Agenda item

(To receive a report from Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer, which provides a summary of HMICFRS report on LFR as part of the national inspection regime for all Fire Authorities in England)

Consideration was given to a report from Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer, which provided the Committee with a summary of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report on Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (LFR) as part of the national inspection regime for all Fire Authorities in England.

The Chairman invited Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer, to remotely present the report to the Committee.

The Committee were advised of the background to the inspection regime.  A summary of the LFR judgements for the inspection compared to 2018 were shown on page 52 of the report.  It was noted that out of the 13 services that had received their report, seven of them had received the same grading as Lincolnshire, with one service receiving inadequate in ‘how they prevent fires and risks’.  It was noted further that only one service gained an ‘outstanding’ judgement and that was Merseyside Fire and Rescue.

The Committee were advised of the main areas of interest with regard to each pillar, these were detailed on pages 53 to 55 of the report; the actions to address recommendations from the inspection report – Cause of concern with regard to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Protection. It was reported that LFR had produced dedicated action plans that identified areas and actions that needed to be focussed on to address the recommendations from the report in these areas.  Details of the governance arrangements for the two plans were detailed on page 56 of the report.

It was highlighted that LFR had been updating HMICFRS on a monthly basis following the inspection, the inspectorate had produced a letter that accompanied the report which outlined that they were pleased with the progress against the action plans and the governance arrangements.  A copy of the said letter was attached at Appendix A to the report; and copies of the two action plans relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity and Protection were detailed at Appendices B and C for the Committee to consider.

The Committee was advised that a re-inspection had taken place between 29 February and 2 March 2022, and that the outcome of the re-inspection would result in a formal letter in April 2022.  It was reported that the Chief Fire Officer, Assistant Chief Officer and the Executive Councillor had attended debrief on 7 March 2022, to receive feedback from the re-inspection, at which HMI had recognised the good progress being made in both areas of concern.  Details of the 17 areas for improvement across the three pillars were shown on pages 57 to 59 of the report.

In conclusion, the Committee was advised that work had been undertaken to address the recommendations stated in the report that was released in December 2021; and that LFR’s continued focus during 2022/23 as part of the services annual plan had stated that this improvement journey was a stated priority for the service and that progress would be continued to be measured across all areas and would be reported to the  LFR’s Performance Management Board for scrutiny and assurance.

During consideration of this item, the Committee raised the following comments:

·       That sometimes the cross-cutting Inspectorate findings took away the overall excellent work carried out by the LFR service;

·       Unconscious bias training.  The Committee was advised unconscious bias training was very important; and that it was applied in day-to-day activities; and that it enabled people to recognise any pre-conceived thinking.  It was highlighted that once recognised, it would enable better decisions to be made to ensure that LFR had the most diverse workforce it could have.  The Committee noted that the training was being delivered by an external company;

·       Confirmation was given that LFR monitored EDI figures in the same way as the county council.  It was highlighted that LFR currently employed fewer female employees than average, and that LFR was making every effort to encourage female employees into the service.  It was noted further that the service did reflect the communities within Lincolnshire;

·       Fire Prevention messages in other languages.  It was reported that prevention literature was available in as many different languages as possible;

·       Partnership working with Lincoln University with regard to prevention work.  The Chief Fire Officer was happy to share the safe and well check report with the Committee.  It was highlighted that for every £1 of investment, the service saved over £36 as a result; and that the initiative was making a positive impact;

·       The importance of monitoring and managing LFR to ensure that the service was the best it could be, and to recognise that inspection work was vital to ensuring an improving service;

·       The exceptional wok being carried out at the Horncastle Fire Station;

·       Whether the judgements for the inspection, as detailed on page 52 were expected, a surprise or a disappointment.  The Committee was advised that LFR were disappointed at the judgements, but it had not been a surprise following conversations with HMI and other Chief Fire Officers around the country.  It was highlighted that the inspection in December 2021 had been a deeper dive that the one carried out in 2018.  The Committee noted that the service was doing a lot of the work but had not provided the evidence in support of what was being done.  The service just needed to be smarter in its working and provide more evidence to support the service being the best it could for the people of Lincolnshire;

·       Mobile data terminals (MDT’s).  The report had highlighted positive comments about the investment in mobile data terminals on appliances but noted that better systems were required to keep risk information timely and accurate.  It was reported this had been a challenge, as Wi-Fi connections to MDT’s were sometimes causing a delay in data being received.  The Committee was advised that this had now been fixed and risk information was now being sent through immediately;

·       Prevention activities needed to be increased to deliver to the most vulnerable and hardest to reach communities. There was recognition that there was more to be done with partner agencies to increase intelligence in communities in this regard, particularly on the east coast.  One member highlighted that in some cases the local fire fighters had local knowledge of their community;

·       Some concern was expressed that some operational posts were temporary.  The Committee was advised that LFR’s establishment had been static for the last 2/3 years but was now seeing people moving away from the service.  It was highlighted that the service was already ahead with its workforce planning being 18 months to two years ahead in its training programme, which would alleviate the situation regarding temporary positions;

·       Availability of on call staff across the county. It was noted that 79% of staff were available for on call duty during the last year.  There was recognition that on call was a challenge and that more emphasis would be focussed on high-risk areas.  The Committee noted that the service was still recruiting on-call firefighters and that the training packages would enable them to be able to ride the appliances; and

·       That a further update would be appropriate in six months’ time.

The Chairman extended his thanks to the Chief Fire Officer for his report.

RESOLVED

1.     That Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue be received.

2.     That progress made against the areas of concerns highlighted in the report and the action plans detailed at Appendices B and C to the report be received and noted.

3.     That the additional 17 areas for improvement and the scrutiny and assurance structure to address all areas be noted.  

4.      That a further progress report be received by the Committee in six months’ time.

(Councillor A N Stokes left the meeting at 12:53)