Meeting documents

Report of the Clerk

Councillor Henry Cooper, Vice-Chairman, invited nominations for the appointment of Chairman of the Authority for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year.

Councillor David Acton having been so nominated, it was:

Resolved: That Councillor David Acton be appointed Chairman of the Authority for the remainder of the 2011/12 Municipal Year.

Councillor David Acton thereupon took the Chair.

Councillor John Bell and Paul Shannon took the opportunity to congratulate Councillor David Acton on his appointment as Chairman of the Authority for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year.

The Chairman, Councillor David Acton, took the opportunity to pay tribute to the outgoing Chairman, Councillor Fred Walker and thanked him on behalf of the Authority for the hard work and commitment he had given to both the position and the Authority over the years.

Apologises for absence were received from Councillor Dylan Butt and Alan Matthews.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 23^rd June 2011

The Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 23^rd June 2011 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are requested to consider whether they have any interest to declare in relation to any item of business on the agenda.

Councillors David Acton, Henry Cooper and Fred Walker declared a Personal Interest in Item 16 – North West Fire Control Project by virtue of being a Director of NW Firecontrol Ltd.

To be accepted at the discretion of the Chairman of the Committee.

There were no items of urgent business received.

1.  The Chairman reminded Members that a ‘Member Training Day at Leigh Technical Service Centre’ would be taking place on Thursday 29^th September 2011 commencing at 9.30am till approx 1.00pm. All Members were encouraged to attend.

2.  The Chairman reminded Members to book their Member Personal Development Interview slots with Donna Parker, Democratic Services Manager, the dates available were Monday 19^th September, Wednesday 21^st September, Thursday 22^nd September and Friday 23^rd September 2011. This process was part of the Authority’s commitment to the North West Charter for Elected Member Development. 

3.  The Chairman informed Members that a Member Training & Development Session on ‘Budget Planning 2012/13’ would be taking place at the rise of the next Authority Meeting on 20^th October 2011. The Session would be hosted by Ged Murphy, Director of Finance and Technical Services and Paul McKevitt, Treasurer.

4  The Chairman reminded Members, Sunday was the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.  To honour the thousands of victims, including the 343 heroic firefighters who responded to the call of duty at the cost of their own lives, all Greater Manchester fire stations were endeavouring to hold a brief remembrance event on Sunday 11^th September, including a minute’s silence at 1.46pm. This would reflect the moment of the first attack on the World Trade Centre.  Members were invited, if they wish, to take part on the day and were asked to inform Donna Parker, Democratic Services Manager, which fire station they would be attending.

5.  The Chairman advised Members that the ‘Bury Fire Station Sod Cutting Ceremony’ would be taking place on Thursday 15^th September at 2.00pm. Councillors Alan Matthews and Sandra Walmsley (Bury Fire Authority Members) would be attending the Ceremony.

6.  Fire Station Open Days – All Members and their families were invited to attend:-

-  Littleborough Fire Station Open Day -  Saturday 17^th September from 11.00am till 4.00pm (Rochdale Borough)

-  Chadderton Fire Station Open Day - Saturday 1^st October from 11.00am till 4.00pm (Oldham Borough).

7.  The Chairman informed Members that the Scottish Parliament on 7^th September had confirmed that both fire and police in Scotland would reduce to single services.

There were no questions submitted.

Report of the Clerk

The Clerk submitted a report requesting the Authority to make any consequential changes to the appointments to Committees and other bodies made at the Annual Meeting on 23^rd June 2011 required as a result of filling the vacancy in the office of Chairman of the Authority for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year.

On the appointment of Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee for the reminder of the 2011/12 municipal year Councillor David Acton, Chairman MOVED and Councillor Henry Cooper, Vice-Chairman SECONDED the nomination of Councillor Tommy Judge for this position.

Councillor Paul Shannon MOVED and Councillor Iain Lindley SECONDED an alternative nomination of Councillor John Bell.

On being put to the vote, the alternative nomination was LOST by 9 votes in favour, 19 votes against.

Resolved: That:

1.  Councillor Tommy Judge replace Councillor Grace Fletcher-Hackwood on the Emergency Response Committee and be appointed Chairman of this Committee in place of Councillor David Acton for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year;

2.  Councillor David Acton replace Councillor Fred Walker as Chairman of the Policy, Resources and Performance Committee for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year;

3.  Councillor Alan Matthews replace Councillor George Wilson on the Policy, Resources and Performance Committee for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year;

4.  Councillor David Acton replace Councillor Fred Walker on the Prevention and Protection Committee for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year;

5.  Councillor Grace Fletcher-Hackwood replace Councillor Tommy Judge on the Prevention and Protection Committee for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year;

6.  The following changes to the representation of the Authority on outside bodies for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year, be approved as follows (changes highlighted in bold):-

Report of the Clerk

The Clerk submitted a report which requested the Authority to nominate Members to serve as Member Champions for the 2011/12 municipal year.

Members were advised that at the Authority’s Annual Meeting on 23^rd June 2011 it was agreed that Members would provide expressions of interest to fill these positions on a cross party basis for the 2011/12 municipal year.

Resolved: That:

1.  The following Members be appointed to serve as Member Champions to the following subject areas for the 2011/12 municipal year:

Member Champion for Absence Management:  Councillor Barrie

Holland;

Member Champion for Children and Young People: Councillor Wendy

Meikle;

Member Champion for Efficiency Savings: Councillor George Wilson;

Member Champion for Inclusivity: Councillor Daalat Ali;

Member Champion for Fire Control: Councillors Fred Walker and Steve

Williams;

Member Champion for Member Development: Councillors John Bell

And Lynda Byrne;

Member Champion for Sustainability: Councillor George Wilson.

2.  Councillor Andrew Morgan be appointed to the Member Development Steering Group for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year;

3.  The Member Champion Terms of Reference as set out in the report, be noted.

The Minutes of the proceedings of the Audit Committee held on 22^nd June 2011 were submitted (Appendix 1).

Resolved: That the proceedings of the Audit Committee held on 22^nd June 2011 be approved.

The Minutes of the proceedings of the Policy, Resources and Performance Committee held on 21^st July 2011 were submitted (Appendix 2).

Resolved: That the proceedings of the Policy, Resources and Performance Committee held on 21^st July 2011 be approved.

The Minutes of the proceedings of the Prevention and Protection Committee held on 28^th July 2011 were submitted (Appendix 3).

Resolved: That the proceedings of the Prevention and Protection Committee held on 28^th July 2011 be approved.

Report of the County Fire Officer & Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report of the County Fire Officer and Chief Executive which provided feedback to Members from LGA Annual Conference & Exhibition 2011: Localism Works which took place from 28^th to 30^th June 2011 at the ICC, Birmingham.

It was reported that the next Conference was due to take place on 26^th to 28^th June 2012 at the ICC, Birmingham. This Conference currently clashed with the Authority’s 2012/13 Annual Meeting that was due to take place on 28^th June 2012. Members, therefore, agreed to change the date of the Authority Annual Meeting to 21^st June 2012.

Members were requested to amend their diaries accordingly.

Resolved: That:

1.  The content of the report and comments, be noted.

2.  The date of the Authority’s 2012/13 Annual Meeting be changed to 21^st June 2012, due to the reasons detailed above.

Report of the County Fire Officer & Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report of the County Fire Officer and Chief Executive which outlined the Authority’s key achievements through the sustainability programmes over the 2010/11 financial year. The report  provided a summary of the key highlights since the last update and the economic and carbon savings achieved through delivering the Authority’s strategy. The strategy identified savings of £3.55 million to be achieved through utility and fuel cost avoidance, arising from investment in sustainability.

Members were advised that the Authority’s key projects for 2011/12 were as follows:-

-  Green Hose Awards;

-  Environmental Management;

-  Energy Policy;

-  Green Travel Plan;

-  Sustainable Procurement.

Members welcomed the informative report and thanked Officers for their hard work and commitment to this area of work.

Resolved: That:

1.  The achievement of a 1000 tonne saving in CO2 emissions and cost savings of more than £700,000 for the 2010/11 financial year, compared to taking no action, be noted.

2.  The peer-assessed recognition of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority as a national leader on sustainability, be noted.

3.  The key sustainability projects planned for 2011/12 remain on target for a 25% reduction in resource consumption and a £3.5 million cost avoidance saving in associated costs by 2015, be noted.

4.  Energy savings in the short term would be earmarked to fund new initiatives in the future and meet the raising energy costs over the medium term, be noted.

Report of the County Fire Officer & Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report of the County Fire Officer and Chief Executive which set out the current status and progress made against the Corporate Plan 2011/14 development and delivery goals for Quarter 1 of 2011/12.

A condensed summary of the overall development goal progress was detailed at Appendix A of the report. Members were advised that the scoping of special rescue stations and the development of the corporate communications strategy were delayed pending the recruitment of staff to lead these activities. The new fire stations at Bury and Rochdale were originally scheduled to be completed by January 2012, however, these were likely to be delayed until the first quarter of 2012 while the necessary assurances from the contractor and planning authority were sought.

An overview of Quarter 1 performance against the corporate performance indicators was detailed at Appendix B of the report.

In addition, it was reported that a new ‘Measuring Progress’ report had been developed, as detailed at Appendix C of the report, to provide a greater level of detail and transparency of performance against the corporate plan measures and standards broken down by borough. The ‘Measuring Progress’ report was intended to compliment the richer picture of overall Service activity contained within the quarterly CFO’ Activity Reports and to support Members in their meetings with Borough Managers and partners.

Members welcomed the ‘Measuring Progress’ report which would be a useful document to use both at ‘Borough Meetings’ and at Member’s home authorities.

Members had a discussion on the recent civil disturbances which had taken place in Manchester City Centre and Salford on 9^th and 10^th August 2011. The Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee, Councillor Tommy Judge, requested that a verbal update on this subject be given at the next Emergency Response Committee on 15^th September 2011.

Resolved: That:

1.  The performance against the development and delivery goals for Quarter 1 2011/12 of the Corporate Plan 2011/14, be noted.

2.  The ‘Measuring Progress’ quarterly report for future use with Borough Managers and partners, be noted.

3.  That the County Fire Officer and Chief Executive provide a verbal update on the recent civil disturbances at the next meeting of the Emergency Response Committee on 15^th September 2011.

Report of the County Fire Officer & Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report of the County Fire Officer and Chief Executive which sought a decision from the Authority on the best option to address their statutory duty for emergency call handling.

Members were advised that the report was advocating North West collaboration, utilising residual funding and facilities of the National Fire Control project to achieve best value for money, subject to the development of a local business case, and conditional upon the support of the other four North West Fire Authorities, namely Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside.

Members were advised that the report detailed three options. However, Members were asked to focus on Option 1 which reflected the resolution taken by the Authority on 10^th February 2011 (Minute 110 refers). It was reported that Option 1 represented the most cost effective and resilient service delivery model which was in line with the policy position the Authority had previously committed to subject to the clarification and reassurance which had now been received in writing from CLG and had been included within the report.

In conclusion, a North West approach offered a range of operational, technological and financial benefits based on guaranteed early Government financial support, including other opportunities such as the released space at Fire Service Headquarters and cost avoidance for systems replacements.

The Chairman with the agreement of the Authority revised Recommendation 1 of the report (paragraph 41(1) refers), to include the wording ‘subject to the agreement of the other four North West Fire Authorities, namely Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside’.

Resolved: That:

1.  The implementation of a Regional Control facility, as detailed in the report, be endorsed, subject to the agreement of the other four North West Fire Authorities, namely Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside.

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2.  It be noted that the County Fire Officer and Chief Executive would implement the appropriate governance arrangements to deliver the project from within the approved budgets.

3.  The Emergency Response Committee receive regular updates as the project proceeds.

Report of the County Fire Officer & Chief Executive

The County Fire Officer and Chief Executive presented the ‘Chief Officer’s Activity Report’ for Quarter 1 2011/12 – 1^st April to 30^th June 2011, for Members’ information and comments.

The report provided Members with information on the wide ranging activities which had taken place across the Boroughs during this period. The report also provided an update on the following subject matters:-

-  Strategic Projects and Specialist Response;

-  Fire Investigation;

-  Fire Engineering;

-  Events and campaigns;

-  Leigh Technical Centre;

-  Training and Development;

-  Volunteers;

-  Articles of interest.

Resolved: That the ‘Chief Officer’s Activity Report’ for Quarter 1 2011/12 – 1^st April to 30^th June 2011, be noted.