Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor David Smith, Lead Member for Public Realm (copy enclosed) recommending Cabinet adopts the final business plan to establish a regional Emergency Planning Service and delegates authority to approve the transition arrangements to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Lead Member.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       adopts the final business plan to establish a regional Emergency Planning Service on the basis set out in paragraph 4.12 of the report;

(b)       delegates authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Lead Member to approve the detailed transition arrangements to the new service and undertake all necessary tasks to establish the new service, and

 (c)       recommends that the regional service be subject to scrutiny by the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee both during the transitional phase and following full implementation.

[Councillor David Smith declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 6 on the Proposed Regional Emergency Planning Service and left the meeting during consideration thereof.]

In the absence of Councillor David Smith, the Leader Councillor Hugh Evans presented the report recommending adoption of the final business plan to establish a Regional Emergency Planning Service and delegation of authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Lead Member to approve the transition arrangements.  A summary of the current arrangements together with the final business case had been attached to the report.

The development of a business case for a single service had been commissioned by the Chief Executives of the six North Wales Local Authorities and had since been included in the Local Government Compact.  The report highlighted the benefits of establishing a North Wales Regional Service based on a sub-regional structure with an officer presence in each authority to ensure local expertise and knowledge and local service continuity.  Although cost savings were minimal collaboration would provide a more efficient, effective and resilient service and all six authorities were being asked to support the recommendation to join.  It was proposed that the new service became operational in October 2013.

During the ensuing debate the Leader sought assurances that the risks identified within the business case were being well managed and the ability of the service to respond to an emergency would not be detrimentally affected during the transition.  In view of the diversity of the geographical area and risks associated with particular areas such as heavy industry and flooding (both coastal and inland), Councillor Eryl Williams sought assurances regarding the expertise to deal with the differing needs across the two separate hubs identified within the new structure.  He also highlighted that compatibility of IT systems was integral to collaborative projects.  Councillor Huw Jones referred to the different Welsh language policies across local authorities and the need for consistency with Denbighshire’s policy of putting Welsh before English.

The Corporate Director Economic and Community Ambition responded as follows –

·         reported upon the mitigation of the risks identified within the business case advising that the service already worked closely with other authorities across the region and the implementation phase, which was relatively short, would be overseen by an officer group.  In addition the core functions were backroom services to the emergency response and therefore the ability to respond to an incident would not be affected during the transition

·         the proposal was for a single regional service and Western and Eastern hubs had been identified for ease of placing staff within the new structure; there would be shared strategies and plans across the whole region to deal with the diversification presented across the six areas.  There would also be a dedicated officer in Denbighshire to tailor the authority’s emergency response, and

·         acknowledged the importance of IT systems advising that Denbighshire and Flintshire already shared an IT system.

Cabinet also discussed governance issues and whilst noting that Partnerships Scrutiny Committee had examined the proposals in detail a need was highlighted for scrutiny during the transitional period and following implementation.  The Chief Executive referred to the lack of political appetite for establishing regional scrutiny committees and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services reported upon the establishment of joint scrutiny committees by agreement as referenced within the Local Government Measure.  It was noted that a briefing on the Measure had been scheduled for the next Council Briefing meeting.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       adopts the final business plan to establish a regional Emergency Planning Service on the basis set out in paragraph 4.12 of the report;

(b)       delegates authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Lead Member to approve the detailed transition arrangements to the new service and undertake all necessary tasks to establish the new service, and

 (c)       recommends that the regional service be subject to scrutiny by the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee both during the transitional phase and following full implementation.