Agenda item

To receive and comment on Fire & Rescue Authority’s consultation document ‘Affordable Fire and Rescue Services for North Wales’.  A video explaining the objectives can be viewed here.

That the four proposed strategic objectives within the consultation document be supported, with the proviso that there should be greater explanation on the thinking behind Objective 4 ‘Exploring how we can do more things for our communities’.

Chief Fire Officer Simon Smith and Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dawn Docx of North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were welcomed to the meeting to give a presentation on the public consultation exercise, as set out in the document ‘Affordable fire and rescue services for North Wales’.  A short video was shown to highlight the significant financial pressures on the Fire Authority and its proposed improvement objectives for 2017/18:

1.    Continuing to keep people safe from fire in their homes.

2.    Taking a new approach to meeting the Authority’s costs.

3.    Protecting all our communities with better planning of firefighting crews.

4.    Exploring how we can do more things for our communities.

A number of internal changes had ensured that service delivery to communities remained unaffected, however continued financial pressures had identified the need for a new financial strategy to meet the £2.3m funding gap.

Councillor Paul Shotton welcomed the preventative work which had contributed to the decline in fire incidents over the past decade.  In response to a question, the Chief Fire Officer provided explanation on the ‘co-responding’ pilot scheme where support was given to the Ambulance Service by providing reactive and intermediate help on urgent serious incidents.  This did not replace the services by the Ambulance Trust and was an extension to the firefighter role with those taking part did so voluntarily.  Although the final outcome of the trial was not yet known, the positive impact was recognised.  Information was also shared on another pilot involving community safety teams providing support on low-level incidents in Conwy and Denbighshire.

Councillor Peter Curtis referred to the need for action by the Welsh Government (WG) to combat widespread austerity, and raised his concerns about the impact of further funding cuts.

The Chief Fire Officer spoke about the support received from WG.  Whilst significant work had been done to reduce the number of fires, there was a danger in reduced service demand as prevention was the only way to reduce deaths and injuries.

Councillor Brian Lloyd thanked the Fire Service for its assistance on a recent incident.

Councillor Robin Guest spoke about the Council’s support for the Fire Authority as a reactive service.  He referred to the £47 cost per head of population for North Wales in comparison with previous years and supported the proposal to seek additional funding from councils.  On Objective 4, he felt that a degree of caution was needed on creating opportunities to support other emergency services.  The Chief Fire Officer said that to avoid any reduction in resources/capability, the objective was aimed at identifying other activities to help justify and sustain the service into the future whilst balancing the budget.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer provided explanation on the financial strategy resulting in the cost per head of population being maintained since 2010/11.  She also spoke about the three year budget plan to deal with the funding gap.  The proposed increased levy from councils of £1.7m for 2017/18 would be levelled out the following year, utilising reserves.

As a former member of the Fire Service, Councillor Paul Cunningham applauded the approach being taken and commented on the range of other duties undertaken by fire officers.

The pilot with the Ambulance Service was welcomed by Councillor Ron Hampson in recognition of the increasing pressures arising from the ageing population.  The Chief Fire Officer explained that the pilot had been financed internally and that any plans to extend this would require discussions on funding with WG and the health sector.

Councillor Arnold Woolley felt that public support for increased funding would be forthcoming, given the value of the Fire Service.  The Chief Fire Officer said that individual decisions on contribution levels would need to be made by each of the six North Wales councils and that views may differ.

Councillor Ian Dunbar, who was attending as an observer, was permitted to speak.  As a member of the Fire Authority, Councillor Dunbar commended the approach and highlighted the Phoenix projects which helped young people.  He supported the request for additional funding and referred to the proposal to withdraw one wholetime fire engine in Wrexham.  The Chief Fire Officer emphasised that this decision had not been taken lightly and that a number of factors had been considered such as the declining number of incidents, the need to find efficiencies and manage risk without resorting to redundancies or the loss of another fire station.  He pointed out that difficult decisions would need to be made in January, following the outcome of the public consultation exercise.

The Chief Executive advised the Committee that this was the only opportunity to formally discuss the consultation document before the Council could respond within the deadline.  He explained that the wider public view was a material factor in balancing the budget and may not concur with that of local authorities.  On the budget pressure, should the increase in levy be approved by the Fire and Rescue Authority, this would need to be treated as an additional pressure with one funding option being to include it within the annual Council Tax setting.

When asked by Councillor Vicky Perfect about the potential impact of the levy on Council Tax, the Corporate Finance Manager reported this to be around 0.51%.

The Committee supported the recommendations in the report, along with that from Councillor Guest for greater explanation on the thinking behind Objective 4.

RESOLVED:

That the four proposed strategic objectives within the consultation document be supported, with the proviso that there should be greater explanation on the thinking behind Objective 4 ‘Exploring how we can do more things for our communities’.