Finance and Resources Committee 18 July 2008

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Finance and Resources Committee 18 July 2008

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee held on 18 July 2008 at Fire Service Headquarters, Birkenshaw

Present: Councillors P Harrand (in the Chair),

D Ginley, J Godward, D Hollingsworth, G Kirkland (as substitute for Councillor D Gray), M Jamil,
R Light, M Rafique, B Smith and A Wallis

Apologies: Councillors M Khan and D Gray

In attendance: Councillor P Booth

1 Minutes of the Last Meeting

Resolved

That the Minutes of the Committee at a meeting held on 25 April 2008 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

2 Urgent Items

None.

3 Exclusion of the Public – Section 100a, Local Government Act 1972

Resolved

That the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the item of business specified below as it was likely, in view of the nature

of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public and press were present during this item, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information of the descriptions specified.

Agenda Item No. - E14

Title of Report - Nelson Street – sale of former Fire Station

Min No. - 14

Description of exempt information by reference
to the paragraph number in Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 - Paragraph 3 – financial or business affairs

4 Disclosures of Interest

There were no disclosures of interest in any matter under discussion at the meeting.

5 Quarterly Financial Review

Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Finance Officer which presented the quarterly overview of the financial position of the Authority.

The overview incorporated the following information;

It was reported that the forecast was for a revenue underspend of £415,000 due to the following;

• Wholetime firefighters - forecast underspend of £200,000

• Support staff – forecast underspend of £363,000

• Insurance premiums – forecast underspend of £173,000

• Capital Financing charges – forecast underspend of £167,000

• Contingency for pay and prices – forecast overspend of £415,000

Details of expenditure on capital schemes were detailed in an annex to the report now submitted and Members were reminded that major capital schemes totaling £6.4m had been slipped into the current financial year.

Members were further advised of issues relating to Treasury Management and the Chief Finance Officer responded in detail to queries raised by Members

in respect of the information contained within the financial review report.

Resolved

(i) That the report be noted; and

(ii) That alternative methods of fuel purchase be researched in the light of the 80% increase in fuel costs to the Authority.

6 2007 / 8 Backward Looking Efficiency Statement

The Chief Finance Officer submitted a report with presented the backward looking efficiency statement for 2007 / 8.

Members were advised that £3.44m of cashable efficiency savings had been achieved bringing the total over three-years to £13.53m which had exceeded the government target by a factor of three.

Calculation of efficiency gains in 2008 / 9 had changed and the fire service as a whole had been given a target of 1.6%, with no specific targets for individual authorities. It was reported, however, that it was anticipated that this authority would generate further cashable savings of £2.56m in 2008 / 9.

Members considered the report in detail and the Chief Finance Officer responded to issues raised by Members with respect to each section of the efficiency statement 2007 / 8.

Resolved

(i) That the report be noted; and

(ii) That a report be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee detailing the results of research into comparative data.

7 Response to Government Consultation Document – New Capital Grants

Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Finance Officer which advised of the receipt of a Communities and Local Government consultation document in respect of the distribution of capital grant.

Members considered a proposed response to the document which supported Option A (as detailed in the report now submitted). It was reported that any additional grant would reduce the need to borrow to fund the capital plan and Option A reduced these costs by the greatest amount (£300,000).

Resolved

That the proposed response to the CLG consultation on the distribution of capital grant (attached at Annex A) be approved for submission to the Fire and Resilience directorate.

8 Leased Car Mileage

Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Finance Officer which invited Members to consider a review of the method of calculation of leased car fuel allowance.

It was reported that the existing method of calculation was based on historic information but that, due to the recent volatility of prices, it was considered that this method was no longer an accurate reflection and that any chosen methodology had to be more sensitive to fluctuations in fuel prices.

Resolved

(i) That the current fuel allowance be reviewed in

line with the June 2008 fuel prices and rates be increased with effect from 1 July 2008 as follows;

Up to 1199cc 13.7p
1200cc – 1500cc 15.9p
Above 1500cc 16.9p

(ii) That fuel prices be reviewed annually on 1 July in line with the average price of fuel in Yorkshire and Humberside ;

(iii) That, in the interim, fuel prices be reviewed quarterly (based on fuel prices in September, December and March) and fuel allowances be amended to reflect any change in prices of 5% or greater; and

[Councillor Light requested that consideration be given to the introduction

of a single banding system]

9 Member Attendance at CFOA Innovations Conference

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which sought approval for the attendance of Members at the CFOA Innovations Conference to be held in Leicester on 17 – 18 September. Details of the conference were attached as an annex to the report now submitted.

Resolved

(i) That approval be given to the attendance of Members at the CFOA Innovations Conference on the basis of one Member from each political group; and

(ii) That Group leaders liaise with the secretariat to confirm the names of those Members attending the conference detailed at (i) above.

10 RCC Cutover Arrangements and Business Case

Members considered a report of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer and Director of Operations which advised of the three cutover options for transferring staff from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Mobilising and Communications centre to the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Control Centre (RCC) as follows;

• Creation of a staff pool

• Training of staff at work

• Emergency calls to be handled by the RCC network

It was reported that the additional costs associated with any of the options would be met by Communities and Local Government (CLG) through new burdens funding arrangements.

Resolved

(i) That the three options for cutover arrangements be noted;

(ii) That a letter be forwarded to CLG requesting the opportunity for this Authority to observe and monitor the progress of the RCC’s in the first tranche prior to its commitment to any preferred option; and

(iii) That the results of (ii) above be reported back to this Committee as appropriate.

11 Virement – Incident Recording System

The Director of Fire Safety and Community Relations submitted a report which sought approval for the introduction of an incident recording system to be funded by virement from the scheme for the extension to Leeds Fire Station.

Members were advised that the proposed scheme was not the same as that trialled and supplied by the National Incident Recording System and would allow for more detailed information to assist with current and new initiatives within the Brigade.

It was reported that the cost of the scheme would be £68,000 for which there was no existing budgetary provision due to the late and unexpected need for an alternative to the national system. It was therefore proposed to finance the scheme through virement from the scheme to extend Leeds Fire Station which would no longer be required.

Resolved

(i) That approval be given to additional capital expenditure to purchase an incident recording system as detailed in the report now submitted; and

(ii) That the purchase at (i) above be funded by virement from the scheme for the extension to Leeds Fire Station.

12 FRS National Framework 2008 - 2011

Consideration was given to a report of the Director

of Corporate Resources which advised of the requirements of the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2008 – 11 as detailed in the annex to the report now submitted.

Resolved

That the report be noted.

13 Prosecution – Outcome of Fire Safety Investigation

The Director of Fire Safety and Community Relations submitted a report which informed Members of the legal proceedings taken against the Panshee restaurant in respect of the breach of fire safety legislation.

Members were advised that the case had been committed to Crown Court for sentencing and both the partners in the restaurant business, Messrs Ali

and Miah, had been issued with suspended prison terms and substantial fines together with a six month supervision order.

Resolved

(i) That the report be noted;

(ii) That a formal letter of thanks be forwarded to City of Bradford MDC for its assistance in obtaining the injunction under Section 222 powers;

(iii) That a case study be developed with regard to this particular case to use as an example of the difficulties faced by those authorities unable to use Section 222 powers; and

(iv) That the case study at (iii) above be submitted to key Government Ministers via the offices of the Local Government Association (LGA).

14 Nelson Street – Sale of Former Fire Station
(This item was considered as exempt information under Schedule 12 A (3) of the Local Government Act 1972 – business or financial affairs)

Resolved

That consideration of this item be deferred for further discussions with local Bradford Councillors with regard to possible development opportunities for the site.

Chair