Agenda item

To consider a report

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented the Annual Report for 2021/22. This document set out the performance of the Service from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 and was prefaced with a welcome and the Service’s values before summarising the highlights of each month during the year.

In presenting the report, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer drew Members’ attention to the following:

·       Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs) had increased by 16% from the previous year to 398, with outdoor bonfires decreasing by 21% and building fires by 5%.

·       There were 252 accidental dwelling fires during the year, a 24% reduction when compared to the five-year average and a 15% reduction from the previous year.

·       There had been one fire death during the year, which was a reduction on the previous year, with a comparable number serious injuries and outpatient injuries to previous year.

·       The Service had responded to 1,804 automatic fire alarms, a significant increase of 227 from the previous year.

·       The number of road injuries and fatalities remained consistent with figures recorded over the five-year period, with 2020/21 being an outlier as fewer people were travelling as a result of the pandemic.

·       A total of 8,443 Safe and Well Visits had been conducted in the year. Whilst this was below the stretch target of 10,000, it was the highest number of visits ever conducted by the Service. This included 2,397 doorstep visits and 616 telephone consultations.

·       270 safeguarding referrals had been made, 208 directly as the result of Safe and Well visits.

·       To combat arson when there was an identifiable threat, 259 arson proof letter boxes had been installed during the year.

·       There had been an increase in deliberate fires from 430 in 2020/21 to 565 in 2021/22, although this was still under the five year average.

·       The Service continued to actively engage with partners in relation to road safety. Examples of this included participation in “Survive the Drive” at Chicksands, the development of a training package for Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) National Observers in partnership with Herts & Beds Advanced Motorists and assisting the Police in delivering “Bike Safe”.

·       A road safety vehicle with built in virtual reality was being produced and would hopefully be available by the end of the year.

·       The Service had been involved with the installation of six water safety boards at the Forest of Marston Vale to improve water safety.

·       22 young people fascinated with fire had been supported by the Service to change their behaviour.

·       24 fire cadets had been recruited in October/November 2021 with three centres at Luton, Leighton Buzzard and Sandy. Another unit had been formed later in that year in Bedford, bringing the total number of cadets up to 32.

·       A total of 3,288 audits and inspections had been conducted during 2021/22, an increase of 71% compared to the previous year. This included 647 audits of which 243 were to high risk premises. 20 prohibition notices had been served; this was the highest number to date. Fines totalling £40,000 had been awarded to the Service through the court process.

·       14 employees had reached the milestone of working for the Service for 20 years and this had been recognised internally.

·       The Recruitment Team had successfully recruited to 22 support roles, 18 whole time operational roles and 35 retained roles. It was worthy of note that the Service had been awarded a positive audit result in relation to recruitment.

·       The Wellbeing Policy had been revised and a Cycle to Work Scheme had been launched.

·       961 training courses had been delivered during the year.

·       The Service was now providing training in house to new recruits in partnership with Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, rather than using the Fire Services College.

·       Promotion gateways had been provided at every level and 25 individuals had been identified for the talent pool.

·       Several major training live play events for major terrorist attacks had been undertaken and these had been attended by over 1,500 personnel from a wide range of agencies.

·       The Service had been the first in the country to adopt a 100% cloud based mobilising system compatible with the Emergency Services Network. This had also been integrated with Gartan, enabling the Service to manage its resources more effectively.

·       New incident command software had been implemented in January 2022 and Wi-Fi had been upgraded at all stations from July to October 2021.

·       The Corporate Risk Register had been updated in September 2021.

·       The Service had upgraded from version 3 to version 5 of PDRPro.

·       The Service continued to work in partnership with East of England Ambulance Service. An exercise had been conducted demonstrating that public services benefited by £7 for every pound spent by the Service in this work.

In response to questions about the increase in deliberate fires, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the Service worked closely with the Police to identify the cause of the fire and to put cases forward for prosecution where possible. Following a recent spate of arson incidents, the Service had installed 7 arson-proof letter boxes in one afternoon as a preventative measure. Community engagement events were held after incidents.

The Chief Fire Officer added that deliberate fires classified as outdoor fires were primarily seasonal in nature and there had been four months during the year that had been over target levels. Performance had improved following this period, and despite the increase, final performance remained under the target level.

It was noted that there was a duplication of bullet points on page 57 relating to improved situational awareness and this would be rectified before the final version was published.

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the Service had not altered its working relationship with EEAST, although there were discussions ongoing with the FBU regarding additional duties.

The value of maintaining the collaborative working relationship with EEAST was acknowledged, as was our impact on their organisational performance.

In response to a question on operational leavers, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that exit interviews were offered to all staff upon their resignation from the Service. The Chief Fire Officer commented that, in the majority of cases, the reason for leaving the Service was purely financial. There was a recruitment and retention crisis throughout the industry and currently only 25% of operational staff had worked for the Service for more than 5 years. This was a major issue that would have to be addressed at a national level.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer reported that the Service was now an accredited apprenticeship provider which enabled it to provide training and to draw down from the Apprenticeship Levy. The ability to provide training to recruits in house generated a significant saving and also provided recruits with a more family friendly training package.

RESOLVED:

That the report, and the content contained therein, be acknowledged.