Agenda item

To consider a report

11.1   The Head of Finance and Treasurer presented the covering report to the Asset Management Plans for 2018/19 to 2021/22 for Fleet and Transport and Information & Communications Technology.

Fleet & Transport

11.2   SOC C Ball introduced the updated Fleet & Transport Asset Management Plan. He highlighted the following points from the report:

·           The fleet consisted of 115 items from trailers to fire engines with a total value of just under £5.5m. There were no lease costs.

·           Savings of £950k had been achieved through a review of appliances.

·           With new capital purchases the average life of the fleet had been reduced from 7 to 5 years, however the newer appliances, such as the 10 new rescue pumps, had a longer lifespan and the average life would rise again as the fleet aged. In general the age and standard of the fleet was good in comparison to some other services.

·           Two storage tanks for red diesel were to be made operational, one at Bedford and one at Luton. Only two vehicles in the fleet could run on red diesel but they were less efficient vehicles and the fuel was 50p/litre cheaper so this initiative would generate savings.

·           Looking to the future, electric vehicles and possibly hydrogen cell vehicles would reduce carbon emissions. The London FRS aimed to have no new fossil-fuelled vehicles by 2030. Electric charging points could be installed for staff but there would be tax implications. The first three electric vehicles would be vans, expected by the end of the year and having a range of around 190 miles.

·           Despite having more efficient vehicles the overall carbon footprint had increased due to the greater number of jobs being undertaken by the Service, for instance in assisting the Police and Ambulance services.

·           The Action Plan in section 21 of the report included a regular review of the fleet and appropriate replacement of vehicles. The average lifespan for a car was 4 years but each vehicle was assessed individually.

·           Within the past 12 months hydrant vans had been supplied to the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Services with three identical vehicles to each Service. This enabled greater efficiencies in training and procurement of equipment for the vehicles. Also in the past 12 months the sale of obsolete assets had paid for the total refurbishment of older fire engines.

11.3   In response to a question SOC Ball commented that the Service contributed to some personal lease costs. This was a benefit available to some staff as an alternative to an essential car user allowance. All such costs were reviewed on a regular basis.

Information and Communications Technology

11.4   Mr A Dosanjh highlighted the following points from the summary:

·           Paragraph 9.1 listed a number of joint infrastructure projects which included upgrading the operating system to Windows 10. This was necessary as support for Windows 7 was due to end in December 2019. The upgrade would be implemented on the server and would not need to be enacted on each individual computer. Various 3^rd party applications might also need upgrading to ensure compatibility with the new operating system.

·           A benefit of the Microsoft Enterprise licence enabled staff to purchase the Microsoft Office suite for approximately £10.

·           Additional items in paragraph 9.2 included implementation of the Fire Safety Application Protection element and Safe and Well application element of ‘Prevent and Protect’

·           Included in the medium term capital plan at Item 11 was a Wi-Fi Refresh which would enable greater flexible working.

11.5   In response to a question Mr Dosanjh confirmed that the detail contained within this report was also used to benchmark performance throughout the year.

RESOLVED:

That, following due scrutiny by the Group, the updated Asset Management Plans for Fleet & Transport and Information & Communications Technology be recommended for approval by the Authority.