Performance Management Report · 2017. 9. 7. · Summary This report provides Members with...

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.

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Performance Management Report Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 12 Submitted By: Director of Corporate Resources

Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972

Exemption Category: None

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

Background papers open to inspection: None

Annexes: Performance Management Report

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 2013/14 to date against each of the indicators.

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 or where comparisons with all Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities identifies West Yorkshire as performing seventh out of the seven Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities.

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 Financial Implications

2.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.

3 Equality and Diversity Implications 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 Service Plan Links

5.1 This report links to all of the Service Plan 2011-2015 priorities as the Performance Management Report covers all areas of performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

6 Conclusions 6.1 That Members note the report.

Performance Management and

Activity Report 2013/14

Period Covered: 1 April 2013 – 31 December 2013

Date Issued: 31 January 2014

Contents

1. Introduction/Summary 3 2. Target Summary – Overview 4 3. Performance Indicators – Comparison with other Fire and

Rescue Services 6 4. Incidents 9

Chargeable Special Service Calls – District Performance 10 5. Six Pumps and Above Fire-Related Incidents

(to 17 January 2014) 11 6. Operational Risk Visits (including Fire Safety) 18 7. Home Fire Safety Checks 19

Smoke Alarm Ownership 20 8. Compliments and Complaints 21 9. Violence at Work 23 10. Service Plan - Action Plan 2013-14 27

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. The first twelve indicators (SD 1-12) contained within this report relate to Service Delivery indicators as identified within the 2011-15 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Plan. For these indicators, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has based the next five year’s aspirations on the last five year’s achievements. 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 2013 – 31 December 2013. A traffic light system has been employed to provide a straightforward visual indicator of performance against each specific target. Comparative data, in respect of other Metropolitan Fire Authorities, is collated to allow West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to benchmark its performance against those similar Authorities. This report details all Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities showing the performance with green being the best. 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.

2. Target Summary – Overview Legend Purple indicates target not applicable 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

Direction of travel, compared to position at this time last year (DOT)

Service Delivery Indicators

Indicator Description Annual Target

Reporting Period Target

Performance

SD1 Accidental Dwelling Fires (per 10,000 dwellings) 12.84 9.63 8.49 SD2 Number of deaths arising from accidental fires in dwellings per 100,000 population 0.40 0.30 0.40 SD3 Number of Injuries arising from accidental fires in dwellings per 100,000 population 6.65 4.99 4.58

(a) Number of Serious Injuries per 100,000 population Not set Not set 0.36 (b) Number of Slight Injuries per 100,000 population Not set Not set 4.22

SD5 Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1000 population – not attended 0.41 0.31 0.07 SD6 Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1000 population – attended 0.56 0.42 0.12 SD7 Unwanted fire signals from automatic fire detection equipment per 1000 non-domestic properties 83.07 62.30 35.23 SD8 False alarms caused by automatic fire detection apparatus per 1000 domestic properties Not set Not set 3.81 SD9 Fires in non-domestic premises per 1000 non-domestic premises 7.11 5.33 4.15

SD10(a) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where there was a working smoke alarm 51.7% 51.7% 54.5% SD10(b) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where a smoke alarm, because it was faulty or

incorrectly sited, did not activate 8.7% 8.7% 5.8%

SD10(c) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where a correctly sited and working smoke alarm did not activate

Not set Not set 17.7%

SD10(d) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where no smoke alarm was fitted 43.6% 43.6% 22.0%

SD11(a) Number of Primary Fires per 100,000 population 208.35 156.26 102.15 SD11(b) Number of Fire Fatalities per 100,000 population – Accidental Dwelling Fires 0.40 0.30 0.40 SD11(c) Number of Fire Fatalities per 100,000 population – Other Fires Not set Not set 0.09 SD11(d) Number of Fire Casualties (excluding Precautionary Checks) per 100,000 population 9.60 7.20 6.29 SD12(a) Arson Incidents (All Deliberate Fires) per 10,000 population 53.98 40.49 21.38 SD12(b) Arson Incidents (Deliberate Primary Fires) per 10,000 population 12.81 9.61 4.07 SD12(c) Arson Incidents (Deliberate Secondary Fires) per 10,000 population 42.24 31.68 17.32 Corporate Health Indicators

Indicator Description Annual Target

Reporting Period Target

Performance

CH4 Average number of working days / shifts lost to sickness 6.12 4.59 4.69 CH5(a) Health and Safety <3 days injuries (Lost time) 44 33 12 CH5(b) Health and Safety (Total injuries) Fatal Injuries 0 0 0 CH5(c) Health and Safety (Total injuries) Major Injuries Not set Not set 1 CH5(d) Health and Safety (Total injuries) 3 + days Injuries 32 24 17

CH7 Expenditure per head of population on the provision of fire and rescue services £40.00 £40.00 £38.50 CH9 Forecast Budget Variance (% Variance against overall budget) (2012/13 Q4 figure) <1% <1% -1.9% CH10 Percentage of invoices for goods and services paid within 30 days (stand alone month) 100% 100% 98.73% CH11 Forecast Capital Payments - Actual figures £s £13,709,800 £9,186,809 £5,087,047 CH13 Debtors – Value of debt outstanding which is over 60 days old Not set Not set £19,551

CH14(a) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: Quality of Service Domestic

>95% >95% 98%

CH14(b) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: Quality of Service Non Domestic

>95% >95% 99%

CH14(c) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: Home Fire Safety Checks >95% >95% 99% CH14(d) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: School Fire Safety Visits >95% >95% 100%

3. Performance Indicators – Comparison with other Fire and Rescue Services

The Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Services share information on a quarterly basis in respect of performance indicators. Information for the year 2013/14 (1 April 2013 – 31 December 2013) for the individual indicators is shown below. The information is unaudited and therefore may be subject to minor amendments, but it does allow up to date performance comparisons to be made between WYFRS and similar ‘family group’ FRSs showing the performance with green being the best. The two columns on the far right also indicate the WYFRS ranking for the current and previous quarter. Data is also subject to the Fire and Rescue Services agreeing to share this data with WYFRS.

IndicatorGreater

Manchester London MerseysideSouth

Yorkshire Tyne & Wear West Midlands West Yorkshire CurrentPrevious Quarter

Accidental Dwelling Fires per 10,000 dwellings 13.67 12.71 14.90 8.59 8.73 11.81 8.49 1st 2ndActual Number 1554 4174 900 485 423 1286 783Number of deaths arising from accidental fires in dwellings per 100,000 population 0.26 0.25 0.43 0.15 0.18 0.36 0.40 6th 6thActual Number 7 21 6 2 2 10 9Number of injuries arising from accidental fires in dwellings per 100,000 population 4.55 3.97 7.14 3.03 3.98 1.45 4.58 6th 5thActual Number 122 331 99 41 44 40 102Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1,000 population - not attended 0.12 0.13 0.12 0.07 0.16 0.18 0.12 2nd 4thActual Number 319 1089 163 96 177 484 274Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1,000 population - attended 0.35 0.16 0.04 0.04 Not available 0.59 0.07 3rd 4thActual Number 942 1340 55 53 1617 146False alarms caused by automatic fire detection apparatus per 1,000 non domestic properties 37.59 63.36 18.42 4.30 59.38 23.86 35.24 4th 4thActual Number 3634 18416 733 169 1906 2225 2728False alarms caused by automatic fire detection apparatus per 1,000 domestic properties 1.78 3.17 Not collected Not collected 4.05 24.18 3.81 3rd 5thActual Number 2027 10415 1963 2634 3515Fires in non-domestic premises per 1,000 non-domestic premises 5.33 9.21 6.03 4.30 6.01 5.73 4.16 1st 1stActual Number 515 2676 240 169 193 534 322

WYFRS Ranking

IndicatorGreater

Manchester London MerseysideSouth

Yorkshire Tyne & Wear West Midlands West Yorkshire CurrentPrevious Quarter

Percentage of fires attended in dwellings where a smoke alarm had activated 53.02% 59.24% 45.09% Not collected 76.24% 70.40% 54.49% 4th 4thNumber of primary fires per 100,000 population 143.41 100.31 153.14 121.44 112.05 113.22 102.15 2nd 2ndActual Number 3847 8358 2122 1642 1238 3128 2274Number of fire fatalities per 100,000 population -other fires 0.34 0.42 0.51 0.15 0.18 0.43 0.49 6th 6thActual Number 9 35 7 2 2 12 11Number of fire casualties (excluding preliminary checks) per 100,000 population 6.34 5.39 11.19 0.45 5.79 2.71 6.33 5th 5thActual Number 170 449 155 61 64 75 141

Arson incidents (all deliberate fires) per 10,000 population 27.10 4.00 38.26 31.92 36.39 17.18 21.38 3rd 3rdActual Number 7270 3334 5302 4316 4020 4747 4760Arson incidents (deliberate primary fires) per 10,000 population 4.88 Not available 5.80 12.14 4.35 3.57 4.07 2nd 3rdActual Number 1310 803 1642 481 986 905Arson incidents (deliberate secondary fires) per 10,000 population 22.22 Not available 32.48 19.78 32.03 13.61 17.32 2nd 3rdActual Number 5960 4500 2674 3539 3761 3855

WYFRS Ranking

Expenditure per head of population 2013-2014 The table below shows a comparison of West Yorkshire Fire Authority cost with the other metropolitan brigades.

Expenditure per Head

Grant per head

Business Rates

Precept per head

West Yorkshire £39.18 £14.50 £9.64 £15.04

West Midlands £38.83 £16.03 £10.67 £12.13

Greater Manchester £40.13 £15.57 £10.36 £14.20

South Yorkshire £40.49 £15.22 £10.13 £15.14

Tyne and Wear £47.83 £18.42 £12.26 £17.15

Merseyside £48.12 £19.09 £12.70 £16.33

4. 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 December 2013), broken down into incident category. The table also shows a comparison with the same period in 2012.

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.

Incident Category

Number of Incidents

1 April 2013 to 31 Dec 2013

Percentage

Number of Incidents

1 April 2012 to 31 Dec 2012

Percentage Change in

Incident Type since last year

Primary Fires - Accidental 1,369 7.5% 1,416 -3.32%Primary Fires - Deliberate 905 5.0% 987 -8.31%Secondary Fires - Accidental 1,267 7.0% 840 50.83%Secondary Fires - Deliberate 3,855 21.2% 2,893 33.25%Road Traffic Collisions 486 2.7% 515 -5.63%Special Service Calls 1,261 6.9% 1,421 -11.26%False Alarm - Apparatus Domestic 2,727 15.0% 3,746 -27.20%False Alarm - Apparatus Non-Domestic 3,516 19.3% 2,902 21.16%False Alarm - Other (e.g. Shed or Private Garage) 9 0.0% 11 -18.18%False Alarm - Good Intent 2,526 13.9% 2,368 6.67%False Alarm - Malicious 274 1.5% 344 -20.35%Total 18,195 100% 17,443 4.31%

1,369905

1,267

3,855

4861,261

2,727

3,516

9

2,526274

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

Incident Category

Number of Incidents

1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 Percentage

Number of Incidents


Number of Incidents


Primary Fires - Accidental 2,710 5.1% 2,156 5.9% 1,930 8.7%Primary Fires - Deliberate 6,973 13.2% 2,747 7.5% 1,226 5.5%Secondary Fires - Accidental 1,974 3.7% 1,107 3.0% 1,060 4.8%Secondary Fires - Deliberate 16,577 31.3% 8,842 24.1% 3,577 16.1%Road Traffic Collisions 1,069 2.0% 1,071 2.9% 682 3.1%Special Service Calls 2,968 5.6% 2,419 6.6% 1,746 7.9%False Alarm - Apparatus 13,202 25.0% 11,678 31.8% 8,501 38.2%False Alarm - Good Intent 5,115 9.7% 5,482 15.0% 3,055 13.7%False Alarm - Malicious 2,321 4.4% 1,165 3.2% 457 2.1%Total 52,909 100% 36,667 100% 22,234 100%

65

The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 sets out the categories of service for which charges can be made by FRAs and the persons who can be charged. However, the Act limits the amount charged to the cost of providing the service and prohibits FRAs from charging for fire-fighting or for the provision of emergency medical assistance. The sum recovered so far for 2013/14 is £77,659 which is comprised mostly of charges for lift rescues (£47,950). The chart below summarises the number of special service calls (chargeable and non-chargeable) attended by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for the financial year to date and provides a comparison with the figures for 2012/13.

Chargeable Special Service Calls – District Performance The chart below summarises the performance of special services by each respective district for the 2013/14 financial year to date. Specific information relating to lift rescues has been included, as these incidents occur more frequently than other ‘special service’ categories.

140 148

198

224

152

162

123 140 134

113

91

121 127 125 143

185

136

109 117

106

213

0

50

100

150

200

250Total Special Service Calls by Month

2012/13

2013/14

19 12 19

95

11

269

142197

524

129

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Special Service Calls 2013/14 by District

Lift Rescues

Total SSCs

5. Six Pumps and Above Fire-Related Incidents (to 17 January 2014)

General Commentary A number of additional pumping and special appliances are often mobilised to these types of incidents to undertake supporting activities.

The following chart details the numbers and severity of six pumps and above incidents over the last five years:

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.

1 1

17

21

13

6

14

24

7

1

20

26

20

6

15

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

No.

of i

ncid

ents

Year

Six pumps and above 2009/10 - 2013/14

6-9 pumps

10-20 pumps

>20 pumps

Total

New incidents added to the table are shaded in white.

Date & Time Address Premises

Use Station

Area

Cause Pumps

Plus Specials

Number of Personnel

10/05/13 01:48

Greenlaw Manor Carlton Lane

Guiseley

Dwelling Undergoing Renovation

50 (Rawdon)

Deliberate 11 pumps 3 specials

50 FFs 7 Officers

11/05/13

05:02

Rising Sun Kirkstall Road Burley, Leeds

Furniture Shop

20 (Leeds)

Not

Known 10 pumps 3 specials

46 FFs 7 Officers

07/06/13

19:33

Providence Mills Tetley Street

Bradford

Derelict Mill

40 (Bradford)

Not

Known 13 pumps 7 specials

66 FFs 7 Officers

13/0713 14:49

Lund Humphreys Priestman Street

Manningham, Bradford

Derelict Building

42

(Fairweather Green)


50 FFs 7 Officers

20/0713 04:21

Ovenden Way Hotel Ovenden Way

Halifax

Public House

67

(Illingworth)

Smoking 11 pumps 4 specials

52 FFs 7 Officers

28/07/13

06:14

Westgate Hill Motors Westgate Hill Street

Tong, Bradford

Scrap Yard

47

(Odsal)


50 FFs 7 Officers

31/07/13 01:35

HW Martins Waste

Parkside Lane Beeston, Leeds

Recycling Plant

25 (Hunslet)

Self-heating of Recycled

Waste Materials

17 pumps 5 specials

78 FFs 9 Officers

01/08/13

20:31

Colne Mills Britannia Road

Slaithwaite

Derelict

Mill

72

(Slaithwaite)


52 FFs 7 Officers

31/08/13

01:41

Wellington Mill Huddersfield Road

Liversedge

Factory

62

(Cleckheaton)

Deliberate 11 pumps

4 specials 52 FFs

7 Officers

06/09/13

14:51

Airedale International Air

Conditioning Leeds Road Rawdon

Industrial

Unit

50

(Rawdon)

Build-up of heat within machinery

21 pumps 9 specials

102 FFs 10 Officers

Date & Time Address Premises

Use Station

Area

Cause

Pumps Plus

Specials

Number of Personnel

20/11/13

12:05 VC Industries

Haigh Park Road Stourton, Leeds

Industrial

91 (Rothwell)

Natural

Occurence 12 pumps 5 specials

58 FFs 9 Officers

09/12/13 19:09

Sita Services Waste Transfer Site

Weaving Lane Dewsbury

Industrial

83 (Dewsbury)

Self-combustion of recycling materials

11 pumps 5 specials

54 FFs 7 Officers

30/12/13 03:37

Auto Service Centre, Kelvic Industrial Business Park Burton Street,

Beeston, Leeds

Warehouse

25 (Hunslet)

Deliberate

11 pumps 5 specials

54 FFs 7 Officers

31/12/13

04:04

Old Snooker Hall Grange Street

Keighley

Derelict Snooker

Club

46

(Keighley)

Deliberate

11 pumps 5 specials

54 FFs

7 Officers

01/01/14 18:15

Yorkshire Plastic Recycling

Brancepeth Place Armley, Leeds

Stockpile

and Warehouse

20 (Leeds)

Self-heating of natural organic

materials

11 pumps 5 specials

54 FFs 7 Officers

Further detail on recent six pumps and above fire-related incidents: VC Industries, Haigh Park Road, Stourton, Leeds, LS10 1RT This incident occurred in Rothwell station area and due to the nature of the incident, Fire Service resources were committed for several hours. The incident involved a 150m x 70m building which was used for the construction of furniture. The specific cause for alarm was an explosion in a dust extraction system. The initial attendance compromised of 3 appliances from Rothwell and Hunslet (2 appliances), DIM06 from Dewsbury, Moortown as DIM Support, Technical Rescue Vehicle and Timber Sled from Cleckheaton. The incident was confirmed as a dust explosion and enhanced to 6 pumping appliances for breathing appartatus. Further appliances came from Gipton (2 appliances) and Morley. Special appliances were also mobilised. These were the Command Unit and support crew from Batley, the Welfare Unit from Fairweather Green, Rapid Deployment Safety Crew from Leeds and the Hose Layer Unit from Stanningley. The Logistics Support Unit was later mobilised to exchange contaminated fire kit and replace breathing apparatus air cylinders.

The Police and Fire Service worked well in partnership to resolve this incident. The Police closed the surrounding roads to assist with fire ground safety for the Hose Layer crew. The Health & Safety Executive were informed due to the nature of the incident. Both the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water were informed of the incident but did not attend. At the height of this incident 1 ground monitor, 1 large jet, 3 small jets, 4 hosereels and 4 Breathing Apparatus were in use. At the height of this incident the Officer in Charge was Group Manager Langan with Area Manager Dunkley as Senior Advisor. In addition, Station Commander Gomersal (Initial Incident Commander) and Station Commander Kirk attended as Working Officers. Station Manager Head was Command Support Officer, Station Commander Thompson was Health and Safety Auditor, Station Manager Rivers was Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection Officer and Watch Manager Crowther attended as Fire Investigation Officer. The time of call for the incident was 12:05 on 20 November 2013. The stop message was passed to Control at 14:11, with the incident closing at 19:44. The cause of the fire was accidental due to a spark from metal igniting the dust. Sita Services, Weaving Lane, Dewsbury, WF12 9QF This incident occurred in Dewsbury station area and due to the nature of the incident, Fire Service resources were committed for a significant amount of time. The incident involved a 75m x 30m building constructed of half block, half corrugated metal with metal sheet roofing. The building was used for the recycling of household waste. It also contained two vehicles, which were both of financial value and of significant importance for the company to maintain business continuity. The initial attendance compromised of 2 appliances from Dewsbury. The incident was confirmed as a building fire and enhanced to 6 pumping appliances and an aerial appliance. Further appliances came from Cleckheaton, Mirfield, Ossett and Hunslet, with the aerial ladder platform (ALP) from Huddersfield. A further request for the Technical Rescue Team was made to assist in gaining entry to the property. Special appliances were also mobilised. These were the Command Unit from Batley, the Welfare Unit from Stanningley and Logistic Support Unit from Odsal. The Hose Layer was utilised from Mirfield. Support crews were from Batley, Cookridge and Elland. En route to the incident the crew from Batley came across an RTC involving a female pedestrian. They requested an ambulance and stayed with the casualty until the arrival of YAS. The Batley crew then proceeded to the incident to assist with the Command Unit. The Police and Fire Service worked well in partnership to resolve this incident. The Police closed the surrounding roads to assist with fire ground safety for the Hose Layer crew. As this incident was close to the railway line both Network Rail and the British Transport Police were notified. A representative from Network Rail attended the incident and confirmed that no caution was necessary for trains. Both the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water were informed of the incident but did not attend. At the height of this incident 1 aerial, 2 ground monitors, 4 large jets, 4 Breathing Apparatus were in use, although in total within the first few hours of the incident there were 18 teams of 2 x BA wearers committed to bring this fire under control. The incident was divided into 2 sectors to add greater control.

The incident was difficult to deal with due to the inaccessibility of the fire. Having gained entry the crew’s primary task was to protect the two vehicles from being involved in the fire. Due to the nature of the items on fire it was difficult to extinguish as water was not able to penetrate to the seat of the fire. The fire produced large amounts of smoke which was difficult to remove from the building due to it having limited openings. The Technical Rescue Team assisted in firefighting operations by cutting openings in the walls and roof to release the smoke. When the smoke had cleared sufficiently the operators of the site were able to remove their vehicles and these were utilised to remove refuse, enabling firefighting crews to extinguish the fire. At the height of this incident the Officer in Charge was Group Manager Speed with Area Manager Butters as Senior Advisor. In addition, Station Manager Watson attended as a Working Officer, Station Manager Ambler was Command Support Officer, Station Manager Kendrew was Health and Safety Auditor, Station Commander Goddard was Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection Officer and Watch Manager Needham attended as Fire Investigation Officer. The time of call for the incident was 19:09 on 9 December 2013. The stop message was passed to Control at 15:41 on 10 December 2013, with the incident closing at 07:42 on 11 December 2013. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Auto Service Centre, Kelvic Industrial Business Park, Beeston LS11 5NT This incident occurred in Hunslet station area and the incident involved a 30m x 30m single storey with asbestos sheet roofing and exposure risks to 3 sides. The building was part of the scrapyard and it was suspected that acetylene cylinders were within the building. 100 % of the building was involved in fire, The initial attendance compromised of 2 appliances from Hunslet. The incident was confirmed as a building fire and enhanced to 4 pumping appliances and one aerial appliance. Further appliances came from Leeds, Morley and an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) from Leeds. A request was made to enhance the attendance to 6 fire fighting appliances, 2 aerials and Hose Layer. Appliances came from Gipton, Dewsbury and a Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (CARP) from Bradford. Special appliances were also mobilised. These were the Command Unit from Batley, Hose Layer from Stanningley, the Welfare Unit from Stanningley and a Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (RDSC) from Gipton. Support crews were from Batley, Stanningley, Pontefract and Halifax The Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, Yorkshire Ambulance HART team and HazMed officer were informed of the incident but did not attend. At the height of this incident 2 aerials, 2 ground monitors, 2 large jets, and I Galena water curtain were used to bring this fire under control. The incident was sectorised. Information was requested from FireMet to ensure the smoke plume would not affect surrounding area.

At the height of this incident the Officer in Charge was Group Manager Macklam with Area Manager Dunkley as Senior Advisor. In addition, Station Manager Hitchcock attended as a Working Officer. Station Manager Ambler was Command Support Officer, Group Manager Speed attended as Operational Assurance and Health & Safety Auditor, Station Commander Atkins as Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection Officer and Station Commander Fealy attended as Fire Investigation Officer. The time of call for the incident was 03:37 on 30 December 2013. The stop message was passed to Control at 11:25, with the incident closing at 14:07. The cause of the fire was deliberate caused by person or persons unknown. Old Snooker Club, Grange Street, Keighley, BD21 4BW This incident occurred in Keighley station area and the incident involved a 60m x 30m three storey with and exposure risks to 3 sides. The building was derelict and 100 % of the building was involved in fire, The initial attendance compromised of 2 appliances from Keighley and Bingley with Control mobilising a third appliance, Silsden, due to the number of calls received. The incident was confirmed as a building fire and enhanced to 4 pumping appliances and one aerial appliance. Further appliances came from Shipley, Haworth and a Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (CARP) from Bradford. A request was made to enhance the attendance to 6 fire fighting appliances, with the additional appliance coming from Fairweather Green. Special appliances were also mobilised. These were the Command Unit from Batley, Hose Layer from Stanningley, the Welfare Unit from Fairweather Green and a Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (RDSC) from Illingworth. Support crews were from Batley, Stanningley, Dewsbury and Elland. An early call was made to evacuate local residents due to the nature of the fire and the potential of the building to collapse onto nearby houses. Working with West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Council Emergency Planning Department this was achieved in a relatively short period of time. The Structural Engineer from Bradford Council attended and deemed the building unsafe. Northern Gas Networks and Northern Power Grid attended to isolate supplies to the building. Yorkshire Ambulance HART team also attended and stood by. At the height of this incident 1 aerial, 8 large jets, and 2 Breathing Apparatus were used to bring this fire under control. The incident was sectorised. At the height of this incident the Officer in Charge was Group Manager Clare with Area Manager Smith as Senior Advisor. In addition, Station Manager Newman attended as a Working Officer. Station Commander Crowther was Command Support Officer, Station Manager Watson attended as Operational Assurance and Health & Safety Auditor, Station Commander Booth as Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection Officer and Watch Commander Needham attended as Fire Investigation Officer. The time of call for the incident was 04:04 on 31 December 2013. The stop message was passed to Control at 17:40, with the incident closing at 07:55 on 1 January 2014. The cause of the fire was deliberate caused by person or persons unknown.

Yorkshire Plastic Recycling, Brancepeth Place, Armley LS12 2EH This incident occurred in Leeds station area and the incident involved a 30m x 30m pile of plastic recycling material which had spread to a neighbouring property, being a warehouse owned by Hazel Products who supply packaging materials and equipment throughout the country. There was exposure risk to four sides. The initial attendance compromised of 2 appliances from Stanningley and Hunslet. On arrival the incident was enhanced to 6 pumping appliances and one aerial appliance. Further appliances came from Hunslet, Morley, Odsal, Stanks and an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) from Leeds. Special appliances were also mobilised. These were the Command Unit from Batley, Hose Layer from Mirfield, the Welfare Unit from Stanningley and a Rapid Deployment Safety Crew (RDSC) from Rothwell. Support crews were from Batley, Mirfield, Illingworth and Elland. Due to the nature of the products involved in the fire, the Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection Officer requested the attendance of the Environment Agency and the HazMed officer from YAS. This was to discuss the issue of the water run off towards the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the River Aire. Also the smoke plume which was heading towards Leeds City Centre. With considered use of the application of water and the on-site facilities to deal with excess water, any concerns were addressed. With quick intervention, the fire spread into Hazel Products was stopped and with good communication between sectors, water damage to the warehouse was limited. At the height of this incident 2 large jets, 1 hosereel and 4 Breathing Apparatus were used to bring this fire under control. At the height of this incident the Officer in Charge was Group Manager Macklam with Area Manager Smith as Senior Advisor. In addition, Station Commander Taverner attended as a Working Officer. Station Manager Watson was Command Support Officer, Station Manager Kendrew attended as Operational Assurance and Health & Safety Auditor, Station Commander Doyle as Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection Officer and Station Commander Fealy attended as Fire Investigation Officer. The time of call for the incident was 18:15 on 1 January 2014. The stop message was passed to Control at 00:51 on 2 January, with the incident closing at 00:53. The cause of the fire was self-heating of natural organic material.

6. Operational Risk Visits (including Fire Safety) The new Fire Safety Strategy, which applies from 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).

There were a few teething troubles encountered in the implementation of the new procedure and its supporting systems, but these have been addressed, with the number of visits carried out exceeding the target to date in October and November. The number of visits fell during December but the overall number (4550) remains above 98% of the target for the year to date (4635).

197

756

1401

1985

2508

3086

37604250

4550

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000Total Operational Risk Visits Completed

Average Monthly Target = 515Annual Target = 6180

7. 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.

It is anticipated that this strategy will deliver the same outcomes in terms of risk reduction despite a lower number of HFSCs being carried out. WYFRS have made very good progress in the first three quarters of 2013/14, with 34,865 HFSCs carried out (against the target to date of 31,500), achieving a total of 255,155 points (the target for the period is 196,200).

4159

7973

11807

15591

19567

23684

27825

31795

34865

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

Total Home Fire Safety Checks Completed

2013/14 Annual Target = 42,000

Average Monthly Target = 3,500

29049

57731

86536

114779

144658

173509

204075

233000

255155

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

Total Home Fire Safety Check Points

2013/14 Annual Target = 261,600

Average Monthly Target = 21,800

Smoke Alarm Ownership Better performance is indicated by a higher percentage. Targets were initially set in 2006/07 at 42.4%, aiming for an actual increase of 2% each year. Through analysis over recent years of high risk areas and groups, with improvements in partner referrals and the targeting of resources, performance has improved considerably. In the first nine months of 2013/14, we have continued to improve performance, achieving 72.2% against the current target of 56.4%. The chart below shows performance against target and is formatted as per the traffic light colour scheme. Note: Targets differ to those set in indicator SD10.

Purple indicates no target set Red indicates target not achieved Amber indicates satisfactory performance (within 10% of target) Green indicates target achieved or exceeded

26.5%27.5% 27.9%

30.0%

33.4%

45.8%

57.7%

67.6% 67.7%

72.4% 71.4% 72.2%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

Target 2006/7 42.4%

Target 2010/11 50.4%

Percentage of Dwelling Fires Attended where a Working Smoke Alarm was Correctly Fitted

Target 2012/13 54.4%Target 2013/14 56.4%

8. Compliments and Complaints

Compliments The charts below show by type the number of compliments and complaints received by West Yorkshire FRS between 1 April to 31 December 2013 and the same period in 2012. During this period, West Yorkshire FRS has recorded 221 compliments, which is less than the 230 during the same period of 2012 but higher than the previous year’s average of 24 per month (287 in total).

Complaints After nine months of the financial year 2013/14, we have received 57 complaints as compared to 35 in the same period during 2012/13.

53 of the 2013/14 complaints have been resolved at Stage One of the complaints procedure and two at Stage 2. One complaint is still outstanding at Stage 2 and one is outstanding at Stage 3. Seventeen of the complaints have been upheld, four attributed to a third party and two were later withdrawn. All complaints are dealt with in a consistent manner, with appropriate remedial action taken where necessary.

The table below shows the number of complaints received and upheld from 1 April to 31 December 2013 and a comparison with the same period during 2012.

Category

Received Upheld Received UpheldAttitude 9 3 3Driving 3 6 3Fire Prevention 2 1 0Fire Protection 0 0HFSC 2 1 2 1Off Duty 7 5On Duty 2 1 0Operational 12 1 5 1Procedure 5 1 6 2Premises 7 4 2 2Recruitment 1 0Request for Information 0 3Smoke Alarm 2 2 1 1Station 5 3 2 1Training 0 0TOTALS 57 17 35 11

2013-14 2012-13

9. Violence at Work Attacks on Personnel The table below summarises the events reported by Firefighters and Prevention staff. Where stations have not reported any incidents of violence to staff, they are not shown within this table. However, they are still included in the totals of incidents attended.

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.

So far in 2013/14, there have been 63 incidents reported by West Yorkshire FRS staff out of 26,494 attendances. There was a big increase during the bonfire period and if incidents continue at this rate for the rest of the year, the resulting total of 84 incidents will be a considerable increase on the figures for 2012/13 (40 incidents recorded for the full year), but will be similar to 2011/12 and 2010/11 (77 and 88 incidents respectively).

To put the figures into perspective, the previous table shows the number of incidents in which firefighters were subject to violence as a percentage of attendance, by station and by district (0.24% 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.

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 DistrictNo.of

TurnoutsBradford 2145 1 1 2 4 0.19%FWG 1562 5 1 1 7 0.45%Idle 619 1 1 0.16%Keighley 552 1 2 1 4 0.72%Odsal 860 1 1 2 0.23%Shipley 603 1 1 0.17%District Total 7007 1 0 2 6 3 4 3 19 0.27%Calderdale DistrictHalifax 966 1 2 1 4 0.41%Illingw orth 429 3 4 1 1 9 2.10%Mytholmroyd 59 1 1 1.69%District Total 2277 0 0 3 1 4 3 3 14 0.61%Kirklees DistrictHuddersfield 1505 1 1 2 4 0.27%Batley 472 1 1 0.21%Cleckheaton 489 1 1 0.20%Dew sbury 1165 1 1 0.09%Slaithw aite 109 1 1 0.92%District Total 4195 0 0 3 0 0 3 2 8 0.19%Leeds District Leeds District FP 1 1Leeds 2178 1 1 1 3 0.14%Cookridge 412 1 1 0.24%Gipton 1524 4 1 2 7 0.46%Hunslet 1313 1 2 3 0.23%Moortow n 629 1 1 0.16%Raw don 407 1 1 0.25%Stanningley 1524 3 3 0.20%District Total 9616 0 1 6 1 0 4 8 20 0.21%Wakefield District District Total 3208 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00%Central Prevention 1 1OHSU 1 1Totals 26494 1 1 14 8 7 15 17 63 0.24%

However, there is a danger that the frequency and severity of these incidents may seem insignificant when considering these very small percentages and although the number of attacks on firefighters has greatly reduced, 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.

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 There were several incidents in the run up to and including the bonfire period, six of which were on bonfire night itself, all in the Fairweather Green station area.

Three incidents were in Manningham. On Bertram Road youths dispersed after throwing fireworks at the crews. On Lilycroft Road, crews attending a skip fire to the rear of a shop had several fireworks thrown at them and laser pens directed at their faces. The crews immediately retreated and informed control of the risk in that area. On Church Street stones were thrown by youths. The police were requested but did not attend.

Whilst attending an incident on Bonn Road, Heaton, stones and fireworks were thrown at crews.

On Spencer Road, Lidget Green fireworks were thrown at the crews. The police were requested but did not attend.

On Thornton Road, Girlington stones were thrown at the crews who then withdrew.

The final incident was not bonfire-related and was in Bradford station area. On 14 November crews attended an incident to the rear of Falmouth Avenue, Wapping where youths were burning wood and rubbish in an alley. As the crews were leaving the scene objects were thrown at the pump.

In all cases the police were either in attendance or were made aware of these attacks. Silent witness footage was looked at but in all of these cases the perpetrators were not captured on film. Station Commanders attend their local Neighbourhood Policing Team and Ward Officer Team meetings where these attacks will be discussed with our partners.

To reduce future incidents local initiatives are being organised, planned and evaluated, to further engage with the members of our communities who are causing these problems e.g. youth groups and high schools in problematic geographic areas.

There is a need to look at how the organisation approach bonfire-related incidents. For example, consideration of silent non blue light attendances to determine the risks and issues of each incident. Additionally consideration of the practicalities of a safe distance assessment being carried out by crews.

Calderdale There were two recorded instances of violence towards staff recorded in November.

A crew from Illingworth were attending an incident on 4 November in the Ovenden area when stones were thrown at the crew as they tried to extinguish a rubbish fire. The police were requested and attended.

Halifax personnel were dealing with a fire in the open on 5 November on Vickerman Street when they came under attack from a group of youths launching fireworks. The pump withdrew to Halifax Fire Station and waited for the police to escort them back to the incident.

We continue to work with our partners to reduce instances of violence towards staff.

Kirklees On 3 November, whilst attending a wheelie bin fire at Thornhill Sports and Community Centre in the Dewsbury station area, youths threw missiles at the working crew. The fire was extinguised and the crew then withdrew.

On 4 November, whilst attending a small fire on Dale Lane playing fields in Heckmondwike, the crew from Batley had eggs thrown at the appliance by a large group of youths. Police were requested and attended.

On 19 December, two firefighters from Cleckheaton, one female and one male, were carrying out a Home Fire Safety Check at a house in Liversedge. During the visit both fire fighters felt very uncomfortable around the householder and concluded the visit as soon as possible. Unfortunately the female firefighter had contacted the householder minutes before the visit using her own phone to confirm the location, inadvertently giving her own phone number to him, and the following evening, she received an inappropriate text from the householder on her personal phone, which she found rather frightening.

On 27 December, following an arson attack on a house in Thomas Street, Huddersfield, the area was cordoned off as a crime scene. The occupier was refused entry and became abusive to crews. The police attended as it was a deliberate fire and the occupier was later detained.

Leeds There were six incidents recorded in November in Leeds District, five of which appear to be bonfire-related.

On 2 November in Gipton station area crews attended a fire in a garden in Halton that was too close to the house and the heat had cracked a front window A large group of adults and youths were at the scene and subjected crews to verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour. The police were requested for any further turnouts to this area.

On 4 November whilst attending a car fire in the Halton area crews encountered a group of youths throwing rocks. Crews withdrew and awaited the arrival of the police. The PDA to this area had already been increased due to previous incidents of this nature.

On 5 November, whilst attending a house fire in the Beeston area caused by youths throwing fireworks at the exterrnal window frame, crews from Hunslet and Leeds received verbal abuse from youths in the street. This attack was thought to be a one off minor event and no further intervention was put in place.

Also on 5 November, Leeds crews attended a rubbish fire on wasteground opposite Armley Library where objects were thrown at them.

On 8 November on Hamilton Place in Chapeltown, in the Moortown station area, crews attended a small fire at the side of the road. On arrival and commencement of firefighting actions, several adults appeared and began throwing fireworks in the direction of the crew. Crews extinguished the fire then retreated and informed police. The incident was captured on silent witness camera and the recording went to the police. The PDA was increased at this location for the bonfire period.

On 25 November Gipton crews attended a fire alarm call point at Oakwood School in Roundhay. On arrival it was established that the call point had been maliciously actuated and whilst there the crew received verbal abuse from the pupils. Due to this and other ongoing issues at the school, a Prevention Officer has arranged a visit.

On 6 December, Leeds crews attended a cell fire at Armley Prison. A prisoner had set fire to his own cell and was violent towards anyone who attempted to extinguish it. He had broken off the prison's own fire fighting nozzle and was using it as a weapon against staff and fire fighters. Crew members were kept to a minimum to deal with the incident and prison officers protected fire crews while prisoner was removed, so that the crews could inspect the damage and ensure that the fire was out.

Wakefield No incidents reported so far this financial year.

10. Service Plan - Action Plan 2013-14 The Service Plan 2011-15 provides details of what we intend to do over the four year period and the Annual Action Plan details how we will achieve our priorities. The following section provides progress to date on the Annual Action Plan 2013-14.

ACTION PLAN

2013 - 2014

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

DELIVER A PROACTIVE FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION PROGRAMME

We will:

Our action

Progress

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

Complete the 2013/14 risk based inspection programme for fire protection staff and operational crews

The 2013/14 risk based inspection programme for Fire Protection Inspectors commenced on 1 April 2013. Operational crews began the new Operational Risk Visit (ORV) on 15 April 2013 and it is anticipated that staff will complete 6000 visits to premises where fire protection is considered. To the end of December 2013, Operational Crews have carried out 4614 ORVs of which 4258 have included Fire Safety. Fire Protection Inspectors have completed 1193 audits which combined represents 90% of the anticipated 6000 visits

Implement a competence based fire protection training programme for Watch Commanders

The Fire Protection Training Programme for operational Watch Commanders was developed and introduced in April 2013. The delivery of this training package continues to be well received and is progressing to ensure that all Watch Commanders will have completed the training by April 2014. Some courses have been delayed due to the impact of the Industrial Action, however these have been re-scheduled. Feedback so far has been most positive with the course both improving technical knowledge of fire protection but also providing practical information that can be used in an operational context.

Develop and implement a process for Watch Commanders to undertake compliance monitoring at premises falling under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and petroleum legislation

The overall strategy developed for monitoring compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRO) is one that uses crews to identify initial concerns in a wider range of premises than was previously the case. In relation to petroleum legislation, the development of this work is currently in abeyance as the outcomes of the Health and Safety Executive’s review of petroleum legislation is currently ongoing. It is anticipated that the current suite of legislation will be consolidated and revised in October 2014.

Develop a strategy to align the Premises Risk Database with the Integrated Risk Management Plan implementation plan

Work on the alignment of the Premise Risk Database (PRD) with a central singular address based tool has continued to progress and is currently being worked on as a work stream in relation to the data migration for the New Control Project. The solution for that project will be the same and work is ongoing including elements such as the automatic transfer of risk data between PRD and the new control software.

Work with partners to deliver a reduction in fires, road traffic incidents and anti-social fire

Implement the Home Fire Safety Strategy which has been piloted in Bradford District across all of West

Following a successful pilot in the Bradford district in 2012-13 the new Home Fire Safety Check (HFSC) Strategy has been introduced across all the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

related behaviour Yorkshire

(WYFRS) area on 1 April 2013. A target of 261,595 has been developed for a points based strategy to run alongside a numerical goal of 42,000. So far the performance against the target continues to be successful and personnel are benefiting from a clearer understanding of targeting higher risk people with HFSCs. A total 34,856 Home Fire Safety Checks have been completed in the period from 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2013 resulting in 255,101 points being generated; an average point generation of approximately 7.3 points per visit.

Implement a competence based fire prevention training programme for operational staff

Plans are being developed for mandatory prevention update training for Crew and Watch Managers to commence in 2014/15, which is to be trialled in 2013/14 with the first trial session on 27th September being completed successfully with positive feedback and only some minor amendments to be made to reflect new procedures. Following the review of the Prevention department some districts are implementing the training to operational personnel in the fitting of deaf alarm equipment in lower risk cases including Leeds, Calderdale and Wakefield. A full review of the Prevention department policies and procedures is underway with a view to completion in the next financial year. On-line training and guidance will be made available to cover more complex topics such as safeguarding, home fire safety checks and hot striking procedures, which will be implemented within the next few months. To ensure compliance with current practices, elements of prevention activity are now included in Maintenance of Competence (MOC) records for operational staff in addition to the development of MOCs for Prevention personnel by April 2014.

Commence a study in the Worth Valley to identify how the fire and rescue service can support local rural communities to deliver community safety services

In order to be successful and sustainable the local community, through its parish councils will need to establish appropriate governance arrangements and this presents a number of challenges. In support of this, a bid for funding from the national Transformation Challenge Award was prepared by WYFRS and submitted to DCLG of behalf of interested parties, which in addition to the Parish Councils, included Fire, Police, Ambulance and the local authority. The bid was however unsuccessful but work is continuing to develop a viable model with local parish councils.

Deliver specific fire safety campaigns to reflect the Integrated Risk Management Plan fire cover changes

A concentration of effort continues to be directed towards the Bradford district and areas of east Leeds either following changes in emergency cover or in anticipation of them, the outcomes would appear very positive in terms of call reduction. Particularly effective initiatives involve private rented accommodation in the East Leeds area and the sharing of information regarding recipients of housing benefit.

DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE

We will:

Our action

Progress

Improve operational capability in response to changes in risk and demand

Rationalise the availability of response resources in line with reduced staffing levels and the Integrated Risk Management Plan action plan

Following the closure of Marsden, the removal of second pumps at Keighley, Odsal, Stanningley and Fairweather Green and the introduction of Fire Response Units in Leeds and Bradford districts, close monitoring of emergency cover is showing no adverse effects. The use of resilience pumps to supplement cover when required is now part of normal practice and is working well. The introduction of reduced crewing levels on Combined Aerial Rescue Pumps at Wakefield and Halifax has also been successful. Emphasis is now on the commencement of construction of a number of fire stations during 2014/15.

Review and revise the current command structure

The planning phase of the Command, Leadership and Management review including full consultation with appropriate representative bodies is completed. The first phase pilot will commence April 2014 in the Leeds and Wakefield districts. Consultation will continue throughout the pilot. An opportunity to implement an early pilot of the supervisory management changes has presented itself at Wetherby fire station, this will commence from the beginning of February. The other objectives for the supervisory management pilot are anticipated to start in July 2014. The outcome of both pilots will be reported to

committee in December 2014.

Introduce a Combined Aerial Rescue Pump at Huddersfield Fire Station

The Authority has now taken delivery of the new Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (CARP) and training of Huddersfield crews is underway. The expected date for the CARP to be operational at Huddersfield is spring 2014.

Consult internally on the provision of a Combined Aerial Rescue Pump at Leeds Fire Station

Consultation on the provision of a fifth CARP to replace the Aerial Ladder Platform and second fire engine at Leeds Fire Station commenced in June 2013 and the outcome of the consultation was reported to the Authority in September 2013 with approval given to procure. The CARP has been ordered and we are awaiting a schedule from the supplier for the build programme. Target date for implementation is April 2016.

Evaluate cold cutting systems designed for use in compartment firefighting

The procurement of a cold cutting system is underway and once completed it will be fitted to the appliance at Gipton. Staff will be extensively trained in the operational and tactical use of the equipment before it is used at an operational incident. The system will be piloted during 2014 and a full cost benefit analysis undertaken. The final report on the system will be completed by late 2014.

Procure and implement a new integrated mobilising, communications and control system by 2014

The implementation of the integrated mobilising and communications system remains on schedule and within budget and the partnership with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service remains strong and effective. Factory acceptance testing of the system and the delivery and installation of all station end equipment has now been completed. The new system is due to be operational at the end of April 2014. Building works for the new control suite, incorporated within the Service Delivery Centre at Bramley, is now complete along with the fit out of the suite and server room. The control room has been equipped with all the new system terminals and the system servers are installed. System training and testing has now commenced and a new duty system has been implemented in Control. This commenced on 1st January 2014 and has already shown significant benefits in maintaining staffing numbers whilst supporting delivery of the training programme for the new mobilising and communications system.

Implement the Day Crewing system at Garforth, Rothwell and Morley Fire Stations

Rothwell Fire Station has been operating the new Wholetime Day Crewing system since 30th September 2013 and our target response times for incidents in the Rothwell area are in line with expectations. Morley Fire Station went live as a Wholetime Day Crewed duty system station on 13th January 2014 and monitoring of attendance times and service delivery standards is being undertaken. Recruitment for the Wholetime Day Crewing system at Garforth is underway and the target date of 10th February 2014 for ‘go live’ is still achievable. Full implementation of the day crewing could take up to two years to complete due to many staff having to buy property within the area. Interim arrangements are being developed to ensure smooth transition without impacting on service delivery.

Undertake a fundamental review of the current location of specialist vehicles and equipment taking into account impending revisions to emergency cover

The review has now been completed. The process involved reviewing both the location and staffing arrangements of the specialist vehicles, post IRMP changes to emergency cover. It concluded that the original decisions on location and mobilising arrangements were correct, with only minor amendments required to the location the Personnel Welfare Unit and the mobilising of a different support appliance for the Hose Laying Unit. The review included positive feedback from station based staff on the impact of the changes and incorporated their views which resulted in the above improvements.

Provide assurance in relation to operational performance

Review the operational assurance process The Operational Assurance process has been reviewed and a framework for the next two years assurance is in place. The Operational Assurance function itself, which currently sits with Strategic Development directorate under the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, continues to develop its future role and will however need to reflect the outcome of the Command Leadership and Management review.

Enhance operational knowledge and Update the procedure for the collection of operational The procedure has been re-aligned to follow national guidance. This has been implemented and a

competence of fire crews and officers risk information in line with national guidance

period of monitoring is in place to highlight any procedural issues and to ensure appropriate guidance and support is offered to operational crews and Station Commanders. A training team has been formed to provide ongoing guidance and support to operational personnel; this team are undertaking training at stations on a rolling programme which completed in February 2014, an audit will be undertaken in April 2014 to ascertain if further training and guidance is required.

Deliver Silver and Gold command facilities at the Service Delivery Centre

The construction work at Service Delivery Centre (SDC) is complete. This project includes the provision of both Gold and Silver Command facilities. These facilities will be ready for operation to coincide with the new control system going live, a process for calling a multi-agency Gold command at SDC has been developed and approved.

Develop a user specification for new Mobile Data Terminals

Procurement of the replacement Mobile Data software has been completed and the successful tenderer was Systel, who have a fully integrated solution within the Command and Control system they are delivering for WYFRS. This will deliver significant savings compared to current provision and alternative providers. Procurement of the hardware is now underway and trials of equipment are to take place on operational appliances to ensure suitability and reliability. The Systel software has been successfully installed on our existing hardware. Development of the new software, utilising five Mobile Data Terminals (MDT) across the brigade, is underway and delivery of the final solution will be in line with the Command and Control system. The target completion date is currently spring 2014.

Engage with and support the delivery of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme at local and national level

A Station Manager has been seconded into Operations Support to liaise with the national project team and facilitate delivery of the project outcomes both in West Yorkshire and across Yorkshire and Humberside in conjunction with other Fire and Rescue Services in the region. Training of on-scene and tactical commanders in Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) principles commenced in October 2013. WYFRS is receiving plaudits from the project team for the proactive approach that is being undertaken. On scene commander training will be completed by March 2014. The Initial Operational Response Programme, a deliverable of JESIP, has been released and has led to interim guidance being developed for operational crews. Training will take place later in 2014 with a ‘go live’ date of March 2015.

PROVIDE A SAFE COMPETENT AND DIVERSE WORKFORCE

We will:

Our action

Progress

Facilitate the implementation of strategic change across the organisation

Review ways of working and provide an improvement strategy

All human resources policies are under review to enable further flexibility in how we deliver our service. Employment Resourcing are working with the Deputy Chief Fire Officers team to align the Human Resources Strategy with the IRMP. The report will be finalised ready for implementation in 2014/15.

Issue information for the Local Government Pension Scheme, new Firefighter Pension Scheme and Firefighter Pension Scheme

Pension updates have been introduced with the first two bulletins being published. Further communication is being planned for early 2014. Auto enrolment processes have been introduced, the phased approach to pensionable pay is being implemented.

Provide a healthy and safe workforce Update the fitness policy following the outcomes of the national FireFit Steering Group Review

The policy has been reviewed and updated. It is currently awaiting discussion and approval by the Fitness Working Group. The National FireFit Steering Group have not yet completed their review. The pension negotiations between Government and the FBU are likely to impact on WYFRS fitness policy.

Provide a competent and skilled workforce Review the recording of training methods and implement the outcomes

Following Management Board approval to evaluate electronic Maintenance of Competence records, tenders have been returned and are being evaluated.

Undertake a review of emergency response activities including realistic fire training

Scoping work has been undertaken to consider the possibilities regarding the development of existing facilities to extend the current provision. Modifications are to be made to the Multi-Purpose Training Centre (MPTC) to enable live fire training to be carried out on different floors of the building. This will

enable an improvement in realistic fire training. Finance and Resources Committee have now approved the funding.

Provide a diverse workforce Complete an internal assessment to measure the Authority against the Excellent Level of the Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework

Following an initial, high-level benchmarking exercise carried out in January 2013, the full gap analysis is in progress. Performance and recommendations will be reported to Corporate Driving Diversity Board (CDDB) early in 2014. The Equality Framework is used by CDDB as an internal self-assessment tool to monitor the Authority’s equality performance.

Commence sustainable recruitment for retained duty system Firefighters

The recruitment campaign has been successful; WYFRS had 116 applicants for the seven retained fire stations. 14 trainees have been appointed, with six undertaking training at the Fire Service College and they will be working on West Yorkshire fire stations by the end of 2013. The others have started their training in West Yorkshire and they are following a modular programme. It is anticipated that they will be on stations by the end of February 2014.

PROVIDE EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND ACHIEVE VALUE FOR MONEY IN MANAGING RESOURCES

We will:

Our action

Progress

Provide appropriate and high quality buildings, vehicles and equipment to ensure operational effectiveness, and be environmentally sound

Commence implementation of approved changes to emergency cover with the construction of a minimum of two fire stations

Progress with the construction of the new fire stations has been delayed for a number of reasons outside the control of the Authority, but in recent weeks progress has been positive. Land for Rastrick, Carlton Road Dewsbury and Killingbeck has now been purchased with the South Kirkby purchase being planned in January 2014. Due to the delays, the programme for all eight new fire stations is now being progressed simultaneously to provide greater flexibility over implementation aligned to staffing reductions. The Major Construction Programme Board, chaired by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, has been established to oversee the programme.

Replace or refurbish Rothwell Fire Station

Following the approval given by the Authority, a contractor has been assigned for the demolition of the existing fire station and construction of the new fire station at Rothwell, which will commence March 2014. A temporary fire station is required on the same site to maintain service delivery and this facility will be constructed in February 2014. The whole demolition and construction project should be completed by July 2015.

Complete the Service Delivery Centre incorporating the new Control and the Service Delivery functions

The redevelopment of the new Service Delivery Centre was completed ahead of schedule and within budget. The centre, incorporating the new Control, provides high quality accommodation to replace the ageing building stock on the current Fire Service Headquarters site at Birkenshaw. Transfer of staff to the new centre is now complete apart from Control staff who will move across in summer 2014 when the new Command and Control System is delivered. Disposal of the surplus land at Birkenshaw can then take place to generate capital receipts

Identify and procure land for construction of new fire stations in accordance with the Integrated Risk Management Plan

Sites have been identified for four new fire stations at Rastrick, South Kirkby, Killingbeck and Carlton Road, Dewsbury. The Rastrick, Carlton Road Dewsbury and Killingbeck sites have been purchased and the purchase of the South Kirkby site is close to completion. The construction start at the South Kirkby site is planned for January 2014. A site has been identified for purchase at Ossett and site investigations are still ongoing for locations to site the Shipley/Idle and Rawdon/Otley replacement stations. The potential for a blue light collaboration for a replacement site for Cookridge and Moortown is being investigated.

Commence a property asset review

Scoping work for requirements to facilitate a new Strategic Asset Management Plan and Property Asset Financial Valuation as at 31st March 2015 is ongoing.

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

Undertake scoping studies to determine the future provision of the critical support services of Transport, Supplies and information and Communication Technology to ensure they are fit for purpose, cost effective, robust and sustainable

Technical service scoping complete and reported to Management Board April 2013 and a committee report to progress the refurbishment of the building was approved Finance and Resources Committee on 12 July 2013. The scheme development was tendered and contractors are being appointed to commence works in February 2014.

Provide systems and governance to a standard compliant with the code of connection for access to the Public Sector Network (PSN)

External audit has been undertaken which has highlighted several minor requirements. Penetration test has been completed and the action plan is under review prior to final application submission. Further penetration testing will take place early September to ensure the actions have been completed prior to application submission. Public Services Network (PSN) accreditation was achieved on 4th December 2013.

Review the suitability and effectiveness of the operational equipment marking scheme

Working Group set up and currently carrying out the scoping review, to be completed by September 2013 and currently on track.

Introduce an electronic procurement and ordering system to facilitate a more efficient way of working within the organisation

New software package purchased and new electronic procurement system is in place for tenders/quotations and review of SAP also being looked at via Kirklees

Purpose To advise of changes to the Local Government Association (LGA) governance arrangements and of the impact the changes will have on appointments made by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

Recommendations To note the amended governance arrangements at the Local Government Association and adjust the list of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority Outside Body representatives accordingly.

Summary The Authority appoints Members annually to a number of outside bodies. The Local Government Association General Assembly considered changes to the LGA governance arrangements at a meeting on 23 January 2014. The resulting changes have an impact on the outside body nominations made by this Authority and the relevant Members will be removed from our list of nominations in respect of the Urban Commission.


Local Government Association governance arrangements - changes to outside bodies Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 13 Submitted By: Director of Corporate Resources



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

Background papers open to inspection: Local Government Association General Assembly agenda papers – special meeting held on 23 January 2014

Annexes: None

mailto:[email protected]

1 Introduction 1.1 The Local Government Association (LGA) is one of a number of outside bodies to which this

Authority makes appointments on an annual basis. Currently we have nominees on the following LGA bodies;

General Assembly Fire Commission Urban Commission

2 Information 2.1 The General Assembly convened a special meeting on 23 January 2014 to consider governance

arrangements and a proposed revised Constitution for the LGA. That meeting was attended by Councillors Hughes, Holmes (as substitute for Councillor Harrand) and Thornton (as substitute for Councillor Khan).

2.2 The proposed changes include the disbanding of both the Rural and Urban Commissions. These are to be replaced by the creation of the People & Places and the City Regions Boards with effect from February 2014.

2.3 Councillors Khan and Thornton were appointed to the Urban Commission as this Authority’s representatives for 2013 – 14.

2.4 Members of the City Regions Board will be political appointments made by the LGA political groups rather than the constituent authorities. Councillors Khan and Thornton will therefore no longer be representatives of this Authority on the Urban Commission or its replacement body.


3.1 All costs related to the attendance of Members at approved meetings of the Local Government Association are met from within existing revenue budgetary provision. There have been no expenses payable in respect of attendance at meetings of the Urban Commission for a number of years as attendance has not been necessary.

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


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


6.1 This report supports the Authority’s priority to “provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money in managing resources”.

Purpose To request approval for the Pay Policy Statement under the Localism Act 2011

Recommendations That Members approve the Pay Policy Statement 2014/15.

Summary This report seeks approval of the Pay Policy statement as required by the Localism Act 2011. The Pay Policy Statement has been revised in line with Local Government Association Guidance ‘Pay policy and practice in local authorities – A guide for councillors’.


Pay Policy Statement 2014 / 15 Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 14 Submitted By: Director of Service Support



Contact Officer: Steve Rhodes, Director of Service Support T:01274 655734 E: [email protected]


Annexes: West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority Pay Policy Statement 1st April 2014 - 31st March 2015

1 Introduction 1.1 Under Section 38 (1) of the Localism Act 2011 relevant authorities (which include Fire and

Rescue Authorities) are required to prepare a pay policy statement. These statements must articulate an authority’s own policies towards a range of issues relating to the pay of its workforce, particularly its senior staff (or ‘chief officers’) and its lowest paid employees.

1.2 Pay policy statements must be prepared each financial year. They must be approved by ‘Full Council’, or a meeting of members in the case of a Fire and Rescue Authority, and published. The statement must be approved by 31 March each year.

1.3 Each local authority / fire authority is an individual employer in its own right and has the autonomy to make decisions on pay that are appropriate to local circumstances and which deliver value for money for local taxpayers. The provisions of the Act do not seek to change this or determine what decisions on pay should be taken or what policies individual employing authorities should have in place, they require that authorities are open about their own local policies and how their local decisions are made.

2 Information

2.1 The guidance, to which authorities must have regard when exercising their functions under pay accountability provisions, sets out what the pay policy statements should include.

• The level and elements of remuneration for each chief officer • Remuneration of chief officers on recruitment • Increases and additions to remuneration of each chief officer • The use of performance related pay for chief officers • The approach to the payment of chief officers on their ceasing to hold office under, or

being employed by, the authority and • The publication of and access to information relating to remuneration of chief officers

The guidance also sets out what ‘remuneration’ for these purposes covers.

• The chief officer’s salary or, in the case of a chief officer engaged by the authority under a contract for services, payments made by the authority to the chief officer for those services

• Any bonuses payable by the authority to the chief officer • Any charges, fees or allowances payable by the authority to the chief officer • Any benefits in kind to which the chief officer is entitled as a result of the chief officer’s

office or employment • Any increase or enhancement of the chief officer’s pension entitlement when the increase

or enhancement is as a result of a resolution of the authority, and • Any amounts payable by the authority to the chief officer on the chief officer ceasing to

hold office, under or be employed by the authority other than the amounts that may be payable by virtue of any enactment

2.2 For the purposes of clarity, chief officers in this context will be those officers in this Authority on either gold or blue book conditions i.e. members of the Management Board. The attached pay policy statement addresses all the points and guidance set out above.

2.3 The draft Pay Policy statement for 2014-2015 is attached for approval as Annex 1

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

4 Equality and Diversity Implications

4.1 Demonstrating that the Authority has had due regard to advance equality of opportunity (particularly equal pay for employees with protected characteristics) would provide evidence of compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.


5.1 There are none arising from this report


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

7 Conclusions

7.1 The attached Pay Policy Statement meets the requirements of Section 38 (1) of the Localism Act 2011. The statement will be published on the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority website.

Annex 1

WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY

PAY POLICY STATEMENT

1st April 2014 - 31st March 2015

Introduction and purpose This Pay Policy Statement (the ‘statement’) sets out West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority’s (WYFRA) approach to pay policy in accordance with the requirements of Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011. The purpose of the statement is to provide transparency with regard to the WYFRA’s approach to setting the pay of its employees by identifying:

• The methods by which salaries of all employees are determined.

• The detail and level of remuneration of its most senior staff i.e. Chief Officers, as defined by the relevant legislation.

• The Committees/Departments responsible for ensuring the provisions set out in this

statement are applied consistently throughout WYFRA and recommending any pay policy amendments to the Fire Authority.

This policy statement has been approved by the Fire Authority and is effective from 1st April 2014. It will be subject to review annually and in accordance with new or proposed legislation to ensure that it remains relevant and effective. Accountability and decision making WYFRA Constitution outlines the responsibilities for decision making in relation to the recruitment, pay, terms and conditions and severance arrangements in relation to employees of WYFRA. Responsibility and scale WYFRA is directly responsible for a budget of £86.7 million and for the employment of 1685 staff (as at 30th November 2013). Pay strategy and design In determining the pay and remuneration of its employees, WYFRA will comply with all relevant employment legislation. This includes the Equality Act 2010, Part Time Employment (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and, where relevant, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Earnings) Regulations. WYFRA takes the following approach to assessing individual and overall pay levels.

• Salaries of ‘Green Book’ employees in the Service are set using locally determined pay scales and the nationally agreed Job Evaluation Scheme.

• Salaries of ‘Grey Book’ employees in the Service are set using nationally agreed pay

levels.

• Where applicable, annual awards are normally made in April for Green Book Employees and July for Grey Book Employees.

• WYFRA does not use performance related pay for its Chief Officers.

• WYFRA does not award bonuses to Chief Officers.

Pay structure To encourage Green Book employees to develop in their role and to improve their performance WYFRA has arranged salaries within 19 pay grades. There are also pay increments within each grade. Progression through the pay grade is based on:

• Meeting identified performance goals.

• Length of service.

• Promotion and development. New employees will usually be appointed to the minimum pay level for the relevant grade. Managers have the discretion to recommend an employee for acceleration of increments within the grade when they have demonstrated exceptional performance. Grey Book employees can move between roles through successfully completing the promotion assessment process. Within role individuals will either be paid at a competent or development rate, this will be dependent upon them completing the requirements of development for that role. From time to time it may be necessary to pay special allowances or supplements to individual employees as part of their employment contract and/or outside of their employment contract, where specific circumstances require this and where it can be justified in accordance with WYFRA policies. Other employment-related arrangements Subject to meeting the qualifying conditions, employees have a right to belong to a pension scheme. The pension schemes WYFRA employees are currently members of include:

• The Local Government Pension Scheme - The employee contribution rates, which are defined by statute, currently range between 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent of pensionable pay.

• Firefighters Pension Scheme 1992 – The employee contribution rates currently range between 11.6 per cent and 15.0 per cent of pensionable pay.*

• New Firefighters Pension Scheme 2006 - The employee contribution rates currently range between 8.8 per cent and 9.7 per cent of pensionable pay.*

*Employee contributions for the firefighter pension schemes may increase following government consultation in April 2014.

Under the LGPS, the Authority has the discretion to augment membership of the scheme up to a maximum of ten extra years, or enable early access to the scheme. Pay arrangements West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority Chief Officers pay is determined by conditions of service to which officers are subject.

In this case, they are the National Joint Council for Brigade Managers of Fire and Rescue Services (Gold Book) and the Joint Negotiating Committee for Chief Officers of Local Authorities (Blue Book).

The provisions detailed below are approved by the Full Authority of elected members and the statement is available on the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority website, www.westyorksfire.gov.uk.

Salary Point Lease Car Allowance One Two Three

Chief Fire Officer £144640 £148349 £152058 £7244

Deputy Chief Fire Officer £122944 £126096 £129249 £6351

Assistant Chief Fire Officer £115712 £118679 £121646 £6351

Chief Legal and Governance Officer £100000 £4536

Chief Finance and Procurement Officer £75315 £77247 £79177 £4536

The above are based on Full Time Equivalents. Chief Officers receive reimbursement for internet charges and for professional subscriptions. Lowest paid employees The lowest paid persons employed under a contract of employment with WYFRA are employed on full time 37 hours equivalent salaries in accordance with salary scale currently in use within WYFRA. As at 1 April 2014, this is a grade 2 post and has a salary of £14,880 per annum. * * The Living Wage is £7.65 / hour which equates to a salary of £14,718. Source – Living Wage Foundation. The term ‘lowest paid employees’ is defined as a full time equivalent employee on the bottom scale column point of the Green Book pay scale or the lowest paid role/rank for Grey Book employees. These are the lowest paid employees other than apprenticeships which are paid less to reflect the nature of the training and development role.

http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/

The Authority adopts this definition because pay arrangements for employees’ who are not Chief Officers, is based upon nationally negotiated pay scales from the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services ('Grey Book') and the National Joint Council for Local Authorities ('Green Book’) Staff employee. The relationship between Chief Officers’ pay and other Authority employees is represented by the pay multiple between the two categories:

• The pay multiple between the highest and lowest paid salaries is 10.2. • The pay multiple between the highest paid salary and the median salary of the whole

of the authority’s workforce is 5.3. Chief Officers’ salaries are determined by reference to appropriate National Joint Council conditions of service, comparison of salaries in similar authorities and occasionally by reference to employment consultants. All the information relating to the remuneration of Chief Officers is available in West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Statement of Accounts published on the internet site and is also available under ‘Transparency’ in the Finance section on the Authority website. In addition, the pay scales of all other staff within the Authority are available under ‘Transparency’ in the Finance section on the Authority website. Payment on termination of employment Those Chief Officers who are conditioned to the National Joint Council for Brigade Managers of Fire and Rescue Services are members of the Firefighters Pension Scheme (FPS). Those within the FPS pay contributions of between 14.5%* and 15%*. Any payments made to them on retirement are subject to the rules and regulations of this pension scheme. In addition, there is provision at a local level for them to request flexible retirement via the Flexible Retirement Policy which is available on the Authority website. *These figures are subject to proposed increases as detailed in the DCLG consultation document “Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 1992 and new Firefighters’ pension scheme (2006): proposed increases to employee contribution rates, effective from 1 April 2014: consultation. The consultation period ended on 10 January 2014, and at the time of writing this statement (22 January 2014) the employee contribution rates for 2014/15 have not been agreed by Ministers. Similarly, those Chief Officers conditioned to the Joint Committee for Chief Officers of Local Authorities are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and are subject to the rules and regulations of that pension scheme. Those within the LGPS pay pension contributions of between 7.2% and 7.5%. In addition there is provision at a local level for them to request flexible retirement via the Flexible Retirement Policy which is available on the Authority website.

In addition, under the LGPS, the Authority has the discretion to augment membership of the scheme up to a maximum of ten extra years, or enable early access to the scheme. In cases where an employee’s contract is terminated on the grounds of redundancy or on grounds of efficiency there is discretion to pay a lump sum of up to 104 weeks’ pay. Further details of these payments can be found within the Authority’s ‘Early Termination Policy’ sited within the Employment Services section of the Authority website. Those Chief Officers who are members of the Firefighters Pension Scheme do not receive any enhancements to redundancy payments. Publication of pay policy statement Upon approval by the Fire Authority, this statement will be published on the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority website; www.westyorksfire.gov.uk.. In addition, for posts where the full time equivalent salary is at least £50,000, the Authority’s annual statement of accounts will include a note setting out the total amount of:

• Salary, fees or allowances paid to or receivable by the person in the current and previous year

• Any bonuses so paid or receivable by the person in the current and previous year

• Any sums payable by way of expenses allowance that are chargeable to UK income tax

• Any compensation for loss of employment and any other payments connected with

termination

• Any benefits received that do not fall within the above.

http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/

Purpose To agree the date of the Annual Meeting in 2014 together with the programme of Authority and Committee meetings for 2014 / 2015.

Recommendations i) That the date of the Annual meeting be confirmed as Wednesday, 30 July 2014; and ii) That the programme of meetings for 2014 / 2015 be approved as detailed in the report now submitted.

Summary A programme of meetings for the forthcoming municipal year has to be agreed by the full Authority prior to it becoming effective immediately following the Annual General Meeting and changes to an agreed programme requires the approval of the full Authority.


Date of Annual Meeting and Programme of Meetings 2014 / 2015 Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 15 Submitted By: Director of Corporate Resources



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


Annexes: None

1 Introduction 1.1 It is necessary to give consideration to the programme of meetings for the next municipal year

starting in August 2014 based on a quarterly cycle. In advance of the commencement of that cycle the Authority will hold its Annual Meeting.

1.2 At the December meeting of the Full Authority, Members agreed to move the scheduled Annual Meeting date from 27 June 2014 to a date in mid-late July as a result of the delay in local elections which would now be held on 22 May 2014 to coincide with the European election date.

2 Information 2.1 A consultation was undertaken with the full membership with regard to the preferred date for the Authority’s Annual Meeting in 2014. The final agreed date is as follows;

Wednesday 30 July 2014

2.2 The Annual Meeting marks the start of the programme of meetings. The following detailed programme of meetings for 2014 - 15 is recommended for adoption by the Authority.

FRIDAY

HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE

FRIDAY

FINANCE AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE

FRIDAY

AUDIT COMMITTEE

FRIDAY

COMMUNITY SAFETY

COMMITTEE

FRIDAY

AUTHORITY

(30 July 2014)

5 Sept 2014 12 Sept 2014 19 Sept 2014 26 Sept 2014 17 October 2014

14 Nov 2014 21 Nov 2014 28 Nov 2014 5 December 2014 19 December 2014

23 January 2015 30 January 2015 6 February 2015 13 February 2015 20 February 2015

27 March 2015 10 April 2015 17 April 2015

25 June 2015 (Thurs)

24 April 2015 26 June 2015

(AGM)


3.1 There are no direct financial implications arising from this report. Members are entitled to claim mileage / out of pocket expenses for meetings they attend in accordance with the Authority’s approved Constitution.

4 Equality and Diversity Implications

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


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

6 Service Plan Links 6.1 This report and the approval of a programme of meetings enables the Authority to “provide

effective and ethical governance ..” in a well-structured and publicised manner.

Purpose To seek Members’ approval for the publication of the Service Plan Action Plan 2014 – 2015.

Recommendations That Members approve the publication of the Service Plan Action Plan 2014 – 2015.

Summary This paper requests approval to publish the Service Plan Action Plan 2014 – 2015 which details the actions to be taken during the next year to meet the challenging needs and risks within the community and contribute towards the Ambition, Aim and Priorities set within the Service Plan 2011 – 2015.


Service Plan Action Plan 2014 - 2015 Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 16 Submitted By: Director of Corporate Resources



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


Annexes: Service Plan Action Plan 2014 - 2015


1 Introduction 1.1 At the Full Authority meeting on 17 December 2010 Members approved the publication of the Service Plan 2011-2015 and Action Plan 2011-2012 and at the subsequent meetings annual action plans have been approved.

1.2 The Service Plan 2011-2015 is a four year document outlining the ambition, aim, priorities and objectives and provides details of what West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) intends to do over the forthcoming years to meet the challenging needs and risks within the community.

1.3 An annual action plan is produced for implementation on 1 April each year.

2 Information

2.1 The Action Plan 2014-2015, attached to this report, incorporates the actions from the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) and associated service delivery actions, thereby providing a fully integrated annual action plan for the year ahead.

2.2 Progress against the annual action plan is reported to Members within the Performance Management Report.

2.3 Members are requested to approve the Action Plan 2014-2015 for publication. This will be the final Action Plan for the current Service Plan 2011-2015.


3.1 The financial implications associated with this report are presented to members within reports on the IRMP projects and associated service delivery actions and have been taken into account within the budget.

4 Equality and Diversity implications 4.1 The key equality and diversity issues arising from the Service Plan will be used to create equality

objectives in the Corporate Equality and Diversity Action Plan 2014-2015. The publication of these objectives in a format accessible to the public (such as on the Authority's web site) is a requirement of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

5 Health and Safety implications

5.1 Health and safety implications have been taken into account during the IRMP process and within the Service Plan.

6 Service Plan links

6.1 This report links to all the Service Plan priorities and details the actions to be taken during 2014 – 2015 contributing to the Ambition, Aim and Priorities of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

7 Recommendation

7.1 That Members approve the publication of the Service Plan Action Plan 2014 – 2015.

ACTION PLAN

2014 - 2015

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

DELIVER A PROACTIVE FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION PROGRAMME

We will:

Our action

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

Develop the concept of mobile working for protection staff to maximise the opportunities presented by technology to facilitate increased contact time with the community Implement the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Better Regulation Delivery Office ‘Regulators Code’ and support this by the development of a Business Support Strategy Implement a pilot scheme to allow for charging for attendance at persistent false alarms from Automatic Fire Alarm systems

Work with partners to deliver a reduction in fires, road traffic incidents and anti-social fire related behaviour

Develop the concept of mobile working for prevention staff to maximize the opportunities presented by technology to facilitate increased contact time with the community Develop and implement strategies for the management of Fire Safety issues related to Dementia within the communities which we serve Develop and implement strategies for the management of Fire Safety issues related to Hate Crime within the communities which we serve Implement the outcomes of the Fire Investigation review which was developed during 2013

DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE

We will:

Our action

Improve operational capability in response to changes in risk and demand Evaluate the provision of Breathing Apparatus telemetry Undertake the transition to a new Fire Control site at the Service Delivery Centre (SDC) in parallel with the ‘go live’ of the new Command and Control system Conduct a trial of cold cutting equipment at Gipton Fire Station and evaluate outcomes to inform future firefighting strategy Review the provision of Command Support and the associated equipment (CU lite) Deliver the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) outcomes and manage them into core business Work with partner agencies to develop and deliver a response plan for the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart Develop inter-agency support and training for the response to terrorist related events Implement new Mobile Data Terminal hardware to fleet and examine opportunities for increasing use of mobile technology to enhance fireground operations Prepare for the roll out of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Project

Provide assurance in relation to operational performance

Develop an ongoing process of Service Delivery Assurance aligned to the CFO/LGA operational assessment and fire peer challenge, including production of an annual assurance statement for publication in September

Enhance operational knowledge and competence of fire crews and officers Investigate the benefits of joining the ‘SE Collaborative Project’ which provides for the development, review and publication of operational policy/guidance, and making a subsequent recommendation based upon the outcomes of the review

PROVIDE A SAFE COMPETENT AND DIVERSE WORKFORCE

We will:

Our action

Facilitate the implementation of strategic change across the organisation

Undertake pilots in Leeds and Wakefield Districts for revised Command and Leadership Management arrangements and make final recommendations for implementation across the service in 2015/16 Begin the implementation of the outcomes arising from the Ways of Working Improvement Strategy Issue information in relation to the 2015 Firefighters’ pension scheme reform Develop an Action Plan for collaborative working with partners in the following areas:

• Human Resources • Occupational Health and Safety • Training

Provide a healthy and safe workforce AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND ACHIEVE VALUE FOR MONEY IN MANAGING RESOURCES

Implement the action plan arising from the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) Health and Safety Audit Review sickness absence management

Implement the outcomes of the asbestos health surveillance recommendations

Provide a competent and skilled workforce

IDE EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND ACHIEVE VALUE FOR MONEY IN MANAGING RESOURCES

Review/rewrite Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) guidance and training to deliver the aims of the Initial and Specialist Operational Response programmes Adapt the Multi-Purpose Training Centre to provide improved facilities for realistic Fire Behaviour and Breathing Apparatus based scenario training Investigate opportunities to further develop realistic training facilities Introduce electronic Maintenance of Competence records

Provide a diverse workforce Implement the outcomes of the Authority’s internal assessment against the Excellent Level of the Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework

PROVIDE EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND ACHIEVE VALUE FOR MONEY IN MANAGING RESOURCES

We will:

Our action

Provide appropriate and high quality buildings, vehicles and equipment to ensure operational effectiveness, and be environmentally sound

Complete a Property Asset Management Plan which includes asset valuations

Complete the construction of South Kirkby, Rastrick and Rothwell Fire Stations and commence construction of Killingbeck and Carlton Road Fire Stations

Identify and procure suitable land for construction of replacement fire stations in accordance with the Integrated Risk Management Plan Work with blue light partners to explore the opportunities for closer collaboration

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

Rationalise the Information and Communications Technology infrastructure to include mobile working and mobile communications Relocate the Information and Communications Technology team

Improve and maintain systems to meet the on-going requirements of the Public Services Network (PSN) and Airwave connectivity Implementation and development of the new Local Government Transparency Code

Purpose To present the Treasury Management Strategy 2014/2015

Recommendations Members are asked to approve the Treasury Management Strategy.

Summary The Authority has formally adopted CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management, and is thereby required to consider a treasury management strategy before the start of each financial year. This report sets out details of the proposed investment and borrowing strategy along with details of the policy for provision for repayment of debt. It also provides the treasury management indicators for 2014/15.


Treasury Management Strategy 2014/2015 Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 17 Submitted By: Chief Finance Officer



Contact Officer: Geoff Maren – Chief Finance Officer t: 01274 655711 e: [email protected]


Annexes: Annex A – list of investment institutions Annex B – Credit ratings Annex C – Statement of Policy on min revenue provision Annex D – Treasury Management indicators


1 Purpose of Report

1.1 The Authority has formally adopted CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management, and is thereby required to consider a treasury management strategy before the start of each financial year. In addition, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) issued guidance on local authority investments in March 2010, which requires the Authority to approve an Investment Strategy before the start of each financial year.

1.2 This report meets the requirements of both the Code and the DCLG Guidance.

1.3 The Finance and Resources Committee undertake a scrutiny role with regard to treasury management. Training has been provided to members of that committee.

2 Key Points

2.1 Outlook for the economy, credit risk and interest rates

2.1.1 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is committed to keeping policy rates (Base Rate) low for an extended period, using an unemployment rate of 7% as a threshold for when it would consider raising rates, subject to certain caveats. Unemployment was 7.7% in August 2013 and is not forecast to fall below the threshold before 2016. However, stronger growth data in 2013 alongside a pick-up in property prices are starting to lead some market observers to price in earlier rate rises than allowed currently under the MPC policy.

2.1.2 The credit risk of banking failures has diminished, but not disappeared altogether. Regulatory changes are afoot in the UK, US and Europe to move away from bank bail-outs to regimes where shareholders, bondholders and unsecured creditors are “bailed-in” to participate in any recovery process. This is already manifested in relation to bondholders of the Co-Operative suffering a haircut in return for an equity stake in the bank. There are also proposals for EU regulatory reforms to Money Market Funds which will, in all probability, result in these funds moving to a variable net asset value basis and losing their “triple-A” credit rating wrapper. Diversification of investments between creditworthy counterparties to mitigate bail-in risk will become even more important in the light of these developments.

2.1.3 The Authority uses Kirklees Council to carry out its treasury management activities. The Council in turn, uses a specialist treasury management advisor (Arlingclose). Arlingclose forecast interest rates as follows:

Average Base Rate 20 Year PWLB Rate

2014/15 0.5% 4%

2015/16 0.5% 4.3%

2016/17 0.5% 4.8%

2.2 Borrowing and Investment – General Strategy for 2014/15

2.2.1 The policies for borrowing and investing are intrinsically linked. At one extreme, an authority might borrow externally at a level equivalent to its Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), that is, its underlying need to finance capital expenditure by borrowing or other long-term liability arrangements. If it chooses to have indebtedness to this level, it is likely that it would be investing externally an amount equivalent to its total reserves, balances and net creditors. At the other extreme, an authority can choose not to invest externally but instead use these balances to effectively “borrow internally” and minimise external borrowing. In between these two extremes, an authority may have a mixture of external and internal investments / external and internal borrowing.

2.2.1 Forecasts for CFR as at 31 March are as follows:

2014/15 £m

2015/16 £m

2016/17 £m

CFR 62.8 72.0 72.5

2.2.2 Prior to 2009/10 the Authority’s policy had been to borrow up to its CFR and investing externally the majority of its balances. With the onset of instabilities in the financial markets and the economic downturn, the policy changed to one of ensuring the security of the Authority’s balances. This coincided with dramatic falls in investment returns making the budgetary benefit of maximising external borrowing more marginal. The Authority has attempted to minimise monies externally invested and instead has used balances to offset new borrowing requirements. This practice is made more complicated by the Government’s method of funding pension contributions – the year’s funding plus any shortfall from the previous year, is paid as a lump sum in July each year. The grant in 2013/14 was £27 million.

2.2.3 To try and maintain investment balances at a reasonable level, the decision was made during 2013/14 to repay most of the Authority’s variable rate PWLB loans. Although these loans were at a relatively attractive interest rate, 0.57%, because of the counterparty limits in place within the strategy, significant funds had to be invested with Central Government (DMADF) at only 0.25%.

2.2.5 As at 31 March 2014, the Authority is expected to have around £2 million invested externally, primarily in instant access accounts or short-term deposits, with the major British owned banks, building societies or Money Market Funds (MMFs). This figure includes the remainder of a £3.6m grant awarded jointly to West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Fire Authorities to fund a joint control centre. The grant is being ring-fenced as an investment until it is required to fund expenditure.

2.3 Investment Strategy

2.3.1 Investment guidance issued by DCLG requires that an investment strategy, outlining the authority’s policies for managing investments in terms of risk, liquidity and yield, should be approved by full Authority or equivalent level, before the start of the financial year. This strategy can then only be varied during the year by the same executive body.

2.3.2 The guidance splits investments into two types – specified and non-specified.

• Specified investments are those offering high security and liquidity. All such investments should be in sterling with a maturity of no more than a year. Investments made with the Government (DMADF) and a local authority automatically count as specified investments, as do investments with bodies or investment schemes of “high credit quality”. It is for individual authorities to determine what they regard as “high credit quality”.

• Non-specified investments have greater potential risk, being investments with: bodies that have a credit rating below “high credit quality”; bodies that are not credit rated at all; and investments over a year.

2.3.3 It is estimated that the Authority could have up to £30 million to invest at times during the year; a combination of cash received in advance, reserves and creditors.

2.3.4 It is proposed to continue with a low-risk strategy in line with previous years and where possible to use the Authority’s balances to fund new capital expenditure, i.e. borrow internally. This will help in reducing the amount of money the authority has invested at any one time.

2.3.5 However, to ensure that the Authority is able to invest its surplus funds and obtain a reasonable investment return, it is proposed that counterparty limits for specified investments are increased to £6m. To reduce any risk, the maximum period of investment would be reduced to two months with the exception of investments with DMADF where the maximum period would remain at 6 months. A table providing a comparison with limits for the other metropolitan FRA’s is provided in Appendix E.

2.3.6 The Authority’s investment criteria has been slightly adapted over the years but is largely based on a strategy of when the Authority had relatively small investment balances. Since the pensions’ payments have increased and the Government has chosen to provide the Authority with an annual grant to cover the costs, the Authority has found itself with more significant levels of investment. Officers have carried out a thorough review of the criteria and have adapted it so that it is fit for purpose in terms of the current strategy of prioritising security and liquidity while enabling returns above that offered by Government to be achieved. The main changes to the criteria are: • Increasing the investment limit for individual local authorities and UK banks and

building societies with a “high to upper medium grade” credit rating to £6 million from £3 million.

• The Authority is able to invest up to £6 million on an instant access basis with foreign based banks with a “high to upper medium grade” credit rating

• Enabling the Authority to invest up to £6 million in individual MMFs (instant access or two day notice). MMFs are pooled investment vehicles, having the advantage of providing wide diversification of risk, coupled with the services of a professional fund manager. There will be an overall limit of £18 million for MMFs.

• Integrate a specified criterion for part nationalised UK banks/ building societies which allows a £6 million limit per counterparty at slightly lower credit ratings than applied to other institutions.

The above criteria would apply to the Authority’s specified investments. The limits on non-specified investments would not be changed

• The Authority is able to invest up to £1 million and up to two months with individual UK banks and building societies with a “medium grade” credit rating.

• The Authority is able to invest up to £1 million in an instant access account with its current account bankers as long as their credit rating is at least “lower medium grade”. This does not allow investment with the current provider.

• The Authority adopts an overall limit for non-specified investments of £2 million.

2.3.7 A maximum limit of £6 million applies to any one counterparty and this also applies to a banking group rather than each individual bank within a group.

2.3.8 For illustrative purposes, the end column of Appendix A lists which banks and building societies the Authority could invest with based on credit ratings as at the beginning of January 2014.

2.3.9 The Authority uses credit ratings from the three main rating agencies - Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s to assess the risk of investment defaults (Appendix B). The lowest credit rating of an organisation will be used to determine credit quality. Long term ratings are expressed on a scale from AAA (the highest quality) through to D (indicating default). Ratings of BBB- and above are described as investment grade, while ratings of BB+ and below are described as speculative grade.

2.3.10 Where an entity has its credit rating downgraded so that it fails to meet the approved investment criteria:

• No new investments will be made; • Any existing investments that can be recalled at no cost will be recalled; • Full consideration will be given to the recall or sale of all other existing investments

with the affected counterparty.

2.3.11 Where a credit rating agency announces that a rating is on review for possible downgrade (“negative watch”) so that it is likely to fall below the required criteria, then no further investments will be made in that organisation until the outcome is announced. This policy will not apply to negative outlooks.

2.3.12 Full regard will be given to other available information on the credit quality of banks and building societies, including credit default swap prices, financial statements and rating agency reports. No investments will be made with an organisation if there are substantive doubts about its credit quality, even though it may meet the approved criteria.

2.3.13 Investments may be made using the following instruments:

• Interest paying bank accounts • Fixed term deposits • Call or notice deposits • Callable deposits • Shares in money market funds

2.3.14 Annual cash flow forecasts are prepared which are continuously updated. This helps determine the maximum period for which funds may be prudently committed.

2.3.15 Investment policy and performance will be monitored continuously and will be reported to Members during the year and as part of the annual report on Treasury Management.

2.4 Borrowing Requirement and Strategy 2.4.1 The Authority’s external borrowing requirement is estimated as follows:

2014/15 £m

2015/16 £m

2016/17 £m

Increase in CFR 1.4 7.2 0.8 Loans maturing 0.7 0.2 0.2 Total external borrowing requirement 2.1 7.4 1.0

2.4.2 When taking new borrowing, due attention will be paid to the authority’s debt maturity

profile. It is good practice to have a maturity profile for long-term debt which does not expose the Authority to a substantial borrowing requirement in years when interest rates may be at a relatively high level. In accordance with the requirements of the Code, the Authority sets out limits with respect to the maturity structure of its borrowing later in this report.

2.4.3 It is predicted that as at 31 March 2014, the Authority will have total external borrowing and other long-term liabilities of £53.3 million. This is analysed as follows:

Estimated Total debt as at 31 March 2014

£m

% PWLB fixed loans 44.8 84.1 PWLB variable loans 0.5 0.9 LOBOs 2.0 3.8 Temporary borrowing 6.0 11.2

TOTAL 53.3 100.0

2.4.4 Historically, the biggest source of borrowing for local authorities has been PWLB loans. These Government loans have offered value for money and also flexibilities to restructure and make possible savings. Although, the Government decided to raise rates for new PWLB loans in October 2010 by around 0.90%, it has now introduced a discounted rate for local authorities joining the new “certainty rate” scheme. The Authority has joined the scheme and now has access to loans discounted by 0.20%.

2.4.5 The Authority also has a LOBO (Lender’s Option, Borrower’s Option) loan. The way this loan works is that the Authority pays interest at a fixed rate for an initial period and then the lender has the option in the secondary period to increase the rate. If the option is exercised, the Authority can either accept the new rate or repay the loan. The Authority’s loan is in its secondary period with intervals of 5 years between options. At the last option date, May 2011, the lender did not exercise their option to amend the rate.

2.4.6 Other borrowing products are being developed by the commercial sector, including publicly listed and privately placed bond issues. These will be evaluated alongside all products.

2.4.7 In terms of meeting the Authority’s borrowing requirement over the next three years, as short-term rates are forecast to stay low, it may be opportune to take short-term loans either at fixed or variable rates. However, with long term rates forecast to rise in the coming years, any such short term savings will need to be balanced against potential longer term costs.

2.4.8 The PWLB allows authorities to repay loans before maturity and either pay a premium or receive a discount according to a set formula based on current interest rates. The Authority may take advantage of this and replace some of the higher rate loans with new loans at lower interest rates where this will lead to an overall saving or reduce risk.

2.4.9 Borrowing policy and performance will be continuously monitored throughout the year and will be reported to Members.

2.5 Statement of Policy on the Minimum Revenue Provision 2..1 The Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2008,

which came into effect on 31 March 2008, replaced the former statutory rules for calculating MRP with a requirement for each local authority to determine a “prudent” provision. The regulations require authorities to draw up a statement of their policy on the calculation of MRP which requires approval by full Authority in advance of the year to which it applies. The recommended policy statement is detailed at Appendix C.

2.6 Policy on the Use of Financial Derivatives 2.6.1 Local authorities have in the past made use of financial derivatives embedded into loans

and investments both to reduce interest rate risk (e.g. interest rate collars and forward deals) and to reduce costs or increase income at the expense of greater risk (e.g. LOBO loans).

2.6.2 The Localism Bill 2011 includes a general power of competence that appears to remove the uncertain legal position over local authorities’ use of standalone financial derivatives (i.e. those that are not embedded into a loan or investment). The latest CIPFA Code requires authorities to clearly detail their policy on the use of derivatives in the annual strategy.

2.6.3 The Authority will only use standalone financial derivatives (such as swaps, forwards, futures and options) where it is confident it has the powers to enter into such transactions. They will only be used for the prudent management of its financial affairs and never for speculative purposes and where it can be clearly demonstrated to reduce the overall level of the financial risks that the Authority is exposed to. Additional risks presented, such as credit exposure to derivative counterparties, will be taken into account when determining the overall level of risk. Embedded derivatives will not be subject to this policy, although the risks they present will be managed in line with the overall treasury risk management strategy.

2.7 Other Matters 2.7.1 The DCLG Investment Guidance also requires the Authority to note the following matters

each year as part of the investment strategy:

(i) Investment Consultants The Council’s adviser is Arlingclose Limited. The services received include:

• Advice and guidance on relevant policies, strategies and reports; • Advice on investment decisions; • Notification of credit ratings and changes; • Other information on credit quality; • Advice on debt management decisions; • Accounting advice; • Reports on treasury performance; • Forecasts of interest rates; and • Training courses.

The quality of the service is monitored on a continuous basis by the Council’s treasury management team.

(ii) Investment Training

The needs of the Council’s treasury management staff for training in investment management are assessed on a continuous basis, and formally on a 6-monthly basis as part of the staff appraisal process. Additionally training requirements are assessed when the responsibilities of individual members of staff change. Staff attend training courses, seminars and conferences as appropriate.

(iii) Investment of money borrowed in advance of need

The Authority may, from time to time, borrow in advance of need, where this is expected to provide the best long term value for money. However, as this would involve externally investing such sums until required and thus increasing exposures to both interest rate and principal risks, it is not believed appropriate to undertake such a policy at this time.

2.7.2 Co-Operative Bank The Co-Operative Bank is contracted to provide current account banking facilities to the Authority until 2017. Following the bank’s recent financial problems and re-capitalisation, the bank has re-assessed its core business and decided that it is to withdraw from providing banking services to local authorities. Although the bank will fulfil existing contracts, it has also indicated that it will provide assistance to authorities wishing to transfer to another bank for these services before contracts expire. Officers are currently reviewing current account banking arrangements with a view to going out to tender in the near future or entering into a framework facility.

3 Implications for the Authority

3.1 The strategies outlined have been reflected in the treasury management budget.

4 Consultees and their opinions

4.1 This report has been prepared by the Chief Finance Officer.

5 Next Steps

5.1 This will be considered at the budget meeting of Full Authority and monitored in future reports submitted to Finance & Resources Committee as outlined within the report.

6 Officer recommendations and reasons

6.1 Members are asked to approve the following:

i. the investment strategy outlined in section 2.3 and Appendix A; ii. the borrowing strategy outlined in section 2.4; iii. the policy for provision of repayment of debt outline in Appendix C; iv. the treasury management indicators in Appendix D.

APPENDIX A Specified Short-term Credit Ratings /

Long-Term Credit Ratings

Investment Limits per Counterparty

Counterparties falling into category as at Jan 2014

Fitch Moody’s S & P £m Period (3)

UK Bank / Building Society

F1 P-1 A-1 6 <2mth HSBC Barclays

Lloyds Group Nationwide

AAA,AA+,AA,AA-,A+,A

Aaa,Aa1,Aa2, Aa3,A1,A2

AAA,AA+,AA,AA-,A+,A

Foreign Banks F1 P-1 A-1 6 Instant access Handelsbanken Santander UK AAA,AA+,AA,

AA-,A+,A Aaa,Aa1,Aa2,

Aa3,A1,A2 AAA,AA+,AA,

AA-,A+,A Part nationalised UK Bank / Building Society

F1,F2 P-1,P-2 A-1,A-2 6 <2mth Lloyds Group RBS Group Higher than

BBB Higher than

Baa2 Higher than

BBB MMF (2) - - - 6 Instant access/

2 day notice Various

DMADF - - - Unlimited <6mth Central UK Government UK local authorities - - - Unlimited <2mth All UK local authorities

Non-Specified (1) Short-term Credit Ratings /

Long-Term Credit Ratings Investment Limits per

Counterparty Counterparties falling into

category as at Jan 2014 Fitch Moody’s S & P £m Period (3)

UK Bank / Building Society

F1,F2 P-1,P-2 A-1,A-2 1 <2mth Coventry BS Leeds BS Higher than

BBB Higher than

Baa2 Higher than

BBB Current account bank F1,F2 P-1,P-2 A-1,A-2 1 Instant access Not the current provider

Higher than BBB-

Higher than Baa3

Higher than BBB-

(1) Overall limit of £2 million. (2) Overall limit for investments in MMFs of £9 million. (3) The investment period begins from the commitment to invest, rather than the date on which funds are paid over.

APPENDIX B Credit ratings

Moody's S&P Fitch

Long-term Short-term Long-term Short-term Long-term Short-term

Aaa

P-1

AAA

A-1+

AAA

F1+

Prime

Aa1 AA+ AA+

High grade Aa2 AA AA

Aa3 AA- AA-

A1 A+ A-1

A+ F1

Upper medium grade A2 A A

A3 P-2

A- A-2

A- F2

Baa1 BBB+ BBB+

Lower medium grade Baa2 P-3

BBB A-3

BBB F3

Baa3 BBB- BBB-

Ba1

Not prime

BB+

B

BB+

B

Non-investment grade speculative Ba2 BB BB

Ba3 BB- BB-

B1 B+ B+

Highly speculative B2 B B

B3 B- B-

Caa1 CCC+

C CCC C

Substantial risks

Caa2 CCC Extremely speculative

Caa3 CCC-

In default with little prospect for recovery Ca

CC

C

C

D /

DDD

/ In default / DD

/

APPENDIX C

STATEMENT OF POLICY ON THE MINIMUM REVENUE PROVISION (REPAYMENT OF DEBT)

1. Background 1.1 The Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2008

which came into force on 31 March 2008, replaced the detailed statutory rules for calculating MRP with a requirement to make an amount of MRP which the authority considers “prudent”.

2. Prudent Provision 2.1 The regulation does not itself define “prudent provision”. However, guidance issued

alongside the regulations makes recommendations on the interpretation of that term.

The guidance provides two basic criteria for prudent provision:-

• Borrowing not supported by government grant (prudential borrowing) – the provision for repayment of debt should be linked to the life of the asset.

• Borrowing previously supported by revenue support grant (supported borrowing) - the provision should be in line with the period implicit within the grant determination (4% reducing balance).

3. Proposed policy for 2014/15 3.1 The Authority has always been prudent when making provision for the repayment of

debt. In addition to the minimum revenue provision of 4% of debt outstanding previously required, the Authority had regularly made additional voluntary contributions. These voluntary contributions have been calculated to reflect asset life. Thus, for example, debt used to finance vehicles and many types of operational equipment has been fully provided for over a 10 year period and all new buildings over 50. These additional voluntary contributions covered all debt, not just unsupported, and have been calculated using an annuity method with reference to asset lives.

3.2 It is recommended that this policy is continued for 2014/15. The features of the policy can be summarised as follows:

• Provision to be made over the estimated life of the asset for which borrowing is undertaken

• To be applied to supported and unsupported borrowing • Provision will increase over the asset life using sinking fund tables • Provision will commence in the financial year following the one in which the

expenditure is incurred

3.3 The continuation of the existing policy is fully accounted for in the proposed three year treasury management budget.

APPENDIX D

TREASURY MANAGEMENT INDICATORS

Net and Gross Debt

The authority is required to set for forthcoming year and the following two years upper limits on the proportion of net debt compared to gross debt. This indicator is to highlight where an authority may be borrowing in advance of need. It is recommended to set a net debt limit of 100% of gross debt for all three years.

Interest Rate Exposures

While fixed rate borrowing can contribute significantly to reducing the uncertainty surrounding future interest rate scenarios, the pursuit of optimum performance justifies retaining a degree of flexibility through the use of variable interest rates on at least part of the treasury management portfolio. The Code requires the setting of upper limits for both variable rate and fixed interest rate exposure.

It is recommended that the Authority sets an upper limit on its fixed interest rate exposures for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 of 100% of its net interest payments. It is further recommended that the Authority sets an upper limit on its variable interest rate exposures for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 of 40% of its net interest payments.

This means that fixed interest rate exposures will be managed within the range 60% to 100%, and variable interest rate exposures within the range 0% to 40%.

Maturity Structure of Borrowing

This indicator is designed to prevent the Authority having large concentrations of fixed rate debt* needing to be replaced at times of uncertainty over interest rates. It is recommended that the Authority sets upper and lower limits for the maturity structure of its borrowings as follows:

Amount of projected borrowing that is fixed rate maturing in each period as percentage of total projected borrowing that is fixed rate

Upper Limit (%) Lower Limit (%)

Under 12 months 20 0

Between 1 and 2 years 20 0



More than 10 years 100 20

*LOBOs are classed as fixed rate debt unless it is considered probable that the loan option will be exercised.

Total principal sums invested for periods longer than 364 days

The Authority is not intending to invest sums for periods longer than 364 days.

APPENDIX E

TREASURY MANAGEMENT COMPARISON OF INVESTMENT LIMITS

INSTITUTIONS West Greater Merseyside South Tyne & WestYorkshire Manchester Yorks Wear Midlands

£m £m £m £m £m £m

UK Banks 6 10 2 5 90 10Miximum period 2 months 364 days 2 years 364 daysForeign Banks 6 2 5 40 10Maximum period instant access 364 days 364 daysPart nationalised banks 6 10 4 10 90 10Maximum period 2 months 364 days 2 years 364 daysMoney Market Funds 6 3 5 40 10Maximum period instant access instant access 364 daysDMADF unlimited unlimited 80Maximum period 6 monthsUK local authorities unlimited 5 unlimited 30Maximum period 2 months 364 days

Handelsbanken West Midlands have a limit of £30m

Purpose To present a draft capital investment plan, a draft revenue budget and medium term financial plan.

Recommendations That the report be noted as the basis for the political groups to considertheir budget proposals. That the recommendations set out in paragraph 10.1 are approved.

Summary This report presents details of the draft revenue budget for 2014/2015 along with the five year medium term financial plan and capital programme. Included within the report are details of the Local Government Finance Settlement 2014/2015 and 2015/2015, a standstill budget, and a summary of activity in the 2013/2014 financial year.


Medium Term Financial Plan (incorporating Revenue Budget and Capital Plan) Full Authority Date: 21 February 2014 Agenda Item: 18 Submitted By: Chief Finance Officer


Exemption Category: Nil

Contact Officer: Geoff Maren – Chief Finance Officer t: 01274 655711 e: [email protected]

Background papers open to inspection: Budget working papers Local Government Finance Settlement CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management in the Public Services; CIPFA’s Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities; Local Government Act 2003.

Annexes:


1 Introduction

This is a consolidated report which will present the Management Board's proposals for:-

(i) a Capital Investment Plan for the five years to 2018/2019, (ii) the Prudential Indicators to support the financing of the Capital Plan. (iii) a Revenue Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan for the same period.

2 Proposed Capital Investment

CAPITAL INVESTMENT

2.1 The Management Board are proposing a five year capital investment plan which will see the delivery of the majority of the station rationalisation which has been approved as part of the 2012 and 2013 Integrated Risk Management Plan. A detailed plan is attached at Appendix A to this report with a brief summary provided below.

2.2 The total cost of the plan is £43.23m over the five year period with over £26m being the building works to deliver the IRMP changes. The IRMP changes will deliver significant long term revenue savings enabling the Authority to maintain service standards with significantly reducing resources.

2.3 There has been some delay in the major construction schemes relating to the IRMP owing to problems purchasing the sites for the new build. However, the Authority has now purchased 4 sites and construction will have commenced on two new fire stations by 31 March 2014. Consequently there will be significant expenditure on major building schemes in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.

DRAFT 5 YEAR CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 5 YEAR

SERVICE SUPPORT PLANProperty £990,000 £710,000 £695,000 £210,000 £0 £2,605,000IT and Comms £672,000 £270,000 £50,000 £50,000 £50,000 £1,092,000Transport £1,508,000 £1,348,000 £1,338,000 £1,338,000 £1,338,000 £6,870,000

£3,170,000 £2,328,000 £2,083,000 £1,598,000 £1,388,000 £10,567,000SERVICE DELIVERYIRMP £12,520,000 £11,000,000 £2,660,000 £0 £0 £26,180,000Fire safety £785,500 £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £3,585,500Operations £1,103,000 £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £2,903,000

£14,408,500 £12,150,000 £3,810,000 £1,150,000 £1,150,000 £32,668,500DRAFT PROGRAMME £17,578,500 £14,478,000 £5,893,000 £2,748,000 £2,538,000 £43,235,500

FUNDINGCapital grants £11,000,000 £11,000,000Capital receipts £500,000 £500,000 £500,000 £500,000 £2,000,000Borrowing £6,578,500 £13,978,000 £5,393,000 £2,248,000 £2,038,000 £30,235,500

£17,578,500 £14,478,000 £5,893,000 £2,748,000 £2,538,000 £43,235,500

CAPITAL FINANCING

2.3 The capital plan will be financed through three main sources; capital grants, capital receipts, and borrowing as explained below.

2.4 Capital Grants

In 2013/2014 the Authority successfully bid for £11.25m of capital grants from central government to fund the majority of the construction for the phase 1 IRMP and the land purchase for phase 2. In addition, the Authority received a further £3.5m which was allocated on the basis of population providing total grant income of £14.7m. Delays in land purchase mean that the Authority will have committed around £4m of this grant in the current year leaving around £11.0m available for 2014/2015.

2.5 Capital Receipts

The IRMP process, once fully implemented, will release up to 17 former fire station sites which will be available for disposal. These sites will not be available until each of the new stations is operational and the value will depend upon the size, location and planning approvals as well as the market condition. It is anticipated that the Authority should be able to realise the first of these capital receipts in 2015/2016.

2.6 Borrowing

The balance of the expenditure will be funded by borrowing, although the table shows a total borrowing requirement of £27.8m over the period; this does not take account of existing debt fall out and debt repayment. The next section of the report on Prudential Indicators includes details of the estimated borrowing requirement and forecast debt outstanding.

3 Prudential Indicators 3.1 The CIPFA Prudential Code requires that local authorities produce a number of Prudential

Indicators before the beginning of each financial year and have them approved by the same executive body that approves the budget. The purpose of the indicators is to provide a framework for capital expenditure decision making, highlighting the level of capital expenditure, the impact on borrowing levels, and the overall controls in place to ensure the activity remains affordable, prudent and sustainable.

Some of the indicators are specific to the Authority’s treasury management activity and are set out in the treasury management report. The rest of the indicators are set out below.

3.2 Capital Expenditure, Capital Financing Requirement and External Debt

The Authority’s capital expenditure projections, in paragraph 2.3, are summarised below. Capital expenditure impacts directly on the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) and the Authority’s debt position. The CFR reflects the Authority’s underlying need to borrow for a capital purpose. When external borrowing is below the CFR, this reveals that the Authority is using some internal balances, such as reserves/creditors, to temporarily finance capital expenditure.

3.3 Limits to Borrowing Activity

The first key control over the Authority’s borrowing activity is a Prudential Indicator to ensure that over the medium term, net borrowing will only be for a capital purpose. Net external borrowing should not, except in the short-term, exceed the total Capital Financing Requirement in the preceding year plus the estimates of any additional Capital Financing Requirement for 2014/15 and the next two financial years. This allows some flexibility for limited early borrowing for future years.

Other than for short periods of time and to manage cash flow requirements, the Authority comfortably complied with the requirement to keep net borrowing below the relevant Capital Financing Requirement in 2012/13. No difficulties are envisaged for the current or future years.

3.4 A further two Prudential Indicators control the overall level of borrowing. These are the Authorised Limit and the Operational Boundary. The Authorised Limit represents the limit beyond which borrowing is prohibited. It reflects the level of borrowing which, while not desired, could be afforded in the short-term, but is not sustainable. It is the expected maximum borrowing need with some headroom for unexpected movements. This is the statutory limit determined under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003.

3.4.1 The Operational Boundary is based on the probable external debt during the course of the year. It is not a limit and actual borrowing could vary around this boundary for short times during this year.

Actual Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Capital expenditure 7.075 6.800 17.578 14.478 5.893

Financed by borrowing 3.035 3.800 6.578 13.978 5.393Capital grants 2.577 3.000 11.000Capital receipts 1.463 0.500 0.500Internal borrowing

7.075 6.800 17.578 14.478 5.893CFR at 31 March 62.100 61.100 62.800 72.000 72.500External debt 31 MarchBorrowing 61.200 53.300 59.100 72.000 72.000Other LT liabilitiesTotal debt 61.200 53.300 59.100 72.000 72.000

The Authority is asked to approve the following limits for its total external debt, gross of any investments. These limits separately identify borrowing from other long term liabilities such as finance leases.

2013/2014 £m

2014/15 £m

2015/16 £m

2016/17 £m

Authorised limit for external debt 75 65 78 81

Operational boundary for external debt 70 60 72 76

3.5 Affordability Prudential Indicators

The previous sections cover the overall capital and control of borrowing Prudential Indicators but within this framework Prudential Indicators are required to assess the affordability of the capital investment plans. The following two indicators provide an indication of the capital investment plans on the overall finances of the Authority:

3.5.1 Ratio of financing costs to net revenue stream

This indicator identifies the trend in the cost of capital (borrowing costs net of investment income) against the net revenue stream (amounts met from Revenue Support Grant, local taxpayers and balances):

Actual Rev Est Estimate Estimate Estimate

2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Ratio of financing costs to net revenue stream

7.45

7.84

8.10

9.20

10.29

3.5.2 Effect on the Precept

This indicator estimates the incremental impact of capital investment decisions proposed in the budget report, over and above capital investment decisions that have been previously taken by the Authority:

Proposed Budget Forward Projections

2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Increase in expenditure (£000s) 77 712 1728

Increase in Precept (Band D) 0.13 1.18 2.84

The increase in the precept is a result of a forecast increase in the cost of borrowing over the next 3 years.

4 Revenue Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan Attached to the report (Appendix C) is a Draft Revenue Budget for 2014/2015 and a Medium Term Financial Plan covering the period to 2018/2019 to match the five year Capital Plan and IRMP implementation plan. Whilst the Authority will only be required to approve the precept for 2014/2015 it is important that the Authority consider the medium term impact of the decision.

This section is split into 3 key areas:-

1. review of the current year’s budget and financial performance;2. the cost of a standstill budget for 2014/2015;3. revenue balances.

4.1 Review of 2013/2014

4.1.1 National Context

Economic Outlook

As the year progressed there were the early signs of growth in economic activity in the UK leading to a more optimistic forecast for future economic activity.

Local Government Finance

2013/2014 saw the implementation of major changes in the way local authorities including fire authorities were funded, particularly in the areas of business rates and council tax benefit.

In the area of business rates, a system of business rate retention was introduced which enabled Billing Authorities to benefit from any additional income generated through economic growth. On the flip side they would also have to stand any loss of income should the local economy contract.

In terms of council tax benefit, the government required Billing Authorities to introduce a system of council tax discounts to replace the old nationally funded system of council tax benefits. At the same time the councils were expected to deliver an overall reduction in the cost of the scheme of 10% whilst at the same time protecting the most vulnerable residents.

Both of these changes presented significant challenges both in terms of forecasting future economic growth and collection rates for council tax payment; they also have a direct impact on the funding of the Fire Authority.

4.1.2 Impact on West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority

In overall funding terms the Authority once again saw a significant reduction in government funding with a cut in formula funding grant of £4.1m. The Authority did receive additional funding of £5.7m in the form of benefit localisation grant but this was to compensate for the equivalent loss of precept income through localisation of council tax benefits as mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Once again the Secretary of State encouraged authorities to freeze their precept by offering a grant equivalent to a 1% precept increase and set a general limit of 2% increase

above which authorities would be required to hold a referendum. However, there was a specific dispensation for the 8 lowest precepting fire and rescue authorities who were allowed to increase their precept by up to £5 at band d without the need for a referendum. This included West Yorkshire which had the second lowest precept at £52.41 at band d.

The Authority considered its revenue budget and precept strategy on 21 February 2013 which identified that savings of £5.5m from the standstill budget would be required if the Authority was to freeze its precept for a third year.

Savings of £4.3m had already identified through continued non recruitment coupled with the fundamental review of support staff, leaving a budget shortfall of £1.2m. However, the medium term financial forecast identified a long term budget deficit of between £10m and £14m by the end of the next spending review period. The Authority took account of the underlying long term budget deficit and approved a precept increase of 9.52% (£4.99 at band d) which also provided an additional, £0.98m, revenue balances.

In terms of overall financial performance it was reported early in the financial year that the budget would be underspent principally as a result of savings in firefighter salaries and capital financing charges. The latest forecast indicates an under spending of around £2.7m although the costs of the current industrial dispute may impact on this.

4.2 A Standstill Budget – Maintaining the current level of service

A standstill budget has been prepared for 2014/2015, for the purpose of providing a baseline from which to measure changes in the proposed budget. This is calculated by updating the 2013/2014 budget for increases in pay and prices, new financing charges and other adjustments. A standstill budget for 2014/2015 would amount to £88.676m. The changes from the 2013/2014 budget are explained in the table below.

£m 2013/2014 approved budget £86.719 Pay increases £0.712 Price increases £0.625 Pension costs £0.159 Capital financing charges £0.094 Insurance premiums £0.163 Other changes £0.104 Reduction in income £0.100 2014/2015 standstill budget £88.676

4.3 Revenue Balances

4.3.1 Based on current expenditure patterns and the balances at the beginning of the financial year, it is forecast that the Authority will have general balances of around £14m at the beginning of 2014/2015 financial year.

4.3.2 Minimum Revenue Balances

The Authority needs to maintain a level of General Fund Balances as a safety net to meet any unforeseen and unplanned expenditure. This would include changes in interest rates, greater than budgeted pay awards, legal challenges and increases in activity.

The minimum level of balances required is calculated using the Authority’s corporate risk register. This document identifies all the major risks to business continuity that the Authority may face, evaluates the potential cost and looks at measures to control or limit the risk. The risk register is maintained by the Risk Management Group, which is chaired by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer and reports annually to the Audit Committee. The current risk matrix was approved by the Audit Committee in September 2013.

The current register identifies a requirement to maintain a minimum revenue balance of £2.5m.

4.3.3 Additional Pension Liability

In addition, following resolution of a claim under the Part-Time Workers (prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) regulations, all existing and a significant number of former retained firefighters are now entitled to join the 2006 Firefighters Pension Scheme and back date their contributions to the date they commenced employment. The total cost of this liability will be in the region of £2.5m. Whilst this remains a national issue and there will be pressure on central government to pick up these costs, this currently remains a significant liability for the Authority. It is therefore proposed to set aside a further £2.5m into a pension reserve until the funding of this is resolved.

The impact of this is to increase the minimum revenue balance to £5.0m leaving useable balances of £9.0m.

4.3.4 Strategy for Use of Balances

The use of revenue balances to fund on-going expenditure is not sustainable and the strategy for the use of balances must reflect this.

As explained in Section 5 of the report, the government announced a 2 year Revenue Support Grant Settlement and have already indicated that further significant cuts will be required in the next spending review period. It is therefore important that the Authority reserves significant balances to meet these continuing financial pressures.

Management are recommending that the budget deficit be met through sustainable savings in 2014/2015 without the use of revenue balances. These balances should be retained to be used towards the end of the next spending review period when the forecast budget deficit exceeds the savings achievable through non recruitment. The use of balances should provide the Authority with flexibility to avoid damaging one off cuts.

5 Local Government Finance Settlement 5.1 Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2014/2015 and

2015/2016

Provisional Settlement

5.1.1 A consultation paper on the Local Government Finance Settlement was published on 18 December 2013, including the provisional grant allocations for 2014/2015 and indicative grant figures for 2015/2016. Details of the final settlement were received on 5 February 2014 and these have been updated to include the data on the Local Element of business rates received from the district councils. As in previous years there were no major changes in the final settlement with a small increase of £6,453 in revenue support grant.

The table shows a comparison of the actual settlement for 2013/2014 with the provisional and final settlement for 2014/2015 and the draft settlement for 2015/2016.

In addition to the normal sources of income of Revenue Support Grant and NNDR (Business rates), the Authority will also receive some additional Section 31 grants which have not been received in previous years. Based on the information received, the Authority will receive total funding of £50.632m in 2014/2015. An explanation of each of the elements is provided below.

5.2 Revenue Support Grant

5.2.1 This funding comes directly from central government and is funded by the Treasury. It is calculated by taking the total Settlement Funding that the Authority has been allocated using the Fire Formula and deducting the forecast business rate income. It is Revenue Support Grant that is adjusted to reflect the cuts in government spending, announced by the Secretary of State, hence the figure will reduce from £32.48m in 2013/2014 to £27.962m in 2014/2015, a reduction of 13.9%. In terms of overall funding, once the growth in business rate income is included the overall loss of funding is 6.5%.

Description 2013/2014 2014/2015 2014/2015 2015/2016Final Settlement

Settlement Provisional Adjusted for ProvisionalActual Business

Jan-13 Rates

Revenue support grant £32,481,227 £27,956,369 £27,962,822 £23,085,682NNDR (Business rates)Top up grant central pool £13,995,136 £14,267,768 £14,267,768 £14,661,571Top up grant local £7,707,488 £7,762,056 £7,794,169 £7,976,294Base line funding £21,702,624 £22,029,824 £22,061,937 £22,637,865Local government finance settlement £54,183,851 £49,986,193 £50,024,759 £45,723,547Section 31 GrantsSmall business multiplier £234,000 £234,000Other national business rate relief £373,395 £234,000Total funding £54,183,851 £50,220,193 £50,632,154 £45,957,547

Overall loss of income -£3,963,658 -£3,551,697 -£8,226,304

5.3 NNDR Business Rates

5.3.1 The second source of funding is Business Rates which are collected by the district councils. The estimated amount of business rate received is the baseline funding which is calculated by the government and broken down in to 2 elements, Top up Grant (which is paid by central government) and Local Element which is paid directly by the district councils.

Top Up Grant

5.3.2 When the new system of Local Government funding was introduced it was acknowledged that there would not be an even distribution of business rate income throughout the country. In order to address this, the government introduced a system of redistribution whereby billing Authorities retain 50% of their business rate income and pay the other 50% to central government. The amount paid to central government is then allocated based on need in the form of top up grant.

5.3.3 All fire authorities receive this top up grant which is calculated by taking the total amount of baseline funding and then deducting the forecast amount of the Local Element.

5.3.4 The top up grant for this Authority is £14.268m, an increase of £0.273 over the 2013/2014 figure to reflect the inflationary increase in business rates.

Local Element

5.3.5 As mentioned in the previous paragraph, billing authorities retain 50% of Business Rate income. This income will vary reflecting the economic activity in the area. During a period of business growth within a local authority area, business rate income will increase and conversely if there is a reduction in the number of businesses there will be a reduction in business rate income. The change was introduced as a means of rewarding to authorities that encourage economic growth.

5.3.6 The Fire Authority receives 1% of the income retained by the district councils and therefore will also see variations year on year in business rate income. When the government issued the final settlement it estimated that the local element of business rates would be £7.762m which included inflationary increase of £0.150m. However, the actual amount will be £7.794m a further increase of £33k.

5.3.7 The district councils have received a number of appeals on business rates which if successful would result in losses in business rate income and are setting aside reserves to meet these potential losses. As this will have a direct impact on the Fire Authority it would be prudent for the Authority also establish a similar reserve.

5.4 Section 31 Grants

5.4.1 Whilst not forming part of the Local Government Finance Settlement it is apparent that the Authority will also receive some additional government funding in the form of Section 31 grants.

5.4.2 As part of its economic strategy the government is offering incentives to small businesses in the form of business rate relief. These include capping the inflationary increase at 2%, some empty property relief, and retail relief. The impact of these initiatives is to reduce the business rate income of the billing authorities and consequently the amount passed on to the Fire Authority. Therefore, as this is a national initiative, it is expected that the government will be providing compensation for this loss in the form of Section 31 grant.

5.4.3 The spending power of this Authority, published by the government along with the final settlement, identifies a S31 grant of £0.234m which is to compensate for the cap on the inflationary increase mentioned in the previous paragraph. However, based on the information provided by the five district councils, the actual loss and therefore entitlement grant is £0.607m. It is unlikely that confirmation will be received until late in the financial year. It is therefore proposed that an amount equal to the additional grant of £0.373m be set aside to meet any future losses in business rates as detailed in paragraph 5.3.7.

5.5 Summary

5.5.1 As shown in the table in paragraph 5.1.1 the amount of income received through the Local Government Finance settlement is £50.632m a reduction of £3.552m over 2013/2014.

Expenditure Capping

5.5.2 As in the previous three years the government has set a maximum precept increase limit for capping purposes. If authorities wish to exceed this limit they are required to hold a referendum of all council tax payers and are bound by the results.

5.5.3 The secretary of state announced to parliament on 5 February that this would be set at 2% with no additional dispensation for fire and rescue authorities.

Precept Freeze Grant

5.5.4 The government has in the last three years offered authorities that freeze their precept (council tax), a one off grant in lieu of a precept increase (the exception being 2010/2011 when the grant was guaranteed to the end of the current spending review period).

5.5.5 As part of the 2014/2015 settlement, the Secretary of State announced that 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 freeze grant will be included within baseline funding which means in future they will be included in the base. This change will have no impact on this Authority’s 2014/2015 grant settlement as the Authority increased its precept in 2013/2014. It will however benefit the Authority in 2015/2016 should the Authority choose to freeze the precept in 2014/2015. The indicative level of freeze grant for 2014/2015 is £0.403m which is equivalent to a 1% precept increase adjusted for the impact of the Localisation of Council Tax Benefit.

6 Precept Income 6.1 As Members are aware, the Authority is also dependent upon precept income from the

five districts which provided just over £33.7m in 2013/2014. This income is dependent upon two factors:

• The precept set by the Authority• The tax base tax base set by the five district councils

The Authority has received details of the tax bases from each of the five districts these are summarised in the table below.

6.2 Overall this growth in the tax base has increased by 1.51% which will deliver precept income of £34.220m and increase of £0.51m. This has the same impact on income as in increase in the precept.

Collection Fund

6.3 The five West Yorkshire district councils have notified the Authority of their respective balances on the collection fund for 2014/2015 which shows a surplus of £316,616. This income will be used to support the 2014/2015 approved revenue budget.

7 Positive Assurance Statement 7.1 Under Section 25 of the Local Government Act (2003) the statutory Chief Financial Officer

is required to give positive assurance statements in the robustness of budget estimates and the adequacy of reserves and balances.

7.2 If Members approve the recommendations in this report on the level of specific reserves and the strategy for use of balances, I can give the Authority positive assurance on the adequacy of reserves and balances. This assurance is given having considered the following matters:-

a) This Authority has robust risk management arrangements and the Chief FinanceOfficer uses a Risk Management Matrix to calculate the minimum level of balances.

b) The Authority is single purpose and does not face a full a range of risks to manageas a multi-purpose authority.

c) The Authority's revenue reserves have not generally been consumed during theyear by overspendings but have been maintained throughout the year.

7.3 I can also give you positive assurance on the accuracy and robustness of all the forecasts and estimates in the budget proposals.

In giving these assurances I have considered the following matters:-

a) The internal control environment and, in particular, the checks and balances withinour budget process and our arrangements for budgetary control. In addition, I amsatisfied that the Authority’s financial systems provide a sound basis for accuratefinancial information.

Tax base 2013/2014 2014/2015 Revised IncreasePrecept income

Bradford 123,787.00 127,170.00 7,299,562 2.73%Calderdale 56,746.19 57,863.92 3,321,391 1.97%Kirklees 108,922.00 109,905.00 6,308,551 0.90%Leeds 208,529.00 211,767.00 12,155,432 1.55%Wakefield 89,296.00 89,465.00 5,135,294 0.19%

587,280.19 596,170.92 34,220,230 1.51%

b) The detailed work on risk assessments.

c) The long-term tradition and track record of the Authority in managing its overall budget.

8 Medium Term Financial Planning 8.1 As mentioned in the introduction to the report, the Authority will be asked to approve a five

year Medium Term Financial Plan, including the Revenue Budget for 2014/2015, to align with the Capital Plan and the implementation of the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). This is particularly important as the decisions taken on the IRMP are directly linked to the medium term financial plan.

8.2 The Medium Term Financial Plan will address the key issues of grant cuts, precept strategy, service delivery and use of balances. In order to provide a five year forecast it is necessary to make a number of assumptions.

8.3 Assumptions included within the MTFP

Future Grant Cuts

8.4 The Authority has already received an indicative grant settlement for 2015/2016 showing a further reduction in grant of £4.295m which is equivalent to a reduction of just over 8%. The Chancellor has also made it clear that public spending will continue to reduce at a similar rate through the next spending review period if the government is to achieve its spending plans. For the purpose of the MTFP it has been assumed that grant will be lost evenly across the spending review period at 6.5% per year.

Precept Income

8.5 The government have made clear their intention to continue to limit council tax increases. The MTFP assumes a council tax freeze for the next four years and the assumption that council tax freeze grant of 1% is available. In addition, it has been assumed that the tax base will continue to grow at a rate of 1% per year.

Pay and Price increases

8.6 It has been assumed that pay and prices will continue to rise at 2% per annum which is the government’s target for inflation. It has also been necessary to include the impact of changes to National Insurance contributions which will be implemented with effect from April 2016.

Impact of the Medium Term Financial Plan

8.7 The impact of these changes shows expenditure rising from £86.7m in 2013/2014 to £99.066m in 2018/2019 whilst forecast income reduces from £86.719m in 2013/2014 to £76.037m in 2018/2019. If the Authority took no further action this would leave a budget deficit in the region of £23m by 2018/2019. However, savings already approved including the implementation of the IRMP and fundamental review, will deliver savings of around £15m leaving a projected shortfall in the region of £10m by 2018/2019. Despite the availability of balances to assist the Authority in managing the deficit it still presents a significant challenge.

Proposed Revenue Budget 2014/2015

8.8 The table below compares the standstill budget for 2014/2015 with the available funding before consideration of the precept identifying a budget deficit of £3.512m

8.9 In addition to the shortfall there are two issues which management wish address as part of the revenue budget.

8.9.1 Establishment of reserve to cover future losses on business rate income, as set out in paragraph 5.3.7, of £0.373m.

8.9.2 The management of operational staffing through use of the Operational Resource Pool, effective sickness absence interventions and the focus upon matching the headcount to establishment has reduced the requirement on the operational overtime budget as demonstrated in the under spending in 2013/2014. This is alongside a reduction in the need for overtime attributable to operational incidents as the number of incidents continues to fall. This has enabled the overtime budget to be reduced by £0.5m as shown in the table at paragraph 8.11.

Better and more effective return will be derived through an ability to deploy more fire prevention and protection resources within the areas of high risk and high demand. It is proposed that £0.250m be made available to generate greater capacity in this important area. This will also provide the resources to develop a significant risk reduction campaign for consideration by the Authority during 2014/2015.

The inclusion of these additional commitments will increase the budget deficit to £4.14m.

Precept Strategy

8.10 As explained earlier in the report, if the Authority freezes its precept it will receive a freeze grant of £0.403m which will be built into the base line funding of the Authority. One of the justifications for increasing the precept in 2013/2014 was that the additional precept income was included in future baseline income which is now the case with the precept freeze grant.

It is therefore proposed that the Authority freeze its precept for 2014/2015 and take advantage of the council tax freeze grant.

£m £mStandstill budget £88.676Local government finance settlement -£50.025Additional section 31 grants -£0.607Collection fund surplus -£0.312Standstill precept -£34.220 -£85.164

Budget shortfall £3.512

Sustainable savings

8.11 Taking account of the budget deficit set out above and the precept freeze grant, the Authority will have to identify savings of £3.732m to balance the 2014/2015 budget. The following savings have been identified to meet the budget deficit.

8.12 All these savings are sustainable which means they will not have to be replaced by other savings in future years; the savings in transport and supplies being identified through under spending in 2013/2014. An explanation of each of the savings is provided below

Non recruitment of whole time firefighters -£2.4m

This is made up of the full year effect of those firefighters who retire during 2013/2014 plus the part year effect of those eligible to retire in 2014/2015. The saving includes an estimate of the number of ill health retirements plus the impact of career breaks and secondments. The implementation of the IRMP initiatives is directly linked to the retirement profile with changes to establishment approved by the Human Resources Committee.

Reduction in Fire fighter Overtime -£0.5m

As explained in paragraph 8.9.2, demand for overtime has reduced significantly resulting in an under spending of £0.5m in 2013/2014.

Full year effect of the fundamental review -£0.52m

As part of the 2013/2014 budget, savings of £1.8m were delivered through the fundamental review of support staff which resulted in a reduction in the establishment of over 90 posts. As part of the implementation process a number of staff received salary protection which expires at 31 March 2014. This, coupled with a number of further reductions in the staff, will deliver further savings of £0.52m.

Savings in Transport and Supplies budgets -£0.312m

The revenue expenditure forecast has identified some significant under spending in the purchase and repair of equipment principally as a result of the capital purchase of new equipment. These savings follow a trend of expenditure reductions over recent years and consequently are sustainable.

Savings identifiedNon recruitment of wholetime firefighter -£2.400Reduction in firefighter overtime budget -£0.500Full year impact of the fundamental review of support staff -£0.520Savings in transport and supplies -£0.312

-£3.732

9 Restrictions on Voting 9.1 Members are reminded of the provisions of Section 106 of the Local Government Finance

Act 1992 which also applies to Members of a Metropolitan Joint Authority, namely that if they are liable to payment of Council Tax and an amount payable by them has remained unpaid for 2 months or more and, if they attend the Precept setting / Budget meeting, then they must disclose the fact that Section 106 applies to them and, whilst they can remain in the meeting and speak on the issues arising, they must not actually vote on the Precept/Budget setting calculation, recommendation, or decision. Breach of this restriction may give rise to a criminal offence on the part of the Member concerned.

10 Proposed Revenue Budget 10.1 Recommendations

Medium Term Financial Strategy 2014/2015 – 2018/2019 (incorporating revenue budget and capital plan)

Members to consider the joint report of the Chief Fire Office/Chief Executive, the Chief Finance Officer and, the Director of Corporate Resources, which presents an overview of the financial position for the current year together with the draft revenue budget and capital plan for 2014/2015 and five year financial strategy.

The report also seeks approval for the level of Prudential Indicators.

The detail of the report advises Members of:

(a) The content of the five year capital plan (£43.24m) with a forecast spend by the end of 2014/2015 of £17.578m (as set out in Appendix A);

(b) Capital Financing Requirement of £62.8m in 2014/2015;

(c) The Authorised Limit for external debt of £65m and an Operational Boundary of £60m;

(d) Capital finance charges of 8.1% of the revenue budget;

(e) Forecast revenue balances of £14m by 31 March 2014 with a minimum balance to be maintained at £5.0m;

(f) A collection fund surplus of £311,616.49;

(g) Details of the two year revenue support grant settlement;

(h) Positive assurance from the Chief Finance Officer under section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 of the adequacy of balances and the robustness of the budget estimates.

10.2 The table below summarises the proposed revenue budget for 2014/2015 with a detailed breakdown provided in Appendix C.

Calculation of aggregate amounts under Section 42a(2) and (3) of the Local Government Act 1992 (Ammended in the Localism Act 2011)

REVENUE BUDGET £m £mStandstill budget £88.676Add service developments £0.250Less savingsNon recruitment of wholetime firefighter -£2.400Reduction in firefighter overtime budget -£0.500Full year impact of the fundamental review of support staff -£0.520Savings in transport and supplies budgets -£0.312 -£3.732Part A Expenditure to be charged to revenue account £85.194Part A Contribution to reserves £0.373Part A Budget Requirment £85.567DeductRevenue support grant £27.962Top up grant central pool £14.268Top up grant local element £7.795 £22.063Section 31 grant £0.607Precept freeze grant £0.403Collection fund surplus £0.312Part B Income that will accrue £51.347Council tax requirement £34.220Basic amount of council tax at band D £57.40

11 Resolution 11.1 That, having considered the Prudential Indicators relating to the revenue costs of funding

capital investments, Members approved the proposed five year Capital Investment Plan set out in Appendix A of the report.

11.2 That Members give approval to the Prudential Indicators in respect of:

a) the Capital Financing Requirement as set out in the table at paragraph 3.2

b) the level of External Debt also set out in the table at paragraph 3.2

c) the Authorised Limit for external debt as set out in paragraph 3.4.1

d) the Operational Boundary for external debt also set out in paragraph 3.4.1.

11.3 Having considered the recommendations of the Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive and the Chief Finance Officer on service delivery and related budget requirements and, having taken account of the views of the consultees and, acting in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) (“the Act”) and, having approved a capital expenditure programme for the financial year 2014/15 of £17.578m and, having calculated its basic amount of council tax for the year by dividing its council tax requirement by its council tax bases, which the Authority notes have been determined by the District Councils, are as follows for financial year 2014/2015.

11.4 The Authority calculates its council tax requirements under Sections 40 to 47 of the Act for Financial Year 2014/2015 as the aggregate of the following:

11.4.1 The Authority calculates the aggregate of (A)

• £85,194,000 being the expenditure the Authority estimates it will incur in the year in performing its functions and will charge to the revenue account for the year in accordance with proper practices.

• £0.000m being the allowance as the Authority estimates will be appropriate for contingencies in relation to amounts to be charged or credited to the revenue account for the year in accordance with proper practice.

• £373,000 as the financial reserves which the Authority estimates it will be appropriate to raise in year for meeting estimated future expenditure.

• £0.000m financial reserves as are sufficient to meet so much of the amount estimated by the Authority to be a revenue account deficit for any earlier financial year as has not been provided for.

11.4.2 The Authority calculates the aggregate of (B)

• £51,346,770 The income which it estimates that will accrue to it in the year and which it will credit to a revenue account for the year in accordance with proper practices, other than income which it estimates will accrue to it in respect of any precept issued by it to be.

• £0.000m The amount of financial reserves which the Authority estimates that it will use in order to provide for the items mentioned.

11.4.3 Council Tax requirement

• £34,220,230 The aggregate calculated under subsection 42a(2) (aggregate of A) of the Act exceeds the amount calculated under subsection 42a(3) (aggregate of B) which is calculated to be the council tax requirement for the year.

11.4.4 Basic amount of council tax

• £57.40 The Authority calculates its basic amount of council tax by dividing the council tax requirement by the council tax base. The council tax requirement is £34,220,230 and the council tax base is £596,170.92, which is equal to £57.40 at band d. This calculation meets the requirement under S42B of the Act.

11.5 The Authority calculates the Council Tax sums pursuant to Section 47 of the Act as follows:

Band A 38.27 Band B 44.64 Band C 51.02 Band D 57.40 Band E 70.16 Band F 82.91 Band G 95.67 Band H 114.80

11.6 The Authority calculates the resultant precept amounts payable by each constituent

District Council pursuant to Section 48 of the Act as follows:

11.7 Resolved the precept for each constituent District Council, as calculated and set out above, be issued to them pursuant to Section 40 of the Act.

Bradford £7,299,562Calderdale £3,321,391Kirklees £6,308,551Leeds £12,155,432Wakefield £5,135,294

£34,220,230

DRAFT CAPITAL PLAN 2014/2015 TO 2018/2019 Appendix A

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19ESTIMATED

TOTAL CAPITAL COST

Oakroyd Hall £0 £20,000 £200,000 £10,000 £0 £230,000FSHQ £450,000 £10,000 £0 £0 £0 £460,000

PROPERTY Training centre £0 £20,000 £100,000 £200,000 £0 £320,000Strategic refurbishment £230,000 £350,000 £85,000 £0 £0 £665,000Specific refurbishment £310,000 £310,000 £310,000 £0 £0 £930,000

SUB TOTAL £990,000 £710,000 £695,000 £210,000 £0 £2,605,000INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYComputer Hardware £90,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £90,000

IT Software Licences £220,000 £220,000 £0 £0 £0 £440,000Servers and Storage £80,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £80,000New Data Network £50,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £50,000COMMUNICATIONSAppliance CCTV £46,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £46,000Retained Station Pager Replacement - Option A £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0Retained Station Pager Replacement - Option B £150,000 £50,000 £50,000 £50,000 £50,000 £350,000Fire Station Transmitting Infrastructure £36,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £36,000

SUB TOTAL £672,000 £270,000 £50,000 £50,000 £50,000 £1,092,000TRANSPORT INCLUDING IRMPVehicle Replacements (excluding IRMP) £1,278,000 £1,278,000 £1,278,000 £1,278,000 £1,278,000 £6,390,000Vehicle Replacements - CARP £140,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £140,000

TRANSPORT POD Refurbishments £40,000 £40,000 £40,000 £40,000 £40,000 £200,000Ladders £50,000 £30,000 £20,000 £20,000 £20,000 £140,000

SUB TOTAL £1,508,000 £1,348,000 £1,338,000 £1,338,000 £1,338,000 £6,870,000SERVICE SUPPORT DIRECTORATE TOTAL £3,170,000 £2,328,000 £2,083,000 £1,598,000 £1,388,000 £10,567,000

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19ESTIMATED

TOTAL CAPITAL COST

IRMPIRMP IRMP Phase 1 £8,670,000 £4,130,000 £680,000 £0 £0 £13,480,000

IRMP Phase 2 £2,400,000 £6,720,000 £1,980,000 £0 £0 £11,100,000Rothwell £1,350,000 £150,000 £0 £0 £0 £1,500,000Morley Close call £100,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £100,000

SUB TOTAL £12,520,000 £11,000,000 £2,660,000 £0 £0 £26,180,000

FIRE SAFETYSmoke Alarms £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £3,500,000Premises Risk Database £12,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £12,000Mobile IT Devices £63,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £63,000Portable Sprinklers £10,500 £0 £0 £0 £0 £10,500

SUB TOTAL £785,500 £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £700,000 £3,585,500OPERATIONSLay Flat Hose 89mm £13,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £13,000Lay Flat Hose 45mm and 64mm £22,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £22,000Line Rescue Equipment £15,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £15,000Thermal Image Cameras £30,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £30,000Water Rescue Equipment £15,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £15,000

OPERATIONS Automatic Defibrillators £83,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £83,000Gas Tight Suits £36,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £36,000Impact Driver £19,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £19,000LED Peli Handlamps £20,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £20,000Hydrants £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £2,250,000NCP Contingency £400,000 £0 £0 £0 £0 £400,000

£1,103,000 £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £450,000 £2,903,000DIRECTORATE TOTAL £14,408,500 £12,150,000 £3,810,000 £1,150,000 £1,150,000 £32,668,500

GRAND TOTAL £17,578,500 £14,478,000 £5,893,000 £2,748,000 £2,538,000 £43,235,500

FIRE SAFETY

MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN Appendix B

10/02/2014 17:48 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019Standstill Growth Standstill Growth Standstill Growth Standstill Growth Stanstill Growth Stanstill

REVENUE BUDGET £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m

Firefighters £59.314 £59.888 £1.198 £61.086 £1.222 £62.307 £1.246 £63.554 £1.271 £64.825Support staff £7.779 £7.850 £0.157 £8.007 £0.160 £8.167 £0.163 £8.331 £0.167 £8.497Pensions £1.970 £2.129 £0.043 £2.172 £0.043 £2.215 £0.044 £2.259 £0.045 £2.305Other employees £0.803 £0.963 £0.019 £0.982 £0.020 £1.001 £0.020 £1.021 £0.020 £1.042Premises £3.158 £3.260 £0.065 £3.326 £0.067 £3.392 £0.068 £3.460 £0.069 £3.529Transport £2.757 £2.758 £0.055 £2.814 £0.056 £2.870 £0.057 £2.927 £0.059 £2.986Supplies and services £5.114 £5.215 £0.104 £5.319 £0.106 £5.425 £0.109 £5.534 £0.111 £5.644Lead authority charges £0.288 £0.288 £0.006 £0.293 £0.006 £0.299 £0.006 £0.305 £0.006 £0.311Capital financing £6.821 £6.916 £0.500 £7.416 £0.500 £7.916 £0.500 £8.416 £0.500 £8.916Contingency £1.392 £1.989 £1.989 £1.600 £3.589 £3.589 £3.589Gross expenditure £89.396 £0.000 £91.255 £2.147 £93.402 £3.780 £97.182 £2.214 £99.396 £2.248 £101.644Less income -£2.677 -£2.578 -£2.578 -£2.578 -£2.578 -£2.578Standstill budget £86.719 £1.959 £88.678 £2.147 £90.825 £3.780 £94.605 £2.214 £96.818 £2.248 £99.066FUNDINGBusiness rates £21.702 £0.361 £22.063 £0.441 £22.504 £0.450 £22.954 £0.459 £23.413 £0.468 £23.882Revenue support grant £32.481 £27.962 -£4.877 £23.085 -£3.02 £20.069 -£2.80 £17.273 -£2.75 £14.523Precept freeze grant £0.403 £0.405 £0.808 £0.405 £1.213 £0.405 £1.618 £0.405 £2.023TOTAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING £54.183 -£3.755 £50.428 -£4.031 £46.397 -£2.161 £43.024 -£1.932 £42.304 -£1.876 £40.428Precept £33.710 £33.710 £34.220 £34.562 £34.908 £35.257Growth in tax base 1.51% £0.510 £0.342 £0.346 £0.349 £0.353TOTAL PRECEPT INCOME £33.710 £34.220 £34.562 £34.908 £35.257 £35.609Revenue balances -£0.970Additional section 31 grant £0.607Loss \ surplus on collection fund -£0.204 £0.312TOTAL FUNDING £86.719 £85.567 £80.959 £77.931 £77.561 £76.037

Budget shortfall £0.000 -£3.111 -£9.865 -£16.673 -£19.257 -£23.029

Appendix C

WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AUTHORITYREVENUE BUDGET AND MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN 2013/2014 - 2018/2019

AUTHORITY SUMMARY2013/2014 2014/2015 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019Revenue Standstill Revenue Revenue Revenue Revenue RevenueBudget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000£61,897 Service delivery £62,701 £59,810 £59,901 £59,901 £59,901 £59,901£19,424 Service Support £19,786 £19,388 £19,388 £19,388 £19,388 £19,388£4,005 Legal Finance and Administration £4,200 £4,007 £4,007 £4,007 £4,007 £4,007£1,393 Contingency for pay and prices £1,989 £1,989 £4,045 £7,824 £10,038 £12,286

£86,719 NET EXPENDITURE £88,676 £85,194 £87,341 £91,120 £93,334 £95,582

£32,481 Revenue support grant £27,962 £23,085 £20,069 £17,273 £14,523£13,995 Top up grant £14,875 £22,504 £22,954 £23,413 £23,882£7,707 Business rates income £7,795

Freeze grant £403 £808 £1,213 £1,618 £2,023-£204 Loss on collection fund £312-£970 Revenue balances -£373

£33,710 Precept on council tax £34,220 £34,562 £34,908 £35,257 £35,609

£86,719 TOTAL FUNDING £85,194 £80,959 £79,144 £77,561 £76,037

Savings required £0 £6,382 £11,976 £15,773 £19,545

£57.40 Precept at band d £57.40£4.99 Increase £0.00

WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AUTHORITYREVENUE BUDGET AND MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN 2013/2014 - 2018/2019

AUTHORITY SUMMARY

2013/2014 2014/2015 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019Revenue Standstill Revenue Revenue Revenue Revenue RevenueBudget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget

£59,316 Uniformed staff £59,872 £56,973 £56,977 £56,973 £56,973 £56,973£1,970 Firefighters pensions £2,129 £2,129 £2,129 £2,129 £2,129 £2,129£7,775 Support staff £7,864 £7,331 £7,422 £7,422 £7,422 £7,422

£505 Training expenses £505 £505 £505 £505 £505 £505£299 Other employee expenses £458 £458 £458 £458 £458 £458

£3,158 Premises costs £3,260 £3,260 £3,260 £3,260 £3,260 £3,260£2,758 Transport costs £2,759 £2,565 £2,565 £2,565 £2,565 £2,565£5,114 Supplies and services £5,215 £5,359 £5,359 £5,359 £5,359 £5,359

£287 Lead authority charges £287 £287 £287 £287 £287 £287£6,821 Capital charges £6,915 £6,915 £6,915 £6,915 £6,915 £6,915£1,393 Contingency for pay and prices £1,989 £1,989 £4,045 £7,824 £10,038 £12,286

Savings to be identified£89,396 GROSS EXPENDITURE £91,253 £87,771 £89,922 £93,697 £95,911 £98,159

INCOME

£1,481 Government grants £1,481 £1,481 £1,481 £1,481 £1,481 £1,481£1,196 Other income £1,096 £1,096 £1,096 £1,096 £1,096 £1,096

£2,677 TOTAL INCOME £2,577 £2,577 £2,577 £2,577 £2,577 £2,577

£86,719 NET EXPENDITURE £88,676 £85,194 £87,345 £91,120 £93,334 £95,582

WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AUTHORITYMEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN 2013/2014 - 2018/2019

SERVICE DELIVERY


£53,510 Uniformed staff £54,012 £51,138 £51,138 £51,138 £51,138 £51,138£0 Firefighters pensions £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

£2,921 Support staff £2,951 £2,684 £2,775 £2,775 £2,775 £2,775£43 Training expenses £43 £43 £43 £43 £43 £43£0 Other employee expenses £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

£1,588 Premises costs £1,668 £1,668 £1,668 £1,668 £1,668 £1,668£666 Transport costs £666 £666 £666 £666 £666 £666

£2,607 Supplies and services £2,706 £2,956 £2,956 £2,956 £2,956 £2,956£0 Lead authority charges £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

£3,001 Capital charges £2,994 £2,994 £2,994 £2,994 £2,994 £2,994£0 Contingency for pay and prices £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

£64,336 GROSS EXPENDITURE £65,040 £62,149 £62,240 £62,240 £62,240 £62,240

INCOME

1481 Government grants £1,481 £1,481 £1,481 £1,481 £1,481 £1,481£958 Other income £858 £858 £858 £858 £858 £858

£2,439 TOTAL INCOME £2,339 £2,339 £2,339 £2,339 £2,339 £2,339

£61,897 NET EXPENDITURE £62,701 £59,810 £59,901 £59,901 £59,901 £59,901


SERVICE SUPPORT


£5,603 Uniformed staff £5,657 £5,632 £5,632 £5,632 £5,632 £5,632£1,970 Firefighters pensions £2,129 £2,129 £2,129 £2,129 £2,129 £2,129£3,705 Support staff £3,739 £3,666 £3,666 £3,666 £3,666 £3,666

£462 Training expenses £462 £462 £462 £462 £462 £462£299 Other employee expenses £458 £458 £458 £458 £458 £458

£1,570 Premises costs £1,592 £1,592 £1,592 £1,592 £1,592 £1,592£2,029 Transport costs £2,030 £1,836 £1,836 £1,836 £1,836 £1,836£1,666 Supplies and services £1,668 £1,562 £1,562 £1,562 £1,562 £1,562

£45 Lead authority charges £45 £45 £45 £45 £45 £45£2,274 Capital charges £2,205 £2,205 £2,205 £2,205 £2,205 £2,205

£0 Contingency for pay and prices £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0


INCOME

£0 Government grants £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0£199 Other income £199 £199 £199 £199 £199 £199

£199 TOTAL INCOME £199 £199 £199 £199 £199 £199

£19,424 NET EXPENDITURE £19,786 £19,388 £19,388 £19,388 £19,388 £19,388


LEGAL FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION


£203 Uniformed staff £203 £203 £203 £203 £203 £203£0 Firefighters pensions £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

£1,149 Support staff £1,174 £981 £981 £981 £981 £981£0 Training expenses £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0£0 Other employee expenses £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0£0 Premises costs £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

£63 Transport costs £63 £63 £63 £63 £63 £63£841 Supplies and services £841 £841 £841 £841 £841 £841£242 Lead authority charges £242 £242 £242 £242 £242 £242

£1,546 Capital charges £1,716 £1,716 £1,716 £1,716 £1,716 £1,716£0 Contingency for pay and prices £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0


INCOME

£0 Government grants £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0£39 Other income £39 £39 £39 £39 £39 £39

£39 TOTAL INCOME £39 £39 £39 £39 £39 £39

£4,005 NET EXPENDITURE £4,200 £4,007 £4,007 £4,007 £4,007 £4,007

Performance Management Report · 2017. 9. 7. · Summary This report provides Members with...

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Transcript of Performance Management Report · 2017. 9. 7. · Summary This report provides Members with...