Agenda item

To participate in the Fire and Rescue Authority’s consultation on its plans for Fire and Rescue Services in North Wales for 2014/15 and beyond (copy of consultation document enclosed).

10.10 a.m. – 10.40 a.m.

[Councillor Meirick Davies declared a personal interest in this item]

A copy of the public consultation document on the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority’s plans for fire and rescue services in North Wales for 2014/15 and beyond (previously circulated) was submitted for members’ consideration and comments.  Chief Fire Officer Simon Smith (CFO) and Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dawn Docx (DCFO) were in attendance at the meeting.

The CFO delivered a power point presentation on the proposed improvement objectives and plans to provide and deliver future services in North Wales.  The three proposed improvement objectives covered the following –

·        1 – to help keep people and communities safe by preventing deaths and injuries from accidental fires in living accommodation

·        2 – to ensure that North Wales gets the best possible level of service within financial constraints, use a variety of management solutions to optimise fire and rescue cover in the area

·        3 – to implement a 3-year financial plan for 2014/15 to 2016/17 that funds the current level of service, but that aims to limit the cost of doing so to the equivalent of an extra £1 per year per head of population

In presenting the future plans the CFO elaborated upon the reasoning behind those proposals and provided some background information, including savings already made by the Fire Authority, together with key information about the service.  The potential impact in budgetary terms was also highlighted.  Councillor Meirick Davies, Chair of the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority highlighted changes in the service with a shift of emphasis from reactive to prevention together with the accompanying change in working patterns and reallocation of resources.  He advised that Corporate Governance Committee had considered budget proposals the previous day and it would have been useful if they too had heard the rationale behind the current proposals.  The reality of budget cuts in the Fire Authority could lead to the loss of fire stations and fire officers.

In terms of the budget proposals for 2014/15 and in light of the local government revenue settlement, Fire Officers advised that the financial proposals were being revisited to explore the possibility of freezing the budget for a fourth year.  The Corporate Director: Modernising and Wellbeing confirmed a 7.7% reduction in the Council’s budget in real terms and the proposals detailed in the consultation report would amount to an additional contribution of £90k.

Members recognised the valuable service provided by the Fire and Rescue Authority and reported upon a number of positive examples based on their own personal experiences and good work carried out within their communities.  The Fire Officers and Councillor Davies responded to questions raised as follows –

·        reported upon the excellent working relationship between the Fire Authority and Council departments cooperating with a view to safeguarding the most vulnerable within society – 30% of referrals came from partners which had exceeded the set target of 25%

·        elaborated upon the progamme of home fire safety checks and the supply and installation of smoke alarms free of charge together with a range of other interventions and precautions to prevent fire related incidents

·        confirmed that the map denoting whole time and retained fire stations in the presentation differed from that circulated as part of the consultation and had been previously emailed to committee members with the presentation slides

·        highlighted the potential impact on services as a result of not increasing the budget and confirmed a special meeting of the Fire Authority had been scheduled for 5 December to further discuss the budget for 2014/15.

The Chair thanked the Fire Officers for their attendance at the meeting and interesting and informative presentation.

RESOLVED that the Fire and Rescue Authority’s consultation document on its future plans be received and the latest position regarding the Authority’s draft budget for 2014/15, in light of the recent Welsh Government announcement on future funding for North Wales local authorities, be noted.  

At this juncture (10.45 a.m.) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.