Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D C Morgan, R J Phillips and Mrs A Reynolds.

There were no declarations of interest at this stage in the meeting.

(To receive a report from Nick Borrill (Acting Chief Fire Officer), which invites the Committee to consider a report on the Fire and Rescue Integrated Risk Management Planning – Results of Consultation 2016/2017.  Any comments on the report will be reported to the Executive at its meeting on 6 September 2016)

Consideration was given to a report by Nick Borrill (Acting Chief Fire Officer), which invited the Committee to consider information on the Fire and Rescue Integrated Risk Management Planning – Results of Consultation 2016/17, which was due to be considered by the Executive on 6 September 2016.

The Acting Chief Fire Officer presented the report to the Committee, which outlined the results of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue's Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP) consultation for 2016/17.  This year the Service had consulted on the following proposals:

·         A new IRMP Baseline Document for 2016 – 2020;

·         A potential savings option based on crewing changes at Lincoln South;

·         A reduction in the number of Rescue Service Units;

·         The permanent relocation of an Aerial Ladder Platform to Boston;

·         Further development of the Joint Ambulance Conveyance Project;

·         The introduction of a cost recovery process for attendance to Unwanted Fire Signals;

·         Service Priorities for 2016/17.

Members were advised that the consultation had lasted for a period of eleven weeks and was made available, predominantly electronically, to a wide range of stakeholders including staff, partners, representative bodies and members of the community.  A total of 322 feedback forms had been received along with 22 separate written responses.  In addition, a 5,337 signature petition against cuts to the fire service had been submitted to the County Council along with an e-petition containing 417 names and 38 comments.  The service received one alternative savings option proposal from the Fire Bridges Union (FBU) for consideration.

The Acting Chief Fire Officer presented information on each of the above proposals and Members were provided with an opportunity to ask questions under each proposal, where the following points were noted: -

Proposal 1 - Agree the IRMP Baseline Document 2016 – 2020

·           The Committee expressed concerns that the response to the proposal had been overshadowed by the concerns in relation to the proposed changes to Lincoln South. This was apparent from the comments received.  Officers confirmed that the Baseline Document was a strategic document covering key risks and the Service’s general approach to reducing those risks.

Proposal 2 – Identify Potential Savings Options.

·         Officers confirmed that there was no time limit to the agreement and the proposals had been approved by the FBU.  However, endorsement would still be needed at a meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee.  Officers also confirmed that the agreement could be terminated with six months’ notice which was in line with other local agreements currently in place;

·         The Committee queried the impact of the proposal with respect to wholetime crews responding to incidents with four rather than five crew members on the majority of occasions, and whether this would reduce operational flexibility and impact on safety. Officers confirmed that currently a crew of four respond to incidents in around 50% of cases, and that while flexibility could be limited the incident commander would risk manage the incident to operate a safe system of work until a follow up engine could attend.  It was noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.