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1 /

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C Crowley and J Bayliss.

2 /

DECLARATION BY MEMBERS OF ANY PERSONAL OR PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS

All Members present declared that they had a personal interest in any business relating to, or affecting their own Constituent Authority.

3 / CHAIR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PERSONAL MATTERS

A warm welcome was extended to auditors Victoria De Zouche of KPMG and Meirwyn Thomas of Carmarthenshire County Council.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer provided Committee with an update regarding the significant fire that the Service was called to on Friday 26 April 2013 at the National Library of Wales Aberystwyth. Over 60 firefighters from Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Powys Commands attended the fire, which utilised a range of appliances, including the High Volume Pump, Aerial Platform Ladder and Rural Response Pumps. The fire was confined to the roof and upper floors of the building, which was mainly office space, and in line with pre-planning fire arrangements already in place for the building, crews worked with staff at the library to minimise damage to the artefacts held within the library.
Members extended their appreciation to all staff involved in tackling the fire and noted that the extremely quick response of all crews involved in a fire of such significant national importance was commendable.
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TO CONFIRM AND SIGN AS A TRUE RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 JANUARY 2013

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2013 were received and confirmed as a true record of the proceedings.
Matters Arising from the meeting held on 28 January 2013
Item 5, page 4, paragraphs 2 & 3 – The Director of Risk confirmed that the Service would be submitting a further request for funding to the Welsh Government in respect of development works at the Earlswood training facility. Internal funding streams had however been approved regarding the refurbishment of catering facilities at the site.
Item 14, page 12, paragraph 7 – The Deputy Chief Fire Officer reported that the changes in crewing project involved the realignment of appliances and equipment that had been located at Morriston fire station, which subsequently resulted in the relocation of surplus staff. It was confirmed that the project had achieved savings of £451,000.
5 / TO RECEIVE THE PERFORMANCE AND BUSINESS ASSURANCE REPORTS TO MARCH 2013
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer introduced the Performance and Business Assurance report to the Committee which provided an accurate reflection of the Service’s performance during 2012/13.
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance and Service Improvement Project Officer provided an overview of the four Appendices set out in the report, as follows:
Departmental and Command Action Plans ( Appendix 1 )
Members were referred to Appendix 1 to the report which contained a commentary from each Head of Department or Command using a Red, Amber Green (RAG) status to reflect how their Department or Command had progressed. Members were informed that of the 105 actions, 95 were on target with the remaining 10 targets being within the acceptable tolerance level (amber).
Committee considered the key areas of performance and a number of areas requiring further clarification were addressed. The following areas of interest were highlighted:
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance clarified that each Head of Department / Command was responsible for setting its own improvement objectives and reporting on the progress of each target, which consequently provided a subjective indication of performance. It was acknowledged that the use of the Performance Management System was an evolving process and the Service would continue to refine its processes with smarter ways of working.
Members were pleased to note the Service’s efforts in relation to sustainability, with the implementation of smart meters for electricity and gas in an aim to reduce consumption levels.
The Director of Risk clarified that the Young Firefighter Scheme aimed to teach young people the virtues of good self-discipline and community awareness from a firefighting perspective. Members commended the highly successful initiative which continued to be a flagship community fire safety course run by the Service.
In response to a query the Deputy Chief Fire Officer clarified that the Service had experienced some difficulties in terms of the availability of a limited number of on-call stations, which could in the main be attributed to the Neath Port Talbot area. Members were pleased to note that a significant recruitment drive had resulted in the employment of 57 new members of staff who were currently undergoing relevant training and would significantly increase the on-call appliance availability by the autumn. In the interim period, wholetime duty officers could be utilised as a temporary measure to meet service delivery requirements. Members acknowledged the concerted effort of the Service and wished to record their thanks to relevant members of staff involved in the recruitment process.
Members highlighted the importance of the Local Service Board which was an excellent example of multi-agency partnership working and encouraged the Service to ensure representation from each Command area.
In response to a query, Members were informed that a feasibility study would be undertaken to determine the most effective utilisation of the former Llandrindod Wells station.
In response to a question, the Director of Resources clarified the strategic nature of the work of the Procurement Department in relation to sustainability and outlined the pressures currently being faced by the small team.
Performance Indicators - Performance against targets set for Strategic and Core Indicators (Appendix 2)
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance reported that the performance information for the reporting period 2012/13 set out in Appendix 2 of the report was subject to validation by the Welsh Data Unit. Reference was made to the annual trends in key performance indicators which demonstrated that the progress for the year showed areas of significant improvement.
Of the 38 statutory and core performance indicators which measured performance on corporate health and service delivery, 30 remained within the target tolerance. The 8 indicators that were not within target tolerance related to sickness, one element of ill health retirement, fire injuries, percentage of hoax calls attended and one element of smoke alarm ownership.
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance noted that although the indicator on sickness absence was off target, a significant improvement had been made on last year’s performance which could be attributed to the Service’s robust but supportive absence management policy. Members were further informed that the Service set themselves very challenging target figures in relation to sickness absence and had managed these very successfully over the past few years.
Following a query from Members, the Director of Risk confirmed that the Service operated a robust policy for dealing with deliberate false alarms. Although the percentage of false calls attended was currently off target, performance in this area was expected to increase as Control room staff currently in their development stage continued to gain experience and would consequently be provided with authorisation to implement the call challenge policy to filter such calls. Members were disappointed to note that the police had not brought any prosecutions against individuals during the reporting period.
Business Assurance Progress Report (Appendix 3)
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance reported that the Business Assurance update provided a summary of progress and recommendations that had been made as part of the external scrutiny arrangements for the Authority.
Committee gave consideration to the Annual Improvement Report 2012 recommendations and the Peer Assessment Report 2011/12 recommendations. It was noted that of the 26 objectives, 24 were on target to be completed within schedule and the remaining 2 were within the acceptable tolerance threshold.
In response to a query from Members it was confirmed that the Direct Electronic Incident Transfer (DEIT) project was pending clarification of funding on a national basis in order to pursue the introduction of the technology across Wales.
Members drew attention to the development of performance management arrangements in respect of buildings management whereby it was confirmed that an internal realignment of duties had addressed the resource issue.
Corporate Projects Update (Appendix 4)
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance provided a summary of progress against the 17 corporate projects. It was noted that a total of 10 projects were on target and 6 had made progress. Members were informed that 1 project, relating to the review of the top part of the HQ site, was currently off target and would be progressed during 2013/14.
In response to a query, the Director of Resources confirmed that a feasibility study would be undertaken in respect of the Aberystwyth Community Fire Station which would provide various options and costings for consideration.
RESOLUTION
It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
6 / TO RECEIVE THE OPERATIONAL ASSURANCE OF SERVICE DELIVERY ASSESSMENT REPORT 2012
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer reported that the Operational Assurance of Service Delivery was undertaken annually by teams from each Fire and Rescue Service. The Peer Assessment Team (PAT) was supported by officers from the Welsh Government and Wales Audit Office. The Peer Assessment undertaken during 2012 had focused on Legislative Fire Safety activity, in addition to the review of direction of travel through sampling of recommendations from previous reports during the six year cycle.
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance provided Members with an overview of the Peer Assessment Team findings, which had been based on the Service’s own self assessment and findings following a site visit in October 2012.
The report had commented positively on the comprehensive and reliable evidence provided by the Service and supported its plans to address areas for further development.
In response to a query from Members, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer confirmed that there were cost implications involved in the PAT process in terms of staff time, however he added that it was important to note that the exercise provided a valuable tool to further enhance the performance of the Service.
RESOLUTION
It was RESOLVED that the report be noted
7 / TO RECEIVE THE CORE BUSINESS REPORT
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance introduced the Core Business report which had been created to monitor specific areas in order to provide reassurance and identify changes in performance.
Members were provided with an overview of the key performance indicators which provided an indication of the overall health of the organisation. Members drew attention to the Risk Critical Skills Gap indicator and were particularly pleased to note that the Service had maintained 95% compliance in this area.
RESOLUTION
It was RESOLVED that the report be noted
8 / TO RECEIVE THE REPORT ON THE SCRUTINY EXERCISE OF RISK CRITICAL TRAINING
The Head of Strategic Planning and Performance provided Committee with an overview of the Risk Critical Training scrutiny exercise undertaken by Fire Authority Members at Earlswood on 18 February 2013.
It was reported that the key areas of scrutiny focused upon the work that had been undertaken to deliver against the risk critical skills required by the organisation to deliver against its statutory duties and ensure firefighter and public safety.
Committee were informed that Members received a presentation detailing the full range of activities undertaken within the training delivery function and Members commended the department for its achievements to date and its efforts to reduce the risk critical skills gap.
As a result of the scrutiny exercise and the subsequent evaluation documentation received from Members, the following recommendations were made by the members of the Scrutiny exerecise:
1.  Members wished to note how impressed they were with the achievements of the Risk Critical Training Department who they commended as providing high quality training for the benefit of all personnel.
2.  To provide dedicated training appliances for Haverfordwest, Newtown and Earlswood.
3.  The achievements of the training team should be widely publicised.
4.  Members gave their support for the addition of an improved separate catering facility.
5.  Members asked if they could be provided with a schedule of acronyms used in internal documents in order to gain a wider understanding of the terms used.
6.  In respect of reporting sickness figures it would be useful to highlight the difference between long term sickness and short term sickness. This would provide a better understanding for the public and media when the statistics were published.
7.  The Scrutiny Exercise was commended as being comprehensive and very worthwhile.
RESOLUTION
It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
9 / TO RECEIVE THE INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS 2012-13
Mr M Thomas, internal Auditor from Carmarthenshire County Council presented Committee with an outline of findings emanating from the reviews of Payroll, Creditors, Debtors and financial systems within the new Command structures undertaken in line with the Internal Audit Programme for the 2012-2013.
Mr Thomas reported that in terms of Payroll Internal Audit determined that sound procedures were in place whereby staff were well aware of their responsibilities. Furthermore, a small number of recommendations had been provided in order to further strengthen existing controls, and it was anticipated that these would be addressed with the introduction of the integrated Payroll/HR System. However, it was noted that the issue concerning the annual review of the signatory list remained outstanding.
The Creditors review determined that the Service’s operational systems were found to be good and there were no fundamental areas of concern identified by the review. There were some issues identified for improvement in order to demonstrate a good control over the processing of creditor payments to ensure that the requirements of Financial Procedure Rules were fully complied with, and these were presented to Members within the Action Plan.
The need for a reconciliation between officers in post and officers nominated on the workflows was also discussed during the review.
The Debtors Review concluded that procedures were found to be good although there were areas in need of improvement. Members were informed that since the previous audit the Authority had started developing a Debt Recovery Policy which would provide a consistent approach, with clear timescales, for the pursuant of debts. Members were of the view that the recommendations outlined within the action plan would strengthen existing controls.
A review of financial systems was undertaken within Powys and Pembrokeshire Commands and it was determined that the processes and systems in place were appropriate to ensure the effective and efficient running of the command. However the review found that the Command Coordinators experienced difficulty in cashing the petty cash cheque at their local banks although a letter of authorisation had been provided.
RESOLUTION
It was RESOLVED that the report be noted
10 / TO CONSIDER ANY OTHER ITEM OF BUSINESS THAT BY REASON OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THE CHAIR DECIDES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A MATTER OF URGENCY PERSUANT TO SECTION 100(B)(4) OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972
There were no items of urgent business.
The meeting closed at 13:05 .

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