CABINET
MONDAY24 JULY 2006 AT 2.00 P.M. / Agenda Item No:
9
HERTFORDSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE COMMUNITY SAFETY PLAN 2006\07 – AMENDED RECOMMENDATIONS
Report of the Chief Executive and Chief Fire Officer
Author: Roy Wilsher, Chief Fire Officer Tel: 01992 507501
Executive Member: Keith Emsall (David Lloyd)
- Purpose of report
To inform and ask Cabinet to ratify the decision of the Chief Executive to amend the Community Safety Plan for the Fire and Rescue Service which was agreed by the Cabinet on 28 march 2006.
- Background
The Chief Executive used her powers under the Scheme of Delegation to take an urgent decision to amend the Community Safety Plan for the Fire and Rescue Service which was agreed by Cabinet on 28 March 2006. The grounds for urgent action on this case were that the amendments were necessary to implement as soon as possible an agreement between the County Council and the Fire Brigades Union to resolve the industrial action being mounted by the Union.
The Fire Brigades Union(FBU) objected to the Community Safety Plan agreed by Cabinet on 28 March. then instigated a trade dispute and strike ballot which resulted in three 8 hour strikes. Other planned strikes were either cancelled or shortened. The following amended recommendations were the result of many hours of discussion and negotiation with the FBU and agreement to them would result in the settlement of the trade dispute.
3.28 March Decisions and Relevant Amended Recommendations
28 March Decision – Introduce a new Community Safety Team consisting of 12 personnel working a flexible day duty system.
Amended recommendation - Introduce a new Community Safety Team consisting of 12 personnel working a flexible day duty system, to include part-time positions up to 2 full-time equivalent and 2 positions working out of the Royston area with targets to reflect this deployment.
28 March Decision – The attendance standard for property fires in Hertfordshire is:-
- Two fire engines to attend all property fires
- First fire engine within 8 to 10 minutes on 90% of all occasions
- Second fire engine to attend within 13 minutes on 90% of all occasions
- To ‘persons reported’ fires a third fire engine attends within 16 minutes on 90% of all occasions.
All attendance times to be measured as per DCOL 12\1993, that is from the time the appliance is assigned to the incident by the Command and Control Centre.
Amended recommendation – No change to this decision.
28 March Decision – To change the officer duty system to ensure an appropriate number of officers are available at all times.
Amended recommendation – No change to this decision.
28 March Decision – Reduce the number of aerial appliances in Hertfordshire from three to two. The two appliances to be stationed at Watford and Stevenage.
Amended recommendation – No change to this decision.
28 March Decision – Reduce the number of firefighters at Hemel Hempstead, St Albans and Stevenage from 13 to 12 per Watch. These posts to be re-deployed into the Community Safety Task Force.
Amended recommendation – Reduce the number of firefighters at Hemel Hempstead and St Albans from 13 to 12 per Watch. These posts to be re-deployed into the Community Safety Task Force. Stevenage to be 13 per Watch once the Community Safety Task Force is operational.
28 March Decision – The second fire engine at Watford be crewed for 12 hours per day rather than the existing 24 hours – the first fire engine to remain crewed 24 hours per day. The duty system to be agreed by the Chief Fire Officer.
Amended recommendation – Retain the second fire engine 24 hours a day, at Watford and reduce the number of firefighters from 13 to 12 per Watch, to be redeployed in the Community Safety Task Force.
28 March Decision - Change the current shift lengths from 9 hour days and 15 hour nights to 10 hour days (commencing at 0900 hours, finishing at 1900 hours) and 14 hour nights. The current 2-2-4 shift pattern to remain unchanged.
Amended recommendation – To form part of a review with the aim to synchronise shift patterns across the Service.
28 March Decision – To increase the establishment at Bishops Stortford and Hitchin by two firefighters at each station. The duty system to be agreed and implemented by the Chief Fire Officer.
Amended recommendation – To increase the establishment at Bishops Stortford and Hitchin by two firefighters at each station, but with the aim to phase in through future budget rounds. The duty system to be agreed and implemented by the Chief Fire Officer.
28 March Decision – Bovingdon Fire Station is closed.
Amended recommendation – No change to this decision.
28 March Decision – Radlett Fire Station is closed.
Amended recommendation – No change to this decision
28 March Decision – The day crewing system at Royston be amended to provide wholetime crewing Monday to Friday with a new duty system being agreed by the Chief Fire Officer.
Amended recommendation – The day crewing system to provide wholetime cover with guaranteed cover including 6.30PM to Midnight every day with a new duty system being agreed by the Chief Fire Officer.
- Comment
The above proposals have been formulated following extensive discussion and negotiation with the FBU and National Joint Secretaries and are fully consistent with the Authority’s intention to promote the principle of fire prevention in the county; they will lead to the settlement of the trade dispute. The above proposals, if agreed, will be implemented during 2006 with commencement dates dependent on statutory processes which need to be carried out.
The amended recommendations set out in paragraph 3 form the basis of a collective agreement between the County Council and the Fire Brigades’ Union. The collective agreement is to be implemented by the Chief Fire Officer.
- Conclusion
Cabinet is invited to agree:
- To ratify the decision of the Chief Executive to amend the Community Safety Plan as set out in the report, and
- That the collective agreement between the County Council and the FBU to implement the decisions set out in paragraph 3 be implemented by the Chief Fire Officer.
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