Membership of the Authority 2016 - 17€¦ · Purpose To advise of a change in membership of the...

Purpose To advise of a change in membership of the Authority for 2016 – 17.

Recommendations That the report be noted.

Summary The five constituent District Councils appoint members to the Fire and Rescue Authority on an annual basis at their respective Annual General Meeting. This report advises of the changes to the Fire Authority membership for 2016 – 17.

OFFICIAL

Membership of the Authority 2016 - 17 Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 3 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer

Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972

Exemption Category: None

Contact Officer: Nicola Houseman, Committee Services Manager T: 01274 655740 E: [email protected]

Background papers open to inspection: None

Annexes: None

1

1 Introduction 1.1 The District Councils have notified the Authority of the following ten changes in Members :

Bradford Councillor Riaz Ahmed (Liberal Democrat) replacing Councillor Dominic Fear (Liberal Democrat), Councillor Tess Peart (Labour) replacing Councillor Tariq Hussain (Labour) and Councillor Joanne Dodds (Labour) replacing Councillor Richard Dunbar (Labour)

Calderdale Councillor Chris Pillai (Conservative) replacing Councillor Peter Caffrey (Conservative)

Kirklees Councillor Mahmood Akhtar (Labour) replacing Councillor Mumtaz Hussain (Labour)

Leeds Councillor Julie Heselwood (Labour) replacing Councillor Pauleen Grahame (Labour), Councillor Ghulam Hussain (Labour) replacing Councillor Kamila Maqsood (Labour), and Councillor Alice Smart (Labour) replacing Councillor Stuart McKenna (Labour)

Wakefield Councillor Monica Graham (Conservative) replacing Councillor Angela Taylor (Conservative) and Councillor Martyn Ward (Labour) replacing Councillor Tony Wallis (Labour)

2 Information

2.1 As at 24 June, membership of the Authority will be as follows;

BRADFORD CALDERDALE

Councillor R Ahmed (Liberal Democrat) Councillor C Pillai (Conservative) Councillor J Dodds (Labour) Councillor B Smith (Labour) Councillor T Peart (Labour) Councillor M Shaw (Conservative) Councillor A Tait (Labour)

KIRKLEES LEEDS

Councillor M Akhtar (Labour) Councillor C Anderson (Conservative) Councillor C Burke (Liberal Democrat) Councillor R Grahame (Labour) Councillor L Holmes (Conservative) Councillor P Harrand (Conservative) Councillor J Hughes (Labour) Councillor J Heselwood (Labour) Councillor G Hussain (Labour) Councillor K Renshaw (Labour) Councillor A Smart (Labour) Councillor C Townsley (Liberal Democrat)

WAKFIELD

Councillor T Austin (Labour) Councillor M Graham (Conservative) Councillor M Ward (Labour)

2

2.1 For the information of Members, the political composition of the Authority is as follows;

LABOUR CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT

Cllr Mahmood Akhtar Cllr Caroline Anderson Cllr Riaz Ahmed

Cllr Tracey Austin Cllr Monica Graham Cllr Cahal Burke

Cllr Joanne Dodds Cllr Peter Harrand Cllr Chris Townsley

Cllr Ronald Grahame Cllr Lisa Holmes

Cllr Julie Heselwood Cllr Chris Pillai

Cllr Judith Hughes Cllr Mark Shaw

Cllr Ghulam Hussain

Cllr Tess Peart

Cllr Karen Renshaw

Cllr Alice Smart

Cllr Byran Smith

Cllr Angela Tait

Cllr Martyn Ward

TOTAL 13 6 3

3

Purpose To report on the annual monitoring and review of the Authority Constitution.

Recommendations That Members consider this report and, if in agreement, approve therecommendations contained in the Schedule to the report.

Summary This report invites Members to consider and, if in agreement, approve proposed changes to the Constitution.

OFFICIAL

Authority Constitution - review Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 8Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer (Monitoring Officer)



Contact Officer: M G Barnes, Chief Legal and Governance Officer (Monitoring Officer) E: [email protected] T: 01274 655710

Background papers open to inspection: 2014 Constitution

Annexes: Annex 1 – Proposed amendments

7

mailto:[email protected]

1 Introduction 1.1 Part 2 Article 1.3 of the Constitution requires the Authority to conduct an annual review of the

operation of the Constitution. The Monitoring Officer is required by Article 14 to assist in that process by submitting any proposals he thinks are appropriate for consideration by the Authority.

1.2 The Constitution, having been voluntarily adopted by the Authority in 2005, forms the cornerstone of Authority corporate governance arrangements. Subject to updating and occasional amendment it has served the Authority well over the last decade. Each year the Monitoring Officer reviews the implications of any legislative changes and consults with colleagues before making any recommendations for amendments. The proposed changes are set out in the Schedule to this report and Members are invited to consider and, if in agreement, to approve the proposed amendments.

1.3 It is anticipated that changes will be made to the Local Pension Board Terms of Reference which are the subject of a separate report on this agenda. Any approved changes in this regard should be considered in conjunction with changes identified in this report and the Constitution updated accordingly.

2 Financial Implications 2.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.

3 Equality and Diversity Implications

3.1 There are no equality and diversity implications arising from this report.

4 Health and Safety Implications

4.1 There are no health and safety implications arising from this report.

5 Service Plan Links

5.1 Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money in managing resources.

8

Annex 1

Page 20 10.A3 Changes to the Local Pension Board Terms of Reference are includedin a separate report on this agenda

Page 52 20 Include reference to “Bribery” in the Heading and add to text “or if any contractor or person acting on behalf of a contractor has procured any contract from the Authority by bribing an Authority employee or committed any offences under the Bribery Act 2010”

Reason: To include specific reference to more modern legislation dealing with bribery offences.

Page 55 2 Correct error in definition of “Executive Officer” to include reference to Chief Executive / Chief Fire Officer and add reference to Chief Employment Services Officer.

Reason: To correct script error and add reference to new post of Chief Employment Services Officer.

Page 72 14.3 / Page 81-2.2 / Page 87 - 3.6.1/ Page 102 – 6 / Page 109 -1 and 2 / Page 130 3(1) / Page 142 – 6 / Page 162 – 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 / Page 169 Special Note 2 / Page 171 Stage 3 - 3 Change reference to Director of Service Support to Chief Employment Services Officer or add reference to Chief Employment Services Officer

Reason: Update to reflect revised functional management arrangements consequent upon appointment of Chief Employment Services Officer

Page 99: 6 Correct script error “Corporate Directors” to read “Executive Officers”

Reason – Correction of script errors

Throughout: Delete all references to Director of Strategic Development

Reason – Disestablished post

9

Purpose To consider amendments to the Terms of Reference for the Local Pension Board.

Recommendations That Members consider and proposed amendments to the Local Pension BoardTerms of Reference for approval and inclusion in the Authority’s Constitution document.

Summary The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority Local Pension Board was established on 1 April 2015 for which Terms of Reference were approved at the February 2015 meeting of the Full Authority. Following 12 months’ operation, and to reflect further guidance received about the Board’s role and remit etc, it is now proposed to update the Terms of Reference as detailed at Annex A.

OFFICIAL

Local Pension Board Terms of Reference - review Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 9Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer



Contact Officer: Nicky Houseman, Committee Services Manager E: [email protected] T: 01274 655740


Annexes: Proposed amendments to the Local Pension Board Terms of Reference

10


1 Introduction 1.1 The Local Pension Board was established on 1 April 2015 and held its inaugural meeting in July

2015.

1.2 Since its inauguration further guidance has been received from Communities and Local Government on its role and remit.

2 Information

2.1 The Terms of Reference have been kept under review since July 2015 and proposed amendments are detailed at Annex A to this report for inclusion in the Authority’s Constitution document.

3 Financial Implications 3.1 There are no financial implications arising directly from this report.

4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 There are no equality and diversity implications arising directly from this report.


5.1 There are no health and safety implications arising directly from this report.


6.1 Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money.

11

Annex A Local Pension Board Terms of Reference amendments

Duties of the Board

1. Change reference to Pension Board abiding by WYFRA Code of Conduct to “abiding by theLocal Pension Board approved Code of Conduct”

Reason: The Board is subject to a separate special Code not the FRA Code

Local Pension Board membership

1. Amend script error

Employee representative should be Scheme Member representative

Employer representative should be Scheme Manager representative

2. Include reference to Scheme Manager representation being “determined by the FireAuthority at its Annual Meeting (or as otherwise required)”

Reason: To clarify correct appointment procedures.

Scheme Member representatives

3. Include reference to appointment “on an annual basis (or as otherwise required) by theExecutive Committee of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority following a formalapplication process.”

Reason: To clarify appointment procedures.

4. Include reference to eligibility of “deferred or retired” members of one of the firefighterpension schemes.

Reason: To comply with revised Communities and Local Government guidance.

Appointment of Chair and Vice chair

1. Include reference to an “annual rotational basis ie. when a Scheme Manager representativeis appointed Chair of the Board, the position of Vice chair will be filled by a Scheme Memberrepresentative and vice versa on an annual basis”

Reason: To clarify Chair and Vice chair appointments

12

Term of office

1. Add third bullet point “Board Members may be re-appointed for more than one term ofoffice following an approved appointment / nomination process”

Reason: To clarify process and to ensure consistency as appropriate.

Voting

1. Clarify position of consensus with the addition of “There will be no casting vote”.

New final section heading for final two paragraphs as follows

Relationship with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority

13

Purpose a) To note the current political balance of the Authority and to makeappointments of Members (substantive and substitutes) to committees in accordance with the political balance requirements and principles set out in Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

b) That the Authority makes appointments to the positions of Chairs andVice Chairs of the ordinary committees.

c) That the Authority make appointments to the pre-meeting briefinggroups which are chaired by the respective committee chairs.

Recommendations That the report be noted and the committee allocations and appointment(s) tocommittee(s) and briefing groups be approved.

Summary This report contains proposals for the Annual General Meeting appointment of Members to Committees in accordance with the legislative requirements on political balance, for the appointment of Members to pre-meeting briefing groups and, for appointment of Committee Chairs and Vice chairs.

OFFICIAL

Committee Membership and Appointments Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 10 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer


Exemption Category: Nil

Contact Officer: M G Barnes – Chief Legal & Governance Officer (Monitoring Officer) t: 01274 655711 [email protected]


Annexes: None

14


1 Background 1.1 The current political balance of the Authority remains unchanged from last year and is as follows:

Total number of Members: 22

Political Groups

Labour 13

Conservative 6

Liberal Democrat 3

1.2 The total number of ordinary committee seats is 45.

Executive Committee 6

Audit Committee 6

Finance and Resources 11

Human Resources 11

Community Safety 11

1.3 The 45 committee seats should be distributed in accordance with the following share allocation:

Labour 27

Conservative 12

Liberal Democrat 6

1.4 The Local Pension Board has two Scheme Manager representatives (elected Members) and, due to the size of the Board, it is not required to be politically balanced. Appointments to the Board in 2015 – 16 were made on the following basis;

Labour 1

Conservative 1

1.5 The 45-seat ordinary committee structure (excluding the Local Pension Board) should then be allocated proportionally between Committees to allow the appointment of substantive and substitute members as detailed overleaf:

15

Committee (total seats)

Labour Group seats

Conservative Group seats

Liberal Democrat seats

Executive (6) 4 1 1

Audit (6) 4 1 1

Finance & Resources (11) 6 4 1

Human Resources (11) 6 4 1

Community Safety (11) 7 2 2

Total 27 12 6

1.5 Appointment of Chairs and Vice Chairs

Executive Committee Chair Vice Chair

Audit Committee Chair Vice Chair

Finance & Resources Committee Chair Vice Chair

Human Resources Committee Chair Vice Chair

Community Safety Committee Chair Vice Chair

1.6 It is recommended that the Authority continues to authorise any member of each political group who is not a substantive member of a Committee to act as a substitute for any other group member who is a substantive member of any Committee. Appointment of substitutes would continue to need to be certified by the group prior to the start of a meeting by notification to the office of the Chief Legal and Governance Officer.

1.7 Briefing Groups

The Authority has for many years operated a system of multi-party non-executive group briefing meetings prior to substantive Committee meetings. They comprise the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee plus 1 Member from the “opposition” Group. Nomination of ‘opposition’ Members need to be made for this purpose.

1.8 Committee Cycles

Committees meet four times per year.

2 Financial Implications

2.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.



16

4 Health and Safety Implications 4.1 There are no health and safety implications arising from this report.


5.1 This report relates to the following Service Plan priority

“Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money in managing resources”.

17

Purpose (a) To consider the nomination of Members to answer questions at meetings of constituent authorities; and (b) To consider the nomination of Members as District Community Safety lead representatives.

Recommendations (a) That nomination of Members be made as required by the Local Government Act 1985 for the purpose of answering questions at meetings of constituent Councils for the year 2016 / 2017; and (b) That nomination of Members be made as Authority representatives for Community Safety in each District for the year 2016 / 2017.

Summary It is a requirement of the Local Government Act 1985 that appointments be made for the purpose of answering questions at meetings of the Authority’s constituent councils. Since 2011, the Authority has also appointed named Members to act as Lead Members for Community Safety purposes in each District.

OFFICIAL

Nomination of Members to answer questions at meetings of constituent authorities and District Community Safety lead representatives 2016 - 2017 Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 11 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer





Annexes: None

18

1 Introduction 1.1 Under the Local Government Act 1985 the Authority is required to nominate a Member from each

constituent Council on the Authority to answer questions within the Council on the discharge of functions etc by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA).

1.2 Since 2011 WYFRA has also approved the nomination of Members to act as Community Safety lead in each District.

2 Information

2.1 At the Annual Meeting in June 2015 the following Members were nominated to answer such questions for the Municipal year 2015 / 2016 :

Councillor T Hussain* Bradford Councillor B Smith Calderdale Councillor M Hussain * Kirklees Councillor P Grahame * Leeds Councillor A Wallis* Wakefield

*no longer a Member of the Authority

2.2 Since the original nominations were made as District Community Safety leads, the Authority has considered it appropriate that they should be the same Member(s) as those nominated to answer questions in each District under the statutory requirement.


3.1 There a no financial implications arising directly from this report.

4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 There are no equality and diversity implications arising directly from this report.


5.1 There are no equality and diversity implications arising directly from this report.


6.1 The nominations detailed in this report link to the Authority’s priority as follows;

- Provide effective and ethical governance

19

Purpose To consider the appointment of a Member Champion for Mental Health and to review the requirement for a Youth Work Member Champion for 2016 - 17

Recommendations That consideration is given to the appointment of Member Champions for 2016– 17.

Summary Two Member champions were appointed during the course of 2015 – 16 for the following areas of work; - mental health - youth work

This report invites Members to consider appointing to these posts and any other relevant areas as appropriate.

OFFICIAL

Appointment of Member Champions 2016 - 17 Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 12 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer



Contact Officer: Nicola Houseman, Committee Services Manager E; [email protected]

T: 01274 655740


Annexes: None

20


1 Introduction 1.1 Two Member champion appointments were made during 2015 – 16 as follows;

Mental Health Councillor J Hughes

Youth Work Councillor R Dunbar *

*no longer a Member

1.2 This report invites consideration of similar appointments in 2016 – 17 and any other relevant areas which Members deem appropriate.

2 Information

Mental Health

2.1 In identifying mental health as an area suitable for the appointment of a Member Champion it was acknowledged that the issue had been identified as a significant factor in terms of both accidental and deliberate fire deaths. The appointment would also support the work of the Mental Health Challenge project.

2.2 The appointment was made by the Community Safety Committee in July 2015 and ratified at the September 2015 meeting of the Full Authority.

Youth Work

2.4 In light of Councillor Dunbar’s own personal experience, the Community Safety Committee proposed the appointment of a Youth Work Member Champion at its meeting on 22 January 2016 (ratified by the Full Authority in February 2016).

2.5 At the present time, appointment to this role may no longer have added value and Members may wish to instruct Officers to review the position / role.


3.1 The cost of additional mileage or allowances resulting from member champion involvement can be met from existing budgets. There is no Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) payable for the role of Member Champion.


4.1 The support of individuals with mental health issues is an important factor in terms of reducing the stigmatisation of a series of illnesses that will affect a significant proportion of the community.

4.2 The work of Member Champions can help the Authoirty deliver against some of its statutory requirements in terms of “advancing equality of opportunity” and “fostering good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not”.


5.1 There are no direct Health and Safety implications associated with this report


6.1 The support of provision for young people is a key element in terms of delivering a proactive Community Safety Programme and specifically contributes to reducing the risk of fires, road traffic incidents and antisocial behaviour.

21

6.2 The support of individual with mental health issues is a key element in terms of delivering a proactive Community Safety Programme and specifically working with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being.

22

Purpose To make appointments to the Local Government Association and other outside bodies for the municipal year 2016 / 2017.

Recommendations That the Authority determines its appointment of representatives to the LocalGovernment Association and other outside bodies as detailed in this report for 2016 / 2017.

Summary The Authority appoints Members annually to a number of outside bodies, including the Local Government Association.

OFFICIAL

Representation on Outside Bodies for 2016 / 2017 Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 13 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer





Annexes: None

23

1 Introduction 1.1 The Local Government Association and other outside bodies to which the Authority is entitled to

make appointments together with details of the appointments for last year are set out below:

Body Number of Seats

2015 / 2016 Representatives

LGA General Assembly 4 Chair

Councillors T Austin (Lab), B Smith (Lab) and P Harrand (Con)

(or their nominees)

LGA Fire Commission 2 Chair

Councillor P Harrand (Con)

(or their nominees)

Footnote: The Authority’s 17 votes on the LGA General Assembly have previously been allocated in accordance with political proportionality. This year it remains as Labour Group (10), Conservative Group (5) and Liberal Democrat Group (2). The Chair to exercise the corporate vote.

Yorkshire and Humber Local Authorities’ Employers’ Association

1 Chair

(or her nominee)

Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation Management Committee

(non-voting Associate member)

1 Councillor A Wallis *

(or his nominee)

Association of Metropolitan Fire Authorities (AMFRA)

2 Chair and Vice chair

(or their nominees)

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Partnership Executive Group

1 Chair

(or her nominee)

*no longer a Member

24

2 Information 2.1 The Local Government Association (LGA) encourages a practice of appointing to LGA seats on a

party political proportionality basis but this is not a legal requirement under the 1989 Act and nor does such a requirement apply to bodies to which the Authority makes less than three appointments anyway. The LGA constitution permits national top-up appointments to ensure a political balance is achieved if this is necessary. Approval has previously been given and later confirmed in June 2013 that payment of LGA balancing / top-up Member expenses would be index linked and set by the Chief Finance and Procurement Officer. No requests for top-up appointments for 2016 – 17 have been made by the LGA at this stage.

2.2 The Authority should note that the LGA may appoint any of this Authority’s representatives to serve on its behalf on the various specialist national bodies such as the National Joint Council for Local Authorities’ Fire Brigades etc.

2.3 These bodies also organise seminars, conferences, courses etc from time to time relating to topics of interest to the Authority and the LGA and to which Members (additional to the nominated Members) might be invited to attend. In some instances the LGA pays the relevant allowances and in other cases individual fire authorities are required to pay any associated costs.

2.4 In conclusion, the Authority is invited to determine its nominations for appointment to the above listed external bodies for the year 2016 / 17.


3.1 The reimbursement of Member expenses incurred whilst attending formal business of an outside body detailed at 1.1 above will be met from within existing budgetary provision.


4.1 There are no equality and diversity implications arising directly from this report.


5.1 There are no health and safety implications arising directly from this report.

6 Service Plan Links 6.1 The appointment of Members to outside bodies supports the Authority’s priority of providing

“effective and ethical governance”.

25

Purpose To consider an amendment to the approved programme of meetings for 2016 – 17.

Recommendations That the revised programme of meetings 2016 – 17 be approved as detailed in Annex A to the report.

Summary The annual programme of meetings is agreed at the February meeting of the Authority each year. Since that meeting it has become apparent that, as part of the revised statutory reporting structure for the Authority’s accounts, a change to the programming of Audit Committee is proposed.

OFFICIAL

Programme of meetings 2016 - 17 - amendment Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 23 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer



Contact Officer: Nicola Houseman, Committee Services Manager E: [email protected] T: 01274 655740


Annexes: Programme of Meetings 2016 – 17 (proposed)

79


1 Introduction 1.1 The programme of meetings for the current municipal year was approved at the February 2016

meeting of the Full Authority.

1.2 Changes to the statutory reporting timetable has meant that the originally approved dates for the Audit Committee would no longer be appropriate.

2 Information

2.1 The Statement of Accounts had to be reported by the end of June in previous years but this has changed and the reporting requirement is now the end of September.

2.2 The Audit Committee scheduled for 23 June 2016 was cancelled for the same reason. The programme had been revised for Audit Committee to meet on a quarterly basis in 2016 - 17 rather than the five meetings in previous years.

3 Financial Implications 3.1 There are no direct financial implications arising from this report.




5.1 There are no health and safety implications arising from this report.


6.1 The proposed changes to the programme of meetings link to the Authority’s priority as follows;

- provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money

80

WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY

PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS 2016 / 2017

FRIDAY 10.30AM

HUMAN

RESOURCES COMMITTEE

FRIDAY 11.30AM

LOCAL PENSION

BOARD

FRIDAY 10.30AM

FINANCE &

RESOURCES COMMITTEE

FRIDAY 10.30 AM

AUDIT

COMMITTEE

FRIDAY 10.30AM

COMMUNITY

SAFETY COMMITTEE

FRIDAY 10.30AM

AUTHORITY

8 July 2016

8 July 2016

15 July 2016

29 July 2016

22 July 2016

23 September 2016

7 October 2016

-

14 October 2016

16 Sept 2016

21 October 2016

16 December 2016

13 January 2017

13 January 2017

27 January 2017

3 February 2017

20 January 2017

17 February 2017

31 March 2017

-

21 April 2017

28 April 2017

7 April 2017

30 June 2017

(AGM)

81

Purpose To inform Members of the Authority’s performance against key performance indicators.

Recommendations That Members note the report.

Summary This report provides Members with information regarding the performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service against targets to enable the Authority to measure, monitor and evaluate performance.

OFFICIAL

Performance Management Report Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 24 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer



Contact Officer: Alison Davey Corporate Services Manager Tel. 01274 655801 [email protected]


Annexes: Performance Management Report 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016

82

1 Introduction 1.1 The attached Performance Management and Activity Report outlines the Authority’s

performance against key performance indicators thereby enabling the Authority to measure, monitor and evaluate performance against targets. These are detailed in three categories as shown below:

• Key Performance Indicators • Service Delivery Indicators • Corporate Health Indicators

1.2 The report shows a summary of the cumulative performance for the year 2015/16. A report showing the performance for the year 2016/17 will be presented to the next Full Authority meeting.

1.3 The Performance Management and Activity Report is monitored bi-monthly by Management Team and the Full Authority at each meeting.

1.4 An abridged version of the Performance Management Report is presented to each Audit Committee highlighting where targets are not being achieved.

1.5 A traffic light system is used to provide a clear visual indicator of performance against each specific target and ‘direction of travel’ arrows indicate whether performance has improved, remained the same or deteriorated compared to the position at the same time in the previous year.

1.6 Other performance and activity information is also included within the report.


2.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.


3.1 Measurement against key indicators on equality and diversity are included in the Performance Management Reports.

4 Health and Safety Implications 4.1 There are no health and safety implications arising from this report.


5.1 This report links to all of the Service Plan 2015-2020 priorities as the Performance Management Report covers all areas of performance of WYFRS.

6 Conclusions

6.1 That Members note the report.

83

Performance Management and Activity Report 2015/16

Period covered: 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016 Date Issued: 27 May 2016

84

Performance Management Report Page 2 of 25

Table of Contents

1. Introduction/Summary 2 2. Service Delivery Targets 3 3. Operational Risk Visits (including Fire Safety) 9 4. Home Fire Safety Checks 10 5. Incidents 11 6. Fire-Related Incidents attended by Six Pumps and Above 14 7. Other Incidents or Activity of Note 20 8. Violence at Work 22

1. Introduction/Summary The purpose of this report is to provide information regarding the performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service against selected national and local targets to enable the Authority to measure, monitor and evaluate performance. In this report, monthly statistics have been utilised to identify trends in performance. Information regarding a selection of local performance targets has also been provided in this report and comparisons have been made with the previous year’s performance. All data, unless specified, is for the reporting period 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016. A traffic light system has been employed to provide a straightforward visual indicator of performance against each of the FRS indicators. Graphical representation of the performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is available through the Performance Management Information System (PMIS), which is accessed via the Service’s intranet site.

85


2. Service Delivery Targets Legend

Red indicates not achieving target Amber indicates satisfactory performance (within 10% of target)

Green indicates achieving or exceeding target Grey indicates there is currently no data available for this indicator

Actual

Data (2009/10)

Three Year

Average (2012/15)

Target (2015/16)

Actual Data

(2014/15)

Actual Data

(2015/16)

Performance Against

Target to date

End of Year Projection (2015/16)

Arson 10897 5323 5552 5499 6110 10.1% 6110

Actual Rescues 875 738 678 719 942 38.9% 942

Total Activity 34270 22124 21692 21400 22138 2.1% 22138

Dwelling Fires 1549 1271 1128 1254 1228 8.9% 1228

Non-Domestic Building Fires 513 410 381 401 445 16.8% 445

Prevalence of False Alarms 16750 11382 10706 10646 10447 -2.4% 10447

Fire-Related Injuries 270 208 169 207 234 38.5% 234

Road Traffic Collisions

1060 647 577 640 665 15.3% 665

No. of Operational Risk Visits

6040 6279 6343 5.0% 6343

Malicious False Alarms

713 385 338 329 331 -2.1% 331

No. of Home Fire Safety Check Points

293850 331841 335647 14.2% 335647

86


Service Delivery Indicators

Description Performance 2015-16

Performance 2014-15

Performance Compared to

Last Year Accidental Dwelling Fires (per 10,000 dwellings) 10.80 11.68

Number of deaths arising from accidental fires in dwellings (per 100,000 population)

0.75 0.31

(See Section 5 for more details)

Number of Fire-Related Deaths (per 100,000 population) arising from fires other than Accidental Dwelling Fires

0.18 0.18

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Accidental Dwelling Fires per 10,000 Dwellings

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 2010-2015

Number of Deaths arising from Accidental Fires in Dwellings

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 2010-2015

Number of Deaths arising from Fires other than Accidental Dwelling Fires

87



Performance 2014-15


Last Year Number of Injuries arising from accidental fires in dwellings (per 100,000 population)

6.40 6.60

(a) Number of Serious Injuries(per 100,000 population) 0.62 0.62 (b) Number of Slight Injuries (per 100,000 population) 5.78 5.98

The percentage of dwelling fires attended where there was a working smoke alarm which activated

54.9% 55.5%

The percentage of dwelling fires attended where a working smoke alarm was correctly fitted but did not activate

17.8% 18.3%

The percentage of dwelling fires attended where a smoke alarm, because it was faulty or incorrectly sited, did not activate

5.6% 5.4%

The percentage of dwelling fires attended where no smoke alarm was fitted

21.7% 20.8%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Number of Injuries arising from Accidental Fires in Dwellings per 100,000 Population

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

Working Smoke Alarmwhich Activated

Working Smoke Alarmwas Correctly Fittedbut did not Activate

Percentage of Dwelling Fires Attended where there was a Working Smoke Alarm

88



Performance 2014-15


Last Year Number of calls to malicious false alarms (per 1000 population) – attended

0.15 0.15

False alarms caused by automatic fire detection equipment (per 1000 non-domestic properties)

41.12 41.50

False alarms caused by automatic fire detection equipment (per 1000 domestic properties)

4.20 4.38

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Number of Calls to Malicious False Alarms Attended

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

False Alarms caused by Automatic Fire Detection Equipment (per 1000 Non-Domestic Properties)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

False Alarms caused by Automatic Fire Detection Equipment (Domestic Properties)

89



Performance 2014-15


Last Year Fires in non-domestic premises (per 1000 non-domestic premises)

5.64 5.14

Number of Primary Fires (per 100,000 population) 142.51 130.58

Number of Fire Casualties – excluding Precautionary Checks (per 100,000 population)

9.45 8.75

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Fires in Non-Domestic Premises per 1000 premises

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Number of Primary Fires per 100,000 Population

0

5

10

15

20

25

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Number of Fire Casualties per 100,000 Population

90



Performance 2014-15


Last Year Arson Incidents – All Deliberate Fires (per 10,000 population)

26.98 24.54

Arson Incidents – Deliberate Primary Fires (per 10,000 population)

6.19 4.82

Arson Incidents – Deliberate Secondary Fires (per 10,000 population)

20.79 19.72

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

All Deliberate Fires per 10,000 Population

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Deliberate Primary Fires per 10,000 Population

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Deliberate Secondary Firesper 10,000 Population

91


3. Operational Risk Visits (including Fire Safety)

The new Fire Safety Strategy, which has applied since 1 April 2013, determines that operational crews will carry out visits to commercial premises in support of specialist fire protection personnel. These visits are termed Operational Risk Visits (ORVs).

Crews carrying out an ORV will collect both operational risk information (risks and mitigating control measures which would be valuable information in the event of an incident at the premises) and fire safety information in one single Operational Risk Visit (ORV).

After a slow start to this financial year, in terms of ORV numbers, WYFRS made good progress to achieve target levels after the first quarter and, by the end of the year, had carried out 6,343 against a target of 6,040, exceeding the target by 303 (5%).

417

997

1557

2158

26152987

3563

4164

4683

5285

5828

6343

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000 Total Operational Risk Visits Completed

Annual Target = 6040

Approximate Monthly Target = 505

92


4. Home Fire Safety Checks

Over the past ten years West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has undertaken an intensive programme of Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs) aimed primarily at reducing the impact of domestic dwelling fires in terms of injury, death and damage to property through increasing smoke detector ownership.

Despite the successes in reducing house fires and associated injuries and deaths, it is clear that there is more to do in terms of targeting those households at most risk and, from 1 April 2013, WYFRS have adopted a points-based strategy, which seeks to identify such households through an assessment of both individual and geographical risk. The allocation of points for each HFSC aims to incentivise those personnel carrying out prevention activities to identify risk and to reduce this risk to the maximum extent within the individual household.

Over three years, this strategy has delivered excellent outcomes in terms of risk reduction across West Yorkshire, despite a lower number of HFSCs being carried out. This year, WYFRS have achieved a total of 335,647 points against a target of 293,850, exceeding target by 41,797 (14.2%).

30738

61284

93073

125054

154142

183435

214058

240781

260496

286247

311975

335647

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

Total Home Fire Safety Check Points

2015/16 Annual Target = 293,850

Approximate Monthly Target = 24,500

93

5. Incidents

The table and chart below show the operational activity of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for the financial year to date (1 April - 31 March 2016) categorised by incident type and compared with the same period last year.

Incident Category

Number of Incidents

1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016

Number of Incidents

1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015

Percentage Change in

Incident Type since last year

Primary Fires - Accidental 1,824 1,847 -1.25%Primary Fires - Deliberate 1,403 1,079 30.03%Secondary Fires - Accidental 1,132 1,200 -5.67%Secondary Fires - Deliberate 4,707 4,420 6.49%Road Traffic Collisions 655 638 2.66%Special Service Calls 1,971 1,571 25.46%False Alarm - Apparatus Non-Domestic 3,243 3,236 0.22%False Alarm - Apparatus Domestic 4,006 4,064 -1.43%False Alarm - Other (e.g. Shed or Private Garage) 7 9 n/aFalse Alarm - Good Intent 2,859 3,008 -4.95%False Alarm - Malicious 331 329 0.61%Total 22,138 21,401 3.44%

1824 8% 1403

6%

1132 5%

4707 21%

655 3%1971

9%

3243 15%

4006 18%

7 0%

2859 13%

331 2% Primary Fires - Accidental

Primary Fires - Deliberate

Secondary Fires - Accidental

Secondary Fires - Deliberate

Road Traffic Collisions

Special Service Calls

False Alarm - Apparatus Non-Domestic

False Alarm - Apparatus Domestic

False Alarm - Other (e.g. Shed or Private Garage)

False Alarm - Good Intent

False Alarm - Malicious

94

The table below shows the total number of incidents ten years ago, five years ago, and last year, and can be used as a comparison with the current year’s data above.

Comments on Fatal Fires

Bexley Avenue, Harehills, Leeds Date & Time: 10th January 2016 14:14hrs

The deceased was 47 years old and lived alone as a ‘housesitter’ at the above address. When fire crews arrived, he had made his own way out of the property and was being treated by ambulance staff. The property was cluttered throughout. There was evidence of smoking and several spirit bottles were found. The deceased was being treated by his GP for depression and cirrhosis of the liver.

He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary by ambulance and later transferred to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield where he died on Sunday 17th January.

With the evidence available it is most likely that whilst the deceased was in the first floor bathroom. He used a cigarette lighter to light a cigarette and the lighter provided the ignition source for the natural gas which was leaking within the property, from a defective gas pipe at floor level in the kitchen. This incident has been recorded as accidental. There is no evidence to suggest this was a deliberate act.

Thornhill Place, Thornhill, Bradford

Date and Time: 19th February 2016 10:12hrs

The deceased was a 70-year old female who lived alone in her local authority rented ground floor flat. She was alcohol dependant and used a mobility scooter to get around.

Fire crews from Bradford were called by the police who attended after concerns were raised. The crews discovered the fire was out and had been for some time. A monitored smoke alarm was fitted and did actuate.

The deceased was found in her bedroom at the foot of the bed. The fire originated in the area around the bedside table and the most likely cause was the ignition of bedding by a candle on the table.

Incident Category

Number of Incidents

1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 Percentage

Number of Incidents


Number of Incidents


Primary Fires - Accidental 2,692 6.4% 2,209 6.9% 1,847 8.6%Primary Fires - Deliberate 3,946 9.3% 1,865 5.9% 1,079 5.0%Secondary Fires - Accidental 1,348 3.2% 1,343 4.2% 1,200 5.6%Secondary Fires - Deliberate 11,170 26.4% 7,531 23.7% 4,420 20.7%Road Traffic Collisions 1,173 2.8% 919 2.9% 638 3.0%Special Service Calls 2,808 6.6% 2,219 7.0% 1,571 7.3%False Alarm - Apparatus 12,897 30.5% 10,653 33.5% 7,309 34.2%False Alarm - Good Intent 4,473 10.6% 4,505 14.1% 3,008 14.1%False Alarm - Malicious 1,840 4.3% 595 1.9% 329 1.5%Total 42,347 100% 31,839 100% 21,401 100%

95

Alder Street, Fartown, Huddersfield

Date and Time: 20th February 2016 14:05hrs

Two young boys aged two and three died in this fire. One of the boys was autistic and had mobility problems. The house was a privately rented semi-detached house without smoke detection fitted.

The boys had been put to bed by their mother and the television switched on. The mother was downstairs with a third child when the fire occurred. The area of origin was the corner of the boys’ bedroom where the television was located. The most likely cause was abnormal electrical activity within the television.

Kingsley Road, Adel, Leeds

Date and Time: 22nd February 2016 16:59hrs

The deceased was a 52 year old male who lived alone in his privately owned detached house. He was bi-polar, suffered from depression and seasonal affective disorder. He was taking medication for his illnesses. He had attempted suicide on several occasions, the last time in January 2015. In December 2015, his involvement with mental health teams was closed as he was deemed low risk.

It would appear that he had poured petrol on himself in the kitchen and then ignited it.

East Park Street, Burmantofts, Leeds

Date and Time: 27th March 2016 12:13hrs

The deceased were two females, aged 36 and 28, a same sex married couple, and an 18-year old male who lodged with the couple in their privately rented three bedroom end townhouse. Both females were known to the police - one of them had previous mental health issues including self-harming tendencies but was released from mental health care in 2013 to Aspire, who deal with drug and alcohol dependency. Evidence suggests that both women were regular heavy drinkers. The male is not known to be involved with any other agency, but the police stated that he had a mental learning age of an eight to ten year old.

This was a late fire call – the fire occurred approximately 36 hours before the time of call. CCTV footage showed the two females walking down the street and entering their house with a ‘mini-moto’ petrol engine bike. Approximately 10 minutes later, a bright flash can be seen emanating from the front window of their property for 11 seconds followed by smoke. A container was found within the living room with approximately 500ml of what is believed to be petrol inside. The most likely cause is accidental ignition of petrol vapours, the source of ignition a cigarette lighter.

96

6. Fire-Related Incidents attended by Six Pumps and Above

General Commentary UK fire and rescue services determine the size of a fire by the final number of pumps mobilised to deal with it. A number of additional pumping appliances and special appliances are often mobilised to these types of incidents to undertake supporting activities. These are described as support and specials. The following chart details the numbers and severity of such incidents over the last five years up to 31 March 2016:

Fire-related incidents of this type require the attendance of a fire investigation officer to determine the cause of the fire. The cause is included in the table, but in some circumstances, it may be uncertain, as follows:

Not known - the evidence that remained after the fire was insufficient to determine the cause

Doubtful - thought to have been deliberate, but an accidental cause cannot be ruled out

Not Yet Determined / Pending Investigation -

as stated

For fires identified as deliberate, we work in accordance with a regionally agreed Memorandum of Understanding with the police, who are responsible for the investigation of all deliberate fires.

9

6

15

9 1011

2

6 7

1

20

6

1715

18

0

5

10

15

20

25

2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

No.

of i

ncid

ents

Year

Six pumps and above 2011/12 - 2015/16 6-9 pumps

10-20 pumps

>20 pumps

Total

97

New incidents added to the table are shaded in white.

Date & Time Address Premises

Use Station

Area

Cause Pumps

Plus Specials

Number of Personnel

Saturday 02/05/15

03:42

Construction Site St Pauls House

High Street Morley

Under Construction

27 (Morley)

Deliberate

8 pumps 6 support 4 specials

64 Ffs 8 FDS

Sunday 10/05/15

04:09

Swallow Hill Mills Tong Road

Leeds

Derelict Mill

20

(Leeds)

Deliberate 8 pumps 5 support 6 specials

64 Ffs 7 FDS

Tuesday 28/07/15

18:32

BMW Garage Priestman Street

Bradford

Commercial

Garage

42

(Fairweather Green)

Electrical 8 pumps 4 support 4 specials

56 Ffs 8 FDS

Thursday 06/08/15

15:04

Geldards Coaches Ashfield Way

Farnley Leeds

Commercial

31 (Stanningley)

Radiated Heat


76 Ffs 7 FDS

Thursday 20/08/15

09:12

Freeston Academy Favell Avenue

Normanton

Educational

88

(Normanton)

Accidental 10 pumps 5 support 7 specials

74 Ffs 7 FDS

Friday 21/08/15

00:44

Bulmers Farm Doncaster Road

Crofton Wakefield

Agricultural

80

(Wakefield)

Not

Known


70 Ffs 7 FDS

Wednesday 26/08/15

02:09

Warehouse Night Club

Sackville Street Bradford

Night Club

40 (Bradford)

Deliberate


46 Ffs 3 FDS

Wednesday 23/09/15

04:10

Fleece Inn Main Street Addingham

Public House

45

(Ilkley)


48 Ffs 6 FDS

Friday 06/11/15

16:27

Hills Furnishing Kirkgate Leeds

Furniture

Store

20

(Leeds)

Not

Known


52 Ffs 9 FDS

Thursday19/11/15

14:59

Ghyll Royd Holdings

Prospect Mill Thornton, Bradford

Mill

42

(Fairweather Green)

Deliberate


48 Ffs 6 Officers

Tuesday 01/12/15

19:54

Bradford Girls Grammar School

Squire Lane Bradford

Former School Building

40

(Bradford)

Accidental


68 Ffs 8 Officers

98

Date & Time Address Premises

Use Station

Area

Cause

Pumps Plus

Specials Number of Personnel

Thursday03/12/15

10:13

North Dean Business Park Stainland Road

Elland

Warehouse

61

(Rastrick)

Stored batteries


72 Ffs 9 Officers

Friday 04/12/15

05:29

Bar Me Great Horton Road

Bradford

Former

Nightclub

40

(Bradford)


54 Ffs

7 Officers

Thursday14/01/16

Greenhill Mills Grange Road

Batley

Textile

Recycling

83

(Dewsbury)

Not

Known


70 Ffs 7 FDS

Thursday 28/01/16

Lumb Lane Mills Lumb Lane

Bradford

Former Mill Building used for Storage

40

(Bradford)

Not

Known


138 Ffs 11 FDS

Wednesday 03/02/16

Inspirepac Sandbeck Lane

Wetherby

Printers and Packaging

20

(Wetherby)

Accidental 20 pumps 3 support 3 specials

98 Ffs

11 FDS

Thursday10/03/16

Unit 47 Engine Lane

Horbury Wakefield

Garage Workshop

89 (Ossett)

Accidental


42 Ffs 6 Officers

Wednesday 16/03/16

Britannia Mills Britannia Road

Milnsbridge Huddersfield

Industrial Units

60 (Huddersfield)

Not Known


50Ffs 7 Officers

Further detail on recent six pumps and above fire-related incidents: Greenhill Mills, Grange Road, Batley WF17 6LH

This incident occurred in Dewsbury station area and involved a fire in a large three storey mill building with the roof 100% involved.

The initial PDA to the reported building fire comprised of two pumps - both from Dewsbury.

At the height of the incident a Make Pumps Ten message was sent. Appliances from Cleckheaton, Mirfield, Hunslet, Killingbeck, Morley, Ossett and two from Wakefield were then mobilised.

99

The following support appliances attended the incident: Hose Laying Unit (Mirfield), Command Unit (Pontefract), Personal Welfare Unit (Fairweather Green), Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (Leeds), Hose Laying Support (Stanningley), Command Unit Support Crew (Pontefract), Command Unit Assistants (Keighley), Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (Bradford), Aerial Ladder Platforn (Leeds), Command Unit Lite (Fairweather Green) and Command Unit Sector Support (Castleford).

At the height of the incident two Aerial Ladder Platforms, one Large Jet, and two Ground Monitors were used to bring the fire under control.

The Officer in Charge was AM Smith with CFO Walton as the Senior Advisor. SM Rivers was the Command Support Officer, SM Sylvester was the Health and Safety Auditor, GM Brown and SM Hall were Working Officers and SM Naylor was the Hazardous Materials Environmental Protection Officer. WM Lister was the Fire Investigation Officer.

The time of call for the incident was 11:29hrs on 14th January. The stop message was passed to Control at 15:05hrs on 16th January and the incident was closed at 17:17hrs that day.

A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service investigation has been unable to determine the cause of the fire due to the severe damage.

Lumb Lane Mills, Lumb Lane, Bradford BD8 7GA This incident occurred in Bradford station area and involved a fire in a mill building that was used for storage. The building contained vast amounts of stock mainly consisting of household and garden items stored in cardboard boxes on pallets.

The initial PDA to the reported building fire comprised of three pumps – from Bradford, Fairweather Green and Odsal.

At the height of the incident; a Make Pumps 15 message was sent. Appliances from Shipley, Stanningley, Morley, Illingworth, Bingley, Cleckheaton, Idle, two from Leeds, Rawdon, Keighley, Cleckheaton, Halifax, Killingbeck, Wakefield, Ossett, Huddersfield, Normanton, Silsden, Slaithwaite, Moortown, Featherstone, Garforth and Mirfield were all mobilised.

The following support appliances attended the incident: Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (Bradford), Hose Laying Unit (Stanningley), 2 Prime Movers (Stanningley and Mirfield), Logistics Support Unit (Odsal), Command Unit and Support Pump (Pontefract), Welfare Unit (Fairweather Green), Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (Hunslet), Command Unit Sector Support Pump (Rastrick), Command Unit Lite (Fairweather Green) and Command Unit Assistants (Dewsbury).

Over the course of the incident 100 Breathing Apparatus Sets, 4 Hose Reel Jets, 12 Large Jets and 6 Ground Monitors were used to locate the fire and bring it under control.

At Make Pumps 5, SM Hall was the Officer in Charge with GM Speed as the Senior Advisor. At Make Pumps 10, AM Smith was the Officer in Charge with ACO Bitcon as the Senior Advisor. At the height of the incident, ACO Bitcon was the Officer in Charge with T/CFO Walton as the Senior Advisor. SM Watson was the Command Support Officer, SM Holdsworth was the Health and Safety Auditor, and SM Naylor and SM Atkins were the Hazardous Materials Environmental Protection Officers. SM Pearson and SM Goldwater were Working Officers at this incident with WM Lister mobilised as Fire Investigation Officer.

100

The time of call for the incident was 11:22hrs on 28th January. The stop message was passed to Control at 13:11hrs on 29th January and the incident was closed at 10:07hrs on 5th February.

Investigations have concluded that the fire started in the basement area of the Selka building, but West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are unable to determine the cause of fire due to the basement area being in an unsafe condition to enter.

Inspirepac, Sandbeck Lane, Wetherby LS22 7YD

This incident occurred in Wetherby station area and involved a fire in a printing and packaging warehouse with 20% of the 50m x 50m warehouse involved in fire. This incident received multiple calls.

The initial PDA to the reported building fire comprised of four pumps – from Wetherby, Moortown, Killingbeck and a North Yorkshire appliance from Harrogate.

Initial calls stated a well-developed fire. At the height of the incident; a Make Pumps Twenty and Aerials One message was sent. Appliances from Castleford, Pontefract, Cookridge, Hunslet, Featherstone, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Ossett, Morley, Killingbeck, Rothwell, Dewsbury and two from Leeds were then mobilised. In addition, North Yorkshire appliances from Knaresborough and Tadcaster were mobilised with an Aerial Ladder Platform from Leeds.

The following support appliances attended the incident: Hose Laying Unit (Stanningley), Hose Laying Support Pump (Stanningley), 2 Prime Movers (Stanningley and Odsal), Command Unit Lite (Fairweather Green), Command Unit (Pontefract), Logistic Support Unit (Odsal), Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (Garforth), Welfare Unit (Fairweather Green) and Command Unit Assistants (Shipley).

Over the course of the incident, 8 Large Jets, 40 Breathing Apparatus Sets, 4 Hose Reels and 4 Ground Monitors were used to bring the fire under control.

The Officer in Charge was GM Langan with AM Butters as the Senior Advisor and CFO Pilling as an observer. SM Allen was the Command Support Officer, SM Benson was the Health and Safety Auditor, SM Hall was a Breathing Appartaus Officer, SM Goodall was the Welfare Officer and SM Atkins was the Hazardous Materials Environmental Protection Officer. In addition, GM Farrell attended Fire Service Control. SM Sylvester was a Working Officer and WM Firth was the Fire Investigation Officer.

The time of call for the incident was 20:05hrs on 3rd February. The stop message was passed to Control at 02:10hrs on 4th February and the incident was closed at 17:13hrs that day.

A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service investigation has concluded that the fire was accidental, with the ignition caused by a fault in a Gopfert 6 Colour Printing Press.

101

Unit 47 Engine Lane, Horbury, Wakefield WF4 5NH This incident occurred in Ossett station area and involved a fire in a single storey operational garage with 100% of the building involved. The initial PDA to the reported building fire comprised of three pumps – one from Ossett and two from Wakefield. At the height of the incident; a Make Pumps 6 message was sent. An appliance from Skelmanthorpe and two appliances from Dewsbury were then mobilised.

The following support appliances attended the incident: Hose Laying Unit and Prime Mover (Mirfield), Command Unit (Pontefract), Personal Welfare Unit (Fairweather Green), Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (Mirfield), Command Unit Support Crew (Pontefract) and Command Unit Sector Support (Rastrick).

At the height of the incident 3 Large Jets and 1 Ground Monitor were used to bring the fire under control.

The Officer in Charge was GM Hepton with AM Butters as Senior Advisor. SM Rivers was the Command Support Officer, SM Thompson was the Health and Safety Auditor, SM Lawton was a Working Officer, SM Taylor was the Hazardous Materials Environmental Protection Officer and WM Whitaker was the Fire Investigation Officer.

The time of call for the incident was 18:33hrs on 10th March. The stop message was passed to Control at 22:38hrs that night and the incident was closed at 23:11hrs.

A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service investigation has concluded that the cause of the fire was accidental and had started by means of careless handling of fuel while filling an oil burner.

Unit 5C-5E Britannia Mills, Britannia Road, Milnsbridge, Huddersfield HD3 4QG

This incident occurred in Huddersfield station area and involved a fire in a two-storey stone-built mill building measuring 60m x 25m, with 30% of the first floor involved. The initial PDA to the reported building fire comprised of two pumps from Dewsbury and Huddersfield. At the height of the incident, a Make Pumps 8 message was sent. Appliances from Skelmanthorpe, Holmfirth, Meltham, Slaithwaite, Rastrick and Halifax were then mobilised.

The following support appliances attended the incident: Hose Laying Unit and Prime Mover (Mirfield), Personal Welfare Unit (Fairweather Green), Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (Cleckheaton), Command Unit Assistants (Killingbeck), two Aerial Ladder Platforms (Leeds and Bradford) and the Command Unit Lite (Fairweather Green).

At the height of the incident 2 Aerial Ladder Platforms, 6 Breathing Apparatus Sets, 5 Large Jets and 1 Ground Monitor were used to bring the fire under control.

The Officer in Charge was GM Greenwood with AM Butters as the Senior Advisor. SM Allen was the Command Support Officer, SM Helliwell was the Health and Safety Auditor, SM Gardiner was a Working Officer, SM Atkins was the Hazardous Materials Environmental Protection Officer and WM Miller was the Fire Investigation Officer.

The time of call for the incident was 12:23hrs on 16th March. The stop message was passed to Control at 15:20hrs that afternoon and the incident was closed at 12:20hrs on 17th March.

A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service investigation has concluded that the cause of the fire could not be determined due to the severe damage caused.

102

7. Other Incidents or Activity of Note Two significant fires within a week in early 2016

Although mentioned elsewhere in this report in relation to incidents that require six pumps, the following incidents are significant simply due to their scale. Fortunately incidents of this scale do not occur very often, however, they do still happen and WYFRS are still able to successfully deal with them.

Drummond Mill was an extensive mill complex built in the 1860s and had operated as a textile factory up until 2003. The building now had a number of occupiers but was primarily used for the storage of goods for retail and internet sales. It was seen as an important part of the community.

The fire started at 1118hrs on 28th January and was confined to the basement for a considerable time with crews making progress into the basement on three fronts. The nature and quantities of the contents made it extremely difficult to extinguish the fire and despite the use of a quite unprecedented number of Breathing Apparatus wearers (approximately 130) the fire could not be contained to the basement. The conditions in a basement fire are amongst the most arduous and hazardous that can be faced by a firefighter due to the lack of ventilation, which means that there is nowhere for the heat and smoke to go.

Once the fire broke out into the rest of the building, the entire complex was rapidly fully involved in the fire. Several surrounding buildings including a school were at serious risk from fire spread and due to the very high winds, a large number of fire brands were being blown a long way into nearby streets with serious risk of spread. Crews worked tirelessly to ensure that the damage was limited to the mill complex.

At its height twenty-five appliances were used for fighting along with a large number of supporting and special appliances.

Less than a week later, at 2006hrs on 3rd February, there was a call from a large packaging warehouse near Wetherby. The fire involved a large building some 50 metres by 100 metres which was well developed when crews arrived. Once again a large number of Breathing Apparatus teams were used with around 80 Breathing Apparatus wearers being committed into the building at some stage.

A total of eight large jets were required to contain the fire and protect nearby buildings. The quick actions of the initial crews who arrived and the hard work of all crews involved meant that the fire was contained to approximately one quarter of the building and this has meant that the business has a reasonable chance of recovering from the fire.

At its height, this particular fire required twenty firefighting appliances plus aerial appliances to allow water to be directed from height and a range of supporting and specialist vehicles.

Both of these incidents created a significant demand on resources but a demand that could not only be met, but also maintained for extended periods of time.

103

Fire involving Hoverboard On the evening of Friday 15th January, shortly before 9pm, a fire took hold in the living room of a property in St Mary’s Drive, Wyke where three youngsters reported seeing a hoverboard, which was on charge, set alight. The eldest, a 13-year-old boy, led the other two children, a nine-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl, to an upstairs bedroom where he dialled 999. The teenager followed the fire survival guidance given by the Control Room and blocked the bottom of the door with materials to stop the smoke from getting into the bedroom. On discovering the fire, a 39-year-old woman, who was also inside the property, managed to open the front door and lead the children outside. Fire engines from Hunslet, Cleckheaton and Bradford arrived on the scene and firefighters put out the blaze. This was the first fire recorded within WYFRS that involved a hoverboard and the incident itself received significant media attention, both locally and nationally.

104

8. Violence at Work Attacks on Personnel There have been sixty incidents reported by West Yorkshire FRS in this financial year, which is similar to last year, when there were sixty-four incidents reported.

The table below summarises the events reported by firefighters and other staff. Where stations have not reported any incidents, they are not shown within this table.

For clarification, 'stoning' covers any thrown object identified as a stone; 'firework' covers fireworks thrown or launched; and 'missile' covers any other object used as a projectile.

The above table shows the number of incidents in which firefighters were subject to violence as a percentage of attendance, by station and by district (0.18% overall). Some smaller stations might appear to suffer a relatively high percentage of attacks, but this is largely due to the smaller number of incidents attended from such stations.

The Chief Fire Officer re-emphasises that even one attack is one too many and that every assistance and encouragement will be given to the police to bring offenders to court. Work is continuing with a variety of agencies from the police and district councils to community groups and youth leaders to address these issues.

Attacks on Firefighters as a Percentage of Turnouts

District / StationNo.of

TurnoutsPhysical Assault

Weapon Brandished

MissileThrown

FireworkThrown Stoning

Aggressive Behaviour

Verbal Abuse Total Percentage

Bradford DistrictBradford 2851 4 5 1 1 11 0.39%Bingley 496 1 1 0.20%FWG 1606 4 3 3 1 11 0.68%Keighley 770 2 1 3 0.39%Odsal 920 5 1 6 0.65%Shipley 757 1 1 2 0.26%District Total 8205 0 0 7 15 4 3 5 34 0.41%Calderdale DistrictHalifax 913 2 1 1 4 0.44%Illingw orth 688 2 2 0.29%Todmorden 206 2 2 0.97%District Total 2707 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 8 0.30%Kirklees DistrictDew sbury 1400 1 2 3 0.21%District Total 5070 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0.06%Leeds District Leeds 3519 4 1 5 0.14%Hunslet 2092 2 2 0.10%Moortow n 566 1 1 0.18%Stanningley 1362 1 1 0.07%Killingbeck 798 1 1 2 1 5 0.63%District Total 12395 0 0 4 1 1 3 5 14 0.11%Wakefield District Castleford 634 1 1 0.16%District Total 3939 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.03%Totals 32566 1 0 11 18 8 7 15 60 0.18%

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16Attacks on Firefighters

88 77 40 76 64 60

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District Actions to Address Violence

All districts are undertaking the following actions:

• Communicating a positive image of the Fire Service in the community

• Taking part in community events to support this image

• Asking questions to firefighters at Performance Monitoring Visits (PMVs) regarding the e-learning package that was sent out in relation to reading the body language of persons and diffusing certain situations

• Encouraging all staff to use the SCIP when intelligence or other information is received for risk issues

• Encouraging any watch who place the information on SCIP to email other local stations to alert them to the fact that the address has been added and to make sure that they then view the SCIP for the details

• Consistently promoting the knowledge of Silent Witness cameras with crews and to the public at events etc. to discourage anti-social behaviour

• Where incidents do occur, publicising through the media any arrests made by the police and any sentences given by the courts

Bradford On 12th January at 20:30hrs a Bradford crew were travelling to an incident at Bradford Royal Infirmary and were on Whetley Hill at the junction with Lincoln Road, when the appliance was hit by an egg.

On 18th January at 17:21hrs a Bingley crew had attended an automatic fire alarm at Adelaide House, Crossley Wood Road (a high rise block of flats) when members of the crew were subjected to verbal abuse from a male, leaning out of a third floor window, who made threats of violence and shouted obscenities.

On 28th January at 18:00hrs a Bradford crew were attending an incident at the junction of Grattan Road and Providence Street. A taxi driver had driven through the road closure and stopped short of the rear of the appliance, which was positioned in the road to pump from a fire tank. The taxi driver was therefore informed that he had to turn around, but he refused and became more agitated and uncooperative. Eventually he did turn the taxi around and went back in the opposite direction.

On 27th February at 22:57hrs a Fairweather Green crew were attending to a fire in the open on common land adjacent to Longford Terrace, Bradford when they were subjected to verbal abuse. The police were in attendance.

On 26th March at 16:22hrs a Fairweather Green crew were again in attendance at a fire in the open, when a group of five youths started to throw stones and other objects at the firefighters. There were two PCSO's in attendance from the police.

Calderdale

On 26th December at 15:30hrs a Todmorden crew were attending an incident in Butterworth Lane, Triangle, Sowerby Bridge, when they were subjected to verbal abuse.

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On 21st January at 20:28hrs an Illingworth crew attended a fire in the open between Mixenden Road and Ashtree Gardens, Mixenden. There was a small group of youths nearby, hiding behind fences and buildings, and during the making up of the incident, the crew were targeted by a number of stones thrown from behind a building over the roof. The crew promptly made up the equipment and returned to station, where they found minor damage to the appliance. Details were passed to Control and joint attendance by the Police was requested for all calls to the Mixenden area for the weekend. On 24th February at 20:30hrs a crew from Illingworth were attending to a rubbish fire in Furness Drive, Illingworth, when four youths threw rocks towards the firefighters before fleeing. No injuries were sustained and there was no damage to equipment.

Kirklees On 1st March at 19:25hrs a crew from Dewsbury attended an incident at a commercial premises in Ravensthorpe where the owner was burning rubbish in the yard, which was close to the road and a bus shelter. When he was informed that it was not permitted to burn commercial waste and the crew would have to extinguish it, he became aggressive

Leeds On 6th December at 15:50hrs a Killingbeck crew were attending a fire in the open in front of Foundry Mill Terrace, Seacroft when they were attacked by a group of youths.

On 3rd January at 12:00hrs a Killingbeck crew were attending a road traffic collision on Chapel Street, Halton when they were verbally abused by a man from the garden of a property adjacent to the incident, who they had asked to extinguish a cigarette he was smoking, as the collision had the potential to begin leaking fuel. The man aggressively stated that it was his land and he could do what he wanted. He was requested to move away if he wanted to carry on smoking. A few minutes later, the same man was observed taking pictures of the incident with his mobile phone and was asked to stop. Again he verbally abused the crew. A Police Officer attending the incident went to speak to the gentleman who moved away. On 6th January at 13:59hrs a Killingbeck crew were attending a domestic property fire at Thorn Drive, Harehills. Members of the local authority advised that he had barricaded himself in and that they could not gain entry. The occupier eventually let the crew in to make sure that all was well and he was initially calm and civil. However, very quickly his manner changed to being aggressive and he demanded that they leave the premise, at which point the occupant barricaded himself back in the flat.

On 29th February at 18:20hrs a Killingbeck crew were attending an incident at Foundry Mills Terrace, Seacroft. A group of about ten youths were gathered and when the appliance arrived they began to throw bricks at it. The crew remained on board and moved to a safe distance until the police arrived.

On 20th March at 14:45hrs a Hunslet crew were attending a fire on grassland at the rear of Acre Terrace, Middleton when they were subject to verbal abuse by two youths.

Wakefield

There were no incidents recorded in Wakefield District during the last quarter.

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West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Oakroyd Hall

Birkenshaw

Bradford BD11 2DY

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Purpose To provide Members with an annual update relating to the corporate health of the Authority.

Recommendations That Members note the Corporate Health Report and approve the RIPA Policy (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) incorporated within this report.

Summary In accordance with the Authority’s Code of Corporate Governance and pursuant to the corporate performance monitoring processes, this report provides an annual corporate health update.

OFFICIAL

Corporate Health Report - 2015-16 Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 25 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer



Contact Officer: Alison Davey, Corporate Services Manager [email protected] 01274 655801

Background papers open to inspection: RIPA Policy and Procedures (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)

Annexes: None

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Corporate Health Report - 2015-16

1 Introduction 1.1 The Authority adopted a Code of Corporate Governance in 2003 and pursuant to the corporate

performance monitoring processes an annual ‘corporate health’ report is submitted to the Annual General Meeting of the Authority.

1.2 In April 2005 the Authority adopted a new formal Constitution which, along with a range of existing policies and standing orders, also incorporated new provisions relating to citizens’ rights and the role and responsibilities of Members. The Constitution is a voluntary commitment to seeking to achieve best practice standards of corporate governance as the LGA 2000 statutory requirement to adopt a formal constitution does not apply to fire and rescue authorities.

2 Corporate Health

2.1 Compliments and Complaints

The graph below summarises West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (WYFRS) performance compared to previous years’ figures. During the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 WYFRS received 302 compliments, which is higher than the 269 received during the previous year.

WYFRS received 63 complaints during the 12 month period 2015/16 compared with the 43 complaints received during 2014/15.

3 Complaints 3.1 The receipt of a complaint either by telephone, email or letter is, if possible, to be resolved at the

point of contact. The Service Standards Officer is advised via the compliments/complaints website, by telephone, or email, giving details of the complaint and subsequent action taken.

3.2 If the complaint cannot be resolved quickly the Service Standards Officer will monitor progress and, if necessary, prompt the investigating officer for updated information ensuring the complainant is contacted regularly to advise of progress being made; as detailed in the Compliments and Complaints Policy. This Policy is reviewed on a three yearly basis but in the

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interim, if it is highlighted a change in the procedure needs to be made the Policy will be updated immediately.

3.3 If a complaint is received directly by the Service Standards Officer, the information will be passed on to an appropriate officer to undertake an investigation. Should a complaint proceed to Stage II the Service Standards Officer will arrange to have a Group Manager/Commander or more senior officer investigate.

3.4 Of the 63 complaints received in 2015/16, 22 were upheld, one was attributed to an outside organisation and six were withdrawn. 60 complaints have been resolved at Stage I to the satisfaction of the complainant with three progressing to Stage II. All complaints are dealt with in a consistent manner, being fully investigated with appropriate remedial action taken where necessary. A breakdown of complaints by type is given below:

3.5 Although 63 complaints were received, WYFRS have attended 22,138 incidents, carried out 6,343

operational risk visits and delivered 38,007 Home Fire Safety Checks in the same period.

3.6 A depersonalised register of the complaints log is available for Members to view at the Annual General Meeting.

4 Compliments 4.1 The majority of the 302 compliments received have arisen directly as a result of daily interaction

with the public, either at incidents or when providing community fire safety education throughout local communities.

4.2 A breakdown of the areas the compliments referred to is given overleaf:

7 7

9

3

11

2

11

5 4

1 2

1

0123456789

101112

Complaints received 2015-16 by category

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With eight of these compliments donations were received for The Firefighters Charity totalling £590.

5 Performance Indicators (PI’s)

5.1 The overall purpose of Performance Indicators is to contribute to and facilitate the continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of services. The outturn figures for each of the PI’s for 2015/16 are shown in the table below along with the figures for 2014/15.

Corporate Health Indicators Ref. Description of Indicator 2014/15

Outturn 2015/16 Outturn

CH 1 The level (if any) of the Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework to which the Authority conforms

Achieving Achieving

CH 4* Average number of working days / shifts lost to short term sickness 7.31

2.75

Average number of working days / shifts lost to long term sickness 3.95

CH 5 Health and Safety – Total Injuries to staff

19 18 <3 days Injuries 3 + days 4

25** RIDDOR Over 7 days 17

RIDDOR Major Injury/ Disease 2 1 Total 42 44 Forecast Budget Variance (% Variance against overall budget)

-4.24% -4.00%

Forecast Capital Payments (Actual figures £s)

£12.55m £11.38m

CH 9 Debtors – Value of debt outstanding which is over 60 days old

£4,188 £83,177

CH 11 Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided.

CH 13 Quality of Service: Domestic 99% 100% CH 14 Quality of Service: Non Domestic 98% 99% Home Fire Safety Checks 100% 99%

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*From 2009-10, employees no longer being paid by the Authority have been removed from the calculation of this indicator. These figures has been split this year to indicate short and long term sickness

** This figure now includes RIDDOR over 7 days

6 Customer Service Excellence 6.1 The Charter Mark Standard was replaced in June 2008 by the Government’s new ‘Customer

Service Excellence’ (CSE) standard.

6.2 WYFRS has achieved full compliance in all criteria following a review assessment, which was undertaken on 15 October 2015, concentrating on the following criteria:

Criterion 1 Customer Insight

Criterion 2 The Culture of the Organisation

Criterion 3 Information and Access

Criterion 4 Delivery

Criterion 5 Timeliness and Quality of Service

6.3 The assessment resulted in maintaining all 57 criteria achieving full Compliance against the standard and upholding accolades of twelve criteria achieving Compliance Plus; behaviours or practices that exceed the requirements of the standard, and are viewed as exceptional or as an exemplar for others – either within the organisation or in the wider public service. During the 2015 assessment WYFRS was credited with two further Compliance Plus resulting in fourteen criteria achieving Compliance Plus.

6.4 The Assessor’s Summary report states

“It is an excellent Service and continues to be recognised nationally as a good practice example in many areas with innovative approaches to the use of databases and technology to design, model and test operational services, and community fire safety work. The Service is also a national lead on information governance.

“More recently, the Service has moved towards co-working with other 'blue-light' services on a range of common interests and this has been helped by co-locating fire and rescue resources with those of the police and ambulance services.

“A sustained campaign on home fire safety checks and other preventative measures and a continued reduction in deaths and serious injuries from fires has allowed a re-appraisal of risk throughout West Yorkshire based on extensive data drawn from many sources. That work has culminated in a re-modelling of resource allocation supported by independent verification of proposals for major changes. The result is substantial savings whilst maintaining and in some cases improving levels of service.

“Yet another professionally presented application making the most of technology and supported by evidence from enthusiastic, well-motivated and dedicated members of staff and many examples of providing excellent customer service.”

6.5 The assessor summarised the overall assessment of each criteria as follows:

6.5.1 Customer Insight - Good use of databases and technology to model resource allocation upon which major consultation exercises have been based resulting in strategic decisions about resource deployment and for which Compliance Plus is justified in Element 1.1.1. Well

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developed approaches to high risk and vulnerable customers including students, older people and those who are at risk justifies Compliance Plus in Element 1.1.3. A wide range of consultation mechanisms involving customers, partners and staff and a sensitive use of data to explain your proposals is worthy of Compliance Plus in Element 1.2.2. High levels of customer satisfaction across all main areas of service. Fully compliant against the Standard.

6.5.2 The Culture of the Organisation - A continued emphasis on customer focus and customer care particularly in respect of high risk and vulnerable groups with staff encouraged to contribute to service improvements and empowered to deliver services in a flexible and effective manner. Compliance Plus in Elements 2.1.5 and 2.2.5 for a strategic approach to Information Management recognised by ACFO as Good Practice and for fostering a culture which recognises and rewards members of staff for their contributions to customer focused services. Fully compliant against the Standard.

6.5.3 Information and Access - A range of accessible information available for customers based on a sound knowledge of the customer base, an accessible, re-configured website and innovative use of new technologies to reach different customer groups. Good evidence of a broad range of information about the services on offer for which Compliance Plus is justified in Element 3.1.1, innovative ways of disseminating information for which Compliance Plus is justified in Element 3.2.2 and in Element 3.2.3 for your new website which has revolutionised the way in which you handle and make information available to customers. Compliance Plus is also justified in Element 3.3.2 for your approach to evaluating channel usage which recognises the impact of the changes to your website. Strong and effective partnership arrangements in place and Compliance Plus in Element 3.4.1 for partnership working, in Element 3.4.2 for co-ordinated working arrangements with partners and in Element 3.4.3 for your impressive community work. Fully compliant against the Standard.

6.5.4 Delivery - Robust performance management arrangements demonstrating that performance standards and targets are consistently met with benchmarking against similar fire and rescue services. Good evidence of using your analysis of the complaints procedure to identify and take action to improve services and for a new preventable action procedure for which Compliance Plus is warranted in Element 4.3.4 (NB: For review in 2016). Effective and flexible working arrangements providing efficient use of resources. Fully compliant against the Standard.

6.5.5 Timeliness and Quality of Service - Meets standards and increasingly challenging targets for timeliness and service quality. Compliance Plus for Element 5.2.5 because the systems in place to respond to customer requests and enquiries ensure a prompt response in all cases generating many compliments and favourable comparisons with other public bodies. Fully compliant against the Standard.

`Work is progressing for the 2016 assessment which comprises of assessment against 29 criteria 6.6which includes the fourteen Compliance Plus criteria.

7 Complaints to the Local Government Commissioner (Ombudsman)

No complaints received during the year ending 31 March 2016 were referred to the Local Government Ombudsman.

8 Whistleblowing Complaints

During the year ending 31 March 2016 no complaints were received.

9 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 9.1 The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 regulates the use of the powers to

conduct covert surveillance by public bodies including West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

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9.2 The RIPA policy was originally approved by Members at the Full Authority meeting on 16 September 2013. Members are required to review the use of the RIPA Act and set the policy each year at the Annual General Meeting. The policy was amended on 18 May 2016 to include ‘Online Covert Activity’ (Internet and Social Networks). The Surveillance Commissioners have provided guidance that certain activities will require authorisation under RIPA and this includes repetitive viewing of what are deemed to be ‘open source’ sites for the purpose of intelligence gathering and data collation.

9.3 The policy has been amended to include Section 1.13 - Online Covert Activity (Internet and Social Networks), which reads:

The internet can now provide a source of information and details about individuals, groups and organisations by means of open communication including ‘open source’ sites. The Surveillance Commissioners have provided guidance that certain activities will require authorisation under RIPA and this includes repetitive viewing of what are deemed to be ‘open source’ sites for the purpose of intelligence gathering and data collation. Such activity should be authorised using the relevant procedures stated within this policy to ensure that the right to privacy and matters of collateral intrusion have been considered, and any ensuing prosecutions are based upon admissible evidence.

9.4 The paragraph below is taken from the Home Office Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice.

‘The use of the internet may be required to gather information prior to and/or during an operation, which may amount to directed surveillance. Whenever a public authority intends to use the internet as part of an investigation, they must first consider whether the proposed activity is likely to interfere with a person’s Article 8 rights, including the effect of any collateral intrusion. Any activity likely to interfere with an individual’s Article 8 rights should only be used when necessary and proportionate to meet the objectives of a specific case. Where it is considered that private information is likely to be obtained, an authorisation (combined or separate) must be sought as set out elsewhere in this code. Where an investigator may need to communicate covertly online, for example, contacting individuals using social media websites, a CHIS authorisation should be considered’.

9.5 A full copy of the revised RIPA Policy is available to Members upon request.

9.6 The Authority adheres to procedures based on the Codes of Practice produced by the Home Office.

9.7 Annual returns are submitted to the Office of Surveillance Commissioners and the Interception of Communications Commissioners Office.

9.8 For the year 2015/2016 no applications were made, authorised or rejected in respect of Directed Surveillance, Covert Human Intelligence Sources or the Disclosure of Communications Data under the Act.

10 Corporate Governance Policies

10.1 The following policies are implemented in a systematic approach to Corporate Governance.

Compliments and Complaints Procedure Equality and Diversity Policy Information Security Policy Customer Care Policy Data Protection Policy Corporate Health and Safety Policy

Records Management Policy Freedom of Information Policy RIPA 2000 Policy Whistleblowing Policy Code of Conduct for Members

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11 Financial Implications 11.1 There are no significant financial implications associated with this report.


12.1 Equality Impact Assessments have been completed for all corporate governance policies. There are no significant equality and diversity implications associated with this report.


13.1 There are no significant health and safety implications associated with this report.

14 Service Plan Links 14.1 This report links to the following Service Plan Priorities:

• Provide a safe skilled workforce that serves the needs of a diverse community

• Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money.

15 Recommendation

15.1 That Members note the Corporate Health Report and approve the RIPA Policy incorporated within this report.

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Purpose To update Members of the progress on the Service Plan Action Plans 2015-16 and 2016-17

Recommendations That Members note the report

Summary This report is to update Members of the progress on the Service Plan Action Plans 2015-16 and 2016-17

OFFICIAL

Service Plan-Action Plan 2015-16 and 2016-17 Updates Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 26 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer



Contact Officer: Alison Davey, Corporate Services Manager 01274 655801 [email protected]


Annexes: a) Action Plan 2015-16 update b) Action Plan 2016-17 update

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1 Introduction 1.1 At the Full Authority meeting held on 20 February 2015, Members approved the Service Plan

Action Plan 2015-16 for publication and at the Full Authority meeting held on 19 February 2016, Members approved the Service Plan Action Plan 2016-17 for publication.

2 Information

2.1 Progress on the implementation of the action plans is reported to each Full Authority meeting and attached are the latest updates on both plans.

3 Financial Implications 3.1 Financial implications of each of the actions are incorporated within each project as

appropriate.


4.1 Equality and diversity implications are incorporated within each project as appropriate.


5.1 Health and safety implications are incorporated within each project as appropriate.


7.1 This report links to all the Service Plan priorities.

7 Conclusions 8.1 That Members note the report.

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ACTION PLAN

2015 - 2016

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

Update: 24 June 2016 DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME

We will:

Our action

Progress

Ensure the authority’s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur

Review the type and level of response to Automatic Fire Alarms

Following the introduction of the pilot for charging for persistent attendance to false alarms a full review incorporating the impact it has had in managing the process was concluded on 30 September 2015 and received full approval at Community Safety Committee. The approval included the creation of a new False Alarm Reduction Officer for which a change in establishment was sought at the HR Committee on 4 December 2015. The new team member has been appointed and will allow further developments to take place. In addition to this progress has been made to introduce additional guidance to premises where crews attend false alarms. This will be left on site by the attending crew and will provide valuable information to business owners. Furthermore, we are now in the process of reviewing the overarching policy for the Reduction of False Alarms and Unwanted Fire Signals which incorporates the call challenge process originally introduced in 2011. The review of the call challenge process has ensured a consistent and fair response to calls which are as a result of an automatic fire alarm actuating and passed to Control either through an alarm receiving station or via 999. Completed

Implement a programme to promote fire safety and improve the level of support offered to businesses by ensuring all practices are aligned with the principles of better regulation

Through the development of the newly created Business Support Team a new business Support Strategy has been developed. The strategy has been written in such a way that it will allow the production of a programme of action on how the business support offer can be improved. The feasibility of utilising a website based risk assessment tool for small and medium sized businesses is being considered which will provide a platform to promote fire safety. The West Yorkshire Fire Protection Panel has gone through some structural changes and been redeveloped as the West Yorkshire Fire Safety Group. There is a greater degree of ownership being taken on by the group itself, which is represented by the business community of West Yorkshire. This group will provide an important conduit between West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) and businesses in line with guidance from the Better Regulation Delivery Office and provides the ability to engage with the group as a key stakeholder when consulting on policies as per the Regulators Code. Primary Authority Schemes and business support in general continue to go from strength to strength. Completed

Carry out a review of existing working practices within Fire Protection to optimise efficiency for the customer and implement the findings

A review of working practices was carried out within the Enforcement Team and an expectations document produced. This has now encompassed a full review of the short audit process having conducted successful trials over the last two years and will be fully implemented next year as part of a full roll out from the Chief Fire Officers Association. The review ensures optimal efficiency within this area. Additionally a review has been carried out of the priorities and workloads within the protection team and how work is allocated; in order to improve efficiency and this included a review of the administrative processes around the issuing of the licenses and certificates following the introduction of the new Petroleum and Explosives Regulations. This has allowed the introduction of a simplified process within this area without which the additional workload created by the charging policy for persistent false alarms would not have been possible. Completed

Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being

Work with academic partners to develop an intelligence led multi-agency data sharing framework

Work has commenced with Leeds University Business School to develop a framework which will allow access to greater amounts of data and ensure that the use of that data is maximised. The University is still writing a proposal for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership. It is possible that due to other areas of work in relation to data sharing and intelligence gathering that this project will no longer be required but it has been an important step in our growing understanding of risk. Further data has been provided nationally by the Department of Health in relation to older people within the community, which will assist in targeting vulnerable people. The data has been evaluated in order to determine the best way

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to satisfy the risk so that those individuals or locations with the highest risk are the highest priority in terms of our interventions or those of partners. Project suspended due to other data being received and developing data sharing processes. Completed

Promote and evaluate the use of assistive technology in protecting those who are vulnerable to fire

It is without doubt that people will be remaining in their homes for greater periods of time, giving rise to some very specific risks. Using intelligence produced by Fire Investigation to identify areas where assistive technology could aid the prevention of domestic fires we aim to promote its use and evaluate the impact in reducing risk amongst those most vulnerable to fire. WYFRS has undertaken exhaustive tests of a cooker top device aimed at reducing cooking fires, for use by vulnerable individuals. The product had not proved suitable in its initial form and feedback was given to the manufacturer which has resulted in the company redeveloping the product to aim to meet our needs. Inno Home continue to support this work and have recently upgraded the initial 20 units supplied and further tests, carried out in Kirklees, are very encouraging. Further to the interest from Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing, Housing Leeds have visited the trial site in Kirklees and were impressed with the product and its capabilities and are considering working with WYFRS on an assistive technology product such as the stove guard within properties managed by Housing Leeds. A review of products issued by WYFRS commenced in the new year and includes research into the range of assistive technology currently available to reduce fire risk. Discussions have taken place with a range of manufacturers in identifying products, such as domestic misting systems, which can be used to make the most vulnerable safer in their homes. Completed

Deliver a strategy to maximise the use of social media at station/departmental level

The Prevention department has worked closely with the Public Information Team to develop and implement a strategy which will promote the timely provision of generic and targeted safety messages to a variety of audiences across West Yorkshire using social media such as Twitter and Facebook as platforms. Work has been undertaken to identify the key audiences and appropriate messages. In October 2015 a major social media campaign took place aimed at encouraging young people to identify older relatives who may need support managing a range of safety issues. This campaign has generated a great deal of interest amongst older people and the groups that work with them. Due to its success, discussions have taken place as to how to improve on it in 2016. In addition to safety messages, there has been an increase in the use of social media to highlight the work firefighters have been involved in with the recent flooding across West Yorkshire and beyond. This again allows safety messages to be sent out to highlight the dangers of flooding, which has affected so many communities within West Yorkshire in recent months. Completed

DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE

We will:

Our action

Progress

Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response

Train for, and implement, the Initial and Specialist Operational Response Programme approach to the management of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) incidents by multi-agency responders

Interim operational policy and procedures were issued in March 2014, working toward full documents after completion of training for Initial Operational Response (IOR) and Specialist Operational Response (SOR) Programme. National eLearning package (Firefighter to Area Manager) went live in July 2015 and all frontline and Control staff received training on the Initial Operational Response Programme. WYFRS worked with West Yorkshire Police and Yorkshire Ambulance to complete training for a go-live date of 1 September 2015. A National Tri service go live date has not yet been agreed. National Resilience has provided a small amount of equipment for all front line appliances to aid in the decontamination process. The Specialist Operational Response Programme is awaiting final agreement and consultation nationally before being rolled out, however this now seems likely to be implemented within the 2016/17 year. Exercise Leyland brought together over 500 staff and volunteers to test the local resilience and the embedding of Initial Operational Response and development of the Specialist Operational Response at a mass casualty CBRN scenario. Whilst SOR is not a fully developed concept it is being rolled out via regional workshops from the National CBRN Centre to Police colleagues and is being followed by a multi agency CBRN table top exercise to ensure understanding. Completed as much as can be within the constraints of the National project roll out. Completed

Establish a dedicated project team and commence planning for the delivery of the Emergency Services

A Regional Co-ordinator post was established in June 2015 and work has progressed to prepare for the transition from Airwave to the 4G Emergency Services Network. The main contracts were awarded

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Mobile Communications project by the Government in November 2015, and are now awaiting confirmation of the amount of funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for a full time project team for each region. Contact has been established with other blue light partners in the region and opportunities for collaboration are being progressed. The Yorkshire region should transition over to the new network in 2018. A regional project resource plan is in place and is pending the receipt of government funding (due in June 2016) and Authority approval. WYFRS Emergency Services Mobile Communications Project (ESMCP) Board and local governance arrangements have been established. Completed

Develop and deliver closer working relationships with other agencies (Environment Agency, Meteorological Office etc.)

Regular meetings are now taking place with various members of the Environment Agency (EA) at senior and operational management levels. Joint visits are taking place with EA, Health and Safety Executive and Operational/Fire Protection staff at various high risk sites across West Yorkshire. These have enabled some decisions around joint management of issues. The Memorandum of Understanding between WYFRS and EA has been updated. A number of training workshops and seminars for Hazardous Materials and Environmental Protection Officers (HMEPOs) from WYFRS and the Environment Agency’s Environmental Protection Officers (EPOs) have been completed. Further seminars and workshops are being organised due to the positive feedback. Following the good work in the early part of the year, we are continuing to build our relationships with other agencies. This work includes regular meetings, training, workshops and exercises along with operational commitments. We are looking to broaden the learning and understanding of staff at both operational and tactical levels of command for both organisations and this includes the consideration and evaluation of lessons learnt whilst in these environments. This work is now being embedded into core business and further developments will be made as opportunities arise. Completed

Implement the national Incident Command Guidance and standardise incident command procedures within the region

The national guidance was launched in July 2015 and a regional Incident Command Support group led by West Yorkshire was established with the aim of standardising the adoption of the guidance. This group reports to the Yorkshire and Humberside Operations Resilience Group and a draft regional operational procedure for Incident Command was developed in conjunction with the regional FRSs. After consultation with representative bodies in November the ICS guidance as a regional document was published on 1 January 2016 in WYFRS. Completed

Establish West Yorkshire’s position on the national Collaboration Partnership group to deliver the Service’s operational policies and procedures

WYFRS has subscribed to the National Operational Guidance (NOG) Programme and attends the National Implementation Forum on behalf of the region. Agreement has been reached with the region to collaborate with the introduction of national guidance and a regional working group has been established which has met on several occasions to provide a regional response to national consultation on operational guidance. The implementation of the regional working group is progressing effectively. There have been five new national operational guidance documents released in November 2015. All of these are reviewed by the regional representatives prior to the consultation feedback being provided. This work continues to progress with regional consultation being achieved on the documents requiring feedback. Work on developing a regional template for the publication of NOG documents is progressing effectively. A Regional Operational Guidance Group has been established through YHORG. Completed

Review opportunities to introduce an Emergency First Responder Scheme with Yorkshire Ambulance Service

Discussions with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) are ongoing. A draft Memorandum of Understanding and Concept of Operations, currently employed in Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, have been proposed by YAS as a way to address the increasing demand on their service across the region. Meetings with personnel took place with representatives from Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service in attendance. The pilot scheme is now up and running at Skelmanthorpe, Ilkley and Featherstone Fire Stations with positive feedback from the volunteers and YAS. An evaluation report will be submitted to the Full Authority in September 2016. Completed.

Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand

Review the provision of technical response and flood response capability

Project Initiation Document (PID) completed and agreed. Detection Identification and Monitoring capability review complete and recommendations made to the Management Team in August 2015. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability review reported to Management Team in September 2015. The Cabinet Office, Home Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are carrying out reviews on the provision of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) assets nationally, the review has held up a number of our own reviews. It is likely that the

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national reviews will be completed and published in mid 2016; following these we will complete the reviews of the Incident Response Unit (IRU) and Detection Identification and Monitoring (DIM). The Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability review identified significant cost savings by introducing a new staffing model that will be implemented, once approval is gained. Completed reviews passed to Strategic Development for approval and implementation. Completed.

Review the provision of national resilience assets and capabilities

Project Initiation Document (PID) completed and agreed. Detection Identification and Monitoring capability review is complete and recommendations will be made to the Management Team in August 2015. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability review reported to Management Team in September 2015. The Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are carrying out reviews on the provision of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) assets nationally, the review has held up a number of our own reviews. It is likely that the national reviews will be completed and published early in 2016; following these we will complete the reviews of the Incident Response Unit (IRU) and Detection Identification and Monitoring (DIM). The Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability review identified significant cost savings by introducing a new staffing model that will be implemented in 2016-17, once approval is gained. Completed reviews passed to Strategic Development for approval and implementation, National CBRN review continues and the WYFRS reviews will report on the outcomes of this review. We are continuing to wait for the outcomes of the National CBRN review before being in a position to progress the internal reviews any further. Ongoing

Introduce a Combined Aerial Rescue Pump at Leeds Fire Station

All warranty work now complete. Will go back to station for training to be completed and therefore anticipate that the CARP will be on the run at Leeds in the first week of July 2016. Completed

Introduce Breathing Apparatus Telemetry

The equipment has been delivered and the operational procedure published. The capability is being implemented district by district to facilitate the significant training implications. Calderdale went live on 5 August 2015 and the final district, Leeds went live January 2016. BA telemetry is now working effectively and project evaluation will be carried out. Completed

Conduct a trial of cold cutting equipment at Gipton Fire Station

This trial has been completed. A full evaluation report was provided to the Senior Operations Team meeting on 1 December 2015 and it was decided there will be no further work undertaken on the use of Cobra in WYFRS. Completed

Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences

Consolidate the relocation of Control to the new site and identify opportunities for new ways of working

The new Control room has been operational for over 12months and work on refining the functionality of the new command and control software carried out. In spite of a number of challenges the project was completed and a temporary position estabilished within Control to review standards, training and the ways of working objectives. A number of successful exercises have taken place to test the fall back arrangements between West and South Yorkshire. A review of the building facilities has been undertaken which will inform the strategic asset review. An action plan has been introduced to develop new ways of working for Control personnel and is in place for delivery in 2016/17. Completed

Review the use of camera technology on the incident ground to support key decision making

Demonstrations have been arranged from suppliers on camera products and command support software. Data protection implications are being determined before a trial can begin. A helmet worn camera has been purchased to commence a trial of using such devices in a training environment. A camera for use by the Incident Commander to thermally scan a building during their risk assessment and technical planning is also on trial. WYFRS will attend a CFOA event to discuss the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and are obtaining a quote for provision of a UAV. A business case was completed to support the purchase of UAV ready for implementation in 2016/17. Trials of body worn and held cameras continue. Further evaluations of body worn cameras to be undertaken during 2016/2017. Completed

Develop and implement the command support software

This software (Geosytac) forms an integral part of the new Systel Start Command and Control System. A detailed technical specification was agreed with Systel. A workshop on 2 February 2016 with Systel finalised the development requirements and produced a timeline for delivery. Currently Systel are creating the design and development specification based on the user/output specification and workshop. The draft version of the development specification will not be available until June 2016 and the final version until after September 2016. Ongoing

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Undertake an efficiency review of the operational risk information audit process

Review is underway using data from the last three years to identify trends. Feedback on the current process is being sought from crews, Station Commanders and District Commanders regarding the issues identified. The review is gathering pace and pulling together other stakeholders views from Command Training, Operational Learning and other subject matter experts. Trials of an updated approval process are taking place in Leeds and Wakefield districts which will provide additional information to the review. The approval process in Leeds and Wakefield supplied initial data that is being used to engage further with other staff and districts. This new approval process is required to continue to provide additional evidence within the review. The review will now run until early 2016 to ensure that all elements of the process have been considered fully. The review will be implemented in 2016-17 if approval is given. The draft report was presented to Management Team in February 2016, with updates provided at each meeting on progress made. Completed

Ensure learning is captured from local and national events and reflected in policies and training

This is an ongoing piece of work that is co-ordinated through the Operational Learning Team. Debrief processes for exercises and activities are well established and learning points are fed into new policies, equipment and training programmes. National level incidents and their learning also come into the team. Outcomes from national level incidents are cross mapped against our service delivery to identify any gaps and inform an action plan. During the course of this work it has been decided to put a more formal process in place that records when new information comes in to the organisation and also which officer/department is dealing with it. This latest element will go live in June 2016. Completed

PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY

We will:

Our action

Progress

Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees

Implement the outcomes of the Royal Society of Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) audit

The implementation of the RoSPA outcomes is ongoing. A report was submitted to the September HR Committee detailing progress and currently 51% of the actions falling out of the audit have been completed. Further update was provided to March Management Team and HR Committee in February. Completed

Implement a revised Fitness at Work Policy which reflects the Firefit recommendations

Following delays in the national policy announcement, a revised local policy is now being developed. There have been further delays at a national level. Ongoing

Introduce an Absence and Attendance Policy which balances organisational and individual needs

This has been produced and consultation has begun. Currently in the process of implementing a Consultation and Negotiation Policy and this will be the first document to go through that process. The Chief Employment Services Officer has initiated a review of the content of this policy. Extensive consultation has taken place on the revised policy and it is anticipated that the policy will be implemented in July 2016. Completed

Introduce a policy and training programme for welfare officers

Level 2 training has been completed for specialist officers. Level 1 is being rolled out to managers over the next 12 months. Completed

Undertake a work life balance and well-being survey to inform management of stress related ill health

This has been completed and the results have been analysed and reported to the December HR Committee. Work was carried out to produce an action plan to address the findings of this report. As a consequence, a more comprehensive staff survey was prepared and circulated during March. Full staff survey has now been completed and the results were made available early June 2016. Completed

Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce

Ensure all Station Managers achieve the Level 2 command qualification

All Station Managers have now gone through the Level 2 Command qualification and processes are in place to capture newly promoted Station Managers in future. Completed

Review the overall provision of training facilities

This is now complete. Completed

Introduce the new electronic maintenance of competence records at all locations

We are continuing to explore ways in which we can make further use of this system. Completed

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Undertake disciplinary training for senior managers

Initial training on Employment Tribunals has been carried out. A further training course looking at more complex investigations was sourced. Two potential providers have been identified and the training was delivered towards the end of the financial year. Completed

Formalise the resilience arrangements for operational cover and the provision of critical support services

Recall to duty processes are well established to be able to stand up additional appliances. Options to guarantee a minimum level of cover have been produced and are currently being considered by Management Team. Negotiations around standby arrangements for support services are at an advanced stage with representative bodies. Ongoing

Refresh the Training and Development Framework including the introduction of training records for green book staff

The review of the Training and Development Framework will be informed by the requirements of the Command, Leadership and Management (CLM) Review. Work is underway in this area but is dependent on the outcomes of CLM which are expected in Autumn 2016. Ongoing

Identify and introduce flexible working arrangements required to meet future service provision

The Ways of Working project now forms part of the Efficiency Review Programme and will report at the end of the year, the introduction of flexible working patterns will be included in the future efficiency proposals. Completed

Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change

Implement the first phase of the Equality Framework Self-Assessment action plan

This is being driven through the Corporate Driving Diversity Board and there is good progress from managers against their objectives. Completed

Deliver equalities training to all staff

A new e-learning package has been sourced and will be rolled out later this year. Completed

Identify the barriers to organisational and cultural change and introduce a framework to develop employees

A series of pilot training courses have been rolled out to Watch Managers and Grade 9 staff and above which commenced in September 2015. Twenty courses have beencarried out to date and well received. The new Human Resources Strategy will form the basis for further change and this has been considered by the Human Resources Committee. Completed

PROVIDE EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND ACHIEVE VALUE FOR MONEY

We will:

Our action

Progress

Provide buildings, vehicles, equipment and technology that is fit for purpose to maximise organisational effectiveness

Merge Gipton/Stanks to a new fire station in Killingbeck and sell the legacy buildings/land

Killingbeck Fire Station is fully operational and the official opening took place on 11 December 2015. Gipton Fire Station has been sold and Stanks Fire Station is being actively marketed for sale with planning consent for housing. Completed

Merge Cookridge/Moortown to a new fire station in the Weetwood area of Leeds and sell the legacy buildings/land

The Fire and Rescue Authority has approved the purchase of land currently owned by West Yorkshire Police (WYP). Although the Police and Crime Commissioner has agreed in principle to sell the land, this is subject to public consultation on future policing. It is currently anticipated that, subject to the consultation outcomes, a planning application will be submitted in the summer of 2016, with detailed design to commence before the end of 2016, for a shared police and fire station. Alternative options are currently being developed should the police station site not be available. An alternative site at Blackmoor Road, Moor Allerton, Leeds for the new fire station has been agreed in principle with Leeds City Council. It is hoped that the procurement subject to planning can be agreed by the end of September 2016 with a view to start construction on this site in January 2017. Completed

Merge Batley/Dewsbury to a new fire station in Carlton Road, Dewsbury and sell the legacy buildings/land

The new Dewsbury Fire Station is fully operational and was officially opened on 9 November 2015. The land at Batley Fire Station has been sold subject to contract and is to be redeveloped for housing. The old Dewsbury Fire Station is being actively marketed for sale with planning consent for commercial development. Completed

Commence the merge of Shipley/Idle to a new fire station in Valley Road, Shipley and sell the legacy buildings/land

The Fire and Rescue Authority approved a land swap deal with Incommunities; the social housing provider in Bradford. Planning consent for the new fire station including temporary accommodation on site has been approved and detailed design is underway. Planning applications for the development of the existing Shipley and Idle Fire Stations for residential development have been submitted. The land transfer has now been completed and the tender for construction awarded. The building of the new fire station will start in June 2016. Once the temporary fire station is completed in December 2016 the

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existing Shipley and Idle fire stations will be demolished and handed over to Incommunities for the construction of social housing. Completed

Merge Brighouse/Elland to a new fire station in Rastrick and sell the legacy buildings/land

The new fire station became fully operational in June 2015 with the official opening taking place on 28 July 2015. Elland Fire Station has been sold subject to contract for redevelopment as a doctor’s surgery and Brighouse Fire Station site is being marketed for sale with planning consent for housing development. Completed

Complete the Rothwell Fire Station rebuild project

The building is now complete and fully operational. An official opening took place on 16 July 2015. Completed

Commence construction of the replacement for Ossett Fire Station

Construction is now well under way and the fire station should be completed and fully operational by autumn 2016, following which, the second fire engine at Wakefield will be removed from service as planned. The old Ossett Fire Station will be marketed for sale after the new fire station is operational, and a planning application for residential development on the site is being prepared. Ongoing

Review the number of reserve pumping and aerial appliances and undertake appropriate disposal of the surplus vehicles

Disposal of three appliances and one aerial appliance is on-going. A new operational policy for use of resilience pumps and spare appliances has been introduced. Completed

Replace the mobile data terminal hardware

Procurement of the new hardware is now complete and delivery has taken place and trials commenced in November 2015. Software for the Mobile Data Terminals will then be loaded before the new equipment is installed on all front line appliances. Final software version arrived in December and all devices will be cloned with installations in appliances once testing is complete. The rollout will commence once the current testing process is completed to a satisfactory standard and assurance is achieved in relation to reliability and connectivity. Review date of July 2016 was set by Management Board. Multipartnership work is on-going to resolve the outstanding issues. Ongoing

Replace the Wide Area Network

Procurement has been completed with Kirklees Metropolitan Council and the new network is being provided by Easynet. Work has commenced with the rollout at new stations and will progress fully once the work to reroute services at Headquarters is complete. Installation of the new network at Headquarters is complete and the new server room at FSHQ being commissioned. A schedule to migrate the remainder of our locations to the new network is in place and progressing Completed

Review and deliver the vehicle replacement programme

A three year framework contract has been agreed with Emergency One and an order was placed for six appliances to be delivered in March 2016. All vehicles now at FSHQ Transport department being prepared for issue. Completed

Procure and install a vehicle tracking system on all Authority owned fleet

This has received committee approval. The tender has been evaluated and awarded. Installation is due to start shortly and due for completion by the end of summer 2016. Completed

Introduce an Information and Communications Technology Strategy

Consultants have been working in WYFRS for several months and a new ICT Strategy was presented to Management Board in December 2015 as planned. This was brought to the Fire and Rescue Authority in early 2016 along with recommendations for implementation and any resourcing implications. Development of the strategy is underway and the ICT Governance Board has been established and the ICT Strategy was approved at the Finance and Resources Committee in April 2016. Completed

Provide effective systems of control, performance and assurance to ensure the service operate efficiently

Introduce a mobile data management system to effectively manage and support mobile working

A product is currently on trial. Trials are progressing and a new solution was rolled out at the end of 2015. New solution to be implemented following the full commissioning of the new server room at FSHQ. Completed

Implement the new West Yorkshire Service Delivery Assurance toolkit

A process to provide assurance of support functions has been proposed, which will be further developed to establish clear standards to measure performance. Ongoing

Demonstrate transparent and accountable decision making throughout the organisation

Develop an assurance process for the support functions aligned to the new Service Delivery Assurance process

A process to provide assurance of support functions has been agreed and this will be further developed to establish clear standards to measure performance against. Completed

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Implement and develop the arrangements for the new Local Government Transparency Code

The service fleet list was published in September 2015 alongside land and property assets details and will be updated at least every six months. Other mandatory data required is published in accordance with the appropriate timescales. Completed

Identify and implement strategic change to reflect the economic environment

Review the Authority’s constitution

Amendments to the Authority’s Constitution were submitted to, and approved by, the Full Authority on 26 June 2015. Completed

Undertake evaluation of the Command Leadership and Management pilots and implement approved recommendations across the organisation

The Command Leadership and Management pilots are now concluded and an evaluation report has been presented to Management Board who accepted the recommendations to take forward the concept. A full Programme has now been developed consisting of four inter-related projects to deliver revised ways of working and efficiency savings over the next two years. The DCFO will chair the new Command Leadership and Management Programme Board to oversee its implementation. Completed

Identify new ways of working and the barriers to implementation

The Efficiency Review Programme was established to oversee this work which is now complete, with a number of significant recommendations emerging. Management Board are evaluating the options before developing firm proposals which will be brought before the Fire and Rescue Authority for consideration over the coming months and years. This work will form a major part of the work to deliver the necessary efficiency savings following the latest Comprehensive Spending Review. Completed

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ACTION PLAN

2016 - 2017

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

Update: 24 June 2016 DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME

We will:

Our action

Progress

Ensure the authority’s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur

Implement a revised Operational Risk Visit process

A detailed analysis of the issues associated with the collection of Risk Information and the integration with Fire Protection information has been jointly carried out by Operations Support and Fire Safety. This has led to the development of an action plan and will lead to the streamlining of the process. A specialist team has been approved and is being established to ensure that the very highest risk premises are dealt with appropriately. Focus groups are being established to provide the opportunity for operational and non-operational staff to enable constructive feedback in relation to the new process.

Review the Fire Protection function to develop and deliver a structure that supports current ways of working whilst being flexible to enable us to meet our statutory duties now and in the future

Initial scoping of this work has been carried out and informal consultation with the Fire Protection team will commence at the end of June 2016. This will allow development of a structure that not only meets needs now and in the future but will have been shaped by those who represent it. Recent posts which have become vacant due to any reason have been reviewed and as a result a vacant Supervisor post was recruited on a temporary basis pending completion of the review.

Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being

Develop a comprehensive strategy to include community safety, health and well-being and working practices

The Safer Communities Programme has been established and will be managed through the Change Management Programme Board. A series of stakeholder events have taken place with both internal and external stakeholders in order to shape the way we meet the needs of the community in the future.

Implement a volunteer programme

A draft Volunteer Strategy has been developed and will be built upon, with advice and expertise from Elected Members, over the summer and autumn. A completed strategy is expected to be presented to Community Safety Committee in November 2016.

Develop partnerships through the Health Service Vanguard Projects

Work continues with the West Yorkshire Urgent and Emergency Care Vanguard specifically around the issue of mental health and with the West Wakefield Vanguard with regards to integrated care in the community. It is clear that both of these present some exciting opportunities for ‘Making West Yorkshire Safer’.

Collect, analyse and act on data to target the most vulnerable people in our communities

Trials on how to best use the Exeter Data, which details every person over 65 years of age within the county, have been carried out and the information is being shared at a district level. Further, we are pursuing other ways to layer data to ensure we are identifying those at the highest risk within the community.

DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE

We will:

Our action

Progress

Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response

Continue the Emergency First Responding Pilot with Yorkshire Ambulance Service and evaluate the findings to inform future strategy

The pilot scheme is now up and running at Skelmanthorpe, Ilkley and Featherstone fire stations with positive feedback from the volunteers and Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS). The pilot scheme was suspended during late April and early May due to a change in YAS operating model. In practice this has had limited impact on the pilot

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scheme which is now back up and running. An evaluation report will be submitted to the Full Authority in September 2016.

Develop the concept of a multi-agency 'emergency planning hub'

The multi-agency 'emergency planning hub' concept is being developed in conjunction with the West Yorkshire Resilience Forum partners.

Lead a regional operational Specialist Resources Review

Initial terms of reference have been agreed with the Yorkshire and Humberside Operational Resilience Group (YHORG). Regional lead officers identified. First meeting to be arranged for June 2016.

Introduce a command support software system to enhance command and control of incidents

The Command Support Software development process is underway with a number of different options being considered. These include in-house software development and purchase from an existing supplier. The Command Support Software market continues to evolve as the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) gathers pace. New solutions are coming online from differing suppliers over and above the existing competitors.

Continue to progress the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) in collaboration with other blue light partners

The Yorkshire region should transition over to the new network in 2018. A regional project resource plan is in place and is pending the receipt of government funding (due in June 2016) and Authority approval. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Emergency Service Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) Project Board and local governance arrangements have been established.

Facilitate and consider recommendations of a peer assessment of the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) arrangements

Working towards the peer assessment of our Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) arrangements. These include a new department structure and a cost neutral charging scheme to be rolled out during 2016-2017.

Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand

Carry out a review of the provision of aerial appliances

Operations Equipment Team has started the process through visits to all Combined Areial Rescue Platform (CARP) stations to gain feedback on the performance of these vehicles. IRMP have begun the review of operational planning assumptions for aerials. This work will link to the action above to ‘lead a regional specialist resource review’.

Implement the recommendations from the reviews of National Resilience and Technical Rescue capabilities

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and Technical Rescue capabilities at Cleckheaton are being reviewed in line with recently identified changes. Once approval is gained the implementation will commence with the displacement of staff as per the business case. The changes faced by the fire service nationally with regards to the movement of the Fire and Rescue Service into the Home Office has had an impact on the work stream to complete the reviews on the provision of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) assets, Incident Response Unit (IRU) and Detection Identification and Monitoring (DIM). The outcomes of the flood response review will be reviewed to take account of the lessons learned from the Boxing Day floods of 2015.

Implement a day-crewing system at Rawdon fire station

Staff selection is ongoing; implementation is on track with the change to Day Crewing programmed for the beginning of August 2016.

Carry out a review into the availability of appliances at Retained Duty System (RDS) stations making recommendations for improvements

A dedicated whole-time retained Watch Manager has been seconded into the Operations Policy Team with the specific reference of completing this review. Initial information gathering has begun from other fire and rescue services that have implemented changes to their retained duty systems.

Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences

Review, evaluate and implement new and improved ways of working in Control

A review of the current working arrangements in Control commenced during April 2016. A non-flexi Station Manager from Control is now in place to lead the work. A strategy document is being developed to capture all the areas of this review.

Assess effectiveness of existing fireground communications

Initial investigations into the problems of fireground communications has been started by the Operational Learning Team.

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Improve the approach to operational research and development and explore opportunities to include station based personnel

Inclusion in the national Research and Development work streams is being explored. Focus groups are being planned to involve station based personnel in this work.

Review existing district training facilities and make recommendations for improvements

This work is underway and forms part of the Training Needs Analysis review.

Deliver the Command, Leadership and Management Programme

The Command, Leadership and Management Programme is now developed and preparatory work is under way pending its inclusion by the Authority as an IRMP 3 proposal.

Develop the operational training Exercise Programme

This work is ongoing and will continue to develop the programme to ensure staff at all levels are challenged and tested in a meaningful way.

PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY

We will:

Our action

Progress

Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees

Complete the actions arising from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) audit

This is ongoing with all directorates working towards implementation of the recommendations.

Review and refresh Health and Safety training for senior officers

All senior officers have attended the IOSH Leading Safely course. Completed

Review the effectiveness of the Mental Health Training Programme

Delivery of the courses is ongoing. Initial feedback remains positive with staff gaining good awareness of mental health issues and where to access support.

Continue with the second year of the Equality and Diversity self-assessment action plan

The action plan has been reviewed by Corporate Driving Diversity Board (CDDB) and a revised and updated plan will be considered at the next CDDB meeting.

Evaluate the changes made to lone worker arrangements

This piece of work is ongoing and is looking at tracking devices and has made changes to those posts that are included on our register of those posts involving lone working.

Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce

Complete a Training Needs Analysis for all staff

Work is ongoing and will be presented to Management Team in the next two months.

Devise a Training Strategy and Implementation Plan

A draft has been prepared and consultation is about to begin.

Evaluate the revised Personal Development Review process

Evaluation meetings have been carried out and the results fed back at the Service Managers meeting. Further feedback will be forthcoming from the Staff Survey and will be fed in to the PDR process.

Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change

Complete the rollout of training associated with ‘Promoting a Positive Working Environment’

Delivery of courses is on schedule to deliver the course to Grade 6 and above and Crew Commander and above.

Review the Training and Development Framework

This piece of work will be informed by the CLM and will be completed upon delivery of those outcomes.

Develop and implement an Employee Engagement Strategy

The strategy will be developed as part of the work emerging from the staff survey findings and the culture and values review. Target is for December Human Resources Committee.

Conduct a review of organisational values and develop an underpinning behavioural framework

This is now planned to be undertaken as part of actions following the staff survey. A facilitator has been appointed to support the project and a timeline agreed for the work to be undertaken. Update report to September Human Resources Committee.

Undertake a detailed staff opinion survey in order to gain a more detailed Survey has been completed. Results are currently being validated. Formal report to

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insight into working life at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS).

next Human Resources Committee.

PROVIDE EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND ACHIEVE VALUE FOR MONEY

We will:

Our action

Progress

Provide buildings, vehicles, equipment and technology that is fit for purpose to maximise organisational effectiveness

Complete the construction of a new fire station at Ossett and sell the legacy buildings/land.

New build progressing well on schedule for completion by the end of June 2016. Marketing to sell off the existing Ossett fire station will start in July 2016.

Remove the second appliance at Wakefield when the new fire station at Ossett becomes operational as detailed in the Integrated Risk Management Plan.

This will take place once the new Ossett fire station becomes operational.

Commence the construction of a fire station at Valley Road, Shipley to enable the merger of Idle/Shipley fire stations.

Construction will start in the first week in June 2016 on the Valley Road site with the temporary fire station becoming operational in December 2016.

Commence the construction of a fire station in the Weetwood area of Leeds to enable the merger of Cookridge/Moortown fire stations.

Negotiation to purchase the Leeds City Council land on Blackmoor Road, Moor Allerton is ongoing. The intention is to purchase the land with a view to starting construction on this site in January 2017.

Review the outcome of the Asset Strategy Review and produce a long term investment plan.

Ongoing intention is to have a long term strategy covering the main high cost building by September 2016.

Deliver the vehicle replacement programme.

Orders now placed for six new appliances and the specification is being prepared for the replacement Flood Response Vehicles.

Carry out a review of the introduction of alternative fuelled vehicles.

Various alternative fuelled vehicles being reviewed and this will continue throughout the year.

Scope and commence implementation of the Information and Communications Technology Strategy.

Following approval of the ICT Strategy at the Finance and Resources Committee in April, work has commenced on the scoping of the first projects. The strategy will be launched in June 2016.

Provide effective systems of control, performance and assurance to ensure the service operates efficiently

Embed the new Service Delivery Assurance toolkit across the organisation.

Work is ongoing to develop a methodology for auditing and providing assurance across the entire organisation.

Audit the following Key Areas of Assessment: Response, Training and Development, Health and Safety.

The audits of these areas are currently underway and on track.

Introduce the new assurance process for support functions.

This is currently being developed and will be implemented as soon as the final version receives approval.

Demonstrate transparent and accountable decision making throughout the organisation

Produce a plan to implement efficiencies identified by the Efficiency Research Programme

A set of proposals are being developed to be submitted to Full Authority in September for approval to undertake consultation.

Identify and implement strategic change to reflect the economic environment

Work with blue light and local authority partners, as part of the Combined Authority collaboration programme, to identify opportunities and options for closer working and integrated service development.

Continue to work with blue light partners with a view to greater collaboration via the formation of the Tri Services Working Group chaired by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer and consisting of the main leads for all three emergency services.

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Purpose To update Members of the progress made and related initiatives taking place at local level following the Government consultation on emergency services collaboration.

Recommendations That Members note and endorse the work currently taking place across the emergency services operating in West Yorkshire towards implementation of a formalised Tri-Services Collaboration Board

Summary A joint consultation paper was published by the Department of Communities and Local Government, Home Office, and Department for Health on proposals that sought to achieve a greater level of joint working between the emergency services, delivering more effective and efficient services for the communities they serve. On behalf of the Authority, the Executive Committee responded to the 16 formal questions. Subsequently, the draft Policing and Crime Bill has progressed through the parliamentary legislation process of the Commons, the next phase of consideration and scrutiny being the responsibility of the House of Lords.

OFFICIAL

Emergency Services Collaboration Full Authority Date: 24 June 2016 Agenda Item: 27 Submitted By: Chief Executive and Chief Fire Officer



Contact Officer: CX/CFO Mr S Pilling

Background papers open to inspection: Government consultation on emergency services collaboration

Annexes: None

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1 Introduction

1.1 The Government made clear in its election manifesto that it would be prepared to enable fire and police services to work more closely together and develop the role of elected Police and Crime Commissioners. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), in partnership with the Home Office and Department for Health developed proposals designed to provide for greater levels of joint working between the emergency services (fire, police, ambulance) aimed at delivering more effective and efficient services for communities.

2 Information

2.1 A tri-blue light service consultation was undertaken late last year, sponsored by DCLG, Home Office, and the Department of Health, the main theme being that of improving collaboration and closer working between the three emergency services. Following that consultation exercise the Government is now introducing new Policing and Crime legislation, which is still at a draft stage, having received a third reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday 26 April 2016. The draft legislation will now transfer to the House of Lords for consideration and scrutiny.

2.2 One of the key measures consulted upon included:

• introduction of a new duty on all three emergency services to actively consider collaboration opportunities with one another to improve efficiency and effectiveness

2.3 The new duty is locally enabling and recognises that local leaders are best placed to determine the sort of collaboration that is in the best interests of their communities. The Bill requires the police, fire and rescue and ambulance services to collaborate with one another, where it would be in the interests of their efficiency or effectiveness. Government has repeatedly acknowledged that all three emergency services play an essential part in serving our communities and keeping them safe and that each has distinct frontline roles. It is viewed that closer working and effective collaboration between the three can provide real benefits for the public and help each service better meet the demands and challenges they face.

2.4 At the beginning of the year, fire and rescue was transferred from DCLG to the Home Office, which demonstrated a clear commitment by Government to support closer collaboration between police and fire services. The next phase is to provide the relevant legislative framework and platform for closer working to take place. Collectively, this is likely to be received constructively by the three services operating in West Yorkshire, as they have endeavoured to forge strong and professional working relationships and arrangements over many years now. The three services need to continue to drive the agenda at local level rather than await instructions/direction/dictat from others and be able to demonstrate that effective collaboration is taking place for the benefit of each organisation and most importantly the public and business communities they serve.

2.5 West Yorkshire’s blue-light organisations each share consistent aims and objectives to provide effective and efficient services, as demonstrated in their respective strategic plans:

Yorkshire Ambulance Service Integrated Business Plan 2014-19:

Mission: Yorkshire Ambulance Service - Your Ambulance Service, Saving lives, caring for you

Vision: Providing world class care for the local communities we serve

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Plan 2013-18:

Is built around achieving a shared vision of making sure our communities are safer and feel safer.

The police and crime plan, which is refreshed annually, sets out a clear vision based around a framework of community outcomes.

The ultimate vision for policing in West Yorkshire is: ‘Making our communities safer and feel safer.’

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West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s Service Plan 2015-20:

Ambition: Making West Yorkshire Safer

Aim: Provide an excellent fire and rescue service working in partnership to reduce death, injury, economic loss and contribute to community well-being.

2.6 Over recent years West Yorkshire’s blue-light organisations have been meeting informally to explore opportunities for closer working at local level. There’s no doubting that relationships at all levels of the three services have improved significantly over the last ten years or so assisted by a commitment of Government to support and oversee a national programme designed to improve integration and interoperability across the three services when responding to major incidents (Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme – JESIP).

2.7 There are currently a good number of collaboration initiatives in place across the county predominantly based upon co-location however there are one or two more innovative practices, such as, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue currently participating in a national trial aimed at fire and ambulance responders assisting one another to save more lives through the adoption of co-responding and/or first-responding medical emergency arrangements.

2.8 As mentioned a tri-service working group has been meeting over recent years resulting in some successful outcomes that now find all three and/or two of the three services operating from shared locations. This good work presents an extremely sound platform for a more extensive programme of joint and joined up work to be scoped and assessed. Political leadership and commitment will undoubtedly assist with setting a renewed and refreshed direction and purpose to the programme. Chief Officers can be held to account against a more formalised and agreed agenda designed to look beyond merely co-location to potential integration and sharing of support services.

2.9 The Working Group is busy scoping potential opportunities and looking beyond our immediate borders to what is occurring elsewhere. Likewise the Association of Police and Crime Chief Executives (APACE) is seeking to identify new and emerging good practice taking place nationally that might be of interest to the new West Yorkshire Board.

3 National-Regional-Local Resilience Arrangements

3.1 The national working group, consisting of the Association of Policing and Crime Chief Executives (APACE); representatives of the Home Office; Local Government Association (LGA); Police and Crime Commissioners Treasurers’ Society (PaCCTS); and the fire and rescue service, is also currently looking at providing a technical framework for local areas to adapt to their needs. It is likely to feature advice on elements such as the strategic case for change, together with the economic, financial and commercial rationale for closer working arrangements and increased collaboration. The legal, management, and public safety imperatives will also be covered to help the new local governance/management arrangements to cover the breadth of consideration and assessment such initiatives will require. Collaboration programmes will need to have Critical Success Factors depending on their route forward and their agreed benefits / outcomes.

3.2 The West Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) is viewed by the Cabinet Office as one of the most effective and progressive LRFs in the country. Revised civil contingencies (emergency planning and response) legislation was introduced over 10 years ago and has had a significant impact upon how and to what extent partner agencies now operate and cooperate with one another in an attempt to ensure more effective planning and emergency response arrangements are in place. Police services must have regard to strategic policing requirements as do fire and rescue and ambulance services for their respective national resilience priorities and objectives. This in turn has significantly helped each service to recognise and better understand the capabilities and response mechanisms of their counterparts with regard to large scale mobilisation to national scale events, whether malicious or otherwise in nature.

3.3 The national Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (Principles) or JESIP as it is known, has complemented and further supported the planning, training and development of operational practice/guidance of each blue light service, the context of multi-agency working now

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being at the forefront of major incident response. This together with a genuine commitment by all involved has resulted in the emergency services across West Yorkshire operating in a more integrated and informed way as compared to any other time previously.

3.4 It is the success of this operational ‘togetherness’ through improved cooperation and understanding that demonstrates real and obvious potential for increased cooperation, collaboration and integration of business activities to deliver improved efficiency and effectiveness and hence value for money.

4 Assessment, Audit and Inspection

4.1 As mentioned, the fire and rescue service was transferred back to the Home Office at the start of the year, which signified the intention of the Home Secretary and indeed Government to promote and support even closer working relationships and arrangements at national and local levels. The Home Secretary has recently publicly stated her concern regarding scrutiny and transparency of performance. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary is responsible to the UK Parliament, its current statutory functions are contained in the Police Act 1996 and related legislation. However, HMIC's principal statutory functions remain relatively unchanged ie to assess and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces in England and Wales.

4.2 The Care Quality Commission (CQC) help ensure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to improve. The CQC’s role is to monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and publish what it finds, including performance ratings.

4.3 Government has very recently announced its intention for the current Peer Challenge regime of the fire and rescue service to be replaced/enhanced with more formal independent inspection. Collaboration good practice is likely to become a significant feature of both police and fire inspections/audit. Less pressure may be applied to the Ambulance service to demonstrate increased and improved collaboration however it is likely to be included in future value for money assessments. This aspect reinforced the principle of ‘getting ahead of the game’ and not waiting for the enactment of the new legislation and the machinery of Government to emerge.

5 Emergency Services Collaboration Agreements

5.1 It is fair to say that the majority of existing initiatives are based upon informal agreements. The draft legislation and associated guidance already provides important information for the three services to take account of. A collaboration agreement may be made by an ambulance trust in England, a fire and rescue body in England, and a police body in England. A collaboration agreement is an agreement in writing that sets out how the parties to the agreement will work together in discharging their functions.

5.2 The proposals in the consultation paper and the subsequent draft Bill involves the potential abolition of the Fire and Rescue Authority (the Authority) and its governance function being subsumed within the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner (the PCC). There is no proposal in the determination of whether a local case is made in support of the transfer of responsibility for consultation with the Authority itself but merely a suggestion that the PCC will consider producing a business case in conjunction with the Authority. It will also be noted that even if, after consultation with the Constituent Councils, they [the Councils] do not support a transfer of responsibility, the PCC may still submit a case seeking approval from the Secretary of State to take over FRA functions.

5.3 Presently there is no suggestion that such an approach will be taken, instead the development of an agreed and collective approach to achieving improved collaboration across the three services is the preferred route. This issue may itself be affected by other potential local government changes in which, if a Mayoral Combination Model is established at City Region level covering the West Yorkshire area, the PCC role may itself possibly be transferred to become a function of the City Region Mayor as, potentially, may Authority functions also.

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6.1 The consultation was aimed at helping emergency services identify and realise efficiencies through economies of scale and closer working opportunities. There are no direct financial implications for the Fire Authority at this stage of the process.


7.1 Any changes to governance and organisational structure such might have significant Human Resources and Equality and Diversity implications. For example, potential changes to the provision and requirements of support staff roles and the training and development of staff.

7.2 All collaboration initiatives/projects put forward should consider these implications in detail and must include a full equality analysis. WYFRS, the Authority and ultimately Government are required under the Public Sector Equality Duty and Equality Act 2010 to ensure that none of the workforce are disproportionately disadvantaged by the application of any provision, criteria or practice.

8 Conclusions

8.1 Discussion and work is taking place towards the introduction of a new West Yorkshire tri-service board to help determine, organise, prioritise, manage, and evaluate a more formalised programme of collaboration actions and projects and help deliver more efficient and effective ways of working with the aim of promoting and achieving safer and healthier communities as well as delivering value for money. The creation of the tri-service (blue-light) collaboration board (TCB) would be aimed at providing for greater oversight and direction to cross-service collaboration and closer working arrangements. Such arrangements will obviously in time require the endorsement of the PCC, FRA and YAS Trust respectively.

8.2 A discussion/position paper has recently been circulated for comment. A further meeting of the Fire Authority, represented by the Chair and Chief Fire Officer; the Office of the PCC, represented by the PCC and the Chief Executive; West Yorkshire Police, represented by the Chief Constable; and Yorkshire Ambulance Service, represented by the Chief Executive (a new YAS Trust Chair will be in place very soon) is scheduled for 11th July, here at Birkenshaw. The inaugural meeting of the new Tri-Service Collaboration Board, should that continue to be supported, is planned for 19th September 2016.

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Membership of the Authority 2016 - 17€¦ · Purpose To advise of a change in membership of the...

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