Statement of Assurance 2014-15
www.glosfire.gov.uk Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Page
Foreword by Councillor Will Windsor-Clive 2
Introduction by the Chief Fire Officer Stewart Edgar 3
The communities we serve 4
Our purpose 5
Overview of Fire and Rescue Service 6
Financial performance 11
Fire & Rescue Service Operational Business plan 13
Our challenges and priorities during 2014/15 13
Our performance 14
Our collaborative arrangements 17
How we secure business continuity 18
Audit and assurance 19
Our future challenges 20
How you can become involved 20
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Foreword by the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service
Councillor Will Windsor-Clive
As the Fire and Rescue Authority, Gloucestershire County Council has a legal responsibility to ensure that a highly effective Fire and Rescue Service is provided for all our communities at all times.
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service (GFRS) is a high performing and integral part of the County Council. The Service is ambitious and delivers more than just an emergency response. It works with other organisations and County Council teams to offer a comprehensive prevention and protection service. This ‘joined-up’ approach helps the most vulnerable in our communities to gain access to the help and assistance they need.
I am very proud of what we have achieved and of the quality of the service GFRS provides to our communities however, we all recognise that there is no place for complacency. I know that our communities can rely on Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service and its partner agencies to provide a truly excellent service to the people of Gloucestershire.
Signature Signed on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council:
………………………………………… Date …………………….… Councillor Will Windsor-Clive Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Introduction by Chief Fire Officer Stewart Edgar QFSM
Welcome to the Gloucestershire County Council Fire Authority’s Statement of Assurance.
We provide this statement for our local communities to show how we, the Fire and Rescue Service on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Authority (Gloucestershire County Council), have met and continue to meet our commitment to them.
The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England (the Framework) sets out the Government’s expectations for Fire and Rescue Authorities, those expectations include a duty to provide an annual statement of assurance on financial, governance and operational matters. The statement explains how the Fire and Rescue Authority is meeting the requirements of the Framework and how it has progressed with the stated objectives in our Integrated Risk Management Plan.
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service (GFRS) is an integral part of Gloucestershire County Council. In common with all County Council services we strive to give the communities of Gloucestershire the best possible service and at the same time offer real value for money.
Signature Signed on behalf of Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service:
………………………………………… Date …………………….… Stewart Edgar QFSM Chief Fire Officer
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
The Communities We Serve
Gloucestershire is a diverse county covering 2653 square km and has a population of approximately 605,700. The county can be typically divided into three main areas, the Cotswolds in the east, the Forest of Dean in the west and the Vale of the River Severn situated between them, the main urban centres being Gloucester and Cheltenham where half the county’s population live.
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Our purpose
So that the whole of the Service can keep a very clear perspective on what exactly we are aiming to achieve we have set ourselves a clear Mission Statement and very clear Strategic Aims.
We manage risk in Gloucestershire by being focussed on our Strategic Aims, everything we do builds towards achieving these aims.
Our priorities are to:
reduce risk in our communities respond quickly and effectively to emergencies when requested continue to develop a committed, skilled and safe workforce make the best use of the resources and provide an efficient Service
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Overview of Fire and Rescue Service
Statute and the Fire Framework
The legislation governing the Fire and Rescue Service is covered by the following:
the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the Fire and Rescue Service (Emergencies)(England) Order 2007
Below are the primary legislative provisions which determine the functions of the Fire and Rescue Authority, which include:
promoting fire safety extinguishing fires and protecting life and property rescuing people from road traffic accidents (and a large range of other risks determined through the Emergencies Order) respond to other emergencies enter into reinforcement schemes with other fire authorities for mutual assistance assess the risk of emergencies occurring and use this to inform contingency planning; and in this regard to: put in place emergency plans put in place business continuity management arrangements put in place arrangements to make information available to the public about civil protection matters and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency share information with other local responders to enhance coordination; and, cooperate with other local responders to enhance coordination and efficiency
Gloucestershire County Council is the Fire & Rescue Authority in the context of the Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004 and is responsible for the provision of fire and rescue services throughout Gloucestershire.
The County Council has 53 elected members and is structured around a ‘Cabinet’ of 8 councillors, each with a specific portfolio. The Fire and Rescue Service sits within the ‘Fire, Planning and Infrastructure’ portfolio which is held by Councillor Will Windsor-Clive. The performance of the fire and rescue service is overseen by the Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee and the County Corporate Audit and Governance Committee.
Details of how the community can attend meetings and access agendas and reports can be found at the following link: http://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=117&Year=0
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
The Gloucestershire County Council Civil Protection Team is an integral component of GFRS, promoting effective joint working between Civil Protection and GFRS. This is exercised with the activation of internal Fire ‘Gold Command’ but also externally in an emergency and non-emergency situation as part of the Gloucestershire Local Resilience Forum.
The National Framework for England
The National Framework for England was published In July 2012 by Government. The Framework is issued pursuant to Section 21 of the Fire and Rescue Act 2004; its stated purpose is to give Fire and Rescue Authorities the freedom and flexibility to deliver services to their communities, moving accountability away from central Government and placing responsibility with local communities. The document sets out the government’s priorities and objectives for Fire and Rescue Authorities in England; these are high level expectations and it does not prescribe operational matters which it says are best determined locally.
The key priorities set out in the Framework include:
identifying and assessing the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue related risks their area faces making provision for prevention and protection activities and responding to incidents appropriately working in partnership with their communities and a wide range of partners locally and nationally to deliver their service; and being accountable to communities for the service they provide through the ‘Statement of Assurance’.
Integrated Risk Management Plan
The Framework requires the formulation of an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) which captures and publishes the Fire and Rescue Authorities plans to meet those priorities. The Framework provides that the Fire & Rescue Authority must hold their Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive to account for delivery of the fire and rescue service, also that the Authority must have in place arrangements to ensure that their decisions are open to scrutiny. The Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) is Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service’s analysis of the county’s community risk profile, together with our strategic approach to effectively managing that risk over the period. The IRMP identifies and assesses all foreseeable fire and rescue related risks that could affect the communities, including those of a cross border, multi authority and/or national nature.
As part of the development process for the IRMP an extensive, twelve week consultation was undertaken. At the end of the consultation period all responses were collated, analysed and the results included in a cabinet report where councillors endorsed the content of the IRMP 2015 - 18. The full document can be found here: http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/downloads/about_policy_irmp.pdf
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Governance Arrangements
Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) are responsible for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently and effectively. GCC is responsible for putting in place proper arrangements for the governance of its affairs, facilitating the effective exercise of its functions, which includes arrangements for the management of risk, details of which can be found at:
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/article/105641/Code-of-Corporate-Governance
The GCC Annual Governance Statement enables the Fire and Rescue Service to demonstrate that it has fulfilled its obligations under the Framework. Full details can be found in the GCC Annual Governance Statement which is included in our ‘Statement of Accounts’ publication, at the end of the document. These are published each year, on the Council’s website, on the ‘Annual governance report’ page: http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=61824&p=0
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Structure and Business Model
Strategic direction for GFRS is heavily influenced by the Fire and Rescue Authority whose statutory duty under the Fire and Rescues Services Act 2004 is to provide a fire and rescue service. The Leadership and governance for GFRS is provided by the Strategic Leadership Team which is led by the Chief Fire Officer.
The Service is broken down into a number of functional areas:
Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience) This includes:
Prevention work and focuses on those who are most vulnerable Enforcement of fire safety law Civil Protection Team A network of 22 Fire Stations throughout the county from which fire appliances and firefighters are mobilised to respond to emergency incidents. Development of operational policy and procedures
Training, Operational Assurance, Safety and GCC Centralised functions This includes:
Training Health and safety Legal Services Human Resources Occupational Health
Business Planning, Strategy, Risk Management and Performance This includes
Business planning, Strategy and performance Statement of Assurance Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) Information and data Communications, publications, branding and media Fire Control who handle emergency calls Logistic administrative support
Technical Services
Fleet Equipment Premises support Stores ICT
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Our People and Resources
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service operates twenty two community fire stations staffed by a total of 155 Wholetime and 243 Retained Firefighters, they all offer community safety advice, education and respond to emergencies calls. The Service is mobilised and administered from its Headquarters in Quedgeley, a facility that is shared with the Gloucestershire Police and South West Ambulance Service Trust.
We have a front-line fleet of 33 fire engines. To help deal with an ever-increasing range of incident type those ’fire engines’ are supported by a number of specialist vehicles including hydraulic platforms for performing rescues at height, a specialist rescue vehicle for attending road traffic collisions and other specialist rescues, an environmental protection unit (provided in partnership with the Environment Agency) and a mobile command unit.
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Financial Performance (Statement of Accounts)
Our Budget for 2014/15
GFRS are an integral part of GCC who provide the statement of Accounts and Audit which can be found on the GCC public website. GCC Statement of Accounts and Summary of accounts can be viewed via the following link:
Statement of Accounts - Gloucestershire County Council http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/Statement-of-Accounts
Revenue Expenditure
The net expenditure for the Fire and Rescue Service for 2014/15 was £37,464 per 1,000 population or 10p per day for each resident of Gloucestershire. A summary of GFRS expenditure can be found in the statement of accounts 2014/15.
Employees £17,517,057.38
Premises £5,348,696.41
Transportation £653,083.79
Supply & Materials £1,978,750.02
Capital Charges £2,957,632.11
Central Support Recharges £1,702,703.31
Income £7,465,923.02
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Value for Money
GFRS offers excellent value for money to our communities. To add some context to this statement, Gloucestershire FRS is the 3rd lowest cost per head of population of the County Fire and Rescue Services and 5th lowest of all Fire and Rescue Services (Nottinghamshire, Isles of Scilly, Mid and West Wales & Hampshire are not included as there are no net expenditure figures in the statistics provided). Source: CIPFA statistics 2014/15
Cost Per head of population (£) County FRS
£60.00 £53.01 £50.00 £43.12 £43.23 £39.59 £41.26 £36.20 £37.28 £40.00 £34.03 £35.06 £35.43 £30.33 £30.77 £32.04 £30.00 £25.49
£20.00
£10.00
£0.00
Cost per head of population (£) All FRS 60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00 Shropshire, 38.27 Shropshire, Buckinghamshire, 31.85 Yorkshire, North34.52 Northamptonshire,35.06 35.76 Kent, Manchester, Greater 36.54 andSomerset, Devon 37.65 39.68 Merseyside, 40.34 Bedfordshire, Wales, North42.10 43.12 Cumbria, Sussex, East44.89 47.74 Cleveland, West Yorkshire, Yorkshire, West 26.47 Hertfordshire , 32.04 32.94 Wiltshire, Midlands,West 33.46 Lincolnshire, 34.03 SouthYorkshire, 35.16 35.53 Dorset, Durham,41.73 F&EPA,London 44.11 Suffolk, 25.49 Suffolk, , 30.77 Gloucestershire Staffordshire, 31.53 Berkshire, 35.32 Lancashire, 35.56 West Sussex, 36.20 NorthernIreland,38.61 Northumberland,43.23 46.07 SouthWales, Cambridgeshire, 30.26 Leicestershire, 32.95 &Hereford Worcester, 34.74 35.43 Surrey, 35.50 Cheshire, 35.62 Avon, Oxfordshire, 37.28 38.84 Essex, 44.59 Humberside, Tyneand Wear, 44.84 Scotland(SFRS), 50.14 of Wight,Isle 53.01 Norfolk,30.33 Derbyshire, 32.54 Warwickshire, 39.59 Cornwall, 41.26 0.00 12
Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Fire and Rescue Service – Operational Business Plan 2014/15
The Operational Business Plan covers the Fire and Rescue Service and the Civil Protection Service. The Plan is updated annually in order to set 12 month targets for key performance indicators. The Operational Business Plan can be viewed by following this link: http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/downloads/business_plan_14_15.pdf
Our Challenges and Priorities in 2014/15
In July 2014 a strategic review of the Service was carried out which made a series of recommendations for change. The main purpose of the strategic review was to make sure that our delivery model was the most effective possible within the financial operating environment.
The key outcome of the review was a new approach to implement a Demand Management Service Delivery model which: Focuses primarily on Prevention and Protection (thus reducing demand for emergency response services) Always ensures an effective emergency response (thus reducing demand for other agencies or services involvement e.g. NHS and coroners service). Contributes to local, regional and national resilience (thus reducing demand at government level
To improve outcomes for communities, the future strategy of the Service now focuses on local risk reduction plans being delivered locally. A Local Risk Manager is now directly responsible for the delivery of targeted Prevention, Protection and Response activity in a defined geographical area. The risk management areas have been aligned with the political boundaries (councils) to give optimum use of information and resources and support Community Safety partnerships.
This new demand management model was implemented successfully on 1 October 2014.
In addition our priority was to review and update the 2012 – 2015 IRMP. The GFRS IRMP and Action Plan 2015/18 can be viewed via the following link: http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/downloads/about_policy_irmp.pdf
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Our Performance
Operational Activity
The table below shows the total number of incidents over the past 3 years that GFRS has attended in Gloucestershire and in neighbouring counties.
The table shows a steady decline in overall incidents. More detail on incident types can be found in the next section.
Incident Type 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Variance +/- % Direction of Travel
Total Incidents 5490 5153* 4822 - 6.4%
*This validated figure updates the previously published figure of 5048 following a quality assurance process of data.
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
How We Performed During 2014/15
GFRS’s key performance indicators and targets against which the Service is measured can be found in Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service Operational Business Plan for 2014/15 and our performance is detailed below.
Prevention and Protection
Outcome Measure Actual Actual Actual Target 12/13 13/14 14/15 14/15
The number of casualties (deaths and injuries) 30 22 17 21 caused by fire
Total number of accidental dwelling fires 295 308 289 282
Total number of deliberate dwelling fires 22 24 24 22
Total number of primary fires 743 864 777 812
Total number of secondary fires 400 510 411 669
Total incidents of arson 354 327 333 354
The number of RTCs attended for extrication 104 97 119 98
The number of commercial fires attended 135 139 110 183
Total number of coresponder incidents 1124 1207 1323 N/A
Total number of home safety visits carried out 2945 3084 4145 3283
% of fires attended where a smoke alarm is fitted 84% 82% 86% 75%
Total number of educational interactions at N/A 5851 9465 6500 Skillzone
The number of key stage 2 children undertaking the N/A 2460 5771 5000 Skillzone experience
The % of commercial premises at which we 81% 87% 92% 90% attended fires, that were visited by a fire safety officer within 14 days of the fire
The % of risk re-inspections completed within the 89% 87% 70% 90% due date
The number of operational and training injuries 33 50 48 45
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Response and Resilience
Outcome Measure Actual Actual Actual Target 12/13 13/14 14/15 14/15
The % of dwelling fires attended within 8 minutes 64% 66% 70% 75%
The % of road traffic collisions attended within 15 90% 84% 83% 90% minutes
Retained Station availability 89% 88% 98% 90%
Sickness absence per FTE 8 8.9 9.49 8
Customer to symls
Outcome Measure Actual Actual Actual Target 12/13 13/14 14/15 14/15
Satisfaction with service at the scene of fires in 91% 98% 99% 99% the home
Number of complaints received 10 12 12 12
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Our Collaborative Arrangements
We have adopted a collaborative approach to ensuring our communities get the best service available in an efficient manner. The purpose, conditions and limitations of each of these partnerships are agreed and captured in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). These currently exist between GFRS and agencies such as Highways Authority, Gloucestershire Police, South West Ambulance Service Trust, and Gloucestershire Airport.
Additionally we have MOUs with local organisations such as Severn Area Rescue Association, Cave Rescue Association, and British Red Cross.
GFRS is constantly looking for further partnerships which will bring future benefits for the communities of Gloucestershire.
Reinforcement Schemes
Under sections 13 and 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 GFRS have a duty to enter into reinforcement schemes with other fire and rescue authorities. A list of these schemes can be viewed at the following link: http://www.glosfire.gov.uk
GFRS has set up reinforcement schemes for securing mutual assistance with Oxfordshire, Hereford & Worcester, Avon, Wiltshire, Warwickshire and South Wales Fire and Rescue authorities to provide and utilise resources such as fire engines.
Plans are also in place, through National Resilience, to provide specialist appliances and crews for mass decontamination, urban search and rescue, water and high volume pumping, hazardous chemical analysis and command and control across England and Wales.
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
How We Secure Business Continuity
Business Continuity Management is a series of processes and plans which identify risk and develop GFRS resilience, to ensure that adverse events cause minimal disruption to the services provided and that critical services are maintained.
Business Continuity Management have been developed in the following areas and are regularly reviewed and updated.
BCM Plan Title Team
Staffing resilience for extended periods (IA, epidemics Community Safety (Prevention, etc.). Protection, Response and Resilience)
Death of service personnel on duty. Response
Loss of, or disruption to a fire station/s. Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)
Loss of or disruption to control room. Business Planning, Strategy, Risk Management and Performance
Loss of Computer network/system. Technical Services
Loss of, or disruption to HQ building. Technical Services
Deployment of staff and, or equipment out of county. Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)
Deployment of staff and, or equipment overseas. Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)
Loss of, or disruption to the Service fleet. Technical Services
Loss of, or disruption to Workshops and Fleet servicing. Technical Services
Loss of, or disruption to the Stores/Equipment building. Technical Services
Major equipment failure (Fleet, BA etc.). Technical Services
Service Fuel continuity plan. Technical Services
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Audit and Assurance
Benchmarking
We use national benchmarking reports and tools. We are also part of a Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) family group to facilitate benchmarking against fire and rescue services of similar size and demographics and to promote best practice. The LGA facilitates Peer Reviews over a 3 to 5 year period. Our last review took place in November 2013 and the next one is likely to be timetabled in 2016/17.
The government publish annual statistics from all Fire and Rescue Services across the country and we use this to establish our position nationally. The latest statistics for 2014/15 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-statistics-monitor-april-2014-to-march- 2015
How Our Performance Is Independently Assessed?
Operational Assurance - Peer Challenge
The Local Government Association Peer Challenge took place in November 2013. As this is a process that takes place every 3 to 5 years there was no Review in the 2014/15 year reported in this Statement of Assurance.
Customer Service Excellence
The Government wants services for all that are efficient, effective, excellent, equitable and empowering with the citizen always and everywhere at the heart of service provision. We have commissioned independent research into the degree of customer satisfaction we achieve and receive an annual report on our performance.
The headline outcomes are: Domestic Fires Overall Gloucestershire was ranked 4th for satisfaction with the overall service Overall satisfaction with initial contact Gloucestershire scored 96 compared to a national average of 97 out of 100. Satisfaction with service at the scene of fire Gloucestershire scored 99 compared to a national average of 98 out of 100. Non Domestic Fires Satisfaction with the overall service was 100 compared to the national average of 96. Overall satisfaction with initial contact Gloucestershire scored 100 compared to a national average of 97 out of 100. Satisfaction with service at scene Gloucestershire scored 100 compared to a national average of 97 out of 100.
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Statement of Assurance 2014/15
Auditors findings
A summary of auditors’ reports and findings can be found in the Annual Audit Letter 2014/15 on the link below. The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2011 require local authorities, including fire and rescue authorities, to prepare an annual governance statement in support of the annual statement of accounts. These are published each year, on the Council’s website, on the ‘Annual accounts and audit’ page: http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/Statement-of-Accounts
Our Future Challenges We regularly analyse the county’s community risk profile and set out our strategic approach as to how we will effectively manage those risks. This is detailed in our Integrated Risk Management Plan 2015 to 2018, which can be found on the link below. The Government requires us, by law, to regularly produce and review our plan. http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/downloads/about_policy_irmp.pdf
The Integrated Risk Management Action Plan 2015/18 details the specific projects we will start in 2015 and the Year one action plan sets out our commitment to:
Complete a full operational review of the Service including response targets Develop a new approach to risk management where resource utilisation is based on risk Continue developing the way the service manages risk in local communities with a focus on prevention and protection
How You Can Become Involved
If you are concerned about your fire safety and would like to know if you are eligible for a free Safe and Well check please complete the form on the link below: http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/your_safety.html
Should you wish to make a comment about our customer service please do not hesitate to contact us by any of the following means:
Chief Fire Officer Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service Fire Service HQ Waterwells Drive Quedgeley Gloucester GL2 2AX Telephone: 01452 888777 Email: [email protected] 20