Agenda item

(To receive a report by Nick Borrill, Chief Fire Officer, which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider the report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services which was published on 20 December 2018)

Consideration was given to a report by the Chief Fire Officer, which provided the committee with the results of the inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Report (HMICFRS).

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (LFR) had been inspected by HMICFRS in the summer of 2018 as part of a new independent inspection process.

LFR had received a positive report and had been graded 'Good' for how effective it was at keeping people safe from fire and other risks, and 'Good' for how efficiently it delivers the service. An action plan was being finalised to address the areas identified for improvement.

The service had been assessed as 'required improvement' in how well it looks after its people. This mainly related to concerns over the effectiveness of how it records training and monitoring systems. It was noted that LFR were already aware that there needed to be improvements made in these areas and they were in the process of implementing a new system to help improve the situation. Officers highlighted that there were only 3 services across the county that had been rated 'good' in this area and that the reports had recognised it as an issue nationally.

Members were informed that an action plan was currently being finalised to address the areas identified for improvement, and the final update would be brought to the committee in July 2019.

Members were invited to ask questions, in which the following points were raised:

·       The Chief Fire Officer explained that all LFR employees had the same access to wellbeing support that all County Council employees do.

·       Officers were confident that they had a balanced budget going forward.

·       The Executive Councillor for Culture and Emergency Services added that from a capital point of view, LFR was one of the best funded services nationally.

·       The Assistant Chief Fire Officer highlighted that there had been 2 new posts created which would help ensure that there were enough resources given to a priorities and risk-based inspection programme.

·       It was clarified that retained firefighters had an availability contract which generally managed within each station to ensure that the service was well maintained but firefighters had a balanced work/life schedule.

·       LFR had a very successful on-call service.

·       The Assistant Chief Fire Officer explained that they offered on-going support to all parties involved in any serious incidents, including employees of LFR. Officers acknowledged that mental health and wellbeing is a number one priority for all those involved in incidents.

·       Officers confirmed that the new competence recording system for recording training was due to be in place by mid-2019, rather than the end of 2018 as stated in the report.

·       It was confirmed that LFR had a grievance policy and procedure which was currently being renewed. Efforts would be made to communicate the policy to all employees and increase awareness of it.

·       Officers acknowledged the comments from firefighters that they felt disconnected from senior members of the service and were working to improve this. Due to the rural nature of the county, sometimes it was hard for officers to physically go out to all stations but efforts would be made to communicate with them in other ways and be innovative about communication and engagement.

·       The Executive Councillor for Culture and Emergency Services felt that it would be beneficial for Members to visit their local stations as part of the communication process. Email invitations to all members about station visits would be sent out to all Members in due course.

·       The Chief Fire Officer agreed to bring a report back containing the statistics in relation to the amount of 'false alarms' attended by the fire service.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the report and comments made be noted.

2.    That a final update on the LFR action plan, which would address issues            raised from the HMICFRS Report, be reported to the committee meeting scheduled for the 23 July 2019.