LFC-0422 Statement of Assurance 2019-20
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Report title Statement of Assurance 2019 - 20 Report to Date Transformation Board 25 September 2020 Commissioner’s Board 7 October 2020 Fire and Resilience Board 20 October 2020 Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee 16 December 2020 London Fire Commissioner Report by Report number Assistant Director – Strategy and Risk LFC-0422 Protective marking: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Publication status: Published in full I agree the recommended decision below. Andy Roe London Fire Commissioner Date This decision waa remotely signed on 24 June 2021 Summary The London Fire Commissioner (LFC) is required to prepare an annual Statement of Assurance in accordance with the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England. This report presents the LFC’s statement for 2019/20. Recommended decision(s) That the statement (and accompanying information) attached to this report is approved as the LFC’s Statement of Assurance for 2019/20. 1 of 32 Background 1. The LFC is required to prepare an annual Statement of Assurance (SoA) in accordance with the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England. The LFC is required to provide annual assurance on financial, governance and operational matters. The Statement 2. The Statement of Assurance for 2019/20 is attached as Appendix 1 to this report. This also includes an annex which sets out how the Statement meets the requirements of the National Framework, with details about where the evidence can be found. 3. The focus of the Statement submitted for approval is the year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. Compliance with the National Framework 4. Section 25 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament every two years on: a. the extent to which fire and rescue authorities are acting in accordance with the National Framework (made under section 21 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004); and b. any steps taken by the Secretary for the purpose of securing that fire and rescue authorities act in accordance with the Framework. 5. The Home Office published the most recent section 25 report to Parliament in July 2020. The report (available here) concluded: “…the Secretary of State is satisfied that every fire and rescue authority in England has acted in accordance with the requirements of the National Framework, and no formal steps have been taken by the Secretary of State since the last assurance statement in 2018 to secure compliance.” 6. This Statement of Assurance provides assurance on operational, governance and financial matters as required by the National Framework. In addition it provides commentary on inspection, intervention and accountability matters. Performance data 7. Performance data has traditionally accompanied the Brigade’s Statement of Assurance. This is provided at Appendix 2 which provides a performance commentary looking back over the last five years. This includes two annexes providing borough data and ward data. 8. The borough and ward data in the annexes is also published in a CSV format on the London Datastore, alongside the regular incident and appliance data from January 2009 onwards. Report handling 9. Since this report was considered by the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee, the external auditor’s opinion on the accounts has now been published. Accordingly, a minor update has been made to the ‘Financial Assurance’ section of the Statement (paras 78 and 84) to update the links to the relevant accounts report(s). Finance comments 10. The Chief Finance Officer has reviewed this report and has no comments. 2 of 32 Workforce comments 11. The Statement includes matters which have been the subject of consultation with the Representative Bodies but no specific consultation has been undertaken on this report. Legal comments 12. Under section 9 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (the “2017 Act”)the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (“LFEPA”) was abolished and the functions of the LFEPA were (subject to the 2017 Act) transferred to the London Fire Commissioner (the "Commissioner"). 13. The Commissioner is established as a corporation sole with the Mayor appointing the occupant of that office. Under section 327D of the GLA Act 1999, as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the Mayor may issue to the Commissioner specific or general directions as to the manner in which the holder of that office is to exercise his or her functions. 14. Section 1 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 states that the Commissioner is the fire and rescue authority for Greater London. 15. When carrying out its functions, the Commissioner, as the fire and rescue authority for Greater London, is required to ‘have regard to the Fire and Rescue National Framework (the “Framework”) prepared by the Secretary of State (Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, section 21). 16. To have regard does not mean to follow slavishly, if the Commissioner wishes to depart from the framework it may, but it must show a good reason to do so. The Courts have consistently suggested that Government guidance issued under statute, as is the case here, should be given ‘great weight’ and should be considered ‘with great care, and from which it should depart only if it has cogent reasons for doing so’. The reasoning behind any decision to depart from the framework should also be ‘spelled out clearly, logically and convincingly’ (R (Munjaz) v Mersey Care NHS Trust [2006] 2 AC 148). 17. The Framework states that ‘Every authority must publish an annual statement of assurance of compliance with the Framework‘. 18. The attached statement functions as the Commissioner’s Statement of Assurance under the Framework. 19. Section 327G of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 states that: 1). This section applies to a document which is prepared and published by the London Fire Commissioner in accordance with the Fire and Rescue National Framework and which— (a) sets out the Commissioner's priorities and objectives, for the period covered by the document, in connection with the discharge of the Commissioner's functions, or (b) contains a statement of the way in which the Commissioner has had regard, in the period covered by the document, to the Framework and to any document within paragraph (a) prepared by the Commissioner for that period. 2) The Commissioner must, before publishing the document or any revision to it, send a copy of the document or revision in draft to the Mayor and the Assembly. 3) The Commissioner may not publish the document or any revision to it unless— 3 of 32 (a) the Assembly has had an opportunity to review the draft document or revision, and make a report on it to the Mayor, under section 327I(1), and (b) the Mayor has approved the draft document or revision. 20. Furthermore, by direction dated 21 March 2018, the Mayor set out those matters, for which the Commissioner would require the prior approval of either the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience (the "Deputy Mayor"). 21. Paragraph 1.1 (b) of said direction requires the Commissioner to seek the Mayor’s prior “[a] approval of the final proposed text of the draft London Safety Plan (or any revision of it) for the purposes of sending it to the Assembly under section 327G(2) of the GLA Act 1999”. Paragraph 6.1 (b) further states that, ““London Safety Plan” refers to any document which is prepared and published by the Commissioner in accordance with the Fire and Rescue National Framework and which contains the matters described in section 327G(1)(a) and/ or (b) of the GLA Act 1999.” 22. Paragraph 3.1 of the direction further requires the Commissioner to consult the Deputy Mayor, “as far as practicable in the circumstances before a decision on any of the following is taken: [a] Anything that requires the consent of the Mayor under Part 1 of this Direction.” 23. Consequently the Mayoral Direction requires the Commissioner to consult the Deputy Mayor, as far as practicably possible, in advance of seeking the Mayor’s approval to send the Statement of Assurance to the Assembly. 24. The Commissioner may not then publish the final Statement of Assurance before the Assembly has had an opportunity to review the draft document or revision, and make a report on it to the Mayor and the Mayor has approved the draft or revision. Sustainability implications 25. Sustainability forms part of the assurance gathering processes which support the production of the statement. 26. The London Fire Brigade has in place an Environmental Management System certified to ISO 14,001 that covers the management functions of the organisation and a sample of 10 fire stations. This assures the processes in place to monitor compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and continual improvement against environmental impacts. 27. Governance processes require sustainable development impact assessments of all new or amended policies and corporate projects. 28. Governance processes are in place to monitor our procurement activity for compliance with the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and that of our supply chain for their statutory responsibilities such as modern slavery. Equalities implications 29. The LFC and decision takers are required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (s149 of the Equality Act 2010) when taking decisions. This in broad terms involves understanding the potential impact of policy and decisions on different people, taking this into account and then evidencing how decisions were reached. 4 of 32 30. It is important to note that consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty is not a one-off task. The duty must be fulfilled before taking a decision, at the time of taking a decision, and after the decision has been taken.