, attached marked 4b, of the Extraordinary Fire Authority Meeting, held on 28 June 2016, and that they be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Members are asked to recieve and note the minutes of the Audit and Performance Management Committee meetings, held on:

• 7 July 2016, attached marked 5a; and
• 15 September 2016, attached marked 5b, and agree the recommendations at items 8, 10 and 11.  The relevant reports are attached marked 5b1, 5bii and 5biii respectively

Members are asked to receive the minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee meeting, held on 8 September 2016, attached marked 6, and agree the recommendations at item 6.  A copy of the relevant report is attached marked 6a.

This report, attached marked 7, seeks approval to change the means of purchasing mobile data by moving to up-front payment for a bundle (known as a 'super bundle') to support the wider introduction of mobile working within the Service.

This report, attached marked 8, presents the draft Efficiency Plan for approval of the Authority, prior to its submission to the Home Office.

The Service has three significant Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP) projects running through this year.  IRMP 1 and 2 relate to new shift patterns, being introduced for our Wholetime Firefighters and Fire Control staff, and IRMP 3 relates to the redevelopment of our Telford Central fire station and training complex.

IRMP 1 and 2 aim to reduce our Wholetime staffing costs by up to £400k and to improve efficiency in our Fire Control function by up to £300k, by 2020.  Negotiations on the required Collective Agreements are now at an advanced stage, with the representative bodies currently seeking feedback from their members on the two draft documents.  If agreement is reached over the coming weeks, then the new shift systems should be in place for January 2017.

In relation to the IRMP 3 project, the Service is exploring all opportunities for joint collaboration with its partners, to ensure the Service secures the greatest public value from the significant investment that will be required for the site.  Mindful of the new legal requirement for all blue-light services to collaborate, likely to come into force early next year through the new Police and Crime Bill, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andy Johnson and Chief Superintendent Charles Hill (West Mercia Police), are exploring all possible opportunities for collaboration between the two services, not only in Telford, but also across the whole of the county. 

This work sits as part of the wider facilities review being undertaken by all of the public services across the county, under the umbrella of the Shropshire Estates Partnership.  Both services recognise this has introduced some delay into the Telford Central project, but are also mindful that a slight delay in the short-term, will hopefully result in significantly increased benefits to the public in the long-term.  Once all options have been fully explored and approved by the two services, then the full requirements specification for the Telford Central development will be known and the project will be able to progress.  This should see work start to progress on the project through the first half of 2017, with completion likely to be during 2019.

Members will receive a more detailed report on this collaboration work, and the impact on the Telford Central project timelines, at its December 2016 meeting.

This paper, attached marked 10, highlights the number of people, who have been protected from harm, or rescued by operational crews during the year 2015/16 and from April to August 2016.  It also attempts to provide an economic value for the rescue work carried out by the Fire Service.