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Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Fire Authorities’
Regional Management Board

Meeting held on Thursday 6 April 2006 at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre, Easingwold


Present:

Humberside Fire and Rescue Authority

Councillor C Randall
Councillor N Sherwood


North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Councillor E Broadbent
Councillor J Morley


South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Councillor J Bird


West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Councillor G Beever
Councillor P M Harrand
Councillor R Light


Secretariat:

Mr M G Barnes
Mrs N Houseman


Treasurer:

Mr M Price


In attendance:

Mr F Duffield Humberside
Mr K Marshall Humberside
Mr N Hutchinson North Yorkshire
Mr A Trowsdale North Yorkshire
Mr M Smitherman South Yorkshire
Mr M Davis South Yorkshire
Mr K Arbuthnot West Yorkshire
Mr I Gilchrist West Yorkshire
Ms H Brown West Yorkshire
Ms U Harrison Govt. Office for Yorkshire and the Humber


48  Apologies for Absence


Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Andrews and Scriven
(South Yorkshire) and from Councillor Khan (West Yorkshire).


49  Minutes of the Last Meeting


Resolved


That the Minutes of the Board at a meeting held on 12 January 2006 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.


50  Urgent Items


None


51  Admission of the Public


The meeting determined that there were no items which necessitated the
exclusion of the public.


52  Declarations of Interest


Councillor Light declared a non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 12,
Procurement (Min no. 59 refers).


53  Regional Management Board – Progress Report - Overview


Consideration was given to a report of the Secretary which advised of progress
made within the region against the six nationally set objectives for the Regional
Management Board as identified in the National Framework Document.


Members were advised that all the regional projects had either been achieved or remained on target to be achieved.


Resolved


(i) That the report be noted; and


(ii) That future overview reports advise of the relevant dates when targets are
achieved together with the facility to make comparison against the
immediately preceding monitoring report.


54  Programme Management


The Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive (North Yorkshire) submitted a report
which proposed an approach to Programme Management of the six key areas
under the responsibility of the Regional Management Board (RMB).


Members were advised that the issue had been raised by the Board on previous
occasions but that it was now opportune to review the present arrangements for Programme Management as a consequence of the latest draft National
Framework document.


It was proposed that the current Officer Programme Management Group would
be replaced by a Programme Management Board (PMB) comprising four elected
members, the four Chief Fire Officers, Secretary and Treasurer to the Board.


The PMB would;


Resolved


(i) That a Programme Management Board be established comprising four
elected members (one from each Fire and Rescue Authority to include the
RMB Chair and Vice Chair as representatives of their respective Authority), the four Chief Fire Officers and the RMB Secretary and Treasurer; and


(ii) That a Programme Management framework be adopted as outlined in the
report now submitted.


55  Programme Management – Resourcing


Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive
(North Yorkshire) which sought approval of arrangements for the resourcing of
Programme Management activity and the work involved in planning and coordinating the entire RMB programme.


It was proposed that a contract be let, by competitive quotation, to deliver the
preliminary work detailed below;


Members were advised that the costs, not exceeding £40,000, would be
apportioned in accordance with the terms of the RMB’s Constitution.

Resolved


(i) That approval be given to the letting of a contract, by competitive
quotation, to deliver the products outlined in paragraph 2.4 of the report
now submitted at a cost not exceeding £40,000;


(ii) That costs be apportioned in accordance with the RMB Constitution;


(iii) That such contracting of service as detailed in paragraph 5.1(a) to the
report now submitted be facilitated and actioned by North Yorkshire Fire
and Rescue Authority;


(iv) That, should no suitable contractor express an interest, the matter be
referred back to the RMB for further consideration; and


(v) That, in an attempt to increase awareness of Regional Management
Board (RMB) issues amongst the general membership of the constituent
Fire and Rescue Authorities, a letter be sent to the Chairs to encourage
inclusion of the RMB Minutes on their own Authority agendas and advising
of the introduction of a quarterly bulletin to be circulated all Members.


Strategic Functions – Update


56  Resilience


The Deputy Chief Fire Officer (West Yorkshire) submitted a report which
provided an update on the issue of regional resilience and specifically on the
following areas;


Resolved


(i) That the report be noted;


(ii) That, following the retirement of Mr Kevin Arbuthnot (Deputy Chief Fire
Officer – West Yorkshire), the lead responsibility for Resilience be passed
to Mr Mark Smitherman (Chief Fire Officer – South Yorkshire); and


(iii) That , pursuant to (ii) above, responsibility for taking the chair of the
regional Operations Committee be passed to Humberside


57  Specialist (Common) Services


Consideration was given to a report of the Deputy Chief Officer of Humberside
Fire and Rescue Service advising of the progress made by the Common
Services Sub Group in the following areas;


Members were advised that work would also be undertaken prior to the next
meeting of the RMB which may identify further additional functions to be covered by the Common Services sub-group.


It was further reported that investigations were being made into the possible
submission of a regional bid under the auspices of capacity building, governance and community leadership.


Members expressed concern that the issue of the benefits of sprinkler
installation remain at the front line of Fire Safety and that buildings with
multiple tenants (and not formally a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) be
targeted in terms of fire safety.


Resolved

(i) That the report be noted; and


(ii) That approval be given for additional research work into incident
command and performance management;


(iii) That work be undertaken with regard to the possible submission of
regional funding bids; and


(iv) That the outcomes of (ii) and (iii) above be reported back to a future
meeting of the Board.


58  Regional Control Rooms


The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive of the West Yorkshire Fire and
Rescue Service submitted a report which advised Members of the status of the
FireControl and associated FireLink project.


Members were advised specifically of the progress made in the following areas;


It was further reported that a draft Concept of Operations document had been
developed jointly by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and CFOA which set out a strategic operational framework for the Regional Control Centres (RCC) - this would be maintained and updated by the national FireControl team and had been designed to provide clarity with regard to;


Contractual arrangements had been put in place with O2 for FireLink though it
was vital that regional delivery structures for RCC were established prior to the
management of the roll-out of FireLink. It was reported that the first appointment had been made to the Yorkshire and Humberside RCC (due for completion 2009 / 10) – that of Regional Project Delivery Manager, and this position would be filled by Ms Ursula Harrison.


It was envisaged that the regional FireControl and FireLink project would be
managed and delivered through a strategy and delivery team approach
consisting of the nominated RMB Member champions and Principal Officer leads
from each constituent authority.


Extreme disquiet was expressed by Members with regard to the continued lack of clarity on financial implications and particularly with regard to the following;


Resolved


i) That the report be noted;


ii) That a letter be forwarded to the Local Government Fire Services
Management Committee (copied to the Minister responsible) supporting
the Local Government Association lobby for clarity on the local government financing arrangements in relation to the establishment of Regional Control Centres;


iii) That approval be given to the revised regional delivery structure as
amended by the inclusion of reference to the Programme Management
Board (and consequent deletion of reference to the OPMG) ; and


iv) That Ms Ursula Harrison be congratulated on her appointment to the
position of Regional Project Delivery Manager.


59  Procurement


Members considered a report of the Director of Support Services (South
Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service) which advised of the work being undertaken
at national level with regard to Firebuy and the Integrated Clothing Project and
with the progress towards the production of a Regional Procurement Strategy
and action plan which was being consulted upon with constituent Fire and
Rescue Authorities.


Resolved


That the report be noted.


60 Training


Consideration was given to a report of the Assistant Chief Officer and Director of Human Resources of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service which updated
Members on the Training function in accordance with the requirements of the
Draft National Fire and Rescue Framework 2006 – 2008 and specifically on the
following issues;


Resolved


(i) That the report be noted;


(ii) That endorsement be given to a regional approach to quality assurance of
learning and development and specifically with respect to NVQ processes;


(iii) That endorsement be given to the development of specific performance
indicators in respect of regional training activities ;


(iv) That endorsement be given to the undertaking of a regional best value
style review in respect of training provision and facilities by March 2007;


(v) That endorsement be given to the inclusion of leadership development
within the scope of RMB Strategic Training function project;


(vi) That endorsement be given to a review of the RMB Programme
Management process in order to harmonise with the requirements of the
2006 – 2008 National Framework; and


(vii) That an interim progress report be submitted to the October 2006 meeting
of the RMB in respect of (iv) above.


61 Personnel and HR Management


The Director of Human Resources at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
submitted a report which advised of the progress made with regard to the
requirements of the 2006 / 2008 Fire and Rescue Service National Framework
Document and a proposed work programme.


It was reported that the approved Regional Human Resources Strategy would be reviewed and presented at the Annual meeting of the RMB in July together with any necessary change to the Equalities Strategy to reflect recent and proposed changes in equalities legislation. It was further proposed to implement a Best Value style review relating to Occupational Health and Safety, medical services and sickness / ill health management.


Work was ongoing with regard to good practice related to possible changes to
duty systems and work routine and the integration of Retained Duty System and Wholetime staff.


Resolved

(i) That approval be given to;


Occupational Health
Health and Safety
Medical Advice Services
Sickness / Ill Health Management


(ii) That an interim progress report be submitted to the October 2006 meeting
of the RMB in respect of the Best Value style review referred to at (i)
above.


62  Regional Control Centre – Agreement for Lease


Consideration was given to a report of the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
Authority’s Solicitor which advised of the main provision of the Agreement for
Lease and lease in respect of the Regional Control Centre.


Members were advised that, although the Leaseholder would be a regional
control company, the company would be wholly controlled by the Yorkshire and
Humberside Fire and Rescue Authorities and, it was appropriate, that Members
of the RMB had sight of the documents and associated legal advice in addition to the company directors.


Resolved


(i) That the report be noted and referred to the Regional Fire Control Company following its establishment;


(ii) That the lease be referred to the constituent Fire and Rescue Authorities
for noting / comment; and


(iii) That concerns of the RMB be raised with the Minister with regard to the
apparent reverse premium arrangements in the lease (Capital Payments).


63  Regional Control Centre – Governance Arrangements


Members considered a report of the Secretary to the Board which advised of the issue of a formal consultation paper by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister setting out detailed proposals for the governance of Local Authority companies to deliver and run the new Regional Control Centres.


Legal advice on the proposed arrangements was circulated to Members at the
meeting.


Resolved


(i) That the report be referred to the constituent Fire and Rescue Authorities
for comment direct to the Office of Deputy Prime Minister;


(ii) That the responses at (i) above be also referred to a meeting of the
Project Management Board for consideration;


(iii) That the meeting at (ii) above be called in late May, in advance of the
deadline for submission of comments (14 June 2006) and that representatives of the Policy Team together with Alun Evans, Director of Fire and Resilience at the ODPM, be invited to attend; and


(iii) That comments made at the meeting of the Project Management Board at


(iii) above be submitted direct to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.


64  Programme of Meetings 2006 / 7


The Secretary to the Board submitted a report which presented a draft
programme of meetings for 2006 / 7.


Resolved

That the Programme of meetings for 2006 / 2007 be approved as follows;

Thursday 27 July 2006 (AGM) 11 am Humberside
Thursday 19 October 2006 11 am West Yorkshire
Thursday 11 January 2007 11 am South Yorkshire
Thursday 29 March 2007 11 am North Yorkshire


65 Date of Next Meeting


Resolved


That the next meeting of the Yorkshire and Humberside Fire Authorities’ Regional
Management Board be the Annual Meeting to be held on Thursday 27 July 2006
at Humberside Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters.


Chair