Agenda item

Purpose of report: To provide the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee with a detailed report on the findings and recommendations of the Fire Transformation Working Group which was set up to review the ‘Making Surrey Safer-Our Community Safety Plan’ which proposes a number of changes to the way Surrey Fire and Rescue Service operates.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Saj Hussain, Chairman of the Fire Transformation Working Group

Chris Botten, Working Group Member

Jan Mason, Working Group Member

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Vice-Chairman made the following statement: The fire transformation Working Group was set up by the Environment Select Committee now the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee to support the transformation of the fire service and to provide independent scrutiny on the ‘Making Surrey Safer- Our Community Safety Plan’. Between March and July 2019, the Working Group has spoken with 17 stakeholders and has listened to their views and concerns on the ‘Making Surrey Safer- Our Community Safety Plan’. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the witnesses whom we have spoken to for their willingness and efforts- it has been greatly appreciated. The evidence heard at witness sessions has helped the Working Group formulate a series of recommendations for consideration by the Select Committee. I believe the recommendations contained with the Working Groups report are impactful and will help strengthen the ‘Making Surrey Safer- Our Community Safety Plan’. I would like to give residents and stakeholders the assurance that the proposed plan will be scrutinised by the Select Committee on a quarterly basis and any areas of concern will be forwarded to the Cabinet for further investigation.

2.    Mr Botten reiterated that the Working Groups key concern was the level of staffing within the service especially if changes were to be made to how the service operated. As a result the Group recommends that the new proposed crew and vehicle placement model as detailed within the ‘Making Surrey Safer-Our Community Safety Plan’ is resourced at full establishment firefighter (including on-call) staffing levels. It was added that the increase in response times especially at night time was raised as a concern by witnesses.    

3.    It was agreed that the committee would ask questions regarding the plan in the following item.

4.    The committee endorsed the recommendations of the Working Group for Cabinet approval.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approve the ‘Making Surrey Safer – Our Plan’ 2020-23 subject to the following recommendations of the Fire Transformation Working Group:

1. By 1 April 2020, the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire and Resilience to ensure that the new proposed crew and vehicle placement model as detailed within the ‘Making Surrey Safer-Our Community Safety Plan’ is resourced at full establishment firefighter (including on-call) staffing levels and for staffing levels to be closely monitored by the service to ensure these do not fall below establishment levels.

2. Emergency response times are closely monitored and scrutinised by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee on a quarterly basis to ensure that response times which do not meet current and future Surrey response standards can be addressed by further appropriate scrutiny.

3. If the ‘Making Surrey Safer-Our Community Safety Plan’ is approved by Cabinet, that Senior Managers continue to engage with staff to discuss the impact of the changes on working patterns and give staff the opportunity to comment and shape the design of the service.

4. The service must aim to recover costs from incidents which do not fall within the services statutory obligations. By 1 April 2020, a detailed schedule of charging for incident attendances is drafted to recover costs from incidents which do not meet the services statutory obligations especially in cases of persistent false fire alarms.

5. The Surrey Fire and Rescue Service statement of assurance is scrutinised by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee in 2020 so the Committee can be confident that the service has the appropriate arrangements in place to deliver services safely and effectively.

   vi.        All future public consultations and any associated documents are made accessible in a variety of formats to a wide range of people with differing needs including those with mental health support needs, learning difficulties and physical, sensory or cognitive impairments. It is recommended that the council works closely with organisations and groups that represent disabled people to pilot the accessibility of documents before any future public consultations are launched.