Minutes:
High Sheriff Visit
The Chair reported that the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, his wife and two of his children had visited Fire and Rescue Headquarters the previous day and, in addition to being shown a number of facilities such as the Training Centre and Control Room, the High Sheriff had expressed a real interest in the Service and had asked pertinent questions about funding and other issues.
It was recognised that, as well as entertaining visiting judges, the High Sheriff also undertook an advocacy role. During his year in post, the High Sheriff would visit thousands of local organisations and seek to facilitate relationships between those organisations when appropriate.
Meeting with Chair of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority
The Chair advised that he had recently met with Councillor Kevin Reynolds, the present Chair of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority. During their meeting, the Chairs had discussed the ICT Shared Service, sharing of Principal Officers, the HMICFRS Inspection process, the current situation in Cambridgeshire in relation to the Police and Crime Commissioner and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s development of a training centre off the A1 near Huntingdon.
Like Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority was currently undergoing a governance review, and Councillor Reynolds had volunteered to share the results of this with Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Fire Commission
The Chair and Chief Fire Officer had attended the meeting of the Fire Commission. It was noted that the Policing and Fire Minister was not present.
It was understood that in addition to the Government’s preoccupation with Brexit, the Minister’s absolute priority was to seek to tackle the increase in serious violence caused by knife, gang and drug crime.
In this respect, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire advised that the Minister would be visiting Bedfordshire on 25 October 2018 and that she would request that representatives of the Fire and Rescue Service were invited to participate in those discussions.
Combined Fire Authority Meeting
The Chair and a number of Members had attended the meeting of the Combined Fire Authorities that had been hosted at Milton Keynes Dons Football Stadium.
The Chair highlighted two issues that had been identified at the meeting: the need for a crisis response plan and the use of digital strategies.
Ongoing concerns about funding for combined fire authorities had been raised and the Chair had volunteered to head up a working group that would consider how a meaningful business case could be prepared for submission to the Minister, who had not responded to previous letters that had been sent on the subject. He stated that there would be an opportunity for other Members to be involved in this work if they so wished.
Station Visits
The Chair reported that there had been two Station Visits during the summer period.
Fire Cadets
The Chief Fire Officer reported Fire and Rescue Service Cadet had recently been installed as one of the Lord Lieutenant’s seven cadets. The Chief Fire Officer would circulate the citation that had been read out at the ceremony to Members of the Fire and Rescue Authority for their information.
Governance Report
The Chief Fire Officer advised that the final version of the internal audit report had recently been received and would be submitted through the normal reporting processes. This should provide a platform for Officers to produce an options paper for Members to consider in due course.
Service Awards Evening
The Chief Fire Officer reported that the Awards Evening that had been held at the Auction House in Luton the previous month had been well supported by Members.
National Firefighters Memorial Service
The Chair and Chief Fire Officer had attended the national memorial service held in London.
Members’ Development Day
The Chair advised that the presenter from the CIPFA Conference on commercial contracts had been invited to attend. It was noted that the Chair and the Chief Fire Officer were not available on the day as a result of conflicting commitments but it was agreed that it should proceed as planned.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire emphasised the importance of including penalty clauses in contracts and enforcing these when required.