WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY
MEETING TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2011 AT 10.30 A.M. IN THE TRAINING AND CONFERENCE SUITE, BIRKENSHAW
AGENDA
1. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
2. ADMISSION OF THE PUBLIC The Committee is asked to consider whether, by resolution, to exclude the public from the meeting during the items of business marked with an ‘E’ reference, because of the possibility of the disclosure of exempt information.
3. URGENT ITEMS To determine whether there are any additional items of business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chair believes should be considered at the meeting.
4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To consider any Declaration of Interest in relation to any item of business on the agenda.
5. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING HELD ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2011 (pp 3 - 8)
(Enclosed)
6. MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AT A MEETING HELD ON 30 SEPTEMBER 2011 (pp 9 - 11)
(Enclosed)
7. MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AT A MEETING HELD ON 31 OCTOBER 2011 (pp 12 - 14)
(Enclosed)
8. MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY SAFETY COMMITTEE AT A MEETING HELD ON 4 NOVEMBER 2011 (pp 15 - 21)
(Enclosed)
9. MINUTES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE AT A MEETING HELD ON 11 NOVEMBER 2011 (pp 22 - 24)
(Enclosed)
10. MINUTES OF THE FINANCE AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE AT A MEETING HELD ON 18 NOVEMBER 2011 (pp 25 - 28)
(Enclosed)
11. LOCAL GOVERNMENT GROUP MINUTES (pp 29 - 51)
a) Fire Commission - 14 October 2011 (p 29)
b) Safer and Stronger Communities Programme Board - 13 September 2011 (p 36)
c) Fire Services Management Committee - 16 September 2011 (p 45) - 17 November 2011
(Enclosed where available)
12. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REPORT (pp 52 - 84)
(Enclosed)
13. INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (IRMP) – CONSULTATION FEEDBACK (pp 85 - 90)
(Enclosed)
14. INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (IRMP) PROPOSALS (pp 91 - 101)
(Enclosed)
15. OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND FIRE PEER CHALLENGE (pp 102 - 105)
(Enclosed)
16. CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE REPORT (pp 106 - 143)
(Enclosed)
17. LOCALISM ACT (pp 144 - 149)
(Enclosed)
18. INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT – MEMBER ATTENDANCE (pp 150 - 154)
(Enclosed)
19. COMMUNITY COVENANT SCHEME - Presentation
ITEM NO
16 DECEMBER WYFRA FULL AUTHORITY 2011 12
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RESOURCES
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO INFORM MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY’S PERFORMANCE AGAINST KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE REPORT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: NONE
CONTACT OFFICER: ALISON DAVEY – 01274 655801 CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGER [email protected]
BACKGROUND PAPERS: N/A
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. 1. INFORMATION
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 2011/12 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 RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 That Members note the report. West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
Performance Management and Activity Report 2011/12
Period Covered: 1 April 2011 – 31 October 2011 Date Issued: 21 November 2011
Table of Contents
Contents Page No.
1. Introduction/Summary 3 2. Target Summary – Overview 4 3. Performance Indicators – Comparison with other Fire and Rescue Services 6 4. Incidents 6 Chargeable Special Service Calls – District Performance 9 5. ‘Five Pumps and Above’ Incidents (to 18 November 2011) 10 6. Safety Critical and Fire Safety Inspections 13 7. Home Fire Safety Checks 14 Smoke Alarm Ownership 15 8. Compliments and Complaints 16 9. Violence at Work 18 District Actions to Address Violence 19 10. Service Plan - Action Plan 2011-12 21
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 2011 – 31 October 2011.
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 the ranking of all Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities performance from 1 to 7 against indicators with 1 being the highest performing.
Graphical representation of the performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is available via the Performance Management Information (PMI) system, which is accessed via the Service’s intranet site.
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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 Target Performance DOT SD1 Accidental Dwelling Fires (per 10,000 dwellings) 13.86 7.31 SD2 Number of deaths arising from accidental fires in dwellings per 100,000 population 0.42 0.09 SD3 Number of Injuries arising from accidental fires in dwellings per 100,000 population 7.22 4.76 SD5 Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1000 population – not attended 0.44 0.11 SD6 Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1000 population – attended 0.59 0.18 SD7 Unwanted fire signals from automatic fire detection equipment per 1000 non-domestic properties 84.33 37.15 SD8 False alarms caused by automatic fire detection apparatus per 1000 domestic properties Not set 3.53 SD9 Fires in non-domestic premises per 1000 non-domestic premises 7.78 3.82 SD10(a) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where there was a working smoke alarm 50.0% 53.4% SD10(b) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where a smoke alarm, because it was faulty or incorrectly sited, 9.1% 7.0% did not activate SD10(c) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where a correctly sited and working smoke alarm did not activate N/A 17.4% N/A SD10(d) The percentage of fires attended in dwellings where no smoke alarm was fitted 47.6% 22.2% SD11(a) Number of Primary Fires per 100,000 population 229.69 100.69 SD11(b) Number of Fire Fatalities per 100,000 population – Accidental Dwelling Fires 0.42 0.09 SD11(c) Number of Fire Fatalities per 100,000 population – Other Fires Not set 0.04 SD11(d) Number of Fire Casualties (excluding precautionary checks) per 100,000 population 10.38 6.49 SD12(a) Arson Incidents (All Deliberate Fires) per 10,000 population 56.70 28.83 SD12(b) Arson Incidents (Deliberate Primary Fires) per 10,000 population 13.45 4.65 SD12(c) Arson Incidents (Deliberate Secondary Fires) per 10,000 population 44.67 24.18 Performance Management Report Page 4 of 31
Corporate Health Indicators Indicator Description Target Performance DOT CH4 Average number of working days / shifts lost to sickness 6.37 3.19 CH5(a) Health and Safety <3 days injuries (Lost time) 47 29 CH5(b) Health and Safety (Total injuries) Fatal Injuries 0 0 CH5(c) Health and Safety (Total injuries) Major Injuries Not set 1 CH5(d) Health and Safety (Total injuries) 3 + days Injuries 35 16 CH7 Expenditure per head of population on the provision of fire and rescue services £40.00 £38.94 N/A CH9 Forecast Budget Variance (% Variance against overall budget) (2011/12 Q1 figure) <1% 0.3% CH10 The percentage of invoices for goods and services paid by the Authority within 30 days (stand alone month) 100% 98.96% N/A CH11 Forecast Capital Payments - Actual figures £s £806,079 £1,043,155 N/A CH13 Debtors – Value of debt outstanding which is over 60 days old Not set £25,782 N/A CH14(a) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: Quality of Service Domestic >95% 100% CH14(b) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: Quality of Service Non Domestic >95% 100% CH14(c) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: Home Fire Safety Checks >95% 98.45% CH14(d) Customer Satisfaction - % Overall Satisfaction with the service provided: School Fire Safety Visits >95% 100% (2010-11 Term one result only. Terms 1-3 expected September 2011)
Other Indicators and Activity Indicator Description Target Performance DOT OI 47* People Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) in Road Traffic Accidents (2011 Calendar Year) 1054 451 OI 48* Children Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) in Road Traffic Accidents (2011 Calendar Year) 147 88 OI 12 Time taken from accepting a call from the British Telecom operator, to mobilisation of Fire and Rescue 60 64.16 N/A Service resources seconds seconds
*Data and targets for these indicators are supplied quarterly by West Yorkshire Safer Roads (Accident Studies Unit). These performance figures are for the period 1 January – 30 June 2011.
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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 second quarter of 2011/12 (1 April 11 – 30 September 11) 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.
Data is also subject to the Fire and Rescue Authorities agreeing to share this data with WYFRS.
Greater Reference Indicator Manchester London Merseyside South Yorkshire Tyne & Wear West Midlands West Yorkshire SD1 Accidental Dwelling Fires per 10,000 dwellings 9.62 8.82 9.53 5.14 5.84 8.05 6.19 Actual Number 1067 2910 575 301 277 872 568 Number of deaths arising from accidental fires in dwellings SD2 per 100,000 population 0.31 0.17 0.22 0.00 0.27 0.26 0.09 Actual Number 8 13 3 0 3 7 2 Number of injuries arising from accidental fires in No longer SD3 dwellings per 100,000 population measured 8.39 4.66 4.79 7.50 1.62 4.00 Actual Number 277 63 28 83 43 90 Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1,000 SD5 population - not attended 0.14 0.15 0.09 0.03 0.13 0.25 0.15 Actual Number 374 1196 127 39 141 658 345 Number of calls to malicious false alarms per 1,000 SD6 population - attended 0.46 0.21 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.47 0.10 Actual Number 1191 1614 82 49 19 1260 233 False alarms caused by automatic fire detection apparatus SD7 per 1,000 non domestic properties 29.76 49.72 44.90 17.39 50.80 18.74 31.71 Actual Number 2750 14015 1734 660 1594 1725 2426 False alarms caused by automatic fire detection apparatus SD8 per 1,000 domestic properties 1.52 1.95 Not reporting Not collected 2.50 1.51 2.94 Actual Number 1682 6445 1187 1638 2704 Fires in non-domestic premises per 1,000 non-domestic SD9 premises 4.71 5.56 6.16 3.53 4.97 5.00 3.29 Actual Number 435 1568 238 134 156 460 252
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Greater Reference Indicator Manchester London Merseyside South Yorkshire Tyne & Wear West Midlands West Yorkshire Percentage of fires attended in dwellings where a smoke SD10(a) alarm had activated 48.42% 50.47% 54.26% Not collected Not reported 65.86% 53.56% SD11(a) Number of primary fires per 100,000 population 117.15 85.29 121.21 94.93 90.30 97.58 86.24 Actual Number 3047 6674 1637 1261 999 2591 1940 Number of fire fatalities per 100,000 population -other SD11(c) fires 0.35 0.35 0.30 0.15 0.36 0.53 0.13 Actual Number 9 27 4 2 4 14 3 Number of fire casualties (excluding preliminary checks) SD11(d) per 100,000 population 7.77 5.57 7.11 3.24 Not reported 2.71 5.65 Actual Number 202 436 96 43 72 127
SD12(a) Arson incidents (all deliberate fires) per 10,000 population 23.59 5.17 32.86 29.62 27.79 27.30 25.48 Actual Number 6135 4045 4438 3934 3074 7250 5732 Arson incidents (deliberate primary fires) per 10,000 SD12(b) population 5.04 2.12 5.46 4.34 3.99 3.97 3.98 Actual Number 1310 1656 737 576 441 1055 896 Arson incidents (deliberate secondary fires) per 10,000 SD12(c) population 18.55 3.05 27.40 25.28 23.80 23.33 21.50 Actual Number 4825 2389 3701 3358 2633 6195 4836
Note: Where two FRSs have achieved equal Key 1st (Highest 2nd 3rd 4th placing both are shown in the same colour Performing)
5th 6th 7th
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4. Incidents The table and chart below show the operational activity of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for the financial year to date, broken down into category of incident. The table also shows a comparison for the same period in 2010 and the total number of incidents for 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. Number of Number of Incidents Incidents Total 1 April 2011 1 April 2010 to Number of to 31 October 31 October Incidents Incident Category 2011 Percentage 2010 2010/11 Primary Fires 2,265 11.3% 2,427 4,075 Secondary Fires 6,613 33.0% 6,493 8,875 Road Traffic Collisions 530 2.6% 504 870 Special Service Calls 1,303 6.5% 1,339 2,268 False Alarm - Apparatus Domestic 3,243 16.2% 3,193 5,210 False Alarm - Apparatus Non-Domestic 2,842 14.2% 3,126 5,434 False Alarm - Other (e.g. Shed or Private Garage) 17 0.1% 5 8 False Alarm - Good Intent 2,789 13.9% 2,723 4,506 False Alarm - Malicious 410 2.0% 398 595 Total 20,012 100% 20,208 31,841
Primary Fires
Secondary Fires 410 2,265 2,789 Road Traffic Collisions 17 Special Service Calls
2,842 False Alarm - Apparatus Domestic 6,613 False Alarm - Apparatus Non- Domestic False Alarm - Other (e.g. Shed 3,243 or Private Garage) 1,303 530 False Alarm - Good Intent
False Alarm - Malicious
The table below shows the number of incidents during 2000-01, and can be used as a comparison with the 2010-11 data in the table above.
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The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 sets out the categories of service for which charges can be made by FRA’s and the persons who can be charged. However, the Act limits the amount charged to the cost of providing the service and prohibits FRA’s from charging for fire-fighting or for the provision of emergency medical assistance. The sum recovered so far for 2011/12 is approximately £70,250 which is mostly comprised of charges for lift rescues (£57,409).
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 2010/11.
Total Special Service Calls by Month 350 297 2010/11 300 2011/12 216 250 208 197 200 198 205 167 174 179 195 190 200 181 177 170 162 161 144 150 150
100
50
0
Chargeable Special Service Calls – District Performance
The chart below summarises the performance of special services by each respective district for the 2011/12 financial year to date. Specific information relating to lift rescues has been included, as these incidents occur more frequently than other ‘special service’ categories.
Special Service Calls 2011/12 by District
600 530 Lift Rescues 500 Total SSCs 400 317 300 193 200 147 158 105 100 42 13 24 3 0
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5. ‘Five Pumps and Above’ Incidents (to 18 November 2011)
General Commentary
A number of additional pumping and special appliances are often mobilised to these types of incidents to undertake supporting activities. 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 / - as stated Pending Investigation 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.
New incidents added to the top of the table are shaded in white.
Pumps Date & Premises Station Number of Address Cause Plus Time Use Area Personnel Specials Not Yet Determined 04/10/11 Thornton Road, 40 16 pumps 11 Officers Derelict Mill Police 18:19 Bradford (Bradford) 6 specials 76 FFs Investigation Ongoing Not Yet Hessle Farm, Determined 30/09/11 84 16 pumps 12 Officers Hessle Lane, Barn Police 17:30 (Featherstone) 5 specials 74 FFs Hessle Investigation Ongoing
Not Known Yorkshire Martyrs, 13/09/11 Disused 47 Police 20 pumps 10 Officers Westgate Hill Street, 02:06 College (Odsal) Investigation 6 specials 93 FFs Bradford Ongoing
Deliberate 11/08/11 Factory Street, 47 Police 11 pumps 8 Officers Industrial 02:40 Dudley Hill, Bradford (Odsal) Investigation 4 specials 59 FFs Ongoing Station Sidings, 02/06/11 Crossley Evans, 51 10 pumps 7 Officers Industrial Accidental 22:04 Otley Road, (Shipley) 4 specials 57 FFs Shipley
Swales Moor Farm, 13/05/11 67 Natural 16 pumps 10 Officers Swales Moor Road, Agricultural 22:00 (Illingworth) Occurrence 4 specials 81 FFs Shibden, Halifax
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Pumps Date & Premises Station Number of Address Cause Plus Time Use Area Personnel Specials Deliberate Police Poundstretcher, 10/05/11 46 Investigation 13 pumps 9 Officers Cavendish Street, Retail 18:37 (Keighley) concluded, 4 specials 71 FFs Keighley no prosecutions Deliberate Titan Works 05/05/11 64 Police 12 pumps 8 Officers Claremount Road Industrial 21:35 (Halifax) Investigation 4 specials 63 FFs Halifax Ongoing Oxfam, Ringway 30/04/11 Industrial Estate, 60 10 pumps 7 Officers Industrial Not known 18:02 Beck Road, (Huddersfield) 5 specials 56 FFs Huddersfield Craven Edge 29/04/11 Enterprise Centre, 64 10 pumps 8 Officers Commercial Accidental 21:55 Hopwood Lane, (Halifax) 3 specials 52 FFs Halifax Deliberate Prospect Mills, 42 13/04/11 Police 14 pumps 9 Officers Thornton Road, Derelict Mill (Fairweather 20:29 Investigation 4specials 74 FFs Thornton, Bradford Green) Ongoing
The following chart details the numbers and severity of five pumps and above incidents over the last five years:
Five pumps and above 2007/08 - 2011/12 30 25 26 25 22 23 21 20 21 20 17 5-9 pumps 15 11 10-20 pumps 10 8 >20 pumps No. No. incidents of 4 5 3 Tot al 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Year
Further detail on recent five pumps and above incidents:
Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College, Westgate Hill Street, Westgate, Tong, Bradford This incident was in Odsal station area and involved a disused three-storey school building (approximately 30m x 50m) which was 100% involved in fire. The school had been closed in July 2011, recently decommissioned and handed back to the owners – the Diocese of Leeds.
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Numerous break-ins and vandalism to the school have occurred in recent months, and this is part of an on-going police investigation. 93 firefighters and eight officers attended at the height of the incident. Fifteen Pumping Appliances, two Aerials, two Ground Monitors and six Large Jets were used to bring the building under control. Good stop jets were put in place to avoid any further fire spread from the strong wind conditions on the evening; this in turn saved a large proportion of the building. The cause of the fire is unknown at the time of this report.
Appliances attended from Bradford, Odsal, Cleckheaton, Stanningley, Morley, Fairweather Green, Brighouse, Leeds, Hunslet, Idle, Keighley and Shipley, along with aerial appliances from Bradford and Leeds.
ACO McIntosh was Incident Commander at the height of the incident. WM Needham attended as Fire Investigation. The stop message was passed to mobilising centre at 05:30 and the incident was closed at 09:26.
Hessle Farm, Hessle Lane, Hessle This incident occurred in Featherstone station area and involved multiple farm buildings in an approximately 100m x 50m barn fire (Make Pumps 10 - persons reported). One 2 year old female fatality was found in a van adjacent to a barn. One male adult and a 1 year old female suffered burns and were taken to hospital by ambulance. Six large jets, two water curtains and one hose reel jet were used, along with the High Volume Pump from Stanningley to pump water over 1.5km to the incident. Appliances and special appliances from all over the brigade attended, together with the following officers - SC Owen as the initial Incident Commander, SM Oxley as Command Support Officer, SM Clarke as Fire Investigation Level 3 (due to the fatality), WM Needham as Fire Investigation, SC Hudson as Hazardous Materials and Environmental Protection Officer, SM Dale as Operational Assurance / Health and Safety Auditor, SC Richings, SC Thompson and SC Kain as Working Officers, GM Langan as Senior Advisor. AM Robson was Incident Commander at the height of the incident and ACO Redfearn was Senior Advisor. GM Butters was the protracted Incident Coordinator. A firefighter from Featherstone station suffered a broken ankle at this incident and SM Furby acted as Welfare Officer. The ‘Fire Surrounded’ message was passed at 21:48 and the stop message was passed to mobilising centre at 13:45 on 2/10/11, when the incident was closed.
Thornton Road, junction with Tetley Street, Bradford
This incident took place in Bradford station area. The building involved was a large, disused five-storey mill (approximately 70m x 20m). Six large jets, seven ground monitors and two aerials were used. Due to the nature of calls being received, mobilising centre mobilised three pumps and one aerial to the incident prior to the arrival of any pumps. Appliances from across the brigade attended, along with two welfare units from Garforth and Illingworth; Multi Agency Partners (HART) also attended this incident. AM Robson and AM Rhodes were Incident Commanders at the height of the incident, together with DCFO Beckley as Senior Advisor, GM Macklam as a Working Officer, SM Clayton as Hazardous Materials and Environmental Protection Officer, changed to Working Officer on arrival, SM Hagger as Fire Investigation, SM Heath as Command Support Officer, SM Frain as Operational Assurance/Health and Safety Auditor, SM Hepton as a Working Officer, and Ken Wilkinson from Visual Services. The stop message was passed to mobilising centre at 20:59 and the incident was closed at 00:20 on 5/10/11.
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6. Safety Critical and Fire Safety Inspections
Note: These figures are provisional and are subject to amendments when checks are made on the items recorded in the database.
Safety Critical Inspections are carried out by Operational Firefighters on commercial premises to identify risks and mitigating control measures which would be valuable information in the event of an incident at the premises.
Total Safety Critical Risk Inspections Completed 900 The total number of SCRIs in October was 804 800 763 which is 263 more 741 763 than the average 722 Annual Target = 6000 Average Monthly Target = 500 monthly target. 700 668 681
After the first seven 600 months of the year, 558 SCRIs total 4937, exceeding the target 500 by 1437. 400 The chart shows performance against the 300 average monthly target and is formatted as per the traffic light colour 200 scheme. 100
0
Fire Safety Inspections are inspections carried out by Operational Firefighters on commercial premises to ensure fire safety measures are in place.
Total Fire Safety Inspections Completed 450 The total number of FSIs recorded so far for October is 247 which is 400 381 Annual Target = 3000 just below the average Average Monthly Target = 250 355 351 monthly target. 350 324 However, in the first 300 seven months of the 272 286 year, FSIs total 2216, 247 exceeding the target 250 by 466. 200 The chart shows performance against the average monthly 150 target and is formatted as per the traffic light 100 colour scheme.
50
0
Performance Management Report Page 13 of 31
7. Home Fire Safety Checks
The number of home fire safety checks completed in October has been recorded as 5,908, which is 1,220 more than the average monthly target. In the twelve months of 2010/11, WYFRS exceeded the target by 5,595. The chart below shows performance against the average monthly target and is formatted as per the traffic light colour scheme
Total Home Fire Safety Checks Completed 7000 Annual Target = 56250 Average Monthly Target = 4688
5908 6000 5833 5753 5804 5657 5576 5425 5479 5190 5000 4697 4815 4899
4091 4000
3000
2000
1000
0
The Year 2 IRMP HFSCs Progress against Overall Target specified a target of 450,000 home fire safety checks to be completed by 500000 395347 434599 Actuals Cumulative 31 March 2013. Averaged 450000 393750 over the eight-year period, 450000 Target 333502 this sets an annual target 400000 337500 of 56,250. 270277 The number of completed 350000 281250 home fire safety checks 207850 300000 for 2010/11 was recorded 225000 on PMI as 61,845 which is 250000 110% of this target. 168750 200000 From the beginning of 112500 2004/5 to date, a total of 150000 434599 home fire safety 100000 56250 checks have been completed, representing 50000 progress of 97% towards the overall 2013 target of 0 450,000. 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
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Smoke Alarm Ownership
Better performance is indicated by a higher percentage.
Targets were initially set in March 2006, based on the 2005/6 outturn of 40.4%, aiming for an actual increase of 2% each year.
Through analysis of high risk areas and groups, with improvements in partner referrals and the targeting of resources, performance improved considerably during 2010/11, leading to a significantly improved outturn figure of 67.7%, far exceeding the target of 50.4%, and this improvement has continued in the first seven months of 2011/12.
The chart below shows month by month performance against target and is formatted as per the traffic light colour scheme.
Note: Targets differ to those set in indicator SD10.
Percentage of Dwelling Fires Attended where a Working Smoke Alarm was Correctly Fitted
90.0% Target 2010/11 50.4% Target 2011/12 52.4% 80.0% Target 2009/10 48.4% 77.6% 73.6% 73.0% 71.0% 71.0% 70.0% Target 2008/9 46.4% 67.6% 67.7% 64.7% 65.8%
60.0% Target 2007/8 44.4% 57.7%
50.0% Target 2006/7 42.4% 45.8%
40.0% 33.4% 30.0% 27.9% 30.0% 26.5% 27.5%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Purple indicates no target set Red indicates target not achieved Amber indicates satisfactory performance (within 10% of target) Green indicates target achieved or exceeded
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8. Compliments and Complaints
Compliments The charts below show by type the number of compliments and complaints received by West Yorkshire FRS since 1 April 2010, and provide a comparison between the years 2010/11 and 2011/12.
In the first seven months of 2011/12, West Yorkshire FRS has recorded 214 compliments, which is slightly lower than the previous year’s average of 32 per month (391 in total).
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Complaints After seven months of the financial year 2011/12, we have received 40 complaints as compared to 33 in the same period during 2010/11. Twenty nine of the 2011/12 complaints have been resolved at Stage One of the complaints procedure, six complaints were withdrawn and two were later attributed to a third party. One complaint is currently on-going and eight of the complaints were upheld. All complaints are dealt with in a consistent manner, with appropriate remedial action taken where necessary. Two 2011/12 complaints were resolved at Stage Three. One 2010/11 complaint was resolved at Stage Two and one at Stage Three.
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9. Violence at Work
Attacks on Personnel The table summarises the events reported by Firefighters and Prevention staff. 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. Where stations have not reported any incidents of violence to staff, they have not been shown within the table. However, they are still included in the number of incidents attended.
No.of Incidents Physical Weapon Missile Firework Aggressive Verbal District / Station Attended Assault Brandished Thrown Thrown Stoning Behaviour Abuse Total Percentage Bradford District Bradford 1922 1 2 1 2 6 0.31% FWG 1264 1 1 0.08% Idle 682 1 1 1 3 0.44% Keighley 891 1 1 2 0.22% Odsal 1322 1 1 5 7 0.53% Shipley 610 1 3 4 0.66% District Total 7266 2 1 5 1 2 0 12 23 0.32% Calderdale District Brighouse 386 1 1 0.26% Halifax 1068 1 2 4 1 8 0.75% Illingw orth 465 3 3 0.65% District Total 2521 1 0 1 0 2 7 1 12 0.48% Kirklees District Huddersfield 1806 2 2 0.11% Batley 513 1 1 0.19% Dew sbury 1067 1 1 0.09% District Total 4590 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 4 0.09% Leeds District Leeds District FP 1 1 Cookridge 409 1 1 0.24% Gipton 1683 1 3 1 5 0.30% Moortow n 1849 1 1 0.05% Morley 411 1 1 0.24% Stanningley 1033 2 2 0.19% Wetherby 150 4 4 2.67% District Total 10306 0 0 2 0 1 5 7 15 0.15% Wakefield District Wakefield 1278 1 1 2 0.16% Castleford 478 1 1 0.21% Knottingley 260 2 2 0.77% Pontefract 455 1 1 0.22% South Elmsall 318 1 1 0.31% District Total 3987 0 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 0.18% Totals 28933 3 1 12 1 6 16 22 61 0.21% In the first seven months of 2011/12, there have been 61 incidents of violence reported by West Yorkshire FRS staff, which is an average of 8.7 per month, indicating a potential increase of approximately 19% on the number of incidents reported for 2010/11 (88 for the full year, at an average of approximately 7.3 per month). 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. Some smaller stations appear to suffer a relatively high percentage of attacks, but this is largely due to the smaller number of incidents attended from such stations. However, there is a danger that the frequency and severity of the 61 attacks out of 28,933 attendances may seem insignificant when considering these very small percentages (0.21% overall) and although the number of attacks on firefighters has reduced, the Chief Fire Officer has re-emphasised that 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.
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District Actions to Address Violence
Bradford
There remains a small number of incidents in the Bradford District. Both the WYFRS and Police District/Divisional Commanders continue to personally collaborate to prevent a further rise and to enforce a zero tolerance towards any threat, abuse or attack against WYFRS personnel.
The two isolated incidents that have occurred recently in the Bradford District are:
Idle – whilst attending a bonfire-related incident, a youth was verbally abusive to the fire crew. The area in which this incident occurred is an area that has caused WYFRS issues historically. Although this was a relatively minor incident, the Arson Task Force have followed this matter up with local partners. The Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), the Cleansing Teams from the Council and Incommunities have increased their patrols and work in the area, ensuring any combustible material is quickly removed. WYFRS and our partners continue to monitor the area closely.
Bradford – whilst attending a fire alarm actuation at a high-rise block of flats, a missile was thrown at a fire crew. The crew were not able to identify from which direction the missile was thrown. This matter has been reported to the Police.
Work continues within a number of schools where individual and target years have received joint awareness training from the Bradford Arson Task Force and Neighbourhood Policing Teams. All incidents against staff or crews are also promptly reported to the Bradford District Monitoring Partnership (BDMP) that is compiled by the Police. This is used to monitor any tensions across the district; information from all members is shared to ensure each organisation is better informed of any emerging issues.
WYFRS is involved in the Bradford District Anti-social Behaviour Review; the purpose of this group is to provide an improved multi-organisational unit that will share and deal with all types of anti-social behaviour in the community.
Calderdale
The incident on 15th October in Brighouse station area was the most serious incident, involving the physical assault of an officer at an incident. The police arrested the perpetrator and he appeared in court on 7th November where he was found guilty. He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison. The magistrate said the individual was sent to prison for 16 weeks because of the serious nature of the incident, an attack on a fire officer who was trying to deal with a serious fire, the case being the worst of this type they had come across. Both the incidents of aggressive behaviour in Illingworth and Halifax station area, whilst not as serious as the above, are being dealt with by the police.
Kirklees
The figures are again extremely encouraging; we will continue to work with our partners and the community on the serious issue of attacks on fire-fighters.
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Leeds
Up to October 31st, there have been a further two attacks to report.
Morley - a member of the ATF was threatened with violence whilst attending a premises, as a result the aggressor was arrested by the Police. Members of the public have been threatened by the individual since and the Police are in the process of prosecuting him.
Gipton - a member of the public kicked a Positive Pressure Ventilation Fan whilst it was in use causing it to fall over resulting in damage to the equipment and danger to firefighters when pieces of fan blades were ejected from the machine. The individual was arrested and has been charged with criminal damage for this offence.
Leeds Arson Task Force continues to work closely with the Police and arrangements are in place in order to try to identify individuals should incidents occur. Wherever possible evidence has been gathered and has been passed to the Police. The Police, Leeds City Council and the Arson Task Force are continuing with initiatives aimed at capturing any offenders utilising various types of CCTV.
Our Quest initiative, which has been running since April, is now firmly established. Quest tackles anti-social behaviour in general across the District. The project has recently had a six month review and feedback received indicates that there is improved information sharing between the ATF and Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) officers. This has resulted in several successful interventions against anti-social behaviour. Our ATF officers now ‘hot desk’ at the headquarters of the three LASBT’s within the District in order to share information to assist in solving anti-social behaviour cases.
Wakefield
We have continued to see a small number of incidents in the last quarter; none of the incidents have been repeated in the same areas. At a number of the incidents crews have been able to supply various amounts of information including names to the Police. Incidents that were caught on the Silent Witness cameras have been provided to the Police to further aid in their enquiries. Each incident has been followed up by the Wakefield Arson Task Force along with the local Neighbourhood Policing Teams in and around the areas of the incidents. Wakefield District Housing estate managers are also made aware of any ASB occurrences in their areas.
Further to this, visits to the local schools have been carried out by the ATF along with Police Schools Liaison Officers. A number of names have come forward from these enquiries and are being actively followed up.
Only one report in October – this was young children throwing stones at a crew in Wakefield. Local NPT officers involved with the identification of the children from Silent Witness footage.
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10. Service Plan - Action Plan 2011-12 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 2011-12.
Action Plan 2011-12 Deliver a Proactive Fire Prevention and Protection Programme We will: Our action: Progress Ensure the authority's Complete the 2011/12 Fire Premises Risk Database (PRD) interrogated to highlight high risk premises from statutory fire protection Safety Inspection programme historical data already input and professional discussion. After fire inspections and duties are discharged and carry out 4,000 fire safety complaints (reactive work) now accounts for approximately 70% of inspections efficiently and effectively inspections in the highest risk completed and are inspected within target timescales. Fire Protection entered 1, in order to reduce the premises 840 audits onto the PRD of which 129 High Rise Flats, 84 Schools, 87 Care incidence of fire and the Premises and 608 follow up to operations inspections – Operations inspected effects of fire should it 1,255 Factories – targets for April to October have been met. occur Restructure the Fire Prevention Work is now complete in reducing the 5 District Fire Protection Offices to 2 ie. and Protection departments Leeds and Bradford. The planned reduction in inspectors and managers is on schedule. The remaining project will now be made part of a fundamental review being carried out by ACO Redfearn. Central Prevention restructure is complete. District Prevention restructure is being revised, but is still on target to meet the agreed timeline. Work with partners to Complete 56,000 Home Fire New Prevention Database interrogated to capture Home Fire Safety Check deliver a reduction in Safety Checks during 2011/12 (HFSC) activity for the first seven months of the year (April/October). 39,229 fires, road traffic incidents and target those most at risk from HFSCs completed – 28,634 by stations; 10,595 by Prevention. The new database and anti-social fire related fire records a pre-visit and post-visit score to evaluate the benefits of the interventions behaviour in reducing risk. From the total HFSCs carried out to date, 20,307 (52%) had the risk significantly lowered as a result of the HFSC visit. Action Plans are being worked up by Central Prevention to support the priorities of the District Risk Reduction Teams (DRRTs) and Local Risk Reduction Teams (LRRTs) in reducing risk, and accessing those individuals at most risk of fire through partnership
Performance Management Report Page 21 of 31 arrangements. This work includes support from the Community Outreach Officer, Partnership Officer, Training Officers, Events and Information Manager, Road Safety Co-ordinator, High Risk Co-ordinators and Arson and Special Projects Co- ordinator. A review of the HFSC policy and procedure is underway. This work has involved a review of the education delivered during a HFSC and as a result a new training programme has been developed for roll out January – March 2012.
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Deliver a Professional and Resilient Emergency Response Service We will: Our action: Progress Improve operational Complete a fundamental risk The review has been completed and the report submitted for consideration to capability in response to review of emergency cover Management Board. The outcomes of the report will form the basis of a series of changes in risk and across the county IRMP proposals. demand Action completed Introduce the full range of A wide range of specialist builds have been introduced with a significantly specialist vehicles including the increased capability. technical rescue vehicle; and Action completed introduce 10 boats and fully trained personnel to respond to flooding Complete the command project The new Command Unit is operational and has the capability to interface with the ensuring that West Yorkshire Fire new Command Room facilities installed at FSHQ. WYFRS’ Command Software and Rescue Service has the continues to be developed and is expected to be fully operational by March 2012; highest level of support for this will enable Commanders at all locations to share the same common operational incident command at larger picture. Staffing has been adjusted at Batley to facilitate dual-crewing of the emergencies and deliver this Command Unit. function more efficiently by Cameras and mesh network objective date 31 December 2011 – Cameras are now combining the staffing of the fire working to requirements, mesh network delivered and undergoing user acceptance appliance with the Command Unit testing. at Batley fire station Command Room objective date 31 December 2011 – Number of exercises carried out. Minor delays due to issues with Command Unit satellite and electrical work in the Command Training Suite but objective on track. Command Support Software objective date 31 March 2012 – Change to contractual arrangements proposed by suppliers but this should not impact adversely on delivery. Review the success of the Review is now completed and reported to the Personnel and Training Committee in Retained Duty System project, April 2011. The number of Local Retained Support Officers has been reduced to with the aim of reducing the thirteen. number of local Retained Support Action completed
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Officers by 50 per cent
Following the successful The twenty firefighter posts have been removed from the establishment. To be transition to a new shift pattern in reviewed on 1 November 2012. January 2010, a further reduction Action completed of 20 firefighter posts can be made without impacting on service delivery Following a review of the The identified posts have been removed from the establishment. To be reviewed operational policy support on 1 November 2012. The proposal to establish a regional operational policy functions, reduce the Operations function was aligned to the FiReControl Project which has now been cancelled. department by five posts; and Collaboration in the region on operational policy is now delivered through the CFOA consider the feasibility of Yorkshire and Humber Operations and Resilience Group. establishing a regional Action completed operational policy function Undertake a fundamental review A project team has been established to review the control function, this includes the of fire control arrangements, location, ways of working, ICT system and duty system. An options paper and following the cancellation of the timeline has been drafted for strategic consideration; this provided the direction for National FiReControl Project, further scoping work and project implementation. A bid is currently being prepared including consideration of to secure financial support that is being made available by CLG. Safety Central collaboration with other fire and has been selected as the preferred location for Control. Initial scoping work has rescue services where identified the 2012/13 capital bid requirements for alterations. Collaborative appropriate proposal to operate a shared, integrated mobilising system with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was approved by the Authority on 31 October 2011 and the grant application was submitted on 2 November 2011. Full MACC audit completed 31 October 2011. Stakeholder engagement is ongoing both internally and externally to explore improvements in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Specifically a review of the potential to work more closely with Central Staffing Team is being investigated and a report will be submitted to Management Team in December 2011. Develop more flexible ways of Day Crewing Close Call (DCCC) fire station now in operation at Normanton and working to deliver the same or approval has been given to introduce DCCC at Castleford and Rothwell stations. improved levels of service at The pilot is continuing for the Fire Response Unit (FRU) which is being operated reduced cost utilising the flexible deployment of watch based firefighters. Introduction of resilience appliances as part of the wider IRMP proposals also forms part of this
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work.
Provide assurance in Implement a revised Service Framework is in place and has established Prevention, Protection and Response relation to operational Delivery Framework that fully targets for all fire stations. The targets are inclusive of particularly challenging performance integrates Prevention, Protection, targets set for eighteen stations. All District Risk Reduction Plans are now in place Response and Resilience with and Local Area Risk Reduction Plans are in development. targets to continue to make West Yorkshire safer Develop a range of risk-based The risk based planning assumptions have been developed and incorporated into planning assumptions for the the Community Risk Management Strategy (CRMS), they play an integral role in provision of operational Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP). To be reviewed on 1 April 2012. emergency response at district Action completed and local area level Complete an evidence based risk The Community Risk Management Strategy has been introduced. Consultation on assessment of changes for fire a range of proposals which did not impact on service delivery was completed in cover required during 2012/15 September 2011. Consultation on a further range of IRMP proposals is currently and consult internally and being undertaken concluding in December 2011. externally on the proposed changes Enhance operational Complete the 2011/12 firefighter Programmed into the District Risk Reduction Plans and the programme remains on knowledge and safety risk information programme target for completion by the end of the year. competence of fire crews and complete 6,000 risk Ongoing delivery. and officers inspections including all the highest risk chemical sites (COMAH)
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Provide a Safe, Competent and Diverse Workforce We will: Our action: Progress Facilitate the Provide a framework for An interim structure was provided and has been fully implemented with a reduction implementation of restructuring the organisation to of 150 posts. strategic change across meet budgetary constraints Action completed the organisation Provide quality and timely The Authority maintains excellent industrial relations with the three representative information to all staff whilst bodies. Full consultation and negotiation has been a continuous feature of 2011- maintaining productive and 12. All staff have received regular communication either directly by letter and constructive industrial relations indirectly by the Intranet and group briefings. Specific examples are; Day Crewed with the representative bodies Close Call seminars. Communication initiatives continue as above with Frequently Asked Questions sites being set up for example regarding pensions and industrial action. Provide a healthy and Continue to improve the health Analysis of Authority wide safety event data has identified the strategic priorities in safe workforce and safety of all staff in line with terms of accident reduction and these plans are well under way. The the Revitalising Health and Safety implementation of the new on-line safety event reporting database allows for far Strategy more detailed analysis of accident and near miss statistics which will improve understanding of trends and patterns and therefore lead to a more sophisticated response. Close liaison with Operations continues to ensure firefighter safety remains a high consideration as part of the IRMP process. Action completed Provide a competent Review how West Yorkshire Fire The first phase of the support staff restructure was completed in March 2011 and skilled workforce and Rescue Service provides following a successful voluntary early retirement/redundancy process based on cost support services, and implement and organisational need. In addition, a skills, qualifications and experience audit of an initial phase of restructure support staff is in progress in order to assist with succession planning in a time of non-recruitment. A second phase of restructuring is commencing via the fundamental review and is due to deliver initial changes in October 2012.
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Provide a framework to ensure all A framework of individual workplace competence assessment to meet National operational staff undertake Occupational Standards using Maintenance of Competence records is in place. rigorous competence Additionally, crew based assessments covering Breathing Apparatus (BA), Road assessments to meet all National Traffic Collision (RTC), Hazmat, Casualty Care and Technical Rescue have been Occupational Standards introduced. BA training meets national guidance. Two yearly Command assessments for officers from Crew Manager to Group Manager are in place and assessments for Strategic Managers are planned. Individual records of Training and Development are now centrally recorded on SAP. Action completed Review and simplify systems for Selection processes for Area Manager (AM) and Group Manager (GM) have been selection and progression of staff reviewed. This has been completed for all roles. Action completed Provide a diverse Restructure the Training and The Training section has undergone a restructure and reduction in size taking into workforce Equality and Diversity account the suspension of recruitment and the need to deliver training in a more departments flexible way to meet service delivery changes made via IRMP. The restructure of the Equality and Diversity department has been completed. The remodelling of the Corporate Driving Diversity Board is contributing to and monitoring the Excellent Level of the Equality Framework across all areas of employment. Action completed
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Provide Effective and Ethical Governance and Achieve Value of Money in Managing Resources We will: Our action: Progress Provide appropriate and Complete the 2011/12 fire All new appliances comply with the latest legislation relating to cleaner fuel high quality buildings, appliance replacement programme technologies, use of composite plastic bodywork materials, long life engine oils and vehicles and equipment with environmentally friendly and modern high mileage tyre specifications. Appliance vehicle technologies guarantee to ensure operational efficient vehicles using the latest long life low maintenance servicing routines as standard within the West Yorkshire effectiveness; and be technology Fire and Rescue appliance specification. environmentally sound
Replace Pontefract and Knottingley New Pontefract Bondgate fire station site is under construction with the proposed fire stations with a fire station at the contract completion expected in January 2012. The building will be fitted out for Bondgate site in Pontefract completion thereafter. Building programme progressing on target and fitting out being planned to enable an estimated station open date of 8 February 2012.
Retain Castleford fire station at the Planning application for Castleford Close Call accommodation block approved on current location and review the 17 November 2011. duty system Redevelop Normanton fire station New Normanton fire station under construction at the rear of the existing station. on the current site Proposed overall contract completion date is 16 July 2012 although phased completion will allow earlier occupation of new station building. Extension and alteration contract upon nearby Close Call house completed and occupied as from 26 October 2011. Station building programme progressing on target and fitting out being planned towards estimated occupation of the new station on 30 January 2012 which will allow the second contract phase to demolish the old building to commence. Provide effective Develop accounting systems and The 2010/11 statement of accounts were completed on time in accordance with systems of control and processes in line with Government international accounting standards and were given an unqualified opinion by the performance to ensure requirements Audit Commission.
Performance Management Report Page 28 of 31 the service operates Review the capital investment The capital investment programme is aligned with the four year IRMP. Following efficiently programme to reduce costs and consultation on individual schemes within the IRMP budget, responsibility for capital the impact of our activities on the schemes has been transferred to Operations. A large proportion of the capital plan environment is on schemes designed to provide long term revenue savings.
Deliver a balanced budget within The Authority approved a balanced budget in 2011/12 with minimum use of the constraints imposed by the revenue balances. Consideration of a medium term financial plan linked to both Comprehensive Spending Review IRMP and government spending plans is being prepared by Management Board. 2011-14 In addition, the Authority, both independently and through the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities (AMFRA), is trying to protect current levels of government funding.
Further develop risk based PMI continues to be developed to provide performance information in a consistent intelligence to inform decision and timely manner along with WYFiremap. Prevention database is used in making conjunction with Mosaic mapping to help identify high risk communities and individuals to better target resources. Modelling tools such as FSEC and Active Pheonix utilised to identify risk. Further developments in reporting to support delivery of the Service Plan and support partnership working including inclusion of additional performance indicators within PMI.
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Be an Excellent Fire and Rescue Authority We will: Our action: Progress Maintain the Excellent Monitor performance through the The Corporate Equality and Diversity Action Plan 2011/12 is now an integral part of Level of the Fire and Service Delivery Board, the Service Plan. A gap analysis of progress following formal assessment has Rescue Service Equality Partnerships Board and been presented to the Corporate Driving Diversity Board with actions in place to Framework Corporate Driving Diversity Board maintain the Excellent Level. The first in the series of Service Delivery Community Guidance was launched in July 2011 to all employees. Performance of partnerships monitored against service delivery priorities at Partnership Board. Review of current partnerships to be undertaken to identify where highest vulnerability is being addressed and where re-consideration of current arrangements is required. Progress reported to Management Team in October on the continued maintenance of the Excellent Level. Many key areas of strength were highlighted and actions implemented to address any gaps. Report to Members at Authority Evidence of compliance against the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Excellent Committee at least once a year Level of the Framework are reported quarterly to Members. ‘Meeting our Equality Duties has been approved by Members and published ahead of the deadline of 31 January 2012.
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West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Oakroyd Hall Birkenshaw BD11 2DY
www.westyorksfire.gov.uk
WYFRA AUTHORITY 16 DECEMBER ITEM NO 2011
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RESOURCES
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO PRESENT THE OUTCOME OF THE FORMAL CONSULTATION PROCESS IN RELATION TO THE SEVEN IRMP PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO WYFRA ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2011
RECOMMENDATIONS: THE AUTHORITY IS REQUESTED TO CONSIDER THE CONSULTATION RESPONSES DETAILED IN THIS REPORT AND TAKE THEM INTO ACCOUNT WHEN MAKING A DETERMINATION ON THE IRMP PROPOSALS SUBMITTED BY THE CHIEF FIRE OFFICER/CHIEF EXECUTIVE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None
CONTACT OFFICER: Mr. S. P. Hardy Media and Public Relations Manager/Consultation Co-ordinator (01274) 655717
BACKGROUND PAPERS: IRMP proposals considered by the fire authority on 9 September 2011
Community Risk Management Strategy 2011- 15
Consultation submissions
SUMMARY: To present the outcome of public consultation
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Draft integrated risk management proposals were considered by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority on 9 September 2011 and released for public consultation.
1.2 In summary, the proposals recommended new fire stations in: * Killingbeck, to replace Gipton and Stanks * Menston, to replace Rawdon (with the closure of Otley) * Rastrick, to replace Brighouse and Elland * South Kirkby, to replace South Elmsall (with the closure of Hemsworth) * Batley/Dewsbury, to replace Batley and Dewsbury.
In addition: * the introduction of a fire response unit (FRU) and resilience pump at Moortown to replace the second fire appliance * removal of the second fire appliance at Silsden with a transfer to Keighley as a resilience pump.
2 CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS
2.1 Central government guidance on the consultation ministers expect fire authorities to undertake when developing integrated risk management action plans was originally issued in April 2003 and, in conjunction with Cabinet Office good practice guidelines, forms the basis upon which the authority seeks public comment.
2.2 Authorities must demonstrate consultation with:
the general public e.g. Council Tax-payers relevant community organisations public representatives e.g. Members of Parliament business organisations local authorities, public agencies and other emergency services employees (uniformed and non-uniformed) and their representatives any other interested parties.
2.3 The process is also underpinned by WYFRA’s own Communication and Engagement Strategy 2011-16, which was approved by the full authority on 24 June 2011.
3 FORMAL CONSULTATION
3.1 Approximately 80 stakeholders were identified for direct contact, including Members of Parliament; district, town and parish councils; neighbouring fire
authorities and emergency services; local representative bodies; external employer and employee organisations and voluntary bodies. Representations were invited by 9 December 2011.
3.2 In recognition of the fact that it was not possible to communicate individually with all those who may wish to submit observations, the proposals were also publicised via the internet (the main IRMP area of the website receiving 1,700 hits) and intranet, the print and broadcast media and by the use of advertising. In addition, a special Hotline was established in the Media and Public Relations Unit for people seeking further information and assistance on the consultation process and timetable.
3.3 A special edition of Burning Issues Bulletin, providing summary information, was distributed to all West Yorkshire’s MPs, 372 district councilors and their chief executives on 22 September.
4 FEEDBACK VOLUME
4.1 Although initial reaction to the proposals was limited, with only 11 formal responses received in the first month, there was a considerable volume of activity undertaken with full Q&A briefings to all 39 station watches affected, meetings with the representative bodies and briefings for district, town and parish councils and individual Members of Parliament.
4.2 On 15 November, an e-mail was sent to all district chief executives reminding them of the deadline for responses. On 29 November, the chief fire officer wrote to all district councillors summarising the consultation process and offering further information/assistance as required.
5 CONSULTATION
5.1. As the consultation process gathered momentum many issues/questions were raised at external forums in which the service participates, including area/neighbourhood management committees. These were addressed by district/station commanders with additional support, as required, from the central integrated risk management planning and consultation teams. Where further presentations or briefings were requested these were usually furnished by IRMP officers who endeavoured to provide adequate information, explanation and reassurance.
6 SUMMARY OF FORMAL REPRESENTATIONS
6.1 The authority received six letters of support or indications of no objection to the proposals. These were from Calderdale Council, Cllr. Keith Hutson, the Cross Gates and Whinmoor district councillors, WY Police, Barwick in Elmet and Scholes Parish Council and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
6.2 2,973 letters of objection/concern from individuals, groups or organisations were received, 26 being unspecific in nature. Activity/responses relating directly to the
seven draft proposals was as follows (all figures excluding responses by the Fire Brigades Union which are outlined at 6.10.1 below):
Gipton/Stanks
6.3.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the city, town and parish councils, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Two meetings took place with George Mudie MP (one including FBU representation) and briefings were given to a number of local councillors, groups and individuals including the East (Inner) Area Committee, East North East Homes Leeds, Seacroft Leadership Team, Shadwell Parish Council, Barwick in Elmet and Scholes Parish Council and at open meetings with the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill community forums (the latter being advertised by 3,000-leaflet drop but attracting only 13 local residents). Neither forum submitted a formal response following those meetings.
6.3.2 RESPONSES - As aforementioned, Barwick in Elmet and Scholes Parish Council and the Cross Gates and Whinmoor councillors had no objection to the proposals for east Leeds and Shadwell PC did not make a formal submission. In total, 177 letters/emails of objection/concern were recorded against this proposal, amongst them the Inner East Area Committee, Seacroft Leadership Team, Cllrs. Ralph Pryke and Alan Taylor, Leeds Central Constituency Liberal Democrats, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill ward Liberal Democrats, Leeds East Constituency Liberal Democrats, Seacroft Gate 1 Tenants and Residents’ Association, Monkswood Residents’ Association, Friends of East End Park, Cross Green Village Residents’ Group, Barncroft Residents’ Association, Saxton Gardens Tenants and Residents’ Association, Swarcliffe Good Neighbours Scheme, Community Organisation for Viable Environments and Neighbourhoods, Ahlux and Millright Business and Residents’ Association, Barwick in Elmet CE Primary School and Hilary Benn MP (on behalf of unnamed constituents). A 399-signature petition was also received.
6.3.3 CONCERNS - The principal cause for concern expressed was that the new station would be more distant from higher risk communities such as Burmantofts and Harehills (coupled with the implications of losing the second engine at Moortown).
Hemsworth/South Elmsall
6.4.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the district, town and parish councils, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Presentations were made to Wakefield MDC’s Community Safety Overview and Scrutiny Committee (report noted by Members), South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council (which verbally indicated an interest in taking over local fire and rescue provision) and Hemsworth District Partnership. In liaison with Jon Trickett MP, and Hemsworth, South Elmsall, and South Kirkby and Moorthorpe parish councils, public meetings were also held in all three parishes (attracting a total attendance of approx. 200 people, the vast majority of which indicated opposition to the scheme).
6.4.2 RESPONSES – 1,484 objections/letters of concern were registered, amongst them Jon Trickett, Fitzwilliam Youth Project, Hemsworth, South Elmsall and Featherstone town councils, Upton and North Elmsall Parish Council, Cllrs. Glyn Lloyd and Sandra Pickin and the parish councils representing Ryhill and South Hiendley. South Kirkby and Moorthorpe TC objected on the grounds of public/firefighter safety and the potential impact on community cohesion.
6.4.3 CONCERNS - Fewer frontline firefighters and appliances was the main issue.
Otley/Rawdon
6.5.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the city, town and parish councils, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Meetings took place with Otley Town Council and district councillors and questions were raised via Philip Davies MP.
6.5.2 RESPONSES – 1,283 formal objections/expressions of concern were received, including one from Sinclairs, a major local employer, and Councillor Colin Campbell. A petition calling for the retention of Otley was signed by 21 children from Westgate Primary School. A poster was submitted by Otley Methodist Girl Guides. Otley Town Council did not submit representations.
6.5.3 CONCERNS - A principal concern was a perceived negative impact of Menston station being able to respond quickly to incidents in Rawdon and Otley.
Brighouse/Elland
6.6.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the district council, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Calderdale councillors were invited to a briefing on the proposed merger of Brighouse and Elland stations at Rastrick and the presentation was generally well-received. Officers attended several ward forums to answer questions.
6.6.2 RESPONSES - Calderdale’s Cabinet endorsed the chief fire officer’s recommendations for the area. Calder Valley’s MP, Craig Whittaker, also publicly endorsed the scheme. Three formal representations noting concern/objection was received, including one from residents in Clough Lane and New Hay Road.
6.6.3 CONCERNS - Possible access/egress problems at the possible site of the new station was highlighted, along with a request for further consultation on potential sites.
Batley/Dewsbury
6.7.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the district council, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Discussions took place at a district-level ‘Councillors Open Day’ and individual contact was
made by elected members from Batley and Mirfield and via officers through neighbourhood forums. Mike Wood MP was briefed.
6.7.2 RESPONSES/CONCERNS - No formal representation was received.
Moortown
6.8.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the city, town and parish councils, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Fabian Hamilton MP was made aware of the plan and he met the local crew and FBU members on the issue. The subject was also raised at a meeting with Shadwell Town Council but no subsequent communication was received.
6.8.2 RESPONSES/CONCERNS - Objectors included the Seacroft Leadership Team (which represents 30 residents’ groups). Moortown was frequently discussed in relation to the nearby proposal for Gipton/Stanks and 62 of the objections registered against the latter scheme referred to the impact of reducing the total number of front-line appliances available across the three areas (including SLT).
Silsden
6.9.1 NATURE OF CONSULTATION - Consultation took place with the city, town and parish councils, individuals, community and voluntary organisations and local MPs. Many useful contacts for future community fire safety outreach work were established in the Bradford area (as in others) due to attendance at individual town and parish council meetings, and in particular through engagement with the umbrella grouping of the district’s 17 town and parish councils.
6.9.2 RESPONSES/CONCERNS - No formal representation was received from Silsden Town Council, the pan-Bradford parish group, or elsewhere.
FBU response
6.10.1 The FBU recommends that the fire authority votes for an increased precept in order to maintain services. The union has concerns regarding the impact of the changes on fire appliance attendance times and maintains that the authority has reduced its performance standard for attendance times. It does not believe that management has considered second appliance attendance times and challenges the approach to the response and resources sent to incidents. The union also feels there is insufficient commitment to fire safety and questions the concept of resilience pumps and the FRU.
7 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 As part of the current spending review the authority is facing significant cuts in its funding. Although the Government announced a 25 per cent cut in funding, changes to the fire formula have resulted in metropolitan fire and rescue authorities, including West Yorkshire, suffering cuts of almost twice the national
average in the first two years with no guarantee that this will not be repeated in the final two years. Having already made savings of £5.8m in the first two years it is forecast that the authority will have to make further savings of at least £13m. These proposals form part of the organisational restructure to match the reduction in resources.
8 EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS
8.1 The authority’s communications and engagement strategy provides the framework for ensuring the full range of stakeholders will receive the level of service proportionate to the risk from fire and related incidents within individual communities. The Public Sector Equality Duty ensures we consider equality issues as part of our decision making processes.
9 CONCLUSION
9.1 The authority is invited to consider the responses to the consultation detailed in this report and take them into account when making a determination on the IRMP proposals detailed in the chief fire officer/chief executive’s report on this agenda. Members or persons wishing to examine any individual consultation responses in more detail are able to do so by contacting Mr S Hardy or Mrs N Houseman.
WYFRA FULL AUTHORITY 16 December ITEM NO 2011 14
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
PURPOSE OF REPORT: To present final proposals in relation to seven specific Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) actions following completion of the 13 week consultation process.
RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. That the Fire and Rescue Authority, having had regard to the feedback of the consultation process, approve the IRMP programme as set out in Section 2 of this report.
2. That the capital investment required to deliver this plan be included with the Authority’s medium term financial plan.
3. That approval is given for the purchase of the land required in accordance with the Authority’s Standing orders.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: NONE
ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: DCFO Beckley
BACKGROUND PAPERS Director of Operations Report 9 September 2011
OPEN TO INSPECTION: www.wyfrs.co.uk
SUMMARY
A report presented to Members of the WYFRA on 9 September 2011 sought approval to commence full consultation regarding seven IRMP proposals. The proposals, if implemented, will result in significant efficiency savings that will contribute towards addressing the shortfall in funding following the cuts in Government grant and yet maintain appropriate levels of emergency response within the resources available. The implementation of these proposals can be achieved without the need for wholetime compulsory redundancies by aligning the introduction of the changes to the retirement profile. A 13 - week full consultation process concluded on 9 December 2011 and a separate paper submitted to the WYFRA presents the outcome of this process. Having had regard to the issues raised and captured by the full consultation process this paper seeks approval from the WYFRA to implement all seven proposals.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1. The cuts in Fire Service funding announced by the Government require the Authority to make significant reductions in its expenditure. This presents the Authority with a major challenge in relation to how WYFRS can deliver a high quality fire and rescue service for the community with significantly less resources. At the heart of WYFRS’s strategy to meet future challenges is the full integration of prevention, protection, response and resilience services and an ongoing ambition to make West Yorkshire safer. A full explanation of how these key pillars are integrated is contained within the Community Risk Management Strategy 2011-2015; this document can be found on the home page of the WYFRS internet site (“Service Plan” section). Strong business cases have been developed in support of the proposals for change and these formed part of the consultation process.
1.2. As a result of the challenging financial settlement, Members have previously approved annual recurring efficiencies of over £5 million without any significant impact on front line service delivery. This has been achieved through changes in duty systems, reductions in numbers of officers and more efficient procurement, management arrangements and back office functions. The proposals in this report now represent the most effective means of delivering further efficiencies which have the least impact on front line services and protect community safety.
1.3. It must be acknowledged that WYFRA has successfully contributed to a reduction in the numbers of fire related deaths and injuries over the past ten years. In spite of the fact that the main driver is the need to make financial savings, these proposals must be considered in the context of these major reductions in risk and demand across the whole of West Yorkshire. The business case for each proposal contains information on the reductions achieved in each area affected by the changes.
1.4. On 9 September 2011, seven proposals and accompanying business cases were submitted to WYFRA and approval was given to undertake a full consultation process. A significant amount of research and analysis, using many years of data and the latest risk management techniques, has been undertaken and each of the proposals is underpinned by the following assessments:
Equality Impact Assessment Community Impact Assessment Firefighter Safety Impact Assessment Organisational Impact Assessment.
1.5. Following WYFRA approval to consult upon these proposals, full consultation has now been completed. This consultation was undertaken in accordance with the WYFRS Communication and Engagement Strategy 2011/16, which was approved by the WYFRA at its meeting on the 24 June 2011. An interim report was submitted to the Community Safety Committee on 4 November 2011 to provide an update on progress made in relation to consultation and the final results of all consultation is subject to a separate report on this agenda.
2. INFORMATION
2.1. The seven IRMP proposals presented to WYFRA on 9 September 2011 for implementation during between 2012 and 2016 were:
The introduction of a Fire Response Unit and Resilience Pump at Moortown to replace the second fire appliance and the removal of up to 12 fulltime posts by way of planned retirements.
Remove the second fire appliance at Silsden and transfer it to Keighley as a Resilience Pump and the removal of five Retained Duty System posts from the establishment at Silsden.
The construction of a new fire station to replace South Elmsall fire station with the removal of 11 fulltime posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements and the closure of Hemsworth fire station with the removal of 12 Retained Duty System posts.
The construction of a new fire station to replace Rawdon fire station with the removal of 11 fulltime posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements and the closure of Otley fire station with the removal of 12 Retained Duty System posts.
The construction of a new fire station to replace Brighouse and Elland fire stations and removal of 24 fulltime posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements.
The construction of a new fire station to replace Batley and Dewsbury fire stations and removal of 24 fulltime posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements.
The construction of a new fire station to replace Gipton and Stanks fire stations and removal of 24 fulltime posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements.
2.2. Five of the proposals require the purchase of land and the building of new fire stations and therefore it is necessary to gain early approval to account for lengthy time for land purchase, planning permission and construction processes to be undertaken.
2.3. The Service Delivery Framework and a range of risk reduction initiatives to be delivered by WYFRS will further reduce the impact of these changes. Risk Reduction Action Plans have been produced for each area affected by the proposals and these can be found on the WYFRS website.
2.4. Whilst a number of valid concerns have been raised during the consultation period, there have been no substantive issues which undermine the original business cases for the proposals. A detailed response to concerns raised during consultation for each proposal and other related matters, is provided in the next section. Fire cover analysis is a quite complex issue and very difficult to communicate in simple terms to the public and our staff. It has become apparent that some respondents from the consultation process have misinterpreted the data associated with the impacts of the proposals on fire cover, in particular the changes in response times. This has resulted in the perception by some that the impact of the changes is worse than it actually is. Whilst these issues were clarified during public meetings, some of the written responses are still based on this perception.
2.5. The formal consultation period does not officially close until Friday 9 December, 13 weeks after the launch of the initial proposals. The deadline for publication of this report is 8 December and therefore, if responses are received on the final day for consultation, an addendum will be provided in sufficient time in advance of the meeting on the 16 December for Member’s consideration. One significant response which is still to be received is from the Fire Brigades Union, although through dialogue and public meetings, officers have been made aware of the main areas of concern.
2.6. The separate report on the outcomes of consultation has highlighted that, although formal responses have been received and recorded and they are available for Member scrutiny, a number of comments and concerns have been raised at public meetings and other forums but they have not been followed up by formal submissions. Where appropriate and relevant, these have also been referred to in the following section.
3. THE SEVEN IRMP PROPOSALS
3.1. The introduction of a Fire Response Unit and Resilience Pump at Moortown.
3.1.1. The business case provided information on the impact of this proposal, recognising that there has been a 47% reduction in serious fires in this area between 2004/5 and 2009/10. The impact of the removal of the second appliance is predicted to be minimal. The level of incidents occurring in Moortown station area is similar to some of WYFRS’s other stations that have one appliance.
3.1.2. The main focus of the consultation related to the introduction of a Fire Response Unit. An extensive trial of this concept, using a variety of vehicle types and different equipment, has firmly established the benefits of having a dedicated specialist vehicle and crew to attend the large number of smaller incidents not involving buildings or life risk. This has significantly reduced demand on other front line fire engines ensuring they remain available to attend more serious incidents. The trial and consultation process, particularly with crews at Moortown, assisted in determining the best type of vehicle to use and the equipment that should be carried on it and a detailed user specification is now being developed.
3.1.3. The main area of concern expressed by firefighters and the Fire Brigades Union relates to the shift patterns that would be required to staff the vehicle. In order to match the profile for times when this vehicle is needed (the afternoon and evening), there will need to be a new duty system developed, i.e. to match the periods of highest incident activity. The new duty system must also be sufficiently flexible to enable firefighters to maintain their existing levels of training. Negotiations are currently underway to achieve a collective agreement with the Fire Brigades Union.
3.2. Remove the second fire appliance at Silsden and transfer it to Keighley as a Resilience Pump.
3.2.1. The main element of the business case for this proposal was the fact that the second appliance adds virtually no value to emergency cover in this very low risk area; Silsden is one of the safest places to live in West Yorkshire. There are 29 fire stations which have one fire appliance and higher numbers of incidents than Silsden and the provision of two fire appliances represents an over provision compared to risk and activity.
3.2.2. No formal representation has been received from Silsden Town Council, the pan-Bradford Parish Council group, or elsewhere but concerns have been raised during a meeting with Silsden Town Council stating that the appliance from Keighley may be delayed because the main road from Keighley to Silsden was often busy and also that there was a large amount of new housing planned for the area. Other concerns were raised, for example during the Town/Parish Council meeting at Keighley Town Hall, where the issue of isolated and vulnerable people living in remote areas was raised. Following this meeting links have been made between WYFRS and Town/Parish Councils to help identify the most vulnerable people, which will assist in targeted risk reduction activities.
3.2.3. The Fire Brigades Union have yet to comment but through informal dialogue it is known that they have concerns about redundancies of retained firefighters. Therefore, in summary, the main areas of concern raised during the consultation process relates to the loss of a second fire engine in Silsden (delays in back up from surrounding areas) and redundancies.
3.2.4. The business case covered the issue of the second fire engine in some detail and explained that there are very few incidents in this area that require two appliances to attend and for significant periods of time the second appliance at Silsden is unavailable in any case. The wholetime fire appliances at nearby Keighley fire station can reach Silsden’s area almost as quickly as it takes for the retained personnel to respond to the station and therefore the proposal remains sound with no impact on public safety.
3.2.5. The issue of redundancies is a genuine concern and where individuals are affected, the Authority has clear policies and processes which will be followed. In listening to these concerns, consideration will be given to the date for implementing staffing changes to allow for people to leave on a voluntary basis (on retirement or for other reasons) where this is achievable and affordable within realistic timescales. Alternative employment will be offered (redeployment) where possible (see also Section 6).
3.3. The construction of a new fire station to replace South Elmsall fire station and the closure of Hemsworth fire station.
3.3.1. This proposal relates to one of the lowest risk areas of West Yorkshire in terms of fires and other emergencies. The business case highlights that the provision of a wholetime and retained station is very costly compared to the risk and activity in the area. The proposal still represents a very high standard of service compared to risk.
3.3.2. A number of people from the communities covered by this proposal and the Fire Brigades Union have raised concerns associated with the loss of a retained fire station and moving of another station, with the main concern relating to fewer frontline firefighters and appliances (the reduction from two fire appliances to one).
3.3.3. As with all areas of West Yorkshire, fire cover is not simply provided from a single fire station but all resources are strategically located, based on risk, to give optimum cover; appliances are mobilised to cover other areas if necessary and to support other resources at major incidents. The business case has been clear in identifying that there will be a slight reduction in performance against the Risk Based Planning Assumption (attendance times to incidents) for the first and second fire appliances. The existing average attendance time to house fires for the first appliance is 6 minutes and 37 seconds and the average predicted attendance time would be 7 minutes and 18 seconds, a difference of only 41 seconds). However, the business case also identifies that the Hemsworth fire appliance is often not available (16% of the time in 2009/10, although the amount of time the Hemsworth appliance was unavailable has improved in 2010/11, but this will be difficult to sustain). When the Hemsworth appliance is unavailable the fire appliance at South Elmsall covers the whole of this area from its current location, with adequate back up from surrounding areas.
3.3.4. The Fire and Rescue Authority has approved a set of Risk Based Planning Assumptions for planning purposes that are based on the risk of an area. The Risk Based Planning Assumption for this area is to attend all life risk incidents within ten minutes. It can therefore be seen that the predicted performance represents a high quality provision based on risk and cost.
3.3.5. Whilst the overall average attendance times for the new station area would increase slightly, the response into Hemsworth area will actually improve compared to the current provision (due to delay in response by RDS firefighters who have to turn in to the fire station from home or workplace). It is important to note that Hemsworth has had more residential property life risk incidents than the South Elmsall/South Kirby area.
3.3.6. Other concerns raised during the consultation process and specifically at the public meetings in Hemsworth, South Elmsall and South Kirkby include the impact of changes likely to occur in South Yorkshire (in particular the proposed closure at Royston), the redundancies of firefighters at Hemsworth, the proposals to build new housing in the area and the reduction in public services generally.
3.3.7. In relation to any Hemsworth firefighters and in common with the other retained firefighters affected by the proposals, the Authority will consider all redeployment opportunities available before redundancies. However there will be no vacancies in the wholetime service when the new station opens. Therefore the options will be restricted to non-uniformed support posts (although a further review of all posts is underway) and Retained Duty System vacancies at other stations.
3.3.8. Due to the fact that it was known that South Yorkshire FRS were undertaking a similar review of its fire stations, the fire cover review for WYFRS did not take into account the benefit of support from outside of West Yorkshire (i.e. it considered the worst case scenario), even though South Yorkshire fire appliances do respond quickly into WY when required. Following the recently announced proposals to change Fire cover in South Yorkshire concerns have been raised regarding the impact of the proposals at public meetings and by the Fire Brigades Union. This situation has therefore been revisited and no additional concerns have been identified, although the situation will be kept under review and Members advised should the situation change.
3.4. The construction of a new fire station to replace Rawdon fire station and the closure of Otley fire station.
3.4.1. The main element of this proposal considered the very low levels of incidents that occur in the Otley and Rawdon areas and meetings have been held with Otley Town Council and with Otley and Yeadon Ward Councillors. Issues raised related to traffic on the A65, proposals for additional housing in Menston, the impact on response to the airport, response times into Otley and the amount of time the firefighters at the station at Menston would spend away from the area carrying out line rescue training. There was a recognition that the fire appliance at Otley was unavailable currently for approximately 9% of the time and that this problem could worsen as firefighters leave or retire.
3.4.2. The new station at Menston will be able to respond into Otley quicker due to its immediate availability (as compared with the delayed response by retained firefighters) than the current provision. In response to traffic congestion on the A65, this is a common problem across West Yorkshire and WYFRS emergency fire appliance drivers are trained to progress through standing traffic in a safe yet speedy manner.
3.4.3. WYFRS provides back up to the specialist firefighting resources of Leeds Bradford Airport from a number of stations, including Rawdon and will still be able to provide an appropriate and rapid response from the new station at Menston. The number of incidents at the airport is very low.
3.4.4. The issue of the amount of time the firefighters at Menston will spend away from the area carrying out line rescue training is valid. In response to the concerns raised during consultation alternate arrangements will be introduced to ensure that the majority of line rescue training takes place in and around the new station or, in common with current practice, alternative cover will be brought into the area.
3.5. The construction of a new fire station to replace Brighouse and Elland fire stations.
3.5.1. A new station located in the Rastrick area will provide a rapid response into Brighouse, Elland and onto the M62 motorway, the fire appliance will also provide fire cover for North West Huddersfield (this is a high risk area where there is currently an underprovision of fire cover).
3.5.2. There have been very few questions asked or concerns expressed in relation to this proposal, although an individual concern has been made regarding the potential siting of the new station and because the business case does not identify the exact location for the station a consultation response on the impact for neighbours is difficult. The impact that a new fire station has on neighbours is a valid concern but this is more appropriately dealt with through consultation at Planning application stage when the site location is known.
3.6. The construction of a new fire station to replace Batley and Dewsbury fire stations.
3.6.1. This proposal addresses significant duplication in fire cover between Dewsbury and Mirfield (both stations cover much of the same area) and there have been very few questions asked or concerns expressed in relation to this proposal. However concern has been expressed that Dewsbury will no longer have a fire station. As with all areas of the West Yorkshire, fire cover is not simply provided from a single fire station but all resources are strategically located, based on risk, to give optimum cover; appliances are mobilised to cover other areas if necessary and to support other resources at major incidents. The new fire station will continue to provide a high standard of fire cover for the communities in and around Dewsbury.
3.7. The construction of a new fire station to replace Gipton and Stanks fire stations.
3.7.1. This proposal relates to some of the higher risk areas of West Yorkshire and yet detailed analysis has shown that better use can be made of resources to provide a more efficient and very effective response due to the overlap in emergency cover for the stations covering the area of Leeds city centre.
3.7.2. The main concerns identified during the consultation relate to the perception that the new station would be more distant from higher risk communities such as Burmantofts, Harehills and Richmond Hill, coupled with the implications of losing the second fire appliance at Moortown. The business case provides strong evidence that the attendance times and the number of fire appliances covering the area would be entirely appropriate. The Response Standard for the area is to plan for the first fire appliance to attend all life risk incidents within seven minutes. For an incident in Burmantofts, four fire appliances would arrive within seven minutes and six appliances within 10 minutes. For an incident in Richmond Hill, two fire appliances would arrive in seven minutes and six appliances within 10 minutes. This represents a very high standard of cover.
3.7.3. The provision of the Fire Response Unit at Moortown to cover the Leeds District responding to small fires will also ensure the main fire appliances are available more often to respond to more serious incidents.
3.7.4. During community forum meetings in Richmond Hill and Burmantofts concerns were raised about the numbers of vulnerable people, the transient nature of population, the density of back to back housing, the number of high rise flats and the impact that relocating the Gipton station and reducing the number of appliances would have on these communities. Paragraph 3.7.2 shows the excellent level of fire cover that will still exist.
3.7.5. It is also important when responding to these real community concerns to reinforce the importance of the balance between prevention, protection and response. It cannot be over stated that it is prevention and risk reduction activities that have the greatest impact on community safety. Prevention activities have assisted in significantly increasing the safety of the community, resulting in 28% fewer incidents and 61% fewer serious fires between 2004/5 and 2009/10 and such activities will continue to be a high priority in these high risk areas.
4. OTHER ISSUES ARISING FROM CONSULTATION
4.1. Whilst not specific to each individual proposal, a number of concerns have been raised regarding the overall impact. One aspect associated with the proposal is the use of Resilience Pumps. This concept was tested over the bonfire period of 2011 and was extremely successful, with two Resilience Pumps used for eight-hour periods on 4/11 and 5/11. They were staffed by firefighters using existing pre- arranged overtime arrangements. The two Resilience Pumps attended 24 incidents between them, demonstrating that, during periods of high activity, additional resources can be introduced to meet the higher levels of demand, ensuring other appliances remain available for more serious incidents.
4.2. Other initiatives will also assist in improving response standards, with new technology being developed for example to control traffic lights (already trialled in South Leeds) and the development of a new mobilising system which uses Automatic Vehicle Location systems and more dynamic mobilising.
4.3. Proposals for the major housing developments were also raised at most meetings and these have been taken account of in considerations for fire cover and also modern housing stock is much safer, with better fire protection and smoke alarms.
4.4. The timing of implementation of the changes was also discussed at some meetings and reassurances were given by WYFRS that existing stations would remain in place until the new stations were open and operational.
4.5. Concern has been expressed about high premises such as COMAH sites, the location and hazards presented by high-risk sites is included in the risk matrix for each station and has been considered when preparing the business cases.
5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
5.1. The most optimistic projections indicate that the Authority will lose a further £6.8m of grant on top of the £5.8m grant cut the Authority has already suffered in the first two years of the spending review. The added impact of pay and price increases coupled with other expenditure pressures mean that the Authority could have to find additional cuts of £12.5m to deliver a balanced budget.
5.2. The proposals in this report will deliver on-going revenue savings of £4m per annum and will require capital investment of around £14m over the next four years.
5.3. It is important to note that these proposals only deliver a proportion of the overall funding gap and the Authority will be required to deliver further savings in future years.
6. EQUALITIES AND FAIRNESS IMPLICATION
6.1. The objective behind the Public Sector Equality Duty is to ensure that WYFRS considers equality issues as part of its decision making and routine day to day operational service delivery. The way in which WYFRS ensures that equality issues are embedded at a strategic planning level is via the Service Plan and Service Delivery Framework, both of which are supported by the Corporate Driving Diversity Board. This enables strategic decisions to be fully informed by equality analysis.
6.2. At a local level WYFRS endeavours to deliver its services in a manner which is tailored to the needs of individuals and communities, this is supported by the completion of Equality Impact Assessments (EIA). An EIA has been completed for each proposal and is included within each business case.
6.3. The Fire and Rescue Service is delivered to the whole community of West Yorkshire. The challenge is that service provision needs to be proportionate to the risks from fire and related incidents within individual communities. The level of risk is not the same across the county; some communities are safer than others. This requires a greater level of prevention, protection and response services being provided where the risk is greatest and where communities are more vulnerable to fire related incidents.
6.4. When considering the need to make major savings, it is important that these decisions are made based on a clear risk based methodology so that scarce resources are directed where needed most. The obvious consequence of this strategy is that fewer operational response resources are deployed in areas where the communities are at less risk from fire. However, targeted community safety (prevention) activities are undertaken to identify individuals and families who are particularly vulnerable with regard to fire related incidents due to lifestyle factors, irrespective of where they live.
6.5. Whilst every effort has been made to reduce the number of redundancies, it is likely that a number of retained duty system personnel will be affected. The Equality Impact Assessment identified the potential for unfair treatment of this group of staff due to the part time nature of their contracts. The Part Time Workers (Prevention of less favourable treatment) Regulations 2000 does not require part-timers to be favoured, it simply requires that they have equal pay and treatment so that they are not exploited, other than where equal treatment cannot be objectively justified by reference to some genuine need of the business. The Integrated Risk Management Plan sets out the business need for creating a number of new fire stations to be staffed by wholetime fire fighters, which, by definition/design require wholetime firefighters to ensure the speed of response meets the planning assumptions. Retained Duty System Firefighters could not fulfil those roles without extra training (at cost) to fulfil the wider role of a full time firefighter and importantly, without becoming full time workers. It is not inequitable to part timers who simply cannot fulfil such a role to deny them access to it unless they become full time, nor is it exploitive of part timers as they could, in theory, apply to be full time fire-fighters if they wished and vacancies existed.
6.6. The option to create of a pool of both full time and part time firefighters for redundancy consideration would not meet the overriding business need, (being the requirement to make significant efficiency savings and deliver appropriate emergency response), and would favour part timers by giving them an opportunity to become full timers and then require that a full timer was made redundant instead.
6.7. The full consultation process has identified no other significant equality and fairness issues.
7. CONCLUSIONS
7.1. It is essential that Prevention, Protection and Response remain at the heart of WYFRS Risk Reduction Strategy. The reduction in the number of incidents and serious fires has been significant and this has enabled the distribution and number of fire appliances to be reviewed in light of the major cuts in Government funding.
7.2. The proposals recommended for approval by this paper whilst maintaining an excellent service for the community of West Yorkshire as a whole will deliver a significant proportion of the financial savings required and result in significant investment in the infrastructure within the Districts. This capital investment will also have a positive impact on local and regional economy, with a number of major building projects providing employment and income for construction companies and suppliers.
7.3. Aligning the implementation of the changes to the retirement profile will avoid the need for wholetime firefighter redundancies. Redeployment opportunities will be sought where possible for firefighters on the Retained Duty System.
7.4. The proposals have been subject to a 13 - week period of public consultation and this process has not identified any material issues which undermine the business cases and they remain entirely appropriate for implementation.
7.5. If approved, all seven proposals would be implemented between 2012 and 2016.
8. RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1. That the Fire and Rescue Authority, having had regard to the feedback of the consultation process, approve the IRMP programme as set out in paragraph 2 of this report.
8.2. That the capital investment required to deliver this plan be included with the Authority’s medium term financial plan.
8.3. That approval is given for the purchase of the land required in accordance with the Authority’s Standing Orders.
WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY
16TH MEETING OF THE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY SEPTEMBER 2011
ADDENDUM TO AGENDA ITEM 14 - INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN PROPOSALS - CONSIDERATION OF SUBMISSIONS TO THE CONSULTATION PROCESS THAT WERE RECEIVED ON THE FINAL DAY OF CONSULTATION
1. Introduction
1.1. Item 14 of the agenda for the meeting of WYFRA provides Members with a response to the issues raised during the public consultation process. A number of responses were received on the final day of the process and this addendum provides Members with information in relation to the two responses which contained concerns and comment not already covered by the main reports for Items 13 and 14 on the WYFRA meeting agenda. The first is the detailed response from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and a full copy of this document has been provided for individual Members' reference. The second is a response from Community Organisations for Viable Environments and Neighbourhoods (COVEN), which is a community group primarily concerned with the impact of the proposals on Gipton and Stanks.
2. Fire Brigades Union Response
2.1. Increased Precept
2.1.1. The FBU has acknowledged the funding pressures faced by WYFRA and has entered into constructive dialogue with WYFRS on the impact of these changes. It is now urging the Authority to maintain current levels of emergency response and fund the budget gap with increases in Precept and to " ...raise still more funds from local sources.....See pages 4/5 of the FBU response for the full details of this comment. Members are also directed to the Conclusions section (the final two pages) of the FBU response which provides a good summary of their position.
2.2. Impact of Changes on Fire Appliance Attendance Times
2.2.1. The Fire Brigades Union make a number of comments on each of the proposals in relation to the increase in attendance times. The business cases for each proposal includes information in relation to attendance time performance and in certain areas it is acknowledged that there will be increases in attendance times and that these will be appropriate to risk within the anticipated level of available resources. However, the figures used by the FBU appear to show that they have misinterpreted the information provided in the business cases.
2.2.2. The Emergency Cover Review undertaken between 2009 and 2011 forms the basis for the evidence in each business case, Much of the analytical work was undertaken independently by specialists who used the Risk Based Planning Assumptions approved by WYFRA (included in the Community Risk Management Strategy) as the basis for assessing performance and impact of the proposed changes both locally and countywide. 2.2.3. The Fire Brigades Unions response for each proposal refers to a percentage increase in attendance times for first and second fire appliances, whereas the data used for the business cases actually shows the percentage change in the number of occasions where fire appliances do not attend an incident within the respective Risk Based Planning Assumption (RBPA) for the area. For example in very high risk areas, the RBPA is seven minutes, i.e. we plan to attend as many life risk incidents as possible within seven minutes. If we attend an incident in seven minutes and 10 seconds this is just outside the RBPA but not necessarily an unacceptable level of performance and many factors are taken into account.
2.2.4. The average attendance times referred to by the FBU are no longer used by WYFRA as a measure of performance because, although useful in certain cases, they can be misleading (see next section for further information).
2.2.5. There is also evidence within their response that they have confused the predicted impact of countywide response with that of local impact. The FBU has inferred that the figures quoted in the business cases are inconsistent but they are measuring different things i.e. a change will have a very small percentage impact across the county but will have a larger local impact and both have been taken into account.
2.2.6. It is acknowledged that, in certain cases, attendance times to incidents will increase but in other areas attendance times will decrease. A detailed briefing was provided for Members of the Fire Brigades Union Brigade Committee when the Fire Cover review was completed, showing how the RBPA is used and how the impact of any changes have been determined. Further briefings will be offered to explain the way this is calculated.
2.2.7. It should be noted that, due to the levels of risk and demand in West Yorkshire, it is normal practice for fire appliances to respond to incidents outside their own station area. If a fire occurs, especially a large fire requiring many resources for a long period of time, the Mobilising Officer in Brigade Control will make decisions on moving the remaining available appliances to different locations to provide the best cover; these are referred to as "Standby" or "Cover Moves".
2.2.8. Higher risk areas are given priority due to the increased chance of a further emergency occurring in that area. The introduction of Fire Response Units (as is being proposed at Moortown for the Leeds District), significantly reduces the likelihood of a standard fire appliance being mobilised to a small fire when a property or life risk incident occurs in these high risk areas. Due to these arrangements being in place it is rare for higher risk areas to be devoid of any fire cover.
2.3. Previous Performance Standards
2.3.1. The Fire Brigades Union have expressed concern regarding the Risk Based Planning Assumptions applied for each area of the county, citing that these represent "an erosion of attendance times". 2.3.2. As previously mentioned, the practice of measuring performance using average attendance times is no longer used by WYFRS and cannot be compared with the RBPA, which is a far more appropriate measure. The outcomes of the Emergency Response Review first reported to WYFRA on 18 December 2009, highlighted a number of factors associated with the apparent increase in attendance times. This report acknowledged that traffic congestion has had an impact but also that there had been a significant reduction in the number of fires in the higher risk areas (where attendance times are faster) compared to rural areas (where attendance times are longer). Therefore the average attendance time across the County increased, although the time taken to attend incidents within some areas may not have actually changed.
2.3.3. The same report also concluded that it is not appropriate to measure all incidents across the whole of West Yorkshire to the same standard. For example the response to a house fire with people trapped should get a much better response than a grass or rubbish fire. The preliminary outcomes from the Emergency Response Review led to the development of a Risk Based Planning methodology (the Risk Based Planning Assumptions), which was subsequently approved by WYFRA as part of its Community Risk Management Strategy.
2.4. Second Fire Appliance Attendance Times
2.4.1. The Fire Brigades Union have expressed concern regarding the absence of a set time for supporting (second) appliances; this is incorrect. WYFRS acknowledges the need to ensure supporting appliances arrive as quickly as possible, therefore response times for second fire appliances are used as part of the fire cover planning process. This information was included in the presentation given to the Fire Brigades Union referred to above. When considering the best locations for these back up resources two minutes is added to the RBPA for an area. For example, the RBPA in a Very High Risk area for a life risk incident is seven minutes; the RBPA for the second appliance is therefore nine minutes. It may not be possible to match the second appliance attendance time, particularly in the low risk and remote areas of West Yorkshire, when the cost of such a provision would significantly outweigh the benefits.
2.5. Response and Resource Requirements
2.5.1. With the exception of New Dimensions national resilience resources provided by Central Government there are no longer any definitive national standards set in respect of fire service vehicles and personnel attending operational incidents. The requirement to meet national standards of fire cover was removed in 2003 following the release of the Government White Paper "Our Fire and Rescue Service" and the subsequent introduction of Integrated Risk Management Planning.
2.5.2. Each Fire and Rescue Authority now has autonomy and flexibility for deploying fire and rescue resources and setting attendance standards. WYFRS has developed one of the most advanced and comprehensive approaches to fire cover in the United Kingdom and this has been externally validated by risk management experts. 2.53. The Fire Brigades Union refers to the Fire Cover Report Technical Paper C (Response and Resource Requirements) and its relevance to establishing adequate operational resources to meet likely scenarios. A task group reporting to the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council (now disbanded) completed the Fire Cover Review report in October 2002. Technical Paper C outlines how "Worst Case Planning Scenarios" can be used for planning operational response for particular risks. The guiding principle for this approach stipulates that, "It reflects what is reasonable provision for a particular area, not the worst circumstances which can be imagined".
2.5.4. Technical Paper B of this same report refers to a risk assessment process, which reflects different risk categories including life risk and property risk. Life risk is subdivided to reflect individual, societal (community) and firefighter implications.
2.5.5. Whilst this report is somewhat dated, the WYFRS Community Risk Management Strategy and IRMP business cases include the principles of this report and the Risk Matrix, Community Impact Assessment, Firefighter Safety Impact Assessment and use of modelling toolkits such as FSEC are all good examples.
2.5.6. WYFRS has also utilised the Fire Brigades Union IRMP National Document (2004) as a point of reference for its IRMP work. This report contains a detailed section dedicated to the speed and weight (number of appliances and firefighters) of fire appliance response. The Critical Attendance Standard (CAST) is founded upon the principles of the national Fire Cover Review report from 2002 and identifies the optimum first fire appliance attendance time as being eight minutes and the second fire appliance time as 11 minutes.
2.5.7. The techniques applied in WYFRS go far beyond that contained within the Technical Papers referred to by the FBU and the higher risk area RBPA response times also provide better performance than the optimum attendance times advocated by the CAST methodology. Significant emphasis on firefighter safety is also incorporated into all Operational Procedures and WYFRA continues to invest considerable resources in operational training, Personal Protective Equipment and the gathering of operational risk information.
2.6. Fire Safety Activities
2.6.1. The Fire Brigades Union have expressed some concern that the business cases do not express any intention to maintain or increase Prevention activity and due to financial constraints, that WYFRS may not be able to maintain current levels of service delivery. It is also suggested that the success of fire safety campaigns is now being used against communities.
2.6.2. Whilst these concerns are recognised and a review of the allocation of dedicated Fire Prevention and Protection resources across West Yorkshire is underway, the business cases do provide a clear commitment to undertake targeted risk reduction work in order to make West Yorkshire safer. The benefit of risk reduction work over the past ten years is clearly reflected by the significant reduction in emergencies now being attended by WYFRS resources.
2.6.3. It is therefore appropriate that resource allocation is reviewed in light of this reduction in risk and demand. To state that this success is now being used against communities as an excuse for reducing emergency cover fails to acknowledge that resources are not limitless and a risk based approach to provision of emergency response is appropriate and has taken place for many years.
2.6.4. In spite of the challenging financial settlement, the current 5 year Strategic Plan approved by WYFRA contains clear targets for further reductions in fire deaths and injuries and demonstrates a commitment to continuing the achievements of the past ten years. Action Plans have also been produced for each area affected by the proposed changes and can be viewed on the WYFRS website.
2.7. Resilience Pumps
2.7.1. The Fire Brigades Union have expressed concern in relation to the proposal to introduce Resilience Pumps and they refer to them as "an untried and untested means of supplying supplementary fire cover". In a number of presentations and reports to Members of WYFRA information has been provided which shows how the operational demand for resources changes dramatically at different times of the day and at different periods of the year. It is known that peak activity occurs late in the evening with very low activity between midnight and 0700hrs and also that extreme weather has a significant impact on demand (dry summers, flooding etc.). In addition, it is known, in advance, that certain events can have a major impact on demand, for example the Bonfire period.
2.7.2. It is however also acknowledged that there are, occasionally, unplanned significant events that need to be catered for (for example a major fire). Current practice is to have the same resources available 24 hours per day seven days per week 365 days per year regardless of demand. It is far more appropriate and significantly more efficient to have a combination of latent capacity in the immediate emergency response capability along with procedures for increasing resources when necessary. The proposals for Resilience Pumps are therefore regarded as a sensible, appropriate and more cost effective method of resource allocation.
2.7.3. In order to test this obvious and logical concept, two Resilience Pumps were introduced over the recent bonfire period and this proved to be extremely successful. Not only did these resources prove to be very well utilised, attending 24 incidents between the hours of 1600hrs and 2200hrs over the bonfire weekend, but they also ensured that the front line pumping appliances remained available to respond to more serious incidents.
2.7.4. The Fire Brigades Union response does highlight that there are a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure the concept is successfully introduced and Officers are currently working on the development of new policies and procedures, learning the lessons from the recent Bonfire period pilot. WYFRS will continue to work with FBU representatives to ensure that their concerns are addressed.
2.8. Fire Response Unit
2.8.1. A number of concerns have been expressed by the Fire Brigades Union in relation to the proposal to introduce a Fire Response Unit at Moortown.
2.8.2. On 1st April 2011 an extensive trial of the FRU commenced and this operated for 6 months. This trial was extremely successful in identifying the risks and benefits of this proposal and now, as a result of the success, the trial has continued beyond the original six months to ensure all the issues raised by crews, officers and the FBU can be addressed. Lessons learned from the pilot, including the issues raised by the FBU regarding the type of incident the vehicle is mobilised to, are now being taken forward and incorporated into the detailed design of the vehicle, equipment, policies, procedures and training.
2.8.3. The issues raised by the FBU are valid and Officers will continue the positive dialogue to ensure the provision of an appropriate vehicle and crewing system is achieved.
2.9. Duty Systems
2.9.1. The FBU has raised concerns in relation to the Day Crew (Close Call) duty system which is currently operating at Normanton and Knottingley fire stations. Approval has been given by WYFRA for this to be introduced at Castleford and Rothwell, with a similar system also operating at Wetherby and Todmorden fire stations. A collective agreement is in place with the FBU and the latest IRMP proposals include further utilisation of this very cost effective duty system.
2.9.2. All the comments and concerns raised during this latest IRMP consultation, including the legal implications of the Working Time Regulations, have previously been covered in a report to WYFRA Human Resources Committee at the time the duty system was approved. Conclusion
The Fire Brigades Union see these proposals as an example of the WYFRS "Thinning out the line," and attempting to make already overstretched resources, go even further. However The Fire Brigades Union warns that this is an overstretching of resources within the area and would advise against such action. The Fire Brigades Union find it difficult to be able to select any of these proposals which do not, to a greater or lesser extent, strike at the very core of what, as public servants, we are all seeking to achieve, public safety delivered in a safe and effective manner.
The Fire Brigades Union wish to express empathy with WYFRS managers dilemma, who find themselves between a rock and a herd place, as it is clear that many of these cuts are being brought about to satisfy the demands of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which in turn make the Prime Minister's promise of "No cuts to frontline services," sound increasingly hollow.
That said, the Fire Brigades Union feel that the authority members also now need to play their part. It is clear that the current situation is driven by funding, and that could be solved were the authority allowed to raise, what in the broader scheme of things, would be quite a modest amount. (To maintain current levels of fire cover would mean an annual increase to community charges of 20 per year to a Band b household, less than 50 pence per week!)
The easy option in this situation would be to accept Central government's 3% "Carrot," but this is clearly insufficient and only a short term fix.
The Fire Brigades Union therefore urges the authority to embrace the challenge and seek an increase in precept. If only successful in achieving a modest increase in the precept, the effects of this will be lasting and increasingly positive as, unlike the government's 3%, it will not fall out of the financial settlement next year, but will compound in growth.
85 As we have said previously, the Fire Brigades Union would find itself in an invidious position were it to start to highlight any one particular case out against the others, as in our opinion ALL the proposals have a significant and definable negative impact on public and firefighter safety.
However, due to its circumstances, the case for South Elmsall & Hemsworth merits a particular mention.
During the consultation process it has become clear that the proposals made to fire cover, that were leaked to the press in October 2011, in the area covered by South Yorkshire FRS, in particular those to close nearby Royston fire station, have a significant, and as yet unquantifiable, impact on the provision of fire cover in the South Elmsail & Hemsworth station areas. (It should also be noted that this takes no account of impacting issues which DO NOT require public consultation, such as changing duty systems on SYFRS stations adjacent to the South Elmsall & Hemsworth area.)
Bearing in mind that, in terms of fire cover, this area is relatively isolated, and the depth of concern locally about this was illustrated by the attendances at the consultation meetings, by both the public and local councillors. We would therefore urge that such a proposal be dropped from the IRMP plan, at least for the present time.
The Fire Brigades Union states clearly and boldly that the only way to deliver a fire service which is fit for purpose is by proper funding. Funding which takes into account ALL the roles which Fire & Rescue Services are now expected to fulfil, and funding which is fair to all authorities whether they are unitary or not.
86 3. Community Organisation for Viable Environments and Neighbourhoods (COVEN) Response
3.1. Business Case Statistics
3.1.1. Consultation feedback received from the Community Organisation for Viable Environments and Neighbourhoods (COVEN) challenges the accuracy of data and figures provided in support of the IRMP business case for the Gipton and Stanks proposal. The operational incident statistics provided within the business case are accurate and reflect activity levels within the respective fire station. Population data provided within all of the WYFRS business cases has been taken from the Office for National Statistics (Neighbourhood Statistics) web site.
3.2. Risk Based Planning Assumptions
3.2.1. COVEN question the viability of using Risk Based Planning Assumptions and that "Tools" are only as good as information fed into them and are subject to subjective human decisions. WYFRS has used a number of risk analysis techniques within the IRMP process and the business cases have been underpinned by diverse and robust information. The whole process has been independently reviewed by external risk management specialists and the Fire and Rescue Authority external auditor (the Audit Commission) has commented favourably on the approach used.
3.3. Fire Futures
3.3.1. Within their consultation response COVEN refer to the Fire Futures Review and question whether WYFRS is attempting to implement some of the Review "By the back door". The Fire Futures Review is a recent piece of major national work and clearly WYFRS would wish to consider its contents and recommendations when making fundamental changes. However, the Review has not had a specific influence on the proposals for Gipton and Stanks. The location for the proposed fire station site was informed by careful analysis of data using the latest techniques and software for fire cover modelling including the use of Fire Services Emergency Cover toolkit (FSEC - a software tool developed by Central Government a number of years ago to assist FRAs with fire cover planning).
4. SUMMARY
4.1. The Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive is satisfied that the risk assessment, analysis and modelling work undertaken to support the proposals is robust and provides an accurate prediction of the impact of the changes upon service delivery. The genuine concerns of the public, the Fire Brigades Union and other interested parties are entirely understandable and the constructive contribution made by them during this period when the Fire and Rescue Authority face unprecedented financial challenges is acknowledged.
4.2. It is apparent that elements of the Fire Brigades Union response are based on an incorrect interpretation of the information contained in the business cases and have highlighted that there is a need for more clarity and explanation for future IRMP proposals, especially when considering the extremely complex issue of risk based fire cover.
4.3. Whilst a number of valid concerns have been raised by the Fire Brigades Union and other stakeholders, including COVEN, there have been no substantive issues which undermine the original business cases. There is, however a strong commitment to work through these issues to reach a satisfactory outcome.
WYFRA FULL 16 December ITEM NO AUTHORITY 2011
15
REPORT OF: Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Director of Operations
PURPOSE OF REPORT: This report advises Members of the latest proposals for Operational Assessment and Fire Peer Challenge.
RECOMMENDATIONS: It is recommended that Members note the content of the report.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: NONE
CONTACT OFFICER: Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Director of Operations [email protected] 01274 655702
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: None
SUMMARY: This report examines the proposal for WYFRS to take part in a pilot of a revised Operational Assessment and Fire Peer Challenge as devised jointly by CFOA and the LGA.
OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND FIRE PEER CHALLENGE
1. BACKGROUND
1.1. Members will recall that previously Fire and Rescue Services were subject to a national assessment process. This process was latterly Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), which replaced the previous Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA).
1.2. One key element of the CAA process was the Operational Assessment (OpA), which examined how well each Authority was performing its functions in relation to Service Delivery. In December 2008 CFRAU produced proposals for the OpA process, including a supporting Toolkit and Guidance. This Toolkit was developed by CFRAU in liaison with the Audit Commission and Health and Safety Executive. Effectively the process involved a self-assessment against a range of Key Lines of Enquiry followed by a peer challenge.
1.3. WYFRA carried out its self-assessment in 2009 and the proposal was that the peer challenge would take place in February 2011, however the removal of the Comprehensive Area Assessment process in May 2010 removed the mechanism for a peer challenge to take place.
2. PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
2.1. The requirement for a replacement process that encouraged sector led improvement was recognised by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association and the Local Government Association, who subsequently continued to develop a toolkit and process that would enable this. The process includes proposals for much stronger, sector led, support and challenge to drive improvement in services than had been provided by previous inspection regimes. Further, it delivers tools which will provide Elected Members with assurance that operational service delivery is efficient, effective and robust.
2.2. CFOA have invited WYFRA to take part in the piloting of the revised toolkit, representing the metropolitan authorities and due to the advanced level of self-assessment previously undertaken, this invitation has been accepted, with the peer challenge taking place between 7 February and 9 February 2012. The other FRS to be invited to take part in the pilot are Leicestershire FRS and Dorset FRS and all of the pilots will be completed by April 2012. The pilots are to both examine the individual FRS but also to test whether the process meets the needs of the Fire and Rescue Service.
2.3. The peer review team to be established will consist of:
• One peer challenge lead • One LGA peer review manager to assist with administration and report writing • One peer challenge Elected Member • Two FRS specific officers, both of whom would need to have specific operational technical knowledge to inform the review team.
The peer challenge lead has already been identified as Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. In order to ensure an integrated approach and as a result of the on-going relationship that has been built up over previous years, it is the intention to invite the peer challenge team to liaise with our external auditors who were previously involved with Comprehensive Area Assessment (Audit Commision), this will provide additional independent external context.
2.4. The self-assessment and peer challenge will consider seven Key Areas of Assessment (KAA), the KAA are:
• Community Risk Management – how well is the Authority identifying and prioritising the risks faced by the community? • Prevention – how well is the Authority delivering its community safety strategy? • Protection – how well is the Authority delivering its regulatory fire safety strategy? • Response – how well is the Authority delivering its response activities? • Health and Safety – How well is the Authority ensuring that its responsibilities for health, safety and welfare are met? • Training and Development – how well is the Authority ensuring that its responsibilities for training, development and assessment of its staff are met? • Call Management and Incident Support – how well is the Authority delivering its call management and incident support activities?
The clear emphasis for the KAA is on the outcome and impact of the activities.
2.5. Further the peer challenge will focus on three core questions:
• How well are outcomes for the local citizens being achieved? • How effective is the leadership and governance? • How effective is the organisational capacity to meet current requirements?
2.6. The peer challenge process aligns “Taking the Lead”, the LGA’s approach to self-regulation and improvement which aims to strengthen local accountability and to assist authorities in evaluating and improving their services. Under this approach each FRS will be offered the opportunity to have a peer assessment before March 2014.
3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 There will be no direct additional costs from this process with costs limited to the time of the staff involved in the process.
4. HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
4.1 The review carried out by the self-assessment and subsequent peer challenge will provide additional validation of WYFRS’s standards with regards to health and safety.
5. EQUALITIES AND FAIRNESS IMPLICATIONS
5.1. There are no direct equality and fairness implications arising from the proposals although the peer review process and associated Operational Assessment and Fire Peer Challenge will assist in identifying any development areas required to meet the Public Sector Equality Duty.
6. CONCLUSION
6.1. As part of a pilot for a national external assessment and improvement process, WYFRA will be able to identify its strengths and areas for improvement which will subsequently be validated by a third party established from the best peers across the sector.
6.2. Taking part in the programme whilst still in its pilot phase will allow WYFRA to influence and shape the model that is to operate nationwide.
7. RECOMMENDATION
7.1. That Members note the content of this report.
ITEM NO
16 DECEMBER WYFRA FULL AUTHORITY 2011 16
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RESOURCES
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO UPDATE MEMBERS ON THE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE ASSESSMENT 2011
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE ATTAINMENT OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE STANDARD WITH FULL COMPLIANCE AGAINST ALL 57 ELEMENTS INCORPORATING NINE COMPLIANCE PLUS AWARDS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: NONE
CONTACT OFFICER: ALISON DAVEY CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGER [email protected]
BACKGROUND PAPERS: ASSESSMENT REPORT – CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE – 2011
SUMMARY:
This report provides details of the Customer Service Excellence Assessment 2011 which has resulted in West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service gaining full compliance against all 57 Customer Service Excellence elements incorporating the award of nine ‘Compliance Plus’.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Since 1998, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has consistently attained the Charter Mark Standard, which is the Government’s national standard of customer service excellence for organisations delivering public services.
1.2 In August 2009 the Authority invited an assessment against the new Customer Service Excellence standard, which was being phased in and which now, in 2011, has fully replaced the Charter Mark standard. This new standard is derived from the core concepts of customer focus and the delivery of excellent customer service and assesses, in great detail, the following areas:
• Customer Insight • The Culture of the Organisation • Information and Access • Delivery • Timeliness and Quality of Service
2 INFORMATION
2.1 Having achieved the Customer Service Excellence standard in 2009 with full compliance against 55 elements incorporating four ‘compliance plus’ awards and only two partial compliance, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is subject to an annual assessment to ensure the standard is being maintained as part of a three year rolling programme. In 2010 the assessor reviewed 23 of the elements including the four ‘Compliance Plus’ awards and the two partial compliance from the previous year’s assessment and awarded full compliance against all 57 elements maintaining four ‘Compliance Plus’ awards.
2.2 The 2011 assessment was carried out on 11 and 12 October 2011 when the assessor reviewed 22 of the elements including the four ‘Compliance Plus’ awards.
2.3 This entailed a one and a half day visit by the assessor, reviewing evidence, meeting with staff, and contact with partner organisations.
2.4 Following this assessment, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has once again been awarded the Customer Service Excellence standard in recognition of the high standards in delivery of customer-focused services.
2.5 The Service has been awarded Full Compliance against all 57 elements maintaining the four ‘Compliance Plus’ awards and has been awarded a further five ‘Compliance Plus’ awards. This demonstrates continuous improvement against the standard with an outstanding nine ‘Compliance Plus’ awards.
2.6 The Compliance Plus awards, which are awarded for behaviours or practices that exceed the requirements of the standard, and are viewed as exceptional or as an exemplar for others – either within the organisation or in the wider public service arena, have been awarded for the following elements:
Having an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of our current and potential customer groups based on recent and reliable information Protecting customers’ privacy both in face-to-face discussions and in the transfer and storage of customer information Valuing the contribution our staff make to delivering customer focused services, and leaders, managers and staff demonstrate these behaviours Taking reasonable steps to make sure our customers have received and understood the information we provide Evaluating how customers interact with the organisation through access channels and using this information to identify possible service improvements and offer better choices Having made arrangements with other providers and partners to offer and supply co-ordinated services, and these arrangements have demonstrable benefits for our customers Developing co-ordinated working arrangements with our partners that ensure customers have clear lines of accountability for quality of service Interacting within wider communities and demonstrating the ways in which we support those communities Responding to initial enquiries promptly and if there is a delay advising the customer and taking action to rectify the problem.
2.7 A summary of the assessment report detailing the assessor’s comments against each element of the standard has been prepared and is attached to this report, in Appendix A, which shows the comments from the 2009, 2010 (RP10) and 2011 (RP11) assessments. A copy of the full report is available as background papers for Members if required.
2.8 Appendix B shows the results of each assessment since 2009 thereby demonstrating the continuous improvement and direction of travel against each element. . 2.9 The result of the Customer Service Excellence assessment is an excellent achievement for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and clearly demonstrates the commitment to continuously improving and providing an excellent service to customers.
3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 Any costs involved in this work will be met from within the existing approved reserve budget.
4 EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS IMPLICATIONS
4.1 These results further demonstrate the progress of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service meeting the customer service expectations of our diverse community linked to the Excellent Level of the Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework.
5 HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 There are no health and safety implications associated with this report.
6 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 That Members note the award of the Customer Service Excellence standard with Full Compliance against all 57 elements incorporating nine ‘Compliance Plus’ awards.
Customer Service Excellence Assessment Report Results for 2011
Introduction
Customer Service Excellence was developed to offer public services a practical tool for driving customer-focussed change within their organisation. It tests in great depth those areas that research has indicated are a priority for customers, with particular focus on delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism and staff attitude. There is also emphasis placed on developing customer insight, understanding the user’s experience and robust measurement of service satisfaction. It is designed to operate as a driver of continuous improvement, as a skills development tool and as an independent validation of achievement.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service achieved Customer Service Excellence in 2009 and is re- assessed on a rolling programme each year. The following is the Assessment Report for 2011.
Assessment Summary
Overview Overall Self-assessment Strong Overall outcome Successful
This summary was updated following a Rolling Programme Year 2 Assessment in October 2011.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service serves a population of more than 2.2 million people spread over an area of almost 800 square miles. It provides 24 hour cover dealing with a range of emergencies including fires, road, rail or air crashes, floods, chemical spills and terrorist incidents. The Service also provides a proactive fire prevention and protection programme to diverse communities.
The Service employs over 1,900 people comprising full and part-time firefighters, mobilising and communications centre staff and those employed in supporting roles. It delivers services from 48 fire stations, a new safety exhibition complex and a command and administrative headquarters located around West Yorkshire and has a budget of over £93million.
An excellent Service and recognised nationally as a good practice example in many areas with innovative approaches to the use of databases and technology to design and test operational services and community fire safety work. Highly commended for their Bluetooth Assisted Fire Safety Campaign at the Local Government Yorkshire and Humber Making a Difference Awards, 2010 and has achieved 'Excellent' rating if the Fire and Rescue Equality Framework.
Another professionally presented application making the most of technology and supported by evidence from enthusiastic, well-motivated and dedicated members of staff and many examples of providing excellent customer service.
Fully compliant against the Customer Service Excellence Standard including nine Elements where Compliance Plus is well justified.
Page 1 of 28
1: Customer Insight
Criterion 1 self-assessment Strong Criterion 1 outcome Successful
Good evidence of using databases and technology to model resource allocation for which Compliance Plus is justified in Element 1.1.1. A wide range of consultation mechanisms involving customers, partners and staff, well developed approaches to high risk and vulnerable customers and high levels of customer satisfaction across all main areas of service. Fully compliant against the Standard.
2: The Culture of the Organisation
Criterion 2 self-assessment Strong Criterion 2 outcome Successful
A strong emphasis on customer focus and customer care particularly in respect of high risk and vulnerable groups with staff encouraged to contribute to service improvements and empowered to deliver services in a flexible and effective manner. Compliance Plus in Elements 2.1.5 and 2.2.5 for a strategic approach to Information Management and for fostering a culture which recognises and rewards members of staff for their contributions to customer focused services. Fully compliant against the Standard.
3: Information and Access
Criterion 3 self-assessment Strong Criterion 3 outcome Successful
A range of accessible information available for customers based on a sound knowledge of the customer base, a redesigned web site and innovative use of new technologies to reach different customer groups. Good evidence of innovative ways of disseminating information for which Compliance Plus is justified in Element 3.2.2 and in Element 3.3.2 for your approach to evaluating channel usage. Strong and effective partnership arrangements in place and Compliance Plus in Element 3.4.1 for partnership working, in 3.4.2 for the approach and quality of work, and in Element 3.4.3 for your impressive community work. Fully compliant against the Standard.
4: Delivery
Criterion 4 self-assessment Strong Criterion 4 outcome Successful
Robust performance management arrangements demonstrating that performance standards and targets are routinely met with benchmarking against similar fire and rescue services. Efficient and flexible working arrangements providing efficient use of resources. Fully compliant against the Standard.
5: Timeliness and Quality of Service
Criterion 5 self-assessment Strong Criterion 5 outcome Successful
Meets standards and increasingly challenging targets for timeliness and service quality. Compliance Plus for Element 5.2.5 because the systems in place to respond to customer requests and enquiries ensure a prompt response in all cases generating many compliments and favourable comparisons with other public bodies. Fully compliant against the Standard.
Page 2 of 28
1 CUSTOMER INSIGHT
1.1 CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION 1.1.1 We have an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of our COMPLIANCE current and potential customer groups based on recent and PLUS reliable information.
1.1.1.1 We have an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of our current . . . You provide a detailed explanation of how you use your incident databases in combination with census data, 'Mosaic' and commercially available analysis software to model the outcomes of potential resourcing decisions. You also explain how you are piloting a new application to test the cost-effectiveness of both responsive and preventive solutions. You are taking a national lead in this area and working in conjunction with other Fire Services and Compliance Plus is justified. RP10 Your work in this area has progressed considerably with increased interest from other fire and rescue services and a recent external validation of your methodology by an internationally renowned consultancy with experience in this field. Compliance Plus continues to be well justified. RP11 You continue to bring together new technology, information from your databases and an innovative approach to exploiting the data laced with professional judgement to provide a deeper understanding of your customers. Your lead on this issue continues and Compliance Plus continues to be well justified. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.1.1.2 and potential customer groups . . . You also exploit your partnership working with a range of agencies to provide additional information about important customer groups and emerging issues. Asylum seekers and refugees are a good example of constantly changing populations with inherent risk factors. RP10 Staff provided evidence and your partners confirm that you explore every opportunity to seek out and engage customer groups who represent a particular risk. Examples include young and older people, learning disadvantaged groups and tenants of major urban ALMOs. RP11 Partners continue to confirm your work to identify the needs, preferences, risks and vulnerabilities associated with of different groups of customers and older people, those with disabilities and learning disadvantaged people are good examples.
Evidence Value: Fully met 1.1.1.3 based on recent and reliable information. Your databases provide an elaborate picture of your existing customer base and you provide good evidence of being able to sustain this work over the longer term. RP10 No change. Your work progresses with up to date information introduced as the data becomes available. RP11 No change. You demonstrate continued progress in refining your approach to delivering your services in many areas based on current information and the use of the latest technology. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.1.2 We have developed customer insight about our customer COMPLIANT groups to better understand their needs and preferences. 1.1.2.1 We have developed customer insight about our customer groups . . . Despite a sophisticated approach to the use of public and commercially available data and modelling tools, there appears to be less progress on developing customer insight. You provide details of recently introduced focus groups but there is little evidence of the use of other techniques and therefore little evidence of service improvements resulting
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from any fresh understanding of customer needs and preferences. Additional evidence is therefore required in this respect to help ensure full compliance. RP10 You provide several examples of new initiatives aimed at developing customer insight about different customer groups using traditional and more innovative ways of engaging your customers. Social marketing, mystery shopping, focus groups, quality sampling and feedback from e-recruitment as well as many more examples were provided demonstrating a sound approach to garnering insights about your customers. RP11 You continue to develop insights into your different customer groups and particularly those vulnerable groups posing a high risk of exposure to harm. You segment groups in various ways including location and housing type as well as personal circumstances to enable your services to be better targeted. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.1.2.2 to better understand their needs and preferences. Your current techniques for developing customer insight provide a wealth of information which appears to fall short of that required to develop deeper insights into your customers' needs and preferences and additional evidence is therefore required in this respect to help ensure full compliance. RP10 Your evidence also includes how you use your insights to better understand customers' needs and preferences. A good example is your work with Red Bullet and their data analyses and focus groups exploring how web site users navigate your site to identify their precise needs and preferences. Another example discussed at Safety Central concerns the work of your high risk fire safety teams who respond to safety checks where the customer is likely to have multiple needs including, for example, signposting on to social services and local voluntary agencies. RP11 You continue to develop insights about the needs and preferences of the people who access or need your services and the web accessibility focus groups are one example. You provided a demonstration of how those insights have been incorporated into your new website launched in February 2011. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.1.3 We make particular efforts to identify hard to reach and disadvantaged groups and individuals and have developed our COMPLIANT services in response to their specific needs. 1.1.3.1 We make particular efforts to identify hard to reach . . . Your approaches to meeting the needs of customers with specific needs as well as those who are classed as high risk and vulnerable are well developed with strong partnership working arrangements in place across the Authority. You have a High Risk Team in place and procedures to help identify high risk customers based on factors shown to increase the likelihood of death or injury from fire. Your partners confirm effective working arrangements. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.1.3.2 and disadvantaged groups and individuals . . . Customers are dealt with on an individual basis and information is available for those with special needs and consultation with partners representing special needs groups ensures that needs are met. Mutual referral arrangements are in place and where appropriate, personal visits by community fire safety officers ensure that thorough assessments of need are undertaken and appropriate safety measures taken.
Evidence Value: Fully met
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1.1.3.3 and have developed our services in response to their specific needs. You provide ample evidence of developing and adapting services to cater for the needs of hard to reach and disadvantaged groups. Your Community Fire Safety Officers and High Risk Team are examples of your response to these needs. You also provided good evidence of increased investment in facilities and services designed to cater for people from all sectors of the community including those with specific needs and Safety Central is the latest example. Staff take pride in discussing how their work benefits vulnerable people and presented many examples of their work and the positive outcomes for a range of people. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.2 ENGAGEMENT AND CONSULTATION
1.2.1 We have a strategy for engaging and involving customers using a range of methods appropriate to the needs of identified COMPLIANT customer groups. 1.2.1.1 We have a strategy for engaging and involving customers . . . You take a strategic approach to engaging and involving customers in your work with corporate strategies covering consultation, communication and information as examples. Your CFS staff provide good evidence of using partner agencies to help reach different groups and operational staff spoke about how they employ local knowledge to target people who are potentially at risk. Staff also explained how information derived from your databases is used to prioritise their work at a local level. RP10 You include evidence of your use of focus groups for engaging and involving customers and in some instances your own members of staff. You supplement this with evidence used elsewhere about mystery shopping using older people as subjects and surveys of your e-recruitment initiative amongst potential recruits. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.2.1.2 using a range of methods . . . You employ a variety of methods to encourage interaction with your customers ranging from an extensive programme of questionnaire surveys, your web site, attendance at community events and focus groups to personal visits and face to face meetings. RP10 No change. You continue to expand your methods of engaging and involving your customers using new approaches in some areas. Examples include the use of older customers to test a range of local services including the Fire and Rescue Service and the use of focus groups to help understand the impact of different safety messages aimed at young adults. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.2.1.3 appropriate to the needs of identified customer groups. Your staff explained how your contacts with customer groups are often mediated through statutory agencies and charitable and voluntary groups. They also explained how particular needs could be met and cultural sensitivities and language are good examples. RP10 Staff at Safety Central use a variety of ways to capture and retain the attention of different customer groups and examples of your 'staged incident' approach supported by interactive media for school children were demonstrated.
Evidence Value: Fully met
1.2.2 We have made the consultation of customers integral to continually improving our service and we advise customers of COMPLIANT the results and action taken. 1.2.2.1 We have made the consultation of customers integral to continually improving our service . . .
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Your IRMP evidence provides confirmation that consultation has a positive effect on services and examples have included a postponement of proposals for shifting resource between areas. Your IRMP Action Plan consultation arrangements for 2007/2008 remain a good example of how consultation on local issues can affect your rationalisation plans. RP11 You consult your customers on all important issues and fire cover and the reconfiguration of resources are examples which generate much public interest and comment. Your current website demonstrates how customers are being asked to comment on nine draft proposals for changes to fire cover and the draft IRMP. You also continue to exploit opportunities to consult with community groups and members of the public at staged events and though a programme of regular surveys. Service improvements resulting from consultation are amply demonstrated by a wealth of evidence ranging from alcohol impact courses to fireworks and bonfire safety.
Evidence Value: Fully met 1.2.2.2 and we advise customers of the results and action taken. Your IRMP evidence is one example of how the action to be taken is fed back to consultees and you provide good evidence that, where practical, you provide feedback on other issues. - You provide evidence of feeding back the results of consultation to customers, partners and staff through publications, your web site and meetings. RP11 The results of consultation are routinely fed back to members of the public through a variety of channels including local media and news briefings. Your website currently carries the outcome of recent surveys of quality of service, fire protection, complaints, school visits and HFSC’s. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.2.3 We regularly review our strategies and opportunities for consulting and engaging with customers to ensure that the COMPLIANT methods used are effective and provide reliable and representative results. 1.2.3.1 We regularly review our strategies and opportunities for consulting . . . Your Customer Care Policy was last updated in February 2008. You are revamping your web site to encourage customer comments and suggestions with a 'Have Your Say' section and an improved FAQ section. You also include details of policies and procedures as well as up to the minute news. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.2.3.2 and engaging with customers to ensure that the methods used are effective and provide reliable and representative results. You present good evidence of using reliable and valid methods of consulting your customers. You use commercial partners to add objectivity and expertise to your questionnaires and in ways which allow benchmarking with other fire services and home fire safety checks and follow-up surveys are examples. You commissioned work to brand your Safety Central initiative and the Bang survey provides the evidence.
Evidence Value: Fully met
1.3 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
1.3.1 We use reliable and accurate methods to measure customer COMPLIANT satisfaction on a regular basis. 1.3.1.1 We use reliable and accurate methods to measure customer satisfaction on a regular basis. Your key surveys are carried out by independent providers and ensure reliable results, accurate treatment of the data and valid interpretations of the results. You also use less formal methods to test other areas of your service and you make good use of complaints, comments and compliments data.
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RP10 External survey specialists continue to carry out your surveys producing reliable and valid results and detailed reports. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.3.2 We analyse and publicise satisfaction levels for the full range of customers for all main areas of our service and we have COMPLIANT improved services as a result. 1.3.2.1 We analyse and publicise satisfaction levels for the full range of customers . . . You test customer satisfaction using reliable and valid methods and for your larger surveys, use professional research agencies. The responses are analysed and published in various ways as well as forming a section of your web site which provides and includes the methodology and results. RP11 No change. You continue to analyse and publish satisfaction levels for the full range of your customers including the groups mentioned in Element 1.2.2
Evidence Value: Fully met 1.3.2.2 for all main areas of our service . . . All main areas of your service are covered by your surveys including response and CFS services as well as schools, commercial premises, domestic premises, enforcement and home fire safety checks. RP11 No change. All main areas of your service continue to be surveyed and the results analysed and publicised. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.3.2.3 and we have improved services as a result. Findings from your consultation on the new web site have been used to improve the appearance and content of the site and it will be independently assessed for accessibility by the Shaw Trust. Your Corporate Plan includes the remedial action taken and service improvements introduced as a result of customer dissatisfaction. RP11 Service improvements include a range of changes brought about after surveying and listening to your customers. They include improvements to home fire safety checks, school visits and the alcohol impact initiative. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.3.3 We include in our measurement of satisfaction specific questions relating to key areas including those on delivery, timeliness, information, access and the quality of customer COMPLIANT service, as well as specific questions which are informed by customer insight. 1.3.3.1 We include in our measurement of satisfaction specific questions relating to key areas including those on delivery, timeliness, information, access and the quality of customer service . . .
Customer Satisfaction questionnaires include questions covering service delivery, timeliness, the standard of information provided, ease of access and overall service quality. Evidence Value: Fully met 1.3.3.2 as well as specific questions which are informed by customer insight. Specific questions are included covering specific issues where appropriate. Examples include evaluations of customer satisfaction with training, the effectiveness of publicity campaigns and your web site. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.3.4 We set challenging and stretching targets for customer COMPLIANT satisfaction and our levels are improving. 1.3.4.1 We set challenging and stretching targets for customer satisfaction . . .
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The corporate customer care policy includes a strong commitment towards customer satisfaction in all areas of the service and whilst specific targets for levels of satisfaction are not set, all main areas are tested including domestic, commercial, fire safety and schools as well as staff communications. The Place Survey has recently been undertaken in conjunction with local area partners. RP10 You continue to measure customer satisfaction with your main services including some aspects of those services and you set a target of greater than 95% for customer satisfaction in four main areas based on historical and benchmarked performance.
Evidence Value: Fully met 1.3.4.2 and our levels are improving. You include ample evidence of high levels of customer satisfaction. For example, satisfaction with quality of service and home fire safety checks has increased from 96% in 2006/7 to 98% in 2008/9) demonstrating that improved satisfaction is being sustained. RP10 Your evidence included the performance out-turn for 2009/2010 demonstrating increases in customer satisfaction. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.3.5 We have made positive changes to services as a result of analysing customer experience, including improved customer COMPLIANT journeys. 1.3.5.1 We have made positive changes to services as a result of analysing customer experience . . . You provide good evidence of the positive changes introduced following analysis of customer surveys. Flooding has now been included in a leaflet advising victims of incidents how to manage the aftermath of fires and floods. Increased call handling was introduced following a review of your response to recent floods and an enhanced FAQ section is now included in the new web site. RP11 You outline many examples of how you have changed your services including your surveys, consultation initiatives, complaints analysis and other means of analysing the experience of your customers. A recent example is your new website, launched following extensive consultation with different interest groups. Others include changes to your annual fireworks and bonfire safety campaigns following post-bonfire night evaluations, the results of surveys of, e.g. HFSC’s and the fine tuning of alcohol impact courses to reflect the experience of participants. Evidence Value: Fully met
1.3.5.2 including improved customer journeys. Improvements have included changes to home fire safety check forms to allow additional information to be captured to help highlight those at higher risk and improve referral to other services and several pilot schemes covering hospital discharges, 'Telecare' and vulnerable adults including those with learning difficulties. RP11 Improved customer journeys include the improved delivery of public safety awareness training and events now concentrated at Safety Central where diverse groups can be better accommodated and the continued development of signposting and onward referral to partner agencies as part of normal service delivery and HFSCs are the best examples. Evidence Value: Fully met
2 THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANISATION
2.1 LEADERSHIP, POLICY AND CULTURE
2.1.1 There is corporate commitment to putting the customer at the heart of service delivery and leaders in our organisation actively COMPLIANT support this and advocate for customers.
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2.1.1.1 There is corporate commitment to putting the customer at the heart of service delivery . . . Your corporate policies and procedures clearly set out your expectations of members of staff in their dealings with customers based on the core values of the Service described in your Corporate Plan 2008-2011. Your Customer Care leaflet sets out what your customers can expect from the Service. RP10 No change. Staff at all levels reflect the customer focused nature of your services a simple example of which was described as "fetching the bread and milk" for vulnerable people when conducting home fire safety checks. Evidence Value: Fully met 2.1.1.2 and leaders in our organisation actively support this and advocate for customers. Corporate documents including policies and procedures clearly demonstrate a commitment to customers on the part of elected members, chief officers and senior members of staff. The provision of Safety Central and the resources allocated to community initiatives are a clear demonstration of the priority placed on meeting customers' needs. RP10 No change. Managers at all levels continue to promote your customer service ethos.
Evidence Value: Fully met
2.1.2 We use customer insight to inform policy and strategy and to COMPLIANT prioritise service improvement activity. 2.1.2.1 We user customer insight to inform policy and strategy . . . You make the most of your data, your partnerships and your knowledge of your customers to inform policy and strategy and improve services. You present many examples of how that knowledge has led to changes and improvements in services. RP11 N286a describes a premises database required to fulfil your regulatory requirements but a recent initiative tracks vulnerable people using a CRM database on the basis that some people at greater risk also move home more frequently and into similar risky environments. Your staff are trained to recognise and record risk factors which together can predict increased vulnerability and afford a 'high risk' status to individuals which makes your tracking system an important development.
Evidence Value: Fully met 2.1.2.2 and to prioritise service improvement activity. An important development has been the redeployment of resources from response to proactive, preventative strategies and the development of community fire safety and specialist teams to work with high risk customers. That shift in emphasis has coincided with significant reductions in deaths and injuries from fire. RP11 Work continues to tailor service priorities to meet new challenges. Local and wide area flooding and alcohol misuse by young people are two examples where services have been boosted to address emerging priorities. Evidence Value: Fully met
2.1.3 We have policies and procedures which support the right of all COMPLIANT customers to expect excellent levels of service. 2.1.3.1 We have policies and procedures which support the right of all customers to expect excellent levels of service. You have a range of corporate customer care, equality and fairness and diversity policies and procedures are in place including policies relating to disability and sexual orientation. Evidence Value: Fully met
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2.1.4 We ensure that all customers and customer groups are treated fairly and this is confirmed by feedback and the measurement of COMPLIANT customer experience. 2.1.4.1 We ensure that all customers and customer groups are treated fairly . . . Customer care and equality policies provide guidance on fairness and sensitivity and all members of staff have been appropriately trained. RP10 You now have a single equality scheme providing a strategic approach to equality of service for all customer groups. Evidence Value: Fully met 2.1.4.2 and this is confirmed by feedback and the measurement of customer experience. Your surveys variously seek customers' views on sensitivity, fairness, helpfulness and overall satisfaction with service quality with positive responses of 95%+. Your ranking against the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index for all organisations has improved year- on-year. RP10 No change. Positive responses continue to exceed 95% and you achieved a ranking of 25th in Stonewall's Workplace Index and the highest ranking for fire and rescue services nationally. Evidence Value: Fully met
2.1.5 We protect customers’ privacy both in face-to-face discussions COMPLIANCE and in the transfer and storage of customer information. PLUS
2.1.5.1 We protect customers’ privacy both in face-to-face discussions . . . You employ a range of policies and procedures to govern the way in which information is collated, managed and shared under an overarching Information Management strategy. The strategy provides a framework within which information can be better managed. This initiative goes beyond the requirements of this Element and Compliance Plus is justified. RP10 Your work in this area involves a shared Information Governance Framework and Toolkit to which all your local authority partners subscribe. Compliance Plus continues to be justified. RP11 You remain a beacon of best practice in this area recognised by other fire and rescue services as a leader in the field. You host visits and staff are working towards level three of your e-learning programme. Compliance Plus continues to be justified.
Evidence Value: Fully met 2.1.5.2 and in the transfer and storage of customer information. You have data management policies and strategies for the handling of personal data and use information protocols to manage the sharing of personal and other information between partners. RP10 These arrangements foster confidence between partners and other organisations, particularly those involved in CONTEST about how information is handled. An e- learning package on information risk awareness has been rolled out across the Authority. RP11 The Audit Commission comments favourably on your "good data quality and data security" (supported by) "a data quality policy and information management strategy".
Evidence Value: Fully met
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2.1.6 We empower and encourage all employees to actively promote and participate in the customer focused culture of our COMPLIANT organisation. 2.1.6.1 We empower and encourage all employees to actively promote . . . You continue to encourage members of staff at all levels to use their initiative to help improve services and to make particular efforts to help disadvantaged people through customer care policies and procedures. Examples of the efforts of members of staff to promote a customer focused approach are amply demonstrated in feedback from your surveys. Evidence Value: Fully met 2.1.6.2 and participate in the customer focused culture of our organisation. You present excellent evidence of how individual members of staff make significant contributions to your work and your young firefighters initiative, work with fire setters and work with older people in Bradford provide excellent examples of how staff are empowered to take the initiative and develop ideas applicable throughout West Yorkshire. Evidence Value: Fully met
2.2 STAFF PROFESSIONALISM AND ATTITUDE
2.2.1 We can demonstrate our commitment to developing and delivering customer focused services through our recruitment, COMPLIANT training and development policies for staff. 2.2.1.1 We can demonstrate our commitment to developing and delivering customer focused services through our recruitment . . . Your recruiting material, job specifications and descriptions provide information on the nature of the work with the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and emphasise working with the community. Applicants are chosen against aptitudes which value inter- personal skills and all members of staff receive training in customer care and other appropriate customer related issues on appointment. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met 2.2.1.2 training and development policies for staff. All staff receive customer care and equalities training as part of their induction into the service. Continuous professional development ensures that training is updated. RP10 Equalities training is also provided to Members of the Authority.
Evidence Value: Fully met
2.2.2 Our staff are polite and friendly to customers and have an COMPLIANT understanding of customer needs. 2.2.2.1 Our staff are polite and friendly to customers . . . Your surveys have been designed to include questions which allow you to assess your customers' views on whether they feel that staff are helpful and informative and whether they feel that they are treated sensitively, fairly and politely and almost all respondents answer positively on all questions. RP11 You present ample evidence from surveys and complaints data that customers consistently feel that your staff treat them politely. These include HFSCs, and both domestic and commercial incidents and include the initial contact and firefighters attending an incident. Comments include "helpful and reassuring", polite and friendly".
Evidence Value: Fully met
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2.2.2.2 and have an understanding of customer needs. Open responses to survey questions clearly indicate that staff have a good understanding of customers' needs. RP11 Staff attending an incident or responding to a HFSC are well aware of the need to follow up on the initial call wherever necessary to minimise further calls for help, deal effectively with safety issues and protect vulnerable people. Your evidence and customers' comments clearly demonstrate that fire fighters and support staff have a well-developed understanding of the needs of different customers and the training and confidence to ensure that those needs are met. Evidence Value: Fully met
2.2.3 We prioritise customer focus at all levels of our organisation and evaluate individual and team commitment through the COMPLIANT performance management system. 2.2.3.1 We prioritise customer focus at all levels of our organisation . . . You provide good evidence of corporate initiatives which emphasise the importance placed on customer service at all levels of the organisation including training packages and internal and external awards. Evidence Value: Fully met 2.2.3.2 and evaluate individual and team commitment through the performance management system. Your appraisal system is a 360 degree process which measures performance against key attributes and behaviours. You employ a system of awards and commendations for those teams and members of staff providing outstanding service and you include members of the public in your fire and rescue awards. Evidence Value: Fully met
2.2.4 We can demonstrate how customer-facing staffs’ insight and experience is incorporated into internal processes, policy COMPLIANT development and service planning. 2.2.4.1 We can demonstrate how customer-facing staffs’ insight and experience is incorporated into internal processes, policy development and service planning. Staff are involved in planning services either directly as individuals or collectively through union representatives. Staff confirm attendance at watch officer meetings at station level where service improvements are discussed and examples were provided. A formal suggestion scheme with financial rewards for staff was confirmed. Staff provided many examples which have been supported by managers and adopted by the Service. Examples include the Young Firefighters initiative and partnership working with and on behalf of older people. A summary of all staff suggestions in receipt of an award together with a comparison with the previous years and how they were actioned is presented to Authority Members. RP10 No change. Members of staff continue to be encouraged to contribute to the development of policy and service planning. Staff confirm their involvement and provided examples. Evidence Value: Fully met
2.2.5 We value the contribution our staff make to delivering customer COMPLIANCE focused services, and leaders, managers and staff demonstrate PLUS these behaviours.
2.2.5.1 We value the contribution our staff make to delivering customer focused services . . .
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Managers are encouraged to recognise contributions to customer service and service improvements by members of staff and formal awards and recognition events provide the opportunity to do so. Your staff magazine Burning Issues, July/August 2009 details the shortlist for your Fire and Rescue Service Awards 2009 covering outstanding operational and non-operational contributions as well as charity fundraising. RP11 You present good evidence that the contribution made by all members of staff towards delivering excellent customer service is valued by chief officers and managers. You have put in place a culture of staff recognition supported by policies designed to keep this issue at the forefront of managers' minds. You include evidence covering all those who contribute to the Service's success including catering contractor's staff (Healthy Eating), support staff (MBE for the Toy Appeal) and uniformed staff (Young Fire fighters Scheme). Compliance Plus is well justified. Evidence Value: Fully met 2.2.5.2 and leaders, managers and staff demonstrate these behaviours. Awards, recognition events and media publicity are used to showcase the achievements of members of staff. RP11 Charitable causes are a feature of the Service's community commitments and you encourage, promote and publicise both local and Service initiatives. The Toy Appeal is an annual event managed by the recipient of the MBE for her work and well supported by all staff as the photographic evidence, press cuttings and media coverage demonstrate. Evidence Value: Fully met
3 INFORMATION AND ACCESS
3.1 RANGE OF INFORMATION
3.1.1 We make information about the full range of services we provide available to our customers and potential customers, including COMPLIANT how and when people can contact us, how our services are run and who is in charge. 3.1.1.1 We make information about the full range of services we provide available to our customers and potential customers . . . Information about your services is available in a wide range of publications and on your new web site. Open days and publicity campaigns have been successful as the take-up of fire safety checks has demonstrated. RP10 You continue to explore alternative ways of publicising your services to the widest audience. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.1.1.2 including how and when people can contact us . . . You provide a 24 hour service and full contact information is readily available in various formats, media and languages. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.1.1.3 how our services are run and who is in charge. Information about the Service and those held accountable for service delivery is available in general publications, on a display at Headquarters, at station level and on your web site. Performance Boards at all fire stations identify key members of staff. Photo-displays of elected members and key personnel are also available in reception areas in non-operational premises. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met
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3.1.2 Where there is a charge for services, we tell our customers how COMPLIANT much they will have to pay. 3.1.2.1 Where there is a charge for services, we tell our customers how much they will have to pay. Special Services charges are applied on a cost recovery basis in line with national guidelines. Your Corporate Plan provides information about the cost of the Service and this information is now readily available on your web site. RP11 No change. Full details of charges and how to pay continue to be made available and you provided good evidence of how quickly information on charges is updated.
Evidence Value: Fully met
3.2 QUALITY OF INFORMATION
3.2.1 We provide our customers with the information they need in ways which meet their needs and preferences, using a variety of COMPLIANT appropriate channels. 3.2.1.1 We provide our customers with the information they need in ways which meet their needs and preferences . . . Customer information is well written in plain, jargon-free language and is available in various media and formats including audio tape, large print, Braille, child-friendly material and different commonly used languages. Guidance on the need for clear communications is made available to members of staff. You use focus groups to assess publicity campaigns and will shortly seek the assistance of the Shaw Trust to assess the suitability of your web site. RP10 Web site development continues with Red Bullet focus groups exploring the needs and preferences of customer groups Evidence Value: Fully met 3.2.1.2 using a variety of appropriate channels. You employ a range of methods to make access to information and to your services easily available or to reach customers and potential customers. Your web site has been revamped to provide a cleaner look and easier navigation, you employ plasma screen displays at key information points including Leeds/Bradford Airport, Bluetooth technology to promote home fire safety checks has been successfully piloted. RP10 You use social networking sites, Twitter and YouTube and Bluetooth technology to provide alternative channels of communication aimed at the younger audience and you monitor hits to ensure that these new services continue to offer information in ways which meet your customers' needs and preferences. Evidence Value: Fully met
3.2.2 We take reasonable steps to make sure our customers have COMPLIANCE received and understood the information we provide. PLUS
3.2.2.1 We take reasonable steps to make sure our customers have received . . . 'Hot Strike' campaigns and HFSCs ensure that customers receive and understand the information you provide and your high risk team are skilled in communicating with disadvantaged people. Requests for visits and advice from customers not taken up by the customer are pursued so that no request goes unanswered. RP11 You have increased the ways in which you ensure that customers receive the information you provide beyond the traditional methods used by most local authorities. Examples include targeting students' mobile 'phones using Bluetooth technology during Freshers' Weeks, using similar approaches to promote HFSCs at busy locations and exploiting social media via automated content management software to feed Facebook
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and Twitter accounts and YouTube. Analysis of customer queries generates relevant FAQs for your new website and your publication scheme provides a degree of transparency which goes beyond most similar organisations. Compliance Plus is well justified. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.2.2.2 and understood the information we provide. Evidence from your surveys confirms that customers receive and understand your information and that your information is helpful. Your web site now includes an extensive FAQs section designed to reflect customers' interests. RP11 You include good evidence that the information you provide is understood by the range of customers you serve from older people, those who are learning disadvantaged and children and young people. The Shaw Trust has audited your new website and you incorporated recommendations in the development phase and have subsequently made changes to ensure that people can understand the information you provide. Surveys provide confirmation. Evidence Value: Fully met
3.2.3 We have improved the range, content and quality of verbal, published and web based information we provide to ensure it is COMPLIANT relevant and meets the needs of customers. 3.2.3.1 We have improved the range, content and quality of verbal . . . Your mobilising staff are trained in taking calls from people in distress and can offer immediate advice and reassurance to those seeking help. You use video technology and web based video clips to provide images and more interesting promotional and incident information. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.2.3.2 published . . . There is good evidence of reviewing and improving your information following customer feedback and promotional material in Polish is one recent example. Several new and revised documents and media demonstrate continuous improvements in providing public information. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.2.3.3 and web based information we provide to ensure it is relevant and meets the needs of customers. Your web site has recently been redesigned and now hosts an extensive FAQ section following analysis of page hits and customers requests for information. It also hosts video images carrying incident information and promotional material. The Shaw Trust will be carrying out an accessibility audit in due course to ensure that the site meets the needs of all customers. Evidence value: Fully met
3.2.4 We can demonstrate that information we provide to our customers is accurate and complete, and that when this is not COMPLIANT the case we advise customers when they will receive the information they requested. 3.2.4.1 We can demonstrate that information we provide to our customers is accurate and complete . . . You are undergoing a systematic audit of your web site to ensure that the information provided is current, relevant, accurate and complete. A data quality policy is in place.
Evidence Value: Fully met
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3.2.4.2 and that when this is not the case we advise customers when they will receive the information they requested. FOI requests and responses to complaints are dealt with within the target time scales. Other requests are processed speedily and customers are kept informed if delays are anticipated. Evidence Value: Fully met
3.3 ACCESS
3.3.1 We make our services easily accessible to all customers through COMPLIANT provision of a range of alternative channels. 3.3.1.1 We make our services easily accessible to all customers through provision of a range of alternative channels. Information is available in various media and formats including audio-tape, Braille, large print, text only web pages and commonly used languages. Many members of staff speak other commonly used languages and translation and interpretation facilities are available. Your web site complies with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. RP10 New media is used to target specific messages and the use of Bluetooth to offer safety advice and promote home fire safety checks has proved popular and cost effective. Twitter and YouTube keep customers updated on incidents and news items and you continue to develop existing means of communications to ensure that West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service continues to make its services accessible to all customer groups. Evidence Value: Fully met
3.3.2 We evaluate how customers interact with the organisation COMPLIANCE through access channels and we use this information to identify PLUS possible service improvements, and offer better choices.
3.3.2.1 We evaluate how customers interact with the organisation through access channels . . . You present some good evidence that you evaluate how customers interact with your organisation through the use of different channels and your Bluetooth and Youtube initiatives are interesting examples as is the inclusion of FAQs on your web site. RP10 You present convincing evidence that you continue to monitor how your customers interact with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and in particular those channels of access which are relatively new. Analysis of YouTube hits, for example identifies what items interest your customers and web site analysis has identified that many users are your own members of staff looking for specific information. RP11 You present a wealth of evidence to demonstrate how you evaluate how your customers prefer to contact or engage with you. Google Analytics, YouTube and other technology allows you to know how and from where enquiries emanate as well providing other information which can be used to develop and refine access channels. Compliance Plus is justified. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.3.2.2 and we use this information to identify possible service improvements . . . The evidence on the use of your web site to request services and generally interact with the Service is patchy and there is little evidence in other areas, requests for home fire safety checks for example, that your evaluations result in potential service improvements. Neither is there sound evidence of changes in channel usage over time which might generate service improvements. More evidence is therefore required to help ensure full compliance. RP10 Customer contact with the Service continues to be telephone led with increasing use of email and electronic requests for service, particularly home fire safety checks. You respond to these changes by tailoring information to suit different media and audiences
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and your recent safety campaigns targeting young adults are good examples. Staff explained that the increasing use of the web site by staff may have an impact on how you use your intranet. You plan to go live with a re-vamped web site in November. RP11 Your new website was launched in February 2011 after careful testing with different groups of users. You use technology to identify and analyse customers' interests and use that information to make improvements and exploit different channels. YouTube is a good example and a recent incident topped the YouTube charts. You also use new social media to target younger people and specific groups such as new students to promote personal safety messages. Evidence Value: Fully Met 3.3.2.3 and offer better choices. You provide good evidence that you record your activities to promote fire and road safety through campaigns and promotional initiatives and that your work is popular and well received. There is insufficient evidence that you use that information to improve choices of the services on offer and no evidence that the information is used to improve choices about how your customers interact with you. Additional evidence is therefore required to help ensure full compliance. RP10 You have expanded choice of access channels by the introduction of Twitter to feed your news audience, Bluetooth to provide cost-effective ways of targeting specific audiences at key locations and in the vicinity of hot strikes and YouTube for news and general interest. RP11 No change. You continue to exploit new technology to offer increased choice to your customers. Evidence Value: Fully met
3.3.3 We ensure that where customers can visit our premises in COMPLIANT person facilities are as clean and comfortable as possible. 3.3.3.1 We ensure that where customers can visit our premises in person facilities are as clean and comfortable as possible. Workplace policies, procedures and cleaning contracts ensure that premises to which customers have access including community rooms in fire stations and Safety Central are safe and clean. Visits by managers are used to check working environments.
Evidence Value: Fully met
3.4 CO-OPERATIVE WORKING WITH OTHER PROVIDERS, PARTNERS AND COMMUNITIES. 3.4.1 We have made arrangements with other providers and partners COMPLIANCE to offer and supply co-ordinated services, and these PLUS arrangements have demonstrable benefits for our customers.
3.4.1.1 We have made arrangements with other providers and partners to offer and supply co-ordinated services . . . You maintain strategic and tactical partnerships with a range of statutory and voluntary organisations throughout West Yorkshire. Your partners confirm your involvement and welcome your expertise and energy and Compliance Plus is well justified. RP10 You include N188 as evidence of multiple and cross-cutting partnerships including initiatives involving schools, PACT meetings, community payback and 'Safety Seniors'. You also include a list of key partners who provided testimony about your degree of involvement and support. They are pleased to confirm your enthusiastic support for all your partnerships without which many organisations might struggle to continue. One recent initiative concerned a regional summer arson campaign involving all four fire and rescue services. The result was a significant decrease in arson fires and a saving across the region of over £.5m. Compliance Plus continues to be justified. RP11 You continue to develop your partnership approach and the Easier Access initiative at
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Morley help you refine your work with disabled groups. Compliance Plus continues to be justified. Evidence Value: Fully met 3.4.1.2 and these arrangements have demonstrable benefits for our customers. Your partnership arrangements have made a significant impact on meeting performance targets of direct benefit to customers and particularly vulnerable customers and those living in disadvantaged areas. Bradford City Council's Beacon Scheme application is a good example. RP10 The benefits to your customers and the wider community of your partnership arrangements are many and include working with the Youth Offending Service on the delivery of reparation activity covering the consequences of car crime and arson, the results of which have included a significant decrease in re-offending, Operation Champion targeting areas to assist residents in cleaning up their neighbourhoods, HFSC signposting to Carephone services, the safety rangers education programme and the Fire Emergency Support Service provided by the Red Cross. RP11 You provide evidence of recent examples of the benefits including savings from your partnership approach in N188f and N188j leading to a recent national award.
Evidence Value: Fully met
3.4.2 We have developed co-ordinated working arrangements with our COMPLIANCE partners that ensure customers have clear lines of PLUS accountability for quality of service.
3.4.2.1 We have developed co-ordinated working arrangements with our partners that ensure customers have clear lines of accountability for quality of service. Strategic partnerships, local forums and other joint working arrangements have effective working arrangements for accountability and for sharing information between and consultation with partners. Partners are complimentary about your involvement and the quality of your contributions. RP11 Your Partnership Policy sets out clear guidance for all members of staff on partnership working and was reviewed and updated in March 2011. It is supported by a Partnership Register available to all through WY Firespace, the internal website and provides links to each agreement and all the details necessary to fully understand the boundaries of the partnership agreement. This approach and the quality of work underpinning it goes well beyond the requirements of this Element and is worthy of Compliance Plus.
Evidence Value: Fully met
3.4.3 We interact within wider communities and we can demonstrate COMPLIANCE the ways in which we support those communities. PLUS
3.4.3.1 We interact within wider communities and we can demonstrate the ways in which we support those communities. You present convincing evidence that your community initiatives have been responsible for reducing fire deaths and injuries in West Yorkshire over several years. You present evidence of the range of community groups which regularly use your community rooms free of charge in return for fire safety presentations. Your community work represents a substantial and sustained commitment to the people of West Yorkshire and justifies Compliance Plus. RP10 You provide a wealth of evidence that you continue to interact with and support the communities of West Yorkshire. As well as your statutory responsibilities, you provide
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encouragement and expertise to a range of voluntary sector organisations representing a variety of customer groups. A DVD made in co-operation with and featuring adults with learning disabilities was demonstrated. You also continue to encourage charitable activity and events raising £10,000 for local charities at your annual gala. Compliance Plus is well deserved. RP11 The evidence shown above and described elsewhere in this report continues to justify Compliance Plus. Evidence Value: Fully met
4 DELIVERY
4.1 DELIVERY STANDARDS
4.1.1 We have challenging standards for our main services, which take account of our responsibility for delivering national and COMPLIANT statutory standards and targets. 4.1.1.1 We have challenging standards for our main services . . . Your Corporate Plan 2008/2011 and other performance management information set out precise, measurable and challenging standards and targets for all your main areas of service. RP10 You include your out-turn for 2009/2010 which also shows standards and challenging targets set up to 2011/2012. New environmental targets have also been added.
Evidence Value: Fully met 4.1.1.2 which take account of our responsibility for delivering national and statutory standards and targets. National Indicator standards and targets are included. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.1.2 We monitor and meet our standards, key departmental and performance targets, and we tell our customers about our COMPLIANT performance. 4.1.2.1 We monitor and meet our standards, key departmental and performance targets . . . You present good evidence to demonstrate that you monitor your performance against your standards and targets on a monthly basis and report the results to chief officers monthly and three times each year to elected members at meetings of the full authority. RP11 You provide evidence demonstrating that you continue to monitor your performance against key standards and targets and that you meet and often exceed most of them.
Evidence Value: Fully met 4.1.2.2 and we tell our customers about our performance. You use your Corporate Plan and other publications as well as your web site to inform customers about your performance against your standards and targets. Performance information is available on performance boards in your fire stations and some good examples of informative performance boards were seen including a display in one of your Community Rooms with performance information tailored to what might interest local groups. RP11 No change. Performance information continues to be made available to customers, partners and the wider Service through reports and press releases, meetings and your revamped website. Evidence Value: Fully met
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4.1.3 We consult and involve customers, citizens, partners and staff COMPLIANT on the setting, reviewing and raising of our local standards. 4.1.3.1 We consult and involve customers, citizens, partners and staff on the setting, reviewing and raising of our local standards. Standards and targets continue to be set at national level, by agreement with local strategic partners under LAAs and locally by elected members and tailored to meet local community needs and expectations. A strategic approach is adopted with targets set over a five year period and all main service areas are adequately covered. Your consultation on the annual IRMP Action Plan is one example of how carefully you deal with the local sensitivities involved. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.2 ACHIEVED DELIVERY AND OUTCOMES
4.2.1 We agree with our customers at the outset what they can expect COMPLIANT from the service we provide. 4.2.1.1 We agree with our customers at the outset what they can expect from the service we provide. Elected members drawn from across West Yorkshire represent the interests of the communities they serve and standards and targets are agreed with members. Your customer care policies and procedures include a customer service guide which sets out what customers can expect from the service. RP10 You include elsewhere evidence of consulting customers and partners on a range of services including what people expect from your web site. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.2.2 We can demonstrate that we deliver the service we promised to individual customers and that outcomes are positive for the COMPLIANT majority of our customers. 4.2.2.1 We can demonstrate that we deliver the service we promised to individual customers . . . Your performance monitoring information clearly demonstrates that you meet the majority of your standards and targets. Your surveys show that you continue to deliver that range of services requested by your customers and that you meet the commitments you make to groups of customers with particular needs. Older people and vulnerable customers are examples of groups who receive additional services. RP11 No change. Your performance information clearly demonstrates that you meet your standards and targets and that customers get the service you promise and they expect. Surveys consistently show that your performance figures are underscored by a high level of service quality demonstrated by high levels of satisfaction with the interactions between customers and members of staff in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.2.2.2 and that outcomes are positive for the majority of our customers. Your surveys show that your customers value the services you provide and that the outcomes of those services are almost all positive. Responses to home fire safety checks and high risk visits provide good examples of how grateful your customers are for your services. In other areas, for example, visits to schools, teachers are complimentary about the outcomes for their pupils and staff testified to the successes of initiatives to divert young people into positive activities and away from anti-social behaviour. RP11 No change. After the Fire Surveys and similar exercises continue to show positive responses and very complimentary comments from your customers.
Evidence Value: Fully met
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4.2.3 We can demonstrate that we benchmark our performance against that of similar or complementary organisations and have COMPLIANT used that information to improve our service. 4.2.3.1 We can demonstrate that we benchmark our performance against that of similar or complementary organisations . . . The evidence presented shows your Service to be a top performing fire authority on the Modernisation Agenda, very favourable comparisons in many areas including Best Practice Service for sickness and ill-health and community fire safety. Comparisons with the 'Best of the Rest' metropolitan fire services can be misleading but your recent external audits and assessments together with other data clearly shows a high performing service and at the forefront in many areas. N155 and N160 provide the details. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.2.3.2 and have used that information to improve our service. You present your Improvement Plan for 2009 showing areas for improvement derived from various sources including Audit Commission comparisons and 'horizon scanning'. Your Performance Management Report now includes comparisons of performance with other fire services. Measuring your performance against comparators is one way in which you judge your own services and strive towards improvements.
Evidence Value: Fully met
4.2.4 We have developed and learned from best practice identified within and outside our organisation, and we publish our COMPLIANT examples externally where appropriate. 4.2.4.1 We have developed and learned from best practice identified within . . . You provide a wealth of evidence that initiatives developed within the service are evaluated and if proved successful are rolled out to other parts of West Yorkshire and your Young Firefighters Scheme is a good example. Your suggestion scheme has provided many examples of initiatives suggested by staffs which are now routinely implemented elsewhere. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.2.4.2 and outside our organisation . . . You present good evidence of working with other fire services to identify and promulgate good practice and your work with Tyne and Wear on risk management and business continuity is a good example. You are also part of a small pool of services looking at and sharing expertise about the use of applications to integrate different types of data to help resource planning. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.2.4.3 and we publish our examples externally where appropriate. Professional publications and events as well as Audit Commission reports provide ways in which you tell other services about your initiatives and Fire magazine has carried articles about West Yorkshire Fire. You also host regular visits from other services and your response to the flooding emergencies in recent years has been seen as best practice nationally. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.3 DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH PROBLEMS
4.3.1 We identify any dips in performance against our standards and explain these to customers, together with action we are taking to COMPLIANT put things right and prevent further recurrence. 4.3.1.1 We identify any dips in performance against our standards . . . Performance is monitored centrally down to station level and collated for the Service as a whole. Quarterly station audits are conducted by senior staff. A robust performance management system continues to identify areas of under-performance at local and
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corporate level. RP10 Your performance management system readily identifies under-performance against your standards and targets. Generally speaking, you continue to meet your national indicator standards and targets and your service delivery standards and targets with only a handful of indicators within your 10% tolerance levels. N016e is your Performance Management and Activity Report 2009/2010, available on your web site providing a full summary including where targets have not been met. Performance continues to be reported to Members. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.1.2 and explain these to customers . . . Reports to elected members now include exception reports to highlight under- performance against your own standards and targets and against comparator services. Performance reports including explanations of under-performance are publicly available on your web site. Your current Corporate Plan 2008/2011 shows historical performance against your standards and targets, 'Best of the Rest' comparisons and targets for the current year and succeeding years to 2010/2011. RP10 N016e identifies performance against your targets using the traffic light system and provides explanations for under-performance. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.1.3 together with action we are taking to put things right and prevent further recurrence. The Corporate Plan includes explanations of instances where the service provided has not been up to standard and details of the action taken to prevent or minimise the chance of recurrences. Performance management reports provide details of remedial action to address current under-performance. RP10 N016e includes explanations of remedial action being taken to address performance issues. This is supplemented by evidence of the actions you take for specific issues such as the increase in incidents around Bonfire Night. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.3.2 We have an easy to use complaints procedure, which includes a commitment to deal with problems fully and solve them COMPLIANT wherever possible within a reasonable time limit. 4.3.2.1 We have an easy to use complaints procedure . . . Your corporate complaints procedure is well written and easy to use. It includes compliments as well as complaints and is well publicised in your Customer Service Guide and other documents and is available at stations and on the web site. RP11 No change. The procedure was reviewed in September 2011.
Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.2.2 which includes a commitment to deal with problems fully . . . You provide a commitment to rectify problems at the point of delivery or via the formal procedure until a resolution is reached. RP11 No change. Remedial action is taken where analysis shows an increase in certain categories of complaint and staff attitude is one recent example. You provide evidence to show that the advice to staff included in your customer service guide was reinforced and a monitoring process put in place. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.2.3 and solve them wherever possible within a reasonable time limit. Time limits for initial responses and full replies are included in the procedure. RP11 You attract about 50 complaints annually all dealt with within your published time scales. Evidence Value: Fully met
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4.3.3 We give staff training and guidance to handle complaints and to investigate them objectively, and we can demonstrate that we COMPLIANT empower staff to put things right. 4.3.3.1 We give staff training and guidance to handle complaints . . . Guidance is available to all staff via the intranet and team leaders and managers are provided with further training in complaints handling. Staff confirm that they are well aware of the policies and procedures to follow. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.3.2 and to investigate them objectively . . . Complaints are taken seriously and investigated objectively and fairly by managers trained to deal with customer dissatisfaction. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.3.3 and we can demonstrate that we empower staff to put things right. Staff are encouraged to resolve problems at the point of service delivery and feel confident in doing so. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.3.4 We learn from any mistakes we make by identifying patterns in formal and informal complaints and comments from customers COMPLIANT and use this information to improve services and publicise action taken. 4.3.4.1 We learn from any mistakes we make by identifying patterns in formal . . . Complaints and compliments are recorded on a data base, analysed by type and reported annually to elected members. Your Corporate Plan shows the data for complaints and compliments for eight years with a decreasing trend for complaints against an increasing number of compliments. RP10 You provide annual complaints and compliments data from 2001 together with how you categorise them by type for 2009 and the first six months of 2010. The trend clearly indicates sustained reductions in complaints year-on-year against increasing numbers of compliments. You include a report to Members for June 2010 as evidence.
Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.4.2 and informal complaints and comments from customers . . . Complaints resolved informally are included in the data. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.4.3 and use this information to improve services and publicise action taken. Data for complaints and compliments is published in the Corporate Plan and shows that over time, compliments have increased and complaints have decreased. You provide evidence that details of remedial action are published in your Corporate Plan and in committee papers which are publicly available and accessible on your web site. RP10 Your web site includes the action taken following complaints and a report to Members dated March 2010 is an example. You also include similar information in your updated Corporate Plan 2008/2011. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.3.5 We regularly review and improve our complaints procedure, taking account of the views of customers, complainants and COMPLIANT staff. 4.3.5.1 We regularly review and improve our complaints procedure . . . The complaints procedure is regularly reviewed and updated. Recent improvements include the use of a telephone answering machine, assistance with making complaints, a female point of contact and inclusion on your web site. RP11 Your complaints procedure was last reviewed in September 2011 in line with your commitment to review all your corporate policies regularly. You confirm that you
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conduct an annual audit of all complaints and check them against station records to ensure that the recording and complaints handling procedures are working correctly.
Evidence Value: Fully met 4.3.5.2 taking account of the views of customers, complainants and staff. A questionnaire survey seeking the views of complainants about their experience of the complaints procedure produced positive responses. The views of customers and staff have been taken into account and the improvements made reflect their concerns. RP11 In early 2011, you surveyed complainants about your procedure and whilst the response rate was not high, the results confirmed that the overwhelming majority of complainants felt that they had been dealt with politely by members of staff who were friendly and helpful and the majority were satisfied with the way in which their complaint had been handled. The evidence is available on your website. Evidence Value: Fully met
4.3.6 We ensure that the outcome of the complaint process for COMPLIANT customers (whose complaint is upheld) is satisfactory for them. 4.3.6.1 We ensure that the outcome of the complaint process for customers (whose complaint is upheld) is satisfactory for them. The evidence presented clearly shows that complaints are fully and fairly investigated with a high proportion being upheld. At the conclusion of a complaint, customers are surveyed about how they felt the matter had been dealt with. Reports suggest that of the sample seen, all complainants confirmed that the matter had been resolved to their satisfaction. Evidence Value: Fully met
5 TIMELINESS AND QUALITY OF SERVICE
5.1 STANDARDS FOR TIMELINESS AND QUALITY
5.1.1 We set appropriate and measurable standards for the timeliness of response for all forms of customer contact including phone COMPLIANT calls, letters, e-communications and personal callers. 5.1.1.1 We set appropriate and measurable standards for the timeliness of response for all forms of customer contact including phone calls, letters, e-communications and personal callers. Your call handling protocol, customer care policy and customer service guide set standards for answering calls and responding to letters and emails as well as personal callers. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met
5.1.2 We set comprehensive standards for all aspects of the quality of customer service to be expected in all dealings with our COMPLIANT organisation. 5.1.2.1 We set comprehensive standards for all aspects of the quality of customer service to be expected in all dealings with our organisation. Qualitative standards and targets are included in your customer care policies and guidelines. RP10 No change. Evidence Value: Fully met
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5.2 TIMELY OUTCOMES 5.2.1 We advise our customers and potential customers about our COMPLIANT promises on timeliness and quality of customer service. 5.2.1.1 We advise our customers and potential customers about our promises on timeliness and quality of customer service. Your standards and targets are published in the Corporate Plan and some targets appear in a variety of public documents and on your web site. You have a customer service guide which contains your main standards and targets and which is widely distributed and available on your web site. RP11 Your Service Plan 2011-2015 which includes your performance standards and targets was the subject of consultation with customers before being adopted by the Authority. You also continue to publish an informal Customer Service Guide detailing your commitments towards timeliness and quality of service. The guide is readily available at all stations and in all public buildings and is reproduced on your website.
Evidence Value: Fully met
5.2.2 We identify individual customer needs at the first point of contact with us and ensure that an appropriate person who can COMPLIANT address the reason for contact deals with the customer. 5.2.2.1 We identify individual customer needs at the first point of contact with us . . . Your policies and procedures ensure that individual customer needs are identified at the first point of contact whether by MACC responding to calls about an emergency or incident or more generally through requests for advice and help. You use protocols and checklists to help staff to ask appropriate questions so that needs can be fully assessed. MACC also has access to language line to help in translations and interpretations. Evidence Value: Fully met 5.2.2.2 and ensure that an appropriate person who can address the reason for contact deals with the customer. Emergency responses are pre-planned and MACC mobilises resources accordingly. For more general matters such as home fire safety checks, response crews carry out checks themselves and provide appropriate advice and equipment depending on need. For more difficult cases, a high risk team is available and procedures are in place to ensure that customers are referred onwards to other agencies where appropriate.
Evidence Value: Fully met
5.2.3 We promptly share customer information with colleagues and partners within our organisation whenever appropriate and can COMPLIANT demonstrate how this has reduced unnecessary contact for customers. 5.2.3.1 We promptly share customer information with colleagues and partners within our organisation whenever appropriate . . . All incidents and more general requests for service are logged on databases and available to staff. Information sharing protocols govern the exchange of information between the Service and your partners and referral schemes both from and to the Service are well used to seek services for customers from other agencies.
Evidence Value: Fully met
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5.2.3.2 and can demonstrate how this has reduced unnecessary contact for customers. You take opportunities to offer additional services once a customer has made contact and home fire safety checks are a good example of a service promoted in post-incident surveys and on your web site. Your Bluetooth initiative proved to be a cost-effective way of delivering safety messages to hard to reach customers such as students who might not otherwise have contacted you or been aware of your campaigns.
Evidence Value: Fully met
5.2.4 Where service is not completed at the first point of contact we discuss with the customer the next steps and indicate the likely COMPLIANT overall time to achieve outcomes. 5.2.4.1 Where service is not completed at the first point of contact we discuss with the customer the next steps . . . Services are normally delivered on request and completed at the time of asking. Follow-up arrangements are in place where a service has not been delivered or completed and staff explained how they called back at premises where no response had been received. Arrangements are also in place to refer vulnerable customers to your high risk team or other agencies. FOI requests and other requests for information are dealt with in accordance with the target time scales.
Evidence Value: Fully met 5.2.4.2 and indicate the likely overall time to achieve outcomes. Requests for service not dealt with at the time are logged and responded to within reasonable time scales. Home fire safety checks would usually be completed within a week but would continue to be followed-up until complete or you were satisfied that a service was no longer required. Evidence Value: Fully met
5.2.5 We respond to initial enquiries promptly, if there is a delay we COMPLIANCE advise the customer and take action to rectify the problem. PLUS
5.2.5.1 We respond to initial enquiries promptly . . . Your customer care policy and customer service guide set standards for answering calls and dealing with letters and emails and target times are generally met. Operational responses were met on almost all occasions and surveys show prompt response to enquiries. RP11 Dealing with requests and enquiries is given a high priority and promptness, accuracy and transparency are key features of all your procedures. Standards and targets for service calls are met and more often than not exceeded. For other enquiries such as FOI requests or complaints, target timescales are tight but always met, often the same day. You provide evidence of your processes to ensure that delays do not occur. Customer comments from the FOI log testify to the speed and comprehensive nature of responses including compliments from professionals and very favourable comparisons with other public bodies. Compliance Plus is justified.
Evidence Value: Fully met 5.2.5.2 if there is a delay we advise the customer and take action to rectify the problem. You provide good evidence to confirm that customers are kept informed of progress wherever a request remains outstanding. RP11 Your procedures include guidance on how to handle enquiries which cannot be satisfied promptly. Evidence Value: Fully met
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5.3 ACHIEVED TIMELY DELIVERY 5.3.1 We monitor our performance against standards for timeliness and quality of customer service and we take action if problems COMPLIANT are identified.
5.3.1.1 We monitor our performance against standards for timeliness . . . Performance management and monitoring arrangements provide a comprehensive and co-ordinated set of policies and procedures clearly setting out how performance is to be monitored. You have telephone and correspondence answering protocols and monitor how quickly calls are answered at your main switchboard. Staff demonstrated how correspondence was tracked electronically to ensure that time scales for answering are met. Surveys are used to check how customers feel about the response they received and the results confirm speedy responses to incidents and more general requests for service. RP10 You present good recent evidence that you continue to monitor your performance against your standards and targets for timeliness and attendance at incidents and responses to complaints and FOI requests are examples.
Evidence Value: Fully met 5.3.1.2 and quality of customer service . . . You use surveys to monitor quality of service over a range of services you provide including after the fire/flood incidents for both domestic and commercial premises, enforcement, home fire safety checks and school visits. RP10 Quality of service questionnaires continue to demonstrate high levels of customer satisfaction with service quality and quality standards and targets generally met and more often exceeded. Your report to the Audit Committee in September 2010 included the annualised results of your quality of service survey.
Evidence Value: Fully met 5.3.1.3 and we take action if problems are identified. You provide good evidence that you take action when problems become apparent and fire crews failing to provide advice or hand out leaflets is one example where crews were reminded of their responsibilities. RP10 Recent examples include the monitoring of returned calls to the switchboard and examinations of lunchtime cover and reminding crews to provide more fire safety advice at the scene. Evidence Value: Fully met
5.3.2 We are meeting our current standards for timeliness and quality of customer service and we publicise our performance against COMPLIANT these standards. 5.3.2.1 We are meeting our current standards for timeliness . . . You provide good evidence to show that you meet your targets for timeliness and quality of service including Freedom of Information requests. N159 QOS and Complaints Survey as well as other documents provide the evidence. RP11 Performance management reports and other evidence demonstrate that you continue to meet your standards and targets for timeliness. Evidence Value: Fully met 5.3.2.2 and quality of customer service . . . You use surveys and complaints data to check quality of service. Complaints are decreasing over the medium term and compliments are on the increase. Surveys of quality show high levels of service delivery and that the majority of your customers are very satisfied with the overall quality of your service. RP11 Performance management reports and other evidence demonstrate that you continue to meet your standards and targets for service quality. Evidence Value: Fully met
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5.3.2.3 and we publicise our performance against these standards. You publish details of surveys in various documents and on your web site. At fire stations, performance boards are displayed showing how the Service is performing against standards and targets for timeliness and quality. RP11 No change. You continue to publish and make available details of your performance against your standards and targets through all the normal channels including new media. Evidence Value: Fully met
5.3.3 Our performance in relation to timeliness and quality of service COMPLIANT compares well with that of similar organisations. 5.3.3.1 Our performance in relation to timeliness . . . The evidence presented shows West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to be a top performing service with very favourable comparisons in many areas including Best Practice in a number of areas including community fire safety. Comparisons with the 'Best of the Rest' metropolitan fire services and your recent external audits and assessments together with other data clearly show a high performing service and at the forefront in many areas. Evidence Value: Fully met 5.3.3.2 and quality of service compares well with that of similar organisations. Your surveys provide convincing evidence that your customers rate your quality of service highly and where comparisons can be made, your overall performance on quality of service compares well with other metropolitan services. Evidence Value: Fully met
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CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service first achieved the Customer Service Excellence standard in 2009. The table below shows the direction of travel each year against the 57 elements of the standard.
1 CUSTOMER INSIGHT
1.1 CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION 1.1.1 We have an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of our current and potential customer groups based on recent and reliable information.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliance Plus Compliance Plus Compliance Plus 1.1.2 We have developed customer insight about our customer groups to better understand their needs and preferences. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Partial Compliance Compliant Compliant 1.1.3 We make particular efforts to identify hard to reach and disadvantaged groups and individuals and have developed our services in response to their specific needs. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.2 ENGAGEMENT AND CONSULTATION
1.2.1 We have a strategy for engaging and involving customers using a range of methods appropriate to the needs of identified customer groups. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.2.2 We have made the consultation of customers integral to continually improving our service and we advise customers of the results and action taken. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.2.3 We regularly review our strategies and opportunities for consulting and engaging with customers to ensure that the methods used are effective and provide reliable and representative results. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.3 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
1.3.1 We use reliable and accurate methods to measure customer satisfaction on a regular basis. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.3.2 We analyse and publicise satisfaction levels for the full range of customers for all main areas of our service and we have improved services as a result. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
1
1.3.3 We include in our measurement of satisfaction specific questions relating to key areas including those on delivery, timeliness, information, access and the quality of customer service, as well as specific questions which are informed by customer insight. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.3.4 We set challenging and stretching targets for customer satisfaction and our levels are improving. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 1.3.5 We have made positive changes to services as a result of analysing customer experience, including improved customer journeys. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
2 THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANISATION
2.1 LEADERSHIP, POLICY AND CULTURE
2.1.1 There is corporate commitment to putting the customer at the heart of service delivery and leaders in our organisation actively support this and advocate for customers. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.1.2 We use customer insight to inform policy and strategy and to prioritise service improvement activity. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.1.3 We have policies and procedures which support the right of all customers to expect excellent levels of service. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.1.4 We ensure that all customers and customer groups are treated fairly and this is confirmed by feedback and the measurement of customer experience. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.1.5 We protect customers’ privacy both in face-to-face discussions and in the transfer and storage of customer information.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliance Plus Compliance Plus Compliance Plus 2.1.6 We empower and encourage all employees to actively promote and participate in the customer focused culture of our organisation. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.2 STAFF PROFESSIONALISM AND ATTITUDE
2.2.1 We can demonstrate our commitment to developing and delivering customer focused services through our recruitment, training and development policies for staff. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
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2.2.2 Our staff are polite and friendly to customers and have an understanding of customer needs. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.2.3 We prioritise customer focus at all levels of our organisation and evaluate individual and team commitment through the performance management system. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.2.4 We can demonstrate how customer-facing staffs’ insight and experience is incorporated into internal processes, policy development and service planning. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 2.2.5 We value the contribution our staff make to delivering customer focused services, and leaders, managers and staff demonstrate these behaviours.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliance Plus
3 INFORMATION AND ACCESS
3.1 RANGE OF INFORMATION
3.1.1 We make information about the full range of services we provide available to our customers and potential customers, including how and when people can contact us, how our services are run and who is in charge. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 3.1.2 Where there is a charge for services, we tell our customers how much they will have to pay. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 3.2 QUALITY OF INFORMATION
3.2.1 We provide our customers with the information they need in ways which meet their needs and preferences, using a variety of appropriate channels. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 3.2.2 We take reasonable steps to make sure our customers have received and understood the information we provide.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliance Plus 3.2.3 We have improved the range, content and quality of verbal, published and web based information we provide to ensure it is relevant and meets the needs of customers. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 3.2.4 We can demonstrate that information we provide to our customers is accurate and complete, and that when this is not the case we advise customers when they will receive the information they requested. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
3
3.3 ACCESS
3.3.1 We make our services easily accessible to all customers through provision of a range of alternative channels. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 3.3.2 We evaluate how customers interact with the organisation through access channels and we use this information to identify possible service improvements and offer better choices.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Partial Compliance Compliant Compliance Plus 3.3.3 We ensure that where customers can visit our premises in person, facilities are as clean and comfortable as possible. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 3.4 CO-OPERATIVE WORKING WITH OTHER PROVIDERS, PARTNERS AND COMMUNITIES.
3.4.1 We have made arrangements with other providers and partners to offer and supply co-ordinated services, and these arrangements have demonstrable benefits for our customers.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliance Plus Compliance Plus Compliance Plus 3.4.2 We have developed co-ordinated working arrangements with our partners that ensure customers have clear lines of accountability for quality of service.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliance Plus 3.4.3 We interact within wider communities and we can demonstrate the ways in which we support those communities.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliance Plus Compliance Plus Compliance Plus
4 DELIVERY
4.1 DELIVERY STANDARDS
4.1.1 We have challenging standards for our main services, which take account of our responsibility for delivering national and statutory standards and targets. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.1.2 We monitor and meet our standards, key departmental and performance targets, and we tell our customers about our performance. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
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4.1.3 We consult and involve customers, citizens, partners and staff on the setting, reviewing and raising of our local standards. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.2 ACHIEVED DELIVERY AND OUTCOMES
4.2.1 We agree with our customers at the outset what they can expect from the service we provide. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.2.2 We can demonstrate that we deliver the service we promised to individual customers and that outcomes are positive for the majority of our customers. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.2.3 We can demonstrate that we benchmark our performance against that of similar or complementary organisations and have used that information to improve our service. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.2.4 We have developed and learned from best practice identified within and outside our organisation, and we publish our examples externally where appropriate. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.3 DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH PROBLEMS
4.3.1 We identify any dips in performance against our standards and explain these to customers, together with action we are taking to put things right and prevent further recurrence. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.3.2 We have an easy to use complaints procedure, which includes a commitment to deal with problems fully and solve them wherever possible within a reasonable time limit. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.3.3 We give staff training and guidance to handle complaints and to investigate them objectively, and we can demonstrate that we empower staff to put things right. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.3.4 We learn from any mistakes we make by identifying patterns in formal and informal complaints and comments from customers and use this information to improve services and publicise action taken. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.3.5 We regularly review and improve our complaints procedure, taking account of the views of customers, complainants and staff. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 4.3.6 We ensure that the outcome of the complaint process for customers (whose complaint is upheld) is satisfactory for them. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
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5 TIMELINESS AND QUALITY OF SERVICE
5.1 STANDARDS FOR TIMELINESS AND QUALITY
5.1.1 We set appropriate and measurable standards for the timeliness of response for all forms of customer contact including phone calls, letters, e-communications and personal callers. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.1.2 We set comprehensive standards for all aspects of the quality of customer service to be expected in all dealings with our organisation. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.2 TIMELY OUTCOMES
5.2.1 We advise our customers and potential customers about our promises on timeliness and quality of customer service. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.2.2 We identify individual customer needs at the first point of contact with us and ensure that an appropriate person who can address the reason for contact deals with the customer. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.2.3 We promptly share customer information with colleagues and partners within our organisation whenever appropriate and can demonstrate how this has reduced unnecessary contact for customers. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.2.4 Where service is not completed at the first point of contact we discuss with the customer the next steps and indicate the likely overall time to achieve outcomes. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.2.5 We respond to initial enquiries promptly, if there is a delay we advise the customer and take action to rectify the problem.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliance Plus 5.3 ACHIEVED TIMELY DELIVERY
5.3.1 We monitor our performance against standards for timeliness and quality of customer service and we take action if problems are identified.
Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.3.2 We are meeting our current standards for timeliness and quality of customer service and we publicise our performance against these standards. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant 5.3.3 Our performance in relation to timeliness and quality of service compares well with that of similar organisations. Direction of 2009 2010 2011 Travel Compliant Compliant Compliant
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WYFRA FULL AUTHORITY 16 DECEMBER 2011 ITEM NO
17
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RESOURCES
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO INFORM THE AUTHORITY ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE LOCALISM ACT 2011.
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE REPORT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None
ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: M G BARNES Director of Corporate Resources Tel: 01274 655710 [email protected]
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION:
SUMMARY
The Localism Act received Royal Assent on 15th November 2011. This report summarises the implications for fire and rescue authorities and the need to review a number of matters such as charging provisions and code of conduct/standards issues.
1. BACKGROUND 1.1 The Localism Act received Royal Assent on 15th November 2011. Only a limited number of provisions came into effect on enactment mainly about transitional matters – more provisions will come into force on 15th January 2012 – the remainder are subject to the Secretary of State making implementation orders with a Government intention to seek to achieve this in most cases by April 2012. The Act is expressed to be concerned with making provision about the functions and procedures of local authorities and contains nearly 500 pages only a small part of which is relevant to the functions of a Fire and Rescue Authority. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief summary of the main provisions which are relevant to FRA functions.
General Powers (Chapter 2 Section 9) 1.2 Subject to the implementation date the Act amends Part 1 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 by inserting a new Section 5A into that Act granting FRA’s enhanced powers to do anything they consider appropriate for the purposes of the carrying out of any of their functions – so called “functional purposes” which are not actually defined in the 2011 Act but which must be taken to be a reference to the statutory functions of FRA’s set out in Part 2 of the FRSA 2004 namely making provision for promoting Fire Safety, Fire-fighting, Road traffic accidents and other emergencies including the need to secure the provision of personnel, services and, equipment and, mobilising facilities in order to extinguish fires, protect life and property and, rescue people. This is intended to be a wider power than exists at present in that it will permit FRAs to do anything they consider appropriate both for the purpose itself and anything incidental to it however many times that may be removed from the carrying out of the functional purposes along with anything connected with their functions. However, this is not as wide a power as the general power of competence being given under the Act to Principal Councils (County Council fire and rescue services will benefit from the wider GPC powers as part of their host authority) which henceforth will in effect have all the powers of an individual person rather than having to identify and rely upon explicit statutory provisions. In the case of FRAs the “ultra vires” restriction principles will therefore remain applicable albeit that the impact of such restrictions will be much less. The enhanced powers will not allow a FRA to anything specifically prohibited in other legislation, nor to borrow money, nor levy charges, unless done in accordance with other statutory provisions and, anything a FRA does for “commercial purposes” (not defined but understood to mean trading at a profit) must be done through a company or co-operative society. MFRA existing Section 111 Local Government Act 1972 powers will be replaced by this new provision.
Charging Powers (Chapter 2 Sections 10/18)
1.3 The Act amends the FRSA 2004 by inserting new/revised (S.18) charging powers which authorises charges to be imposed (agreement is not a necessity in non-commercial cases) on persons for action taken for both commercial purposes and otherwise than for commercial purposes – however, before beginning to charge for additional activities, a FRA must consult any person it considers appropriate. A FRA may charge different amounts in different circumstances but in non- commercial cases the charge setting process remains as now in that a FRA must aim to secure that taking one financial year with another the overall income from charging does not exceed the cost of taking the action for which the charges are imposed. CLG advise that FRAs will be able to continue to charge for activities they can currently charge for without the need to re-consult. 1.4 A FRA cannot charge for land based fire-fighting and, life and property protection activities nor for emergency medical assistance nor for charging for rescuing or protecting individuals from serious harm in the event of an emergency nor for action taken in response to events of widespread significance , the direct result of severe weather or road traffic accidents. A FRA cannot charge for providing advice on how to prevent fires and restrict their spread. Nor can it charge for action taken in its capacity as an enforcing authority under the RR (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (this does not prevent recovery of prosecution costs on conviction as that is authorised under separate legislation). 1.5 There is a new power to make charges for responding to persistent false reports of fire if the report is of a fire at non-domestic premises and made in consequence of mis-installed or malfunctioning warning equipment under common control. 1.6 Officers will review the new provisions and bring forward reports as necessary in order to implement the new charging regime
Standards (Chapter 7 and Schedule 4)
1.7 The Act maintains an obligation by the FRA to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by Members when acting in that capacity and it must adopt (revise existing or make a new one) a Code of Conduct which is consistent with the 7 principles of standards in public life. 1.8 The FRA must also have in place arrangements under which written allegations about Members alleged to be in breach of the Code can be investigated and decisions on them made and that includes a requirement to make provision for the appointment of at least one independent person whose views are sought and taken into account before it makes a decision on an allegation that it has decided to investigate. The Code must be approved by the FRA itself. 1.9 However, subject to the continuance of the existing machinery for a transitional period to deal with pending complaints, the existing highly prescriptive procedural complaints handling requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 are to be swept away along with the Standards Board (for England) – this means that the requirement to have an Independent chair of the Standards Committee with voting powers, the 3 existing tier decision making system along with reference/appeals to the First Tier Tribunal will no longer apply. The existing Standards Committee powers to impose sanctions will be revoked and thereafter sanctions will be limited to the pre-2000 Act common law powers such as issuing a letter of censure to a Member or removing a Member from membership of committees for a period of time. This will be a transparent process – the Government intention is that it is then up to the electorate to determine whether or not to re-elect someone who may have transgressed but the local authority itself will no longer be able to suspend the Member and the disqualification powers of the First Tier Tribunal will no longer apply. 1.10 The power to grant dispensations to officers restricted from party political activity is to be transferred from the Standards Committee to an officer which officer in the case of FRAs will have to be determined by the Secretary of State in due course. 1.11 There will be new requirements to maintain and publish on the FRA website a register of Members interests (as determined by the FRA). If a Member fails to comply with the new requirements they will be liable to criminal prosecution with a maximum fine of £5,000 and the Court will have a discretionary power to impose up to 5 years disqualification from holding office in any relevant authority. However, prosecution can only be instituted by or on behalf of the DPP and is subject to time limits. 1.12 The Act will modify the “pre –determination” rule in relation to Members in their capacity as Members of their appointing Councils but not in their capacity as Members of the FRA. 1.13 Officers will monitor best practice developments on the future of Standards in Local Government (it is anticipated model codes will be produced at national level) and liaise with Group Leaders and the Standards Committee in seeking to prepare proposals for a new Code and procedural regime appropriate to the needs of this Authority.
Pay accountability (chapter 8)
1.14 Intended to deliver transparency over senior officers pay the Act requires the FRA to prepare and publish a pay policy statement for financial year 2012/13 and each subsequent year which requires specific approval from the FRA itself with the first statement published not later than 31st March 2012. It will have to include policies on pay and bonuses and severance terms etc. 1.15 This is a far more detailed statutory requirement than the existing requirements which merely require publication of remuneration details as an addendum to the annual accounts. Once approved the FRA must comply with its pay policy statement for the financial year in making the determination. 1.16 Officers will submit detailed compliance proposals for consideration by the FRA in sufficient time to secure compliance with the statutory date requirement.
Precept Limitation / Referendum (Part 5 – Chapter 1) 1.17 The FRA is a major Precepting Authority and the Act will impose new provisions dealing with the right to approve or veto “excessive” precept rises. The current capping regime is to be replaced with a new system under which the Secretary of State will determine a limit for increases which then has to be approved by the House of Commons. If the FRA proposes to raise taxes above this limit it will have to hold a referendum to get approval for this from local voters who will be asked to approve or to veto the rise. In this way the final decision will be made locally by the local voters rather than by central government.
Community Right to Challenge and Bid for Assets of Community Value (Part 5 Chapter 2)
1.18 Under this part of the Act voluntary and community groups and local authority employees are to be given the right to express an interest in taking over the running of a local authority service. If the expression of interest is accepted this will trigger a competitive procurement process under which other commercial organisations might also then bid to provide services. However, as it stands FRAs are not “relevant authorities” for this purpose. The Secretary of State is empowered to designate other bodies such as FRAs for this purpose and commenced a consultation process some considerable time ago which indicated that FRA core operational fire-fighting and rescue services would not be exposed to this new process. When an Order is made setting out details of how the process will apply to FRAs officers will report further on the implications. 1.19 The Act requires local authorities to maintain a list of assets of community value which have been nominated by the local community who are then given rights to develop a bid and to seek to buy such assets when they come onto the open market. FRAs are not defined as “local authorities” for the purposes of having to maintain a list. It is possible that voluntary groups etc may seek to have fire stations placed on the list (if they were that would create a land charge registration and trigger the 6 month pause on commercial disposal of redundant stations to facilitate community bids) however, it is not currently considered that these provisions will apply to FRA properties.
2. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
2.1 As detailed in the body of the report the majority of the changes have not yet come into force and a more detailed financial appraisal of each change will be presented as the impact is known. Initially there are two areas where there could be a financial impact on the Authority.
Charging powers
2.2 The Authority already takes advantage of existing charging powers charging for special service calls and lift rescues which between them generated income of £0.25m in 2010/2011. As officers review the new provisions and bring forward reports on the new charging regime these will include detailed financial implications.
Precept Limitation/ Referendum
2.3 As reported previously to the Authority the current capping criteria will be replaced by the requirement to hold a referendum if the precept rise exceeds the government limit. The Secretary of State has indicated that he will set out the maximum precept increase as part of the draft local government settlement, which means Authorities will know whether or not the budget is excessive at the time it is approved. In addition in consultation the Secretary of State has indicated that he may set different levels for different types of Authority.
2.4 Clearly the down side is the cost particularly for a county wide authority which will have to hold a referendum in all 5 districts and meet the full cost which could be up to £2.0m
3. EQUALITIES AND FAIRNESS IMPLICATIONS
3.1 There are no direct equality and diversity implications arising from this report.
4. CONCLUSIONS
4.1 The Act, when fully implemented, will give the FRA wider legal powers in connection with the discharge of its functions and bring about major changes to the Code of Conduct for Members and revise charging procedures. The application of the new Community right to challenge and community value asset provisions to FRAs are still unclear.
WYFRA FULL AUTHORITY 16 DECEMBER 2011 ITEM NO
18
REPORT OF: THE DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RESOURCES
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO CONSIDER MEMBER ATTENDANCE AT AN INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT COURSE
RECOMMENDATIONS: THAT CONSIDERATION BE GIVEN TO THE ATTENDANCE OF A MEMBER AT A LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT COURSE IN EARLY 2012
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None CONTACT OFFICER: NICOLA HOUSEMAN 01274 655740 BACKGROUND PAPERS:
SUMMARY
As part of the Authority’s Member development programme, invitations from appropriate courses are accepted with a view to giving Members the opportunity to participate in focused learning and networking experiences.
1. INFORMATION
1.1 Information has been received from the Local Government Yorkshire and Humber (LGYH) with regard to a Leadership and Management qualification for Councillors.
1.2 The courses are organised in association with the Institute of Leadership and Management, the Northern College in Barnsley and the Yorkshire and Humber Improvement and Efficiency partnership (YOHrSpace).
1.3 LGYH have agreed to 50% subsidy of the course fees for one Member per authority. It would be a requirement for funding that the attending Member attended on both residential weekend courses and submitted the necessary assignments.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 The course operates on two different levels – level 3 (equivalent level of difficulty of an A’level) and level 4, and covers the following aspects of leadership and management;
• Decision-making (L3) • Leadership styles (L3 & 4) • Motivating and developing teams (L3) • Planning practical leadership activities (L4) • Developing leadership through practical activities (L4)
It is not a pre-requisite that level 3 should be completed prior to entry onto level 4.
2.2 The dates for the course, to be held at the Northern College in Barnsley on a residential basis, are as follows;
Level 3 20 – 22 January 2012 and 3 – 5 February 2012
Level 4 24 – 26 February 2012 and 9 – 11 March 2012
2.3 All learners would also have free “studying membership” of the ILM for six months which will give the Member access to a wide range of specialist support and development materials and services.
3. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS
3.1 There are no Equality and Diversity implications in this report.
4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
4.1 Attendance on Level 3 will cost the Authority £190 per delegate and Level 4 will be £250 per delegate (reduced to £220 if participant has already acquired level 3).
4.2 Course fees and travel and subsistence costs for the attending member would be met from within existing revenue budget provision.
5. HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 None arising from this report.
6. RECOMMENDATION
6.1 It is recommended that consideration be given to the attendance of one Member on the Leadership and Management course.
WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD AT FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE HEADQUARTERS, BIRKENSHAW, ON FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2011
Present : Councillors D Ridgway (in the chair), T Austin, C Bampton-Smith, V Binney, R Brown, A Castle, J Cole, J Dodds, R Grahame, D Hall, S Hamilton, P Harrand, D Hopkins, J Hughes, A Hussain, J Illingworth, M Khan, B Smith, C Townsley and A Wallis
Apologies: Councillors A McKenna and G Thornton
In attendance : Major J Mayo
37 ADMISSION OF THE PUBLIC
The meeting determined that there were no items which necessitated the exclusion of the public.
38 URGENT ITEMS
There were no urgent items.
39 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
No declarations of interest were made in any matter under discussion at the meeting.
40 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2011 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.
41 MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the Audit Committee at a meeting held on 30 September 2011 be received.
42 MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Councillor Harrand raised the issue of the recording in the Minutes of his own and Councillor Binney’s abstentions from the vote on agenda item 12 – New Control Project – Submission of Bid (Min no. 12 refers). The Director of Corporate Resources advised that the Constitution did not currently provide for this but this element would be reviewed at the Annual meeting in June 2012.
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the Executive Committee at a meeting held on 31 October 2011 be received.
43 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY SAFETY COMMITTEE
RESOLVED
That, subject to the amendment of the list of Members present at the meeting in respect of Councillors Bampton-Smith and Townsley, the Minutes of the Community Safety Committee at a meeting held on 4 November 2011 be received.
44 MINUTES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the Human Resources Committee at a meeting held on 11 November 2011 be received.
45 MINUTES OF THE FINANCE AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the Finance and Resources Committee at a meeting held on 18 November 2011 be received.
46 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION - MINUTES
RESOLVED
(i) That the Minutes of the Fire Commission at a meeting held on 14 October 2011 be received;
(ii) That the Minutes of the Safer and Stronger Communities Programme Board at a meeting held on 13 September 2011 be received; and
(iii) That the Minutes of the Fire Services Management Committee at a meeting held on 16 September 2011 be received.
47 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REPORT
The Senior Corporate Resources Manager submitted a report which outlined the activities of the Brigade in the areas of operations and technical matters for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 October 2011.
Members commented specifically on the West Yorkshire’s excellent comparison with other Metropolitan Brigades and discussed issues, targets and results related to child fatalities, operational complaints and the recorded reduction in compliments for school and station visits.
RESOLVED
(i) That the report be noted;
(ii) That detail of the operational complaints be submitted to the next meeting of the Audit committee and circulated to all Members for information; and
(iii) That information on comparative costs per head of population in relation to West Yorkshire and other Metropolitan Fire Authorities (broken down on a precept income basis) be submitted to the Finance and Resources Committee and to all Members in time for the budget briefings in January.
48 INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (IRMP) – CONSULTATION FEEDBACK
Members considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which presented the outcome of the formal consultation process in relation to the seven Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) proposals submitted to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority on 9 September 2011.
It was reported that access had been given to Members to all consultation responses together with the formal response from the Fire Brigade’s Union prior to the meeting.
RESOLVED
(i) That the significant level of responses received during the consultation process, which had been executed in accordance with recognised best practice procedures, be noted; and
(ii) That confirmation be made that the full range of views and opinions raised during the consultation process would be considered during the debate and discussions on the seven Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) proposals submitted by the Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive (Min no. 49 refers).
49 INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (IRMP) – CONSULTATION FEEDBACK
The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive submitted a report which presented the final proposals in relation to seven specific Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) actions following completion of the 13-week consultation process. An addendum to the report had been circulated to all Members prior to the meeting following the closure of the consultation process on 9 December together with a copy of the formal response from the Fire Brigade’s Union (FBU).
Members were advised in detail of the comments received in relation to the seven proposals together with the response of the Chief Fire Officer and thanked officers for their professional approach during the course of the consultation process.
There was some discussion about individual proposals and it was moved and seconded that the decision on the proposal to construct a new fire station to replace Gipton and Stanks fire stations (and so remove 24 full time posts from the establishment by way of planned retirements) be deferred for a further six months to enable additional public comment and further consideration of the proposal itself. Professional reassurance was given about the response times and level of cover which would be applied to the re-located Gipton and Stanks stations.
The Chief Fire Officer responded that, in order to make any attempt to breach the future funding gap in Fire Authority budgets and having had regard to the comments received during the consultation process, all seven proposals remained appropriate and that further efficiencies were still required. Members recognised that this was the case and there had been similar concerns raised about the other proposals.
It was reported also that, together with the changes to station locations as proposed in the IRMP, service delivery would continue to maintain a focus on prevention and protection. It was also reported that the FBU interpretation of response times in each business case was not accurate and Members were advised that officers remained wholly supportive of the plans and that they were robust and proportional to risk, taking into account diminishing resources.
The proposed amendment in respect of the relocation of Gipton and Stanks fire stations, on being put to the vote, was lost and it was,
RESOLVED
(i) That, having had regard to the feedback of the consultation process, the IRMP programme be approved as set out in Section 2 of the report;
(ii) That the capital investment required to deliver this plan be included within the Authority’s medium term financial plan; and
(iii) That approval be given for the purchase of the land required in accordance with the Authority’s Standing Orders.
50 OPERATIONS ASSESSEMENT AND FIRE PEER CHALLENGE
Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Operations which advised Members of the latest proposals for Operational Assessment and Fire Peer Challenge as devised jointly by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) and the Local Government Association (LGA).
It was reported that the Operational Assessment had originally been part of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) process which had been removed in May 2010. The process encouraged sector led improvement and had been replaced by a revised toolkit established jointly by the LGA and CFOA. West Yorkshire had been invited to take part in the pilot project between 7 – 9 February 2012. The project would incorporate both self- assessment and peer challenge elements and would consider seven key areas of assessment (KAA) as detailed in the report now submitted.
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
51 CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE REPORT
The Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report which updated Members on the Customer Service Excellence Assessment which took place in October 2011.
Members were advised that the Service had been awarded Full Compliance against all 57 elements, maintaining the previously awarded four Compliance Plus awards and including a further five new Compliance Plus awards.
RESOLVED
That the attainment of the Customer Service Excellence standard with full compliance against all 57 elements incorporating 9 Compliance Plus awards be noted.
52 LOCALISM ACT
Members considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which advised on the implications of the Localism Act 2011 which had achieved Royal Assent on 15 November 2011.
The few elements of the Act which would apply to Fire and Rescue Authorities related to;
Enhanced powers to do anything they considered appropriate for the purposes of carrying out any of their functions (power not as wide, however, as that of general competence conferred upon Principal Councils) Revised charging powers - subject to statutory limitations eg land- based firefighting and life and property protection – new areas for charging to be agreed following public consultation Abolition of previous statutory requirement for Standards Committees – provision to be made however for alleged breaches of the adopted Code of Conduct with limited sanctions Increased transparency over senior officer pay – including publication of policies on pay, bonuses and severance terms etc New power of approval / veto over excessive precept rises New community right to challenge and bid for assets of community value (commercial organisations will not be permitted to bid to provide fire and rescue services which were not “relevant authorities” for the purposes of the Act)
Members were advised that further reports would be submitted as appropriate with detail of changes in respect of the Localism Act 2011 as they impacted on the work of this Authority.
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
53 INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT – MEMBER ATTENDANCE
Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which sought approval for the attendance of a Member at an Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) course over two weekends in early 2012.
The place would be 50% Local Government Yorkshire and Humber (LGYH) funded and would cost the Authority £190 - £250 (dependent upon chosen level of study). Travel and subsistence allowances would be payable. The cost of participation could be met from within existing revenue budget provision.
RESOLVED
(i) That approval be given to the attendance of a Member at the Institute of Leadership and Management course to be held in Barnsley in early 2012; and (ii) Such approval at (i) above to be applied to Level 3 study.
54 COMMUNITY COVENANT SCHEME
A representative of the Armed Forces community attended the meeting to present Members with information related the “Armed Forces Covenant : Today and Tomorrow” campaign. The campaign sought to formalise community and local government support for members of the Armed Forces who had in past been disadvantaged as a direct result of being a member of the Armed Forces.
Members were advised that it was hoped that the scheme would strengthen ties between public services and develop a level of mutual understanding and it was further reported that all 9 local authorities and West and South Yorkshire were working towards formally adopting the scheme.
RESOLVED
That Members and Officers of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority offer formal support for the Armed Forces Community Covenant Scheme.
Chair