We make our communities safer East Fire Authority Our Corporate Plan 2019-2020 Alternative formats and translation Contents Introduction...... 2

The Fire Authority...... 4

The Members of the Fire Authority are:...... 5

About Fire and Rescue Service...... 6

Service Structure...... 8

Setting the strategic direction...... 9

Our Strategies...... 10

Our priorities...... 10

Delivering our purpose and commitments...... 11

What we’ve achieved and our plans for this year...... 12

Celebrating staff success...... 26

Asking the public...... 28

Our Finances...... 29

Contact us...... 31 Introduction The year ahead There are a number of key priorities for the coming years and we have set ourselves a Over the past two years, East Sussex Fire Authority has overseen an ambitious change challenging programme which includes: programme in how its fire and rescue services are provided across East Sussex and the City of & . • Developing our future mobilising arrangements

A number of strategies have been refreshed and they set out what we want to achieve in • Improving financial sustainability with further refinement of our efficiency plan, looking terms of our People, Inclusion and Diversity, Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Information at how we can access different funding opportunities Management, Procurement, Estates and Communication and Engagement. • Introducing a new approach to our response fleet We have reset our service delivery priorities in our Safer Communities Strategy in order to explicitly demonstrate how we are responding to the risks in our areas with targeted • We will be reviewing whether or not we have the right number of fire appliances prevention and protection work. and other specialist vehicles and equipment available to respond to fires and other emergency incidents in our area ensuring we take a risk-based approach, within the These are: context of funding challenges:

• Home fire safety • We will be reviewing some parts of our support services

• Road safety • Embedding the service delivery review changes

• Water safety • Ensuring we are able to respond effectively to any future outcomes from the Grenfell Inquiry. • Health safety We will also be welcoming Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue • Business safety Services (HMICFRS) this year who are carrying out an independent inspection of all English Fire and Rescue Services to see how we are progressing with the Government’s We have now completed a two year Service Delivery structure review that has been fire reform agenda of accountability and transparency, efficiency and collaboration and shaped by our staff, focusing on wellbeing, effectiveness and efficiency. This has workforce reform. provided a more agile and enabling structure that compliments the development of our supporting processes and systems (Support and Delivery Framework), we are about to Financial environment conclude a review of demand of three types of incident that is designed to further enhance the prioritisation of incidents ensuring critical emergency services can be used more The Fire Authority still faces financial challenges in the face of continued uncertainty on effectively. We are part way through an appliance review, an on-call review, a business funding with the forecasted need to save between £2.8M and £3.7M over the medium term continuity review and duty system review all of which is being pieced together through which is in addition to savings of £8.7M delivered since 2010. the overarching Operational Response Review that then feeds our wider Integrated Risk Management Plan. The review of our Response and Resilience will now capture this This plan sets out some short, medium and longer-term proposals aimed at ensuring we series of interconnected work. are improving services for the people of East Sussex and the City of Brighton & Hove, particularly the most high risk and vulnerable members of our communities. We introduced new response standards developed with our staff and community as We are pleased to be able to report that we have achieved a number of improvements part of our last integrated risk management plan. The views of staff and the public were over the last year, and these will be built upon over the next year to ensure we are considered and this has seen the introduction of a ten-minute response standard for all providing our communities with an effective and efficient fire and rescue service. incidents, with the first fire engine with an ‘on-station’ response of 10 minutes 70% of the time and an attendance standard for the first fire engine with an ‘on-call’ response of 15 minutes 70% of the time. Roy Galley Chairman of East Sussex Fire Authority We have undertaken a staff survey to gain a better understanding and insight into employee feelings, satisfaction and engagement levels and to understand the key issues that are important to the workforce. This has led to the development of an employee engagement framework and will inform our future direction. Dawn Whittaker Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive

Page 2 Page 3 The Fire Authority The Members of the Fire Authority East Sussex Fire Authority (the Authority) is a statutory body, made up of locally elected Councillors from East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and City Council are: (B&HCC). There are 18 councillors, of which, 12 are from East Sussex County Council and 6 are from Brighton and Hove City Council. The Authority normally meets five times a year, with an annual general meeting in June. Chairman Vice Chair Fire Authority Roy Galley Carolyn Lambert Councillors Conservative Liberal Democrat The dates of the meetings can be found here https://www.esfrs.org/about-us/east-sussex- ESCC ESCC fire-authority/fire-authority-meetings/ along with information about how you can attend meetings and what is discussed.

The role of the Authority is to ensure that the services provided by ESFRS are delivered Garry Peltzer Brighton & Amanda Evans economically efficiently and effectively and meet the needs of the communities we serve. Dunn Hove City Labour Under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 the Authority is legally required to enforce Conservative Councillors BHCC fire safety legislation and to reduce the risk of fire causing death, serious injury and BHCC property related losses to the community. It must also make provision for rescuing people in the event of road traffic collisions and for protecting people from serious harm arising from road traffic collisions. Les Hamilton The Authority is legally responsible for the enforcement of the Regulatory Reform 2005 Marianna Ebel Steph Powell Labour Green Party Green Party (Fire Safety) Order which is applicable across and Wales. This Order places the BHCC BHCC BHCC responsibility on individuals within an organisation to carry out risk assessments to identify, manage and reduce the risk of fire within public and commercial buildings.

The Authority is also a designated Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. This Act requires emergency responders in England and Wales to co-operate in Carol Theobald East Sussex Chris Dowling maintaining a public Community Risk Register which is a product of the Sussex Resilience Conservative County Conservative Forum (SRF). The SRF allows responders the opportunity to consult, collaborate and BHCC Councillors ESCC share information with each other to facilitate planning and response to emergencies.

Deirdre Earl- John Barnes Peter Pragnell Williams Conservative Conservative Independent ESCC ESCC ESCC

Sarah Osborne Philip Scott Phil Boorman Liberal Labour Conservative Democrat ESCC ESCC ESCC

David Tutt Barry Taylor Andy Smith Liberal Conservative Conservative Democrat ESCC ESCC ESCC

Page 4 Page 5 About East Sussex Fire and Rescue out of hours by on-call firefighters • 12 retained fire stations in our more rural areas, crewed by on-call firefighters who Service provide cover within their local area. We provide our services to approximately 840,000 people across East Sussex and the city The joint Sussex Control Centre for East and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Services, of Brighton and Hove. based at Haywards Heath, provides all the respective mobilising and communications functions for both Services. To assist our operational staff, we have a number of support Brighton and Hove is a diverse and dynamic city that attracts a rich mix of people and teams that provide a vital range of services including, human resources, finance, communities. Its seaside location near London makes it an attractive destination to more property management, fleet management and information technology. We have a shared than 11 million visitors each year. Many areas of the city are prosperous but some parts headquarters with Sussex Police in and our own training centre at . are amongst the most deprived ten percent in the country. It has the highest percentage of overcrowded households outside London and there are high numbers of flats across the coast.

The county of East Sussex has five districts, , , Lewes, Rother and Wealden. East Sussex attracted 23.7 million tourist visits in 2015, a 28% increase since 2005. There is a general impression of affluence and people in some parts of the county are wealthy and have a good quality of life. But there are big differences. For example, Hastings and parts of central Eastbourne are home to high numbers of benefits claimants and people on low incomes. Parts of Hastings are among the 10 per cent most deprived in the country. The county has a higher proportion of older people than elsewhere in the region and the highest percentage of people over 85 of any county in England. The number of older people will grow over the next 20 years.

There are no motorways and fewer than 50 miles of dual carriageway in the service area. Consequently, the road infrastructure is poor. The three geographically separate coastal urban areas of East Sussex have poor road connectivity, yet contain 70% of the total population of the authority’s area. This increases road traffic collision risks, our service response times, and limits the local economy. Due to tourism related traffic, this issue is further exacerbated in the summer months, particularly during school and bank holidays.

How we serve you

ESFRS service area is split into three groups, which each contain two of the six districts. These are:

• West Group - Brighton & Hove and Lewes

• Central Group - Wealden and Eastbourne

• East Group - Rother and Hastings

We have a total of 24 fire stations, which cover the risk of the local area and provide resilience across the County and City. The stations are staffed in three main ways:

• Six whole-time shift fire stations, these are crewed 24 hours a day by fulltime firefighters.

• Six day crewed fire stations, crewed during the day by full time firefighters and crewed

Page 6 Page 7 Service Structure Setting the strategic direction The senior management structure of the Service is known as the Senior Leadership Team Our purpose states what we are here for as a Fire and Rescue Service. It sets out our (SLT) which consists of the Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Fire destination which guides our strategy development. Officer, Assistant Chief Fire Officer and Five Assistant Directors covering the following functions. Our purpose is, ‘to make our communities safer’

• People Services We have four commitments which describe what we want to achieve for our communities in order to make them safer we will: • Safer Communities • Deliver high performing services • Operational Support and Resilience • Educate our communities • Resources/Treasurer • Develop a multi-skilled, safe and valued workforce • Planning and Improvement • Make effective use of our resources

Our Values describe how we expect people to behave when carrying out their work.

KENT Proud Accountable

Forest Row

Wadhurst WEST SUSSEX Mayfield RIVER UCK RIVER ROTHER

Heathfield RIVER TILLINGHAM Uckfield Broad Oak Rye

Barcombe Battle RIVER OUSE The Ridge Lewes Hastings Bexhill CUCKMERE RIVER

Hove Preston Circus Roedean

Newhaven Eastbourne Seaford

Integrity Respect

Page 8 Page 9 Our Strategies Delivering our purpose and Strategies help us think through what we want to achieve and how we will achieve it. Strategy links the destination (purpose) with current reality. Strategy applies to the whole commitments Service, and answers the big question “How will we achieve our purpose, given the current economic climate, environmental conditions, community demographics and the regulatory What we’ve achieved and our plans for this year environment, etc.?” Putting strategies into practice and acting strategically ensures that we are focused on the things that really matter and are able to allocate our resources As a Service funded by public money it is really important to us to strive to deliver high accordingly. performing services to our communities. We measure ourselves against a peer group of fire and rescue services in an annual service benchmarking report and our performance is compared with those of similar fire services. We are pleased to be able to say that we compare well with others in terms of how quickly we respond to dwelling fires, in fact we Our Priorities are the fastest amongst fire services of similar size when comparing us using the latest national results. Over the last two years we have concentrated on underpinning our Our Integrated Risk Management Process takes account of national and local priorities organisation by developing our strategies, investing in our information technology and as we carry out an annual strategic assessment of risk. This is captured in the Service’s supporting our people. Central to this has been our desire to start a cultural shift within the Strategic Plan which covers a three-year period. The Strategic Plan will also set out the organisation. We are empowering people to make decisions and most of the work over the purpose and commitments and values which will be at the core of all Service activity. last year has been laying the foundations for the future.

Our strategies are our delivery vehicles and contain three year action plans that set the priorities for that year. In any given year we know what our priorities are from the development of the strategies. The high level actions are added into and monitored through the Corporate Plan and are delivered through Directorate Plans. The Safer Communities Strategy is further supported by thematic plans which form the Safer Communities Directorate plans.

Directorate plans set the local direction to meet the priorities and demonstrate how teams within the Service will deliver improvements in line with the priorities identified in the strategies. Team and individual plans allow employees to develop an understanding of how they should be contributing towards our goals and priorities.

Page 10 Page 11 Commitment number 1 - Delivering high performing services Commitment number 1 - Delivering high performing services Progress since the last Corporate Our Plans for 2019/20 Plan What we will do in 2019/20 Our priorities in 2018/19 were to deliver year 1 of our Information Management Strategy Priority 1 - Deliver the information management strategy Year 2 action plan to enable the and our Integrated Risk Management action plan. business to deliver against the purpose and commitments.

What we said we would do What are we aiming for in 2019/20?

Priority 1 - Deliver the information management strategy to enable the business to deliver • We will complete the last few remaining work areas on our new mobilising system. against the purpose and commitments. • We will complete the safe exit of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service from the joint What did we do? control centre project.

• We went live with our new mobilising system which is operating effectively. • We will develop our new mobilising strategy (called Project 21) which will determine where and how we will provide our mobilising service after our current contract ends in • We completed a tender process for a new business intelligence system which will March 2021. allow us to improve how we measure progress, monitor activity and report everything that matters to everyone in the organization so that all individuals have the necessary • We will implement our business intelligence solution to ensure the Service becomes information to drive improvement. intelligence led in the future.

• We improved our Information Security standards in order to be compliant with the • We will implement Office 365. General Data Protection Regulations and we are working towards Cyber Essentials Accreditation and alignment with ISO27001 IT Security controls. • We will improve maturity of the Service’s information security by aligning with ISO27001. • Following a thorough trial, approval was given to progress with the implementation of Cisco Webex Teams which will deliver one to many video conferencing, instant • We will develop a new IT strategy that focuses more on digital channels. messaging and conference call scheduling to the service before the end of 2019. How will we know when we get there? • We commissioned a WiFi audit of the ESFRS estate and proposals for the implementation of a new WiFi solution across ESFRS stations and offices during will be • We will be an organisation that has the information it needs to demonstrate the value of implemented in 2019. its decisions.

• We piloted and began to roll out new mobile phones with a new network provider that • We will be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations and we will have gives better coverage and reduced costs. improved network security and information management.

What we said we would do • We will achieve Cyber Essentials Accreditation.

Priority 2 - Deliver the integrated risk management plan year 2 action plan • We will continue to progress towards alignment with ISO27001 security controls, maturing ESFRS’ overall information security position’.

What did we do? • All staff will have completed Information Security awareness training. • We started a review to look at our response to particular types of incidents including how we respond to lift rescues and rescuing birds. What we will do in 2019/20

• We agreed to trial a smaller design of fire appliance in the forthcoming year. Priority 2 - New Integrated Risk Management Plan for 2020/2025

• We completed a strategic assessment of risk which will feed into the review of operational response this year. Page 12 Page 13 What are aiming for in 2019/20? Commitment number 2 - Educate our communities

We will be undertaking an Operational Response Review which will determine the number of fire appliances, crewing models, staffing levels, specialist vehicles and equipment Progress since the last Corporate available to us to address the current and future risk in our communities. Linked with this will be the ability to review our other plans for example, succession planning and our Plan workforce development plan. What we said we would do How will we know when we get there? Priority 3 - Deliver the safer communities’ strategy and action plan • We will have written and consulted on our next integrated risk management plan 2020/25. What did we do?

• Staff will have been engaged in the process. • We designed a local assessment of risk which allows us to allocate our time and resources against the agreed community safety prevention themes, Business Safety • We have a forward plan of activities that meet the risk and financial resources of the and response priorities. Fire Authority • We revised our approach to performance management within a support to deliver framework which is now in place across all stations.

• We developed a culture of empowerment where authority and decision making is devolved to the appropriate level within the organisation.

• We continued with the customer relationship management project to support delivery of the safer community strategy which eventually will make the processing of our work much quicker.

• We undertook a major project to review the structure in the Safer Communities directorate, to ensure we had a stable workforce going forward to support the delivery of the strategy.

What we said we would do

Priority 4 - Deliver the Consultation and Communications strategy Year 1 action plan

What did we do?

• We reviewed our requirements for consultation and engagement, identified what the Service needed and explored opportunities for collaboration. This led to a number of opportunities to engage with our communities and identified some important areas for improvement.

• We completed a Service-wide mapping exercise of stakeholders.

• We ran publicity campaigns ahead of our Fire Authority meetings in order to encourage public attendance at meetings. As a result, we saw an increase in people attending and more coverage in the local press.

• We worked hard to improve public accessibility of advice, information and engagement and have commissioned some plain English training.

Page 14 Page 15 Commitment number 2 – Educate our communities 1,500 03/21 through the rollout of station based audits.

• We will seek improvement in our current performance in accidental dwelling fires, home Our Plans for 2019/20 safety visits, audits and legislative work, a reduction in automatic false alarms and a reduction in the number of fatal fires and serious incidents responses. What we will do in 2019/20 What we will do in 2019/20 Priority 3 - We will be revising our response and resilience strategy Priority 5 - Deliver the Consultation and Communications strategy Year 2 action plan What are aiming for in 2019/20? What are aiming for in 2019/20? A strategy that takes account of the findings of the Operational Response Review. • We will explore live streaming of Fire Authority meetings. How will we know when we get there? • We will deliver communication and engagement programmes to support the five We will have increased resilience and capacity to deliver to our response service. thematic plans of the safer communities’ strategy including reducing accidental dwelling fires, increasing water safety awareness, increasing road safety, reducing false alarms, What we will do in 2019/20 supporting business safety audits and business safety awareness and supporting the safer communities’ health strand. Priority 4 - Deliver the safer communities’ year 2 action plan • We will complete the branding refresh including the standardisation of leaflets and What are aiming for in 2019/20? other publicity materials.

• Delivery of the 5 prevention thematic plans, Fire/Home, Business, Road, Water and • We will review our website and intranet content to improve accessibility. Health. How will we know when we get there? • Embed the local assessment of risk (as detailed in SC strategy) that compliments the wider IRMP and Business planning cycle to ensure the effective and efficient allocation • We will be able to demonstrate an increase in the number and diversity of people of local resources against the agreed community safety prevention themes. taking part in consultations and engagement.

• Develop and maintain a Community Safety Initiatives Library ensuring that initiatives • We will see increased public engagement or public questions at Fire Authority are evaluated and reviewed through meaningful engagement with the community and meetings. partners. • We will see increased reporting on the Fire Authority in the media. • Ensure that each initiative has an equality impact assessment and evaluation tool in order to demonstrate that initiatives are tailored to the differing community groups • We will see an increase in email sign ups, views on YouTube. where required through engagement with the public.

• Refine and embed the performance monitoring process called end of monthly returns through the new business intelligence system.

• Develop and maintain a Business Safety Engagement Library.

How will we know when we get there?

• We will be delivering 12,000 HSVs/Safe & Well visits (stretched target).

• We will see an increase in the number of community engagement activities by 5%.

• We will see an increase Business Safety Audits from 490 to 750 by 03/20 moving to

Page 16 Page 17 Commitment number 3 – Develop a multi-skilled safe and valued priorities for the Fire watch Project. workforce What we said we would do

Progress since the last Corporate Priority 6 - Implement the Inclusion and diversity action plan

Plan What did we do? What we said we would do • We have enhanced the way we use and record additional or new equality data from partners about “at risk” communities. This is now embedded in our Community Priority 5 - Implement the People Strategy and year 1 plan Safety Strategy and the data is used to inform our future activity and review existing engagement. What did we do? • We are improving workforce monitoring and have developed reports in conjunction with • We commissioned an independent review of the Fire Authority’s governance national requirements in our human resources database. This has given us capability arrangements and an action plan has been developed which will be implemented next in basic workforce reporting, and further enhancement to this processing and refining year. of further reports are subject to self-service functionality.

• We are developing an employee engagement framework using focus groups with staff • We are ensuring our leadership is visibly inclusive and have a lead senior officer and groups after our staff survey. The framework, once developed will help us with our fire authority member as champions within the organisation. communications in our employee interactions. • We are measuring our community engagement and satisfaction in community and • We reviewed our recruitment, retention and strategic workforce planning and a business safety interactions including Safe & Well visits and post audit (Protection) and Strategic Workforce Planning framework has been developed in collaboration with after the incident customer satisfaction. Fire and Rescue. What we said we would do • We reviewed the recruitment process for our ‘on call firefighters’ to ensure the entry standards are fit for purpose and are aligned to the whole time recruitment process as Priority 7 - Implement the Health Safety and well-being strategy appropriate. What did we do? • We have introduced apprenticeships into the Service and a provider has been successfully appointed following a full tender process. Recruitment of existing staff into • We continued to build a positive health and safety culture by reviewing the team apprenticeships has started. structure and embedding a business partner model to increase engagement with staff across the service. • We have undertaken a review of our exiting appraisal process and will enhance the performance management of staff by developing a new appraisal policy and process • We worked to reduce work-related injury and ill health across the Service by which will include the option for 360 appraisal. implementing the manual handling training delivery plan to reduce this key risk of injury.

• We have undertaken recruitment processes for all levels of operational roles in the • We enhanced firefighter safety regarding decontamination practices and supported Service as well as running recruitment processes for key roles in Estates, Health & the development of the station design guide which addresses this important issue. We Safety, Programme Management Board, HR to provide stability to the Service. also established an asbestos working group this year.

• We wrote a new policy for the reward and recognition of all our staff both operational • We worked towards enhancing the well-being of our workforce. The new collaborative (whole-time and on call firefighter) and support staff and hosted the biggest award Occupational Health Service ensures we are providing a proactive approach to the ceremony we have ever held. physical and mental health and wellbeing of all employees. We are also developing a fitness page on the intranet with exercise programmes devised for all staff, whatever • We have completed the first stage of reviewing the HR Business Processes. There are their role which range from stretches and exercises that can be done at the desk to now a number of recommendations to take forward over the forthcoming year. improvement and maintenance programmes to meet operational fitness standards.

• We have continued to improve the information requirements by managing the agreed

Page 18 Page 19 Commitment number 3 – Develop a multi-skilled safe and valued tier entry, apprenticeships and cadet schemes in order to signal our desire to value workforce difference and to open up our Service to the wider community and best possible talent. Our Plans for 2019/20 • Embed the refreshed service values. How will we know when we get there? What are aiming for in 2019/20? • We will be attracting the best possible talent to the Service. Priority 6 - Implement the People Strategy and year 2 action plan • There will be an increase in the diversity of applicants. What we will do in 2019/20 What are aiming for in 2019/20? • We will develop a Member training plan in conjunction with Democratic Services. Priority 8 - Implement the Health, Safety and Wellbeing year 3 action plan • We ran a number of staff engagement sessions following on from the staff survey in 2018/19 and we will ensure that areas identified from the focus groups will be drawn up Priority 9 - Write the Health Safety and well-being strategy for 2020/23 and an action plan agreed and implemented. What we will do in 2019/20 • An employee engagement framework will be developed with an emphasis on engagement and communications in our employee interactions. • Embedding the new Health & Safety Business Partners model to increase engagement with staff across the service. To improve visibility and engagement. • We will be devising a rolling five year Strategic Workforce Plan. • Finalise and implement the revised Health & Safety Management System. • We will enhance strategic workforce planning and a recruitment strategy for operational recruitment that ensures a blended approach to Firefighter recruitment. • Embedding the manual handling training delivery plan and upskilling with refresher training on plus size casualty handling to reduce this key risk of injury. • We will implement new ways of working including apprenticeship opportunities for existing staff and we will work towards employing staff on apprenticeship schemes • Ageing workforce initiatives including gym compliance, PT time wellbeing initiatives, across all areas of the service. enhance trend analysis through monitoring safety event data as age data is captured.

• We will redesign all our ‘On-boarding’ and ‘Exiting’ HR policies and processes with • Maintain the revised risk assessment database and assign responsibility for the RAs to self-service and technology at the fore front and blue print and in order to simplify each the relevant manager. process. How will we know when we get there? How will we know when we get there? • We will see reduced levels of sickness absence. • We will see improvements in staff satisfaction and morale. • We will see reduced levels of injuries and accidents at work and during training. • We will see improvements in the levels of absence. • There will be fewer workplace injuries to our people. • We will have confident and capable leaders and managers. • There will be lower accident rates in the workplace. • Improved organisational performance.

What are aiming for in 2019/20?

Priority 7 - Implement the Inclusion and diversity action plan year 2

What we will do in 2019/20 • We will develop a blended recruitment strategy that will include options such as multi-

Page 20 Page 21 Commitment number 4 – make effective use of our resources budget by 2022/23 through improvements in our efficiency and effectiveness.

• We started a medium term project to review our support services, with a focus on Progress since the last Corporate collaboration.

Plan • Occupational Health is now provided in a new partnership with Sussex Police and Surrey Police and Fire Service. What we said we would do • We have agreed to appoint a joint transformation lead to carry out a review in order to Priority 8 - Deliver the Estates Strategy and Asset Management Plan explore the possibility of an integrated transport function with the Three Fire Partnership.

What did we do? • We are joining a group of fire services who collaborate on risk management and insurance bringing significant savings. • We developed and consulted on a station design guide which sets out what our fire • We have been sharing some estates resources with Sussex Police, and will be reviewing stations will look like in the future and used this to develop our new Estates Strategy options for the longer term during 2019/20. including investment of £14 million over the next six years in our fire stations and training centre. This provides a comprehensive programme to ensure our stations and • We have renewed our partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council and Orbis Public buildings are fit for purpose. Law for the provision of our legal services. • We have worked on future plans for the refurbishment of Preston Circus Fire station • The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) carried out a review and work will commence in 2019/20. of the finance function against sector best practice and we are now developing an improvement plan. • We worked with our partners to progress plans for a new a new Fire Station in Lewes as part of an emergency services hub alongside the wider North Street Quarter project. • Looked at opportunities for developing new income streams and joined a primary

authority scheme with other regulatory services that will improve business fire safety and • We have developed plans to share our fire stations at and Heathfield with generate income. Sussex Police and SECAmb • Developed clearer plans to deliver efficiencies and other benefits from our investments in What we said we would do our IT and estate. Priority 9 - Deliver the Procurement Strategy What we said we would do

What did we do? Priority 11 - We will work on our collaboration projects with our Police, Fire and Ambulance colleagues. The introduction of the new Procurement Strategy for 2018-20 was agreed by the Fire Authority in June. Central to delivering against this strategy is the introduction of a category management approach and the central co-ordination of all contracting activity; What did we do? from pre procurement analysis to post award contract & supplier relationship management. • We started detailed feasibility studies as part of a project to allow other emergency By recentralising all complex procurement activity and by formulating and delivering services to refuel at our sites. category strategies which are aligned both internally and with our external partners, the strategy will create value, ensuring compliance, delivering efficiencies and maximising the • We have developed a feasibility study for a shared vehicle workshop with Sussex Police impact of our procurement team. A fundamental element of the category plan will be the as part of a wider Integrated Transport project. identification of the scope for future efficiencies and this will enable the setting of savings targets for each category on an annual basis. • We are progressing a telematics projects with partners and cameras are being fitted to our fleet. What we said we would do • We have delivered collaborative support services including the provision of occupational Priority 10 - Deliver the Authority’s Medium Term Finance Plan & Efficiency Strategy health, training and fire investigation with our neighbouring fire services and the occupational health contact in shared with the Police. What did we do? • We undertook a shared recruitment process for firefighters with Surrey and West Sussex • Set out how the Authority will deliver as a minimum the £0.7m required to balancePage the 22 Fire & Rescue Services. Page 23 Commitment number 4 – make effective use of our resources How will we know when we get there? Our Plans for 2019/20 • A targeted approach to identifying opportunities for collaboration. • Outcome based specifications. What are aiming for in 2019/20? • Increased compliance and control. Priority 10 - Deliver the year 1 Estates Strategy • Robust contracts, which balance risk and commercial advantage. What we will do in 2019/20 • Increased purchasing power. • We will begin work on the refurbishment of Preston Circus Fire Station.

• We will continue to work with partners to relocate Lewes Fire station to a new emergency services hub.

• We will deliver shared space with partners at Uckfield and Heathfield and develop the next phase of One Public Estate projects.

• We will review our options for a long term partnership with other partners for our Estates service.

How will we know when we get there?

• We will increase the number of buildings we share with our partners through the One Public Estates programme.

• We will reduce the regular cost of running our buildings in the future.

• A new fire station as part of a shared facility in Lewes in the longer term.

• A project that will deliver the refurbishment of our busiest fire station, Preston Circus, possibly in partnership with other public sector bodies through the One Public Estate programme with completion intended for 2020/21.

What are aiming for in 2019/20?

Priority 11 - Delver the year 2 Procurement Strategy

What we will do in 2019/20

• Adopt and implement full category management approach.

• Identify savings opportunities and set targets.

• Review performance against targets.

• Complete a training needs analysis.

• Implement Procurement Development Plans.

Page 24 Page 25 90 minutes. The film weaves together this individual’s story, his family’s reaction when they Celebrating staff success got the call and the events of the evening from the perspective of the emergency service personnel – including our crews - who rescued him. The ultimate aim of the film is to Our staff work hard every day to make our communities safer and we think it is really highlight how easily this type of incident can occur and to try and prevent it from happening important to recognise their efforts. This report is a chance to take time to reflect on the so regularly. work they carry out and how the services they provide are really making an impact and difference to the lives of the people in East Sussex and the City of Brighton & Hove. Here Safety Event in Eastbourne are some examples of what they have achieved this year... We held a safety event at Langley Shopping Centre on Wednesday 17 April. This location Medal-winning firefighters was chosen due to a series of serious accidental dwelling fires in the area and to increase Firefighters from , Lewes, Eastbourne, Home Safety Visits in the area. The event was organised by Doug Marshall, with the intent Hastings and Service Training Centre celebrate their to promote Home Safety Visits and highlight the importance of fire safety in the home. spectacular result at the recent United Kingdom Rescue Doug was joined by operational crews from Eastbourne and Pevensey together with Organisation (UKRO) Challenge in Cardiff and are now volunteers. The crews engaged with over one thousand members of the public and a large preparing to take on the world. The team came overall number of Home Safety Visits were booked in. 2nd in the extrication challenge, behind the current leading World Champions, South Wales, which as far as Rye Have a Go event we are concerned makes ESFRS the top in the country. Also, Watch Manager Peter Lilley was first in the ‘Best Rye Fire Station held a ‘Have a Go’ event which offered potential new recruits the Incident Commander’ category and our medics also flew opportunity to talk to firefighters already in the role, as well as talk to staff about the flag with a second position. the recruitment process. The evening was a complete success and helped people understand the role by meeting and having face-to-face contact with members of our Lifesaving at 32,000 feet organisation. Special thanks goes out to the crews from the station, the Volunteers, Tracy One of our on call firefighters has helped save the Pepler, Jacqueline Marchant and Jemma Wood (and Danni Button for coordinating), life of a woman who was taken gravely ill on a plane. representatives from HR Pip Budd, Emma Cellik, also Matt Starkey, George Wippich and Burwash firefighter, Daniel, was heading back from a The Rope Rescue Team, Graham Leggatt and Mark Mitchell. family holiday in Portugal when the drama unfolded on the flight.A fellow passenger, a 72-year-old woman, had 100’s of visitors attend our water safety event! fallen ill and her family were unable to get a reaction from her. Daniel together with two medical registrars Between 1,000 and 1,500 visitors attended the Water Savvy Fun day on Saturday 16 proceeded to administer oxygen, carried out CPR and June. The event was organised in conjunction with Fire & Rescue Service in a bid used a defibrillator before the woman finally came back to promote water safety education and make people more aware of the dangers of water. round. In the 40 minutes before the plane landed in We’d like to take the opportunity to thank our colleagues for all their help and support in Luton, the woman’s condition had improved. enabling such a fantastic, interactive, community event to take place. A huge thank you Upon landing, the patient was handed over in to the care of the Border Force First Aid to our brilliant crews from Wadhurst who were so well received by the crowds. In addition team and was taken to hospital. In this situation Daniel's training enabled him to assist in a huge thank you to our Animal Rescue Team and Swift Water Rescue Team for their treating the woman to effect the best outcome. impressive demonstrations throughout the day. Our community volunteers along with our Water Safety Champions and Guy Bowes worked tirelessly and generously throughout Daniel’s Story the day and we’d like to offer a special thanks to Dave Thurston and Pup Upton for their The lifesaving efforts of our crews have been captured unwavering support in creating an event of this scale. in a powerful drowning prevention case-study film, created by the Communications Team for East Sussex Sussex Control Centre staff become Dementia Friends Fire & Rescue Service in conjunction with a specialist videography company. The ten-minute film details the Sussex Control Centre teams were the latest staff members to become Dementia Friends true story of a young man who became separated as part of our ongoing strategic commitment. Four sessions were run at Service Training from his friends during a November night out and fell, Centre as part of training and development days. Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends unnoticed into the River Ouse. A random 999 call programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It sparked a major, multi-agency rescue and the individual aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition. was rescued alive after a police helicopter located a faint heat source. He has been in the water for around

Page 26 Page 27 Asking the public Our Finances Over the last few years, we have demonstrated a real commitment in actively listening Our budget for 2019/20 (revenue) to our communities, with responses from you informing our plans for the delivery of our services. East Sussex Fire Authority has agreed an increase of 2.94% in Council Tax. This means that Band D Council Tax will increase from £91.00 to £93.67 in 2019/20, providing a 24/7 Home safety – Crowborough and Uckfield emergency response for just £1.80 per week.

We ran a campaign to remind people living in and around Uckfield and Crowborough of the The decision comes as part of measures to help provide financial stability for the Fire and importance of working smoke alarms. Letters were sent to residents with a request to use Rescue Service at a time when future funding from central government has become even a pre-paid postcard to respond, letting us know if they have working alarms or would like a more uncertain. home safety visit. 1300 properties had been contacted and 200 responses were received. 185 confirmed they had tested their smoke alarms, 63 had fitted new smoke alarms and/ The additional income from Council Tax along with planned savings of £0.4m mainly from or replaced batteries and 111 pledged to test their alarms regularly. 9 Home Safety Visits reductions in insurance and other support costs will help us balance the Authority’s budget have been requested. One member of the public commented on the postcard “Thank you and will enable us to continue to invest in the Service’s life-saving work as set out in our for this initiative – very timely as one (alarm was) not working!” Integrated Risk Management Plan. Our revenue budget (for day-to-day spending) will increase by £0.9m. This includes an additional £0.15m investment in match funding the fitting of sprinklers in local high rise / high risk buildings, taking the total funding we have committed to this project to £0.75m. The Authority has agreed to participate in the East Sussex Business Rates Retention pilot scheme, forgoing Revenue Support Grant in favour of keeping a much greater share of local Business Rates. It is estimated that this will gain an extra £0.55m in 2019/20 which will support services and local initiatives over the next two years

Investing for the future (capital)

As well as our day to day spending, in 2019/20 we will be investing: £3.4m in new fire appliances and other vehicles and £3.4m in improving our buildings. This includes the initial phase of a £3.1m project to refurbish Preston Circus Community Fire Station and plans to share our accommodation at Lewes, Heathfield and Uckfield with other public sector partners which will help reduce our day to day running costs.

Income from the sales of our old HQ and other buildings, along with other money we have set aside will fund a £13.8m improvement plan for our estate over the next six years.

What we spend Planned Actual Planned 2018-19 2018-19 2019-20 2019-20 £m £m £m %

Employees 27.2 27.3 30.1 77 Running expenses 9.4 9.6 10 26 Capital Financing 2.1 2.0 0.9 2 Gross Service Expenditure 38.7 38.9 41.0 105 Income and Specific Grants (1.7) (1.7) (3.7) (9) Contribution to / from Reserves 1.1 1.1 1.7 4 Net Budget Requirement 38.1 38.8 39.0 100

Page 28 Page 29 How we are funded Contact us We listen to our communities and want you to help us improve the services we provide. If Planned Actual Planned you want to get involved, or would like more information about our services, please get in 2018-19 2018-19 2019-20 2019-20 touch and have your say. £m £m £m % Phone: 0303 999 1000 Government Grants 3.7 3.8 0.0 0 E-mail: [email protected] Business Rates 7.9 7.9 11.6 30 Write to: Liz Ridley Council Tax 26.5 26.5 27.4 70 Assistant Director Planning and Improvement Total Funding 38.1 38.2 39.0 100 East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Service Headquarters Church Lane A B C D E F G H Lewes BN7 2DZ What you pay - Council Tax Bands East Sussex Fire Authority is responsible for the preparation of this performance plan and Annual Cost £62.45 £72.85 £83.26 £93.67 £114.49 £135.30 £156.12 £187.34 for the information and assessments set out within it, and the assumptions and estimates Weekly Cost £1.20 £1.40 £1.60 £1.80 £2.20 £2.60 £3.00 £3.60 on which they are based. The Authority is also responsible for setting in place appropriate performance management and data quality control systems for which the information and To find out more about our finances visit our website at http://www.esfrs.org/fa/ assessments in the performance plan have been derived. financialInformation.shtml

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