Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room A, Somerset House, Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters

Contact: Sam Sharman  Email: ssharman@dsfire.gov.uk 01392 872393

Items
No. Item

CSC/23/10

Minutes pdf icon PDF 133 KB

of the previous meeting held on 10 November 2023 attached.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 2023 be signed as a correct record.

CSC/23/11

Strategic Priority 1 and 2 Performance Measures: Quarter 3 - 2023-24 pdf icon PDF 215 KB

Report of the Director of Service Delivery (CSC/24/1) attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Service Delivery (CSC/24/1) to which was appended a performance monitoring report for the third quarter of the current (2023-24) financial year against those Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) falling within the remit of this Committee for scrutiny purposes and aligned to Authority-approved Strategic Priorities 1 and 2.

In summary, the KPI performance was:

 

Succeeding (i.e. achieving target)

Near target (i.e. less than 10% away from achieving target)

Needs Improvement (i.e. at least 10% away from achieving target)

Priority 1

10

5

4

Priority 2

6

7

1

 

The five KPIs with a status of “needs improvement” were:

·       KPI 1.1.2.2 - Fire-related deaths in dwellings;

·       KPI 1.1.9.2 - Fire-related deaths in other locations;

·       KPI 1.2.4.1 - Fire safety checks completed;

·       KPI 1.2.5.4 - Non-domestic false alarms due to apparatus; and

·       KPI 2.1.4.2 - Level 4 operational risk sites in date for revalidation.

The report provided a detailed exception report for the five KPIs requiring improvement, explaining the reasons for the exceptions and measures to remediate the performance.

In terms of the exception report on the number of fire safety checks completed, the Director of Service Delivery advised that better monitoring system were in place now to improve the efficiency of wholetime crews which should impact on the delivery of home fire safety checks.  The Committee asked if non achievement of this target was a one-off position which the Director of Service Delivery confirmed.  He added that this was an ambiguous target, however, and the Service may wish to revisit this in future. 

In respect of the target on non-domestic alarms due to apparatus, the Director of Service Delivery advised that this pattern was being seen nationally.  The Clerk added that a full review of the response to was underway on this matter in line with the projects identified under the Medium-Term Financial Plan to make savings and further report would come forward to the Committee in due course.  The Committee drew attention to the need to ensure that the true costs of all responses to automatic fire alarm activations were recovered without increasing the risk and impact on the community.  A report would be submitted to the Committee on this matter in due course as per the discussion at the previous meeting (Minute CSC/23/8 refers).

It was noted that performance on Level 4 operational risk sites in date had improved since publication of this report and was no longer in exception.

 

CSC/23/12

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary & Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) Areas for Improvement Action Plan Update pdf icon PDF 228 KB

Report of the Chief Fire Officer (CSC/24/2) attached.

Minutes:

The Committee received for information a report of the Chief Fire Officer (CSC/24/2) on progress against action plans to address Areas for 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 which were specifically related to the remit of this Committee:

·       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.

It was noted that delivery of the Areas for Improvement action plan was on track now with Safeguarding training in progress.  There were outstanding actions to mitigate the quality assurance process, however, which had impacted the timescale for completion slightly.

CSC/23/13

Changes to Fire Protection Legislation pdf icon PDF 203 KB

Report of the Director of Service Delivery (CSC/24/3) attached.

Minutes:

The Committee received for information a report of the Director of Service Delivery (CSC/24/3) setting out details of recent changes in fire safety legislation.

The main changes included:

·       Fire Safety Act 2021 - Changes to clarify that, in buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applied;

·       The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (which came into force on 23 January 2023) - to change the definition of a high rise residential building to at least 18m above ground level with at least seven storeys; and

·       The Building Safety Act 2022 (which came into force on 1 October 2023) which provided greater accountability and responsibility for fire and structural safety issues throughout the lifetime of a building with a stricter regulatory regime for high rise buildings (at least 18m above ground).

The Committee noted that these pieces of legislation had arisen primarily as a result of the Grenfell tragedy but represented a very positive way forward for fire safety in future.