Agenda item

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.

The PFCC presented the report, highlighting the following points:

·         NFRS had increased its public-facing activity as the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic had improved. It had increased home fire safety checks four-fold, re-started visits to schools and provided fire safety advice to new students at the University of Northampton (UoN).

·         The force and NFRS performance teams had just jointly purchased a new demographic data system. This was another example of the greater collaboration permitted by co-location at Darby House, which in-turn maximised the resources available for frontline services. 

The Panel considered the report and members made the following points during the course of discussion:

·         The report was very positive and activities detailed such as the provision of advice to students and the introduction of an accredited fire service wellbeing dog were excellent ideas.

·         It was questioned whether there was scope to operate an emergency services cadets scheme for UoN students, given the range of other organisations and activities in which students could participate.

·         The report demonstrated emerging improvements in local services, which were very welcome.

·         The improvement in response times that had been achieved was impressive and those involved should be congratulated. The report also gave a positive picture on appliance availability.

·         The new joint arson reduction strategy between the force and NFRS was impressive. It was questioned whether this would include communication with youth workers to help to address the issue of young people setting fires.

·         It was questioned that NFRS did not seem to have the same level of engagement with the local authority building control function as in the past, which could increase fire safety risk in properties. The emergency services needed to be informed about proposals to avoid this situation.

The PFCC provided additional information in response to points raised by members during the course of discussion as follows:

·         NFRS currently had two high-rise appliances and two more were on-order, although the current world situation would affect when they would be delivered.

·         The provision of fire safety advice to students in conjunction with UoN was a good example of some simple partnership working that produced tangible benefits.

·         Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) would review NFRS performance in detail but it was maintaining performance levels despite the challenges of the pandemic. The PFCC thanked the Northamptonshire MPs who had made representations to the government concerning the need for additional resources. The government now proposed to permit Fire & Rescue authorities in the lowest charging quartile to raise the precept by up to £5 at Band D in 2022/23.

·         He sought to learn from the examples of wider joint working in other areas. He would be visiting Cornwall during the winter to see its tri-service emergency response scheme, which involved police community support officers, Fire & Rescue and ambulance service personnel. He would also be visiting Wales to see examples of well-established joint police and Fire & Rescue control rooms.

·         Members should highlight any specific cases where NFRS had not been engaged in the building control process and he would look into these. A new White Paper on this matter was also due to be produced in the near future.

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the report.