Agenda and minutes

of the previous meeting held on 31 January 2023 attached.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2023 be signed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Service Delivery (CSC/23/6) attached.

The Committee received for information a report of the Director of Service Delivery (CSC/23/6) on performance by the Service during Quarter 4 of the current (2022-23) financial year against those Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with the following two Strategic Priorities as approved by the Authority for 2022-23 (Minute DSFRA/21/36 refers):

Strategic Priority 1: “Our targeted prevention and protection activities will reduce the risks in our communities, improving health, safety and wellbeing and supporting the local economy”; and

Strategic Priority 2: “Our operational resources will provide an effective emergency response to meet the local and national risks identified in our Community Risk Management Plan”.

The performance status of the Service KPIs was based on the following criteria:

The report identified the following in relation to Quarter 3 performance against the 21 KPIs associated with Strategic Priority 1 and the 14 KPIs associated with Strategic Priority 2:

There were 3 KPIs as indicated above with a status of “needs improvement” which were:

·       KPI 1.1.2.2 - number of dwelling fire fatalities (Priority 1);

·       KPI 1.10.1.2 - rate of hospitalisations in other primary fires per 100,000 population (Priority 1)) and

·       KPI 2.1.4.2 - percentage of operational risk information in date – level 4 tactical plans (Priority 2).

It was noted that exception reports for each of these KPIs needing improvement were included within the report circulated. The exception reports indicated:

·       dwelling fire fatalities - this stemmed from one fatal fire in Quarter 4 which had started accidentally but had developed quickly and the severity was such that the cause could not be determined definitively.  The Service was doing eevrything possible to mitigate against fatal fires including working closely with stakeholders and partners in the community to identify those most vulnerable, with each fatal fire being subject of an indepth review;

·       rate of hospitalisations in other primary fires per 100,000 population - this was dealing with very low numbers, making the rate subject to significant fluctuations. More meaningful monitoring could be ensured by assessing the rate of injuries within expected ranges, based on historical performance, with exception reports generated only where performance fell outside the upper limit.  As this was based on a rolling average currently, however, this measure would automatically fall out of exception in the next 12 months as the rate of injuries had been dropping each year;

·       percentage of operational risk information in date – level 4 tactical plans related to refreshing existing plans rather than the requirement for new plans. Measures were in place to address fully the backlog although this had taken longer than anticipated to work through.

The Committee considered areas of work it would like to pursue in greater depth via the submission of reports or deep  ...  view the full minutes text for item CSC/22/14

Report of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer (CSC/23/7) attached.

The Committee received for information a report of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer (CSC/23/7) on progress against action plans to address Areas of Improvement within the remit of this Committee and stemming from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) 2022 inspection report of the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service (the Service).

Action plans had been developed to address the following two Areas for Improvement:

HMI-1.2-202203 - The Service should evaluate its prevention activity so it understands what works; and

HMI-1.2-202204 - Safeguarding training should be provided to all staff.

The report indicated that progress against each of the actions was on track to secure completion by the relevant target dates.