Agenda item

To receive a presentation from the Chief Fire Officer to inform the Council about North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority’s 2019-20 budget.

That a corporate response to the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority’s consultation on the draft budget be submitted by 2 November 2018.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Simon Smith, Chief Officer, Helen McArthur, Assistant Chief Officer, and Sian Morris, Assistant Chief Officer, North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority.  The Chairman expressed his appreciation for the work undertaken by the North Wales Fire & Rescue Service during the exceptional prolonged hot weather experienced during the Summer this year. 

Councillor Tony Sharps took the opportunity to express his personal thanks to the Fire & Rescue Service who had attended a fire at his property and paid tribute to the speed of the response by the crew based at the Queensferry Fire Station and the excellent work they did to control the situation and make safe his property.

Mr. Smith welcomed the opportunity to return to the Council and said it was with regret Meirick Lloyd Davies, Chair of the Authority, and Peter Lewis, Deputy Chair of the Authority, were unable to attend the meeting and offered their apologies and best wishes to Members and the Authority.  Mr. Smith introduced Helen McArthur, Assistant Chief Officer (with responsibility for Corporate Resources) and Sian Morris, Assistant Chief Officer, (with responsibility for Corporate Planning and other areas). 

Mr. Smith referred to the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority annual consultation which had been launched 11 September.  He said that the consultation concentrated on the resources available to the Fire & Rescue Authority, the budget, and the impact of the ongoing financial restraints which were also on local authorities in North Wales.  He said it was important that the Fire & Rescue Authority and local authorities worked together and had a mutual understanding of the ongoing challenges to be addressed.  Within this background and context Mr. Smith said it was important that the Fire Authority explained the current position in terms of the Fire & Rescue Authority’s budget and its ability to deliver services.  Mr. Smith continued that it was intended, following the presentation, to seek informal feedback from the Council on the consultation which would be followed with formal feedback from the County Council by the 2 November 2018 deadline.

 Mr. Smith invited Ms Sian Morris to give a presentation on the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority’s Planning for 2019/20.  The main points of the presentation were as follows:

·         North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority

·         what the Authority provides

·         current spending

·         funding fire and rescue services

·         moving into 2019/20 

Ms Morris reported on the key duties of the Fire & Rescue Authority which were to make sure there were adequate resources to meet the normal requirements of operating and delivering fire and rescue services,  to ensure fire fighters were properly trained and equipped, and that when people called 999 they got a response and resources were mobilised.  Ms Morris said that the Authority also had to comply with legislation and regulations and cited General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), Welsh language standards, Health & Safety legislation, financial regulations, and equality legislation as some examples.

Ms Morris referred to the work of maintaining cover in fire stations and explained that there were 44 fire stations located throughout North Wales.  She said that the majority of stations had one fire engine and one fire crew and that in the main fire fighting staff were retained fire fighters.  She reported that the fire stations in Deeside, Wrexham, and Rhyl, were staffed around the clock and said there were a further 5 stations which were staffed throughout the day and operated as retained stations overnight.  The remaining 36 stations were wholly retained fire stations.

Ms Morris gave an overview of the emergency incidents attended in North Wales.  She said that through its fire prevention work the Fire & Rescue Authority had been successful in reducing the number of fires occurring in North Wales.  She continued that through policy and procedural changes the Fire Authority had also reduced the number of times that fire crews had been sent to attend to a false alarm.   However, Ms Morris explained that the number of non-fire emergencies attended had increased to reflect the greater diversification of the fire service and cited collaborative work with the ambulance service as an example.

Following a short video on the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority Service Ms Morris concluded her presentation by advising that the Fire & Rescue Authority had recently reviewed its operations and had decided not to consult this year on removal of any of the fire appliances or reduction of fire crews.

Ms Helen MacArthur, Assistant Chief Officer, was invited to give a further presentation on finance and budget implications.   Ms MacArthur said she would report on the Fire Authority’s expenditure and cost base including some comparisons to other Fire & Rescue Authority’s and other North Wales public sector bodies.  She said she would also take the opportunity to outline the Fire & Rescue Authority’s funding processes, use of reserves, and highlight the challenges for 2019/20.  In acknowledging the financial challenges which were also to be addressed by local authorities in North Wales, Ms MacArthur gave an assurance that the Fire & Rescue Authority took its financial responsibilities seriously, managed its expenditure with appropriate due care and diligence, and was as efficient as possible. 

Ms MacArthur reported that the Fire & Rescue Authority’s expenditure for 2017/18 was £33.3m.  She gave a broad breakdown of expenditure and referred to the main areas of employee costs (front line operational work, fire and rescue, prevention, and specialist support), capital financing, and suppliers (ICT and communication costs). Ms MacArthur commented on the significant cost pressures to be addressed by the Fire & Rescue Authority and cited pay awards, an ageing workforce, pension costs, general inflation in the area of capital financing, and ICT, as examples.  Ms MacArthur went on to present an historical review of expenditure between 2010/11 and 2018/19 and said expenditure had risen by 8%.  She reported on the actions taken to address increased costs and referred to the savings achieved from staff budgets and non-pay budgets, the efficiencies achieved through changes of policy and continued emphasis on reducing demand (prevention), the occasional windfall gains, and the use of reserves.    

Ms MacArthur reported on the comparison data presented on the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority in the context of local authority revenue budgets and public sector budgets and on the benchmarking information provided in comparison with other Fire & Rescue Authorities in Mid and West Wales and South Wales. 

Ms MacArthur went on to present analysis on County Council contributions and net expenditure and said that for the last 3 financial years the Fire & Rescue Authority’s running costs had exceeded the amounts levied on individual councils.  For 2019/20 the Fire Authority had reached the point where its reserves could not be depleted further and the running costs would have to be matched by the contributions received from local authorities.  The increase in contributions would be £1.9m across all local authorities for this year (according to current planning assessment) and the direct cost to Flintshire would be £420k.  Ms MacArthur commented that it was anticipated that due to the financial restraints on the Council it would not be possible to meet the increase in contribution to the Fire Authority from internal reserves and the cost would need to be met from an increase in council tax.  The effect of the increase on an average Band D dwelling would equate to an additional £6.53 in 2019/20.

The Chief Executive thanked Mr Simon Smith, Ms Sian Morris and Ms Helen MacArthur for their collective presentation.  Members were invited to raise questions.

Councillor Rita Johnson asked the Fire & Rescue Authority’s officers to provide further information on its revised policy around attending calls to rescue large animals.  Mr. Simon Smith provided background information and explained that the rescue of large animals was a non statutory duty and due to the financial restraints on the Fire & Rescue Authority it had been decided to cease that service.  He commented that there   had been no real impact on the North Wales community as a result.  In response to a further question from Councillor Clive Carver around animal rescue, Mr Simon Smith explained that the Fire & Rescue Service would attend a call when an animal was involved in a significant road traffic accident and cited the transporting of live cattle and horses, as an example.

Councillor Ian Roberts paid tribute to the work of the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority and thanked Mr. Smith for the reassurance and support which had been given to the residents of Flint who lived in high rise buildings following the Grenfell Tower disaster in London last year.    Mr. Smith thanked Councillor Roberts for his positive feedback and said the Council was also to be commended for its work on the initial construction of the buildings and the on-going monitoring and use of the high-rise buildings in Flint.  He emphasised that preventative work was the key to keeping people safe.

Councillor Mike Peers commented on the positive work undertaken by the Phoenix programme for young offenders and asked if this was ongoing and if it had contributed to the reduction in the number of fires caused in North Wales.   Councillor Peers also referred to the comparison data which had been provided on Mid and West Wales and South Wales, and asked if it would also be possible to provide comparison data on Chester/Cheshire West and the cost per head per day.  Mr. Smith agreed to provide this information to the Chief Executive following the meeting. 

Mr. Smith thanked Councillor Peers for his positive comments on the Phoenix programme and said it was well supported by Members of Flintshire County Council and the Fire & Rescue Authority members.  He gave a brief outline of the Phoenix programme and explained it was grant funded by the Welsh Government (WG).  Mr. Smith commented that the WG had been supportive of the Programme in the past and continued to share the view that it was a good programme with long lasting effect and would wish to see it continue although its future could not be guaranteed.

Councillors Ian Dunbar and Paul Shotton spoke in support of the Phoenix Programme and its success and also the Community Assistance project.  Councillor Shotton referred to the work of the Community Assistance team and expressed his disappointment that funding from the WG had been withdrawn for the valuable work undertaken and said the situation should be reviewed.

In his closing comments the Chief Executive reminded Members that the Fire & Rescue Authority made the final decision on the budget set and Flintshire would be required to pay its levy contribution required of local authorities.  He referred to the budget workshops to be held next week and the complexity around how the Council would fund the additional £420k contribution which he said may be funded in whole or part by additional Council Tax above the Council’s own requirement.

The Chief Executive referred to the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority’s consultation on the draft budget for 2019/20 before it was set in December 2018, and encouraged Members to make individual contributions to the consultation as residents.  He said that staff, local residents, and partners would also be encouraged to comment on the consultation to achieve a good overall response in the Flintshire area.  The Chief Executive advised that a corporate response would also be made to the consultation.

RESOLVED:

That a corporate response to the North Wales Fire & Rescue Authority’s consultation on the draft budget be submitted by 2 November 2018.