Making Cheshiredeliver 131,000 new jobs and 92,000 new homes. This is more than previous unitary...

www.cheshirefire.gov.uk

MakingCheshire

Safer

Proposals for

2016-17

1. Introduction 1

2. Our approach to risk 5

3. Projects and proposals 15

4. Consultation and engagement 27

5. Financial update 29

6. Performance management 33

Integrated Risk Management Plan 2016–17

Contents

1

Introduction


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Paul HancockChief Fire Officer

heshire Fire Authority is the publicbody responsible for ensuring localcommunities are protected by aneffective fire and rescue service. It

comprises 23 elected members from CheshireEast, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton andWarrington councils.

Continuing to deliver that service despitemajor funding cuts and national moves tofundamentally change how local publicservices are delivered represents the mostsignificant challenge in the Authority’shistory.

To ensure it can respond to these challengeseffectively it has published a new mediumterm strategy “Planning for a safer Cheshire”setting out the principles and approach itintends to follow in the period up to 2020.

That five year plan recognises that there willhave to be fundamental changes across allaspects of the organisation if it is to be able tocontinue protecting and improving the safetyof the communities it serves.

Many of those changes are significant andcomplex and will take time to develop,consult on and implement. To ensure itremains on track to deliver the necessarychanges, the Authority will continue toproduce annual action plans like this, settingout in more detail the work scheduled for thenext financial year.

Combined with the five year strategy, thisapproach fulfils the Authority’s statutoryresponsibility to produce an Integrated RiskManagement Plan (IRMP) reflecting up-to-daterisk information and outlining how resourceswill be used cost effectively to reduce thepotential risks facing local communities

This plan sets outs the work and proposalsscheduled for the 2016-17 financial year withthe key focus being completion of theAuthority’s emergency response programme.This involves building four new fire stations,improving response times, keeping virtuallythe same number of fire engines but makingsavings by significantly changing how manyof them are staffed.

C

Cllr. John JoyceFire Authority Chair

Integrated Risk Management Plan 2016-17

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Other key issues for 2016-17 include the majorcollaboration programme with CheshireConstabulary. While each organisation willkeep its own identity, frontline emergencyresponse services and governancearrangements, the aim is to share supportservices and have a single headquarters.

In addition there will be a comprehensivepublic consultation programme on options toimprove the efficiency of emergency responseservices.

The overall priority, however, will remain onhelping the Authority realise its vision of “aCheshire where there are no deaths, injuries ordamage from fires or other emergencies.”

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Our approach to risk


Identifying key risks The Fire Authority has a responsibility toprovide an efficient and effective service thatprotects the communities and infrastructure ofCheshire.

Each fire authority is required to produce alocal plan setting out how it assesses local risksto life and uses its resources, including workingclosely with neighbouring areas, to protect thecommunities it serves. Known as IntegratedRisk Management Plans (IRMPs), these are stillregarded as essential to effective localplanning, even though national guidance onwhat they should contain has been removed.

The Government’s key expectations on fireauthorities are set out in a document called theNational Framework. This emphasises the needfor authorities to engage and involve localcommunities, particularly in developing theirprevention, protection, response and resilienceactivities. The Framework’s specific prioritiesare for fire and rescue authorities to:

• identify and assess the full range offoreseeable fire and rescue related riskstheir areas face, make provision forprevention and protection activities andrespond to incidents appropriately

• work in partnership with their communitiesand a wide range of partners locally andnationally to deliver their service

• be accountable to communities for theservice they provide.

More recently an additional requirement aboutfirefighter fitness was added and the Authorityhas made extra resources available to ensure itfully complies.

Cheshire Fire Authority has always maintaineda detailed understanding of the local, sub-regional, national and international factors thatcould have an impact on how it can deliver itsservices in the future. It does this by producingan annual comprehensive and forward-lookinganalysis of the most important political,economic, social, technological, environmentaland legal issues likely to have an impact on theAuthority.

In addition, the Service also carries out adetailed analysis of past incidents and activitylevels to identify trends and issues. This helpsto influence the development of theorganisation’s future emergency responseservice and to make sure that existingproposals remain fit for purpose.

The overall analysis is set out in the PESTELOdocument – (Political, Economic, Social,Technical, Environment, Legal andOrganisational review) - available on theAuthority’s website - www.cheshirefire.gov.uk .As well as the Service’s own data, thedocument also draws upon population anddemographic information taken from theOffice for National Statistics (ONS) and themost recent 2011 Census, as well as a range ofdata and information obtained from partners.

National and local issuesOver the next five years, fire authorities, alongwith all local government bodies, will continueto face challenges around structures andfunding and will have to adapt to an ongoingprogramme of austerity implemented by the

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Conservative Government after the GeneralElection in May 2015.

A wide-ranging Comprehensive SpendingReview, which set out the future fundingallocations for all Government Departmentsand cover the years 2016-2020, wasannounced in July 2015 by the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer.

Launching the review, the Chancellor signalledthat non-protected Government Departments,would face significant reductions in theirfunding.

The Department for Communities and LocalGovernment (DCLG) - which until January2016 oversaw the work of fire and rescueservices – was not protected and received cutsof around 27%. Since January, responsibilityfor the Service sits in the Home Office.

This puts even more importance on Cheshire’sability to achieve efficiencies across theorganisation. An updated Medium TermFinancial Plan (MTFP) setting out the £5mmillion plus savings needed by 2018-19 isincluded in section 5.

An independent review into firefighter termsand conditions, which included issues aroundgovernance and management of resources,was completed by Adrian Thomas in February2015. This review built upon the findingsmade by Sir Ken Knight and others before him.

Publication was put on hold, pending theoutcomes of the General Election. However it

is likely to be used by the Government as ablueprint for wider reform of the sector and toencourage greater workforce and operationalflexibility, including delivering further savings.

A number of policies being pursued by theGovernment, such as the push for greaterdevolution and the development of a NorthernPowerhouse have the potential to impact thefire and rescue service.

This is demonstrated by devolution dealsrecently agreed, most notably in GreaterManchester where a deal will see theinstallation of a Mayor with powers overhealth, skills, transport, regeneration, policing– and the fire and rescue service.

This development has implications for firegovernance in other areas that have agreedcity and county deals, such as Cornwall, theNorth East and West Midlands.

The announcement of the Liverpool CombinedAuthority, settled the question of the status ofHalton Borough Council, which although partof the Livepool authority area will continue toreceive policing and fire and rescue servicesfrom Cheshire.

The Government has made it clear that itwants to see much greater police and firecollaboration and improved interoperabilityand governance of the emergency services.This includes a new legal duty to collaborateand enabling Police and Crime Commissionersto take over the running of Fire Authoritieswhere a local case is made.

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Cheshire Fire Authority has been activelyexploring options to collaborate with CheshireConstabulary, to generate efficiencies and workbetter together, without compromising keyresponsibilities or changing governancearrangements.

The next few years will also see a wider focuson the way all public services are delivered,including those provided jointly by local andnational agencies in the areas of health,wellbeing and social care.

This includes experts from different agenciessharing data, working together in joint teamsto tackle vulnerable individuals and collectiveissues such as anti-social behaviour, the effectsof poor mental health and alcohol misuse, aswell as addressing barriers to closer working.

The fire and rescue service has a strong trackrecord in prevention and demand reduction,which is why the Service has played a key rolein a number of local pilots, including leadingthe Transforming Community Safetyprogramme, involvement in the £5mprogramme to tackle Complex Dependencyand building stronger links between health,public health and social care.

The Fire Authority intends to influence thesenational and local issues and participate in thedebates to ensure any changes do notcompromise the provision of an effective fireand rescue service for communities acrossCheshire.

New developmentsThe raft of Bills announced in the 2015Queen’s Speech confirmed that economicgrowth remains a major priority, with a focuson large infrastructure projects andsignificantly increased house building. TheCheshire and Warrington Local EnterprisePartnership (LEP) and local councils, includingHalton, are responsible for implementing thesemajor projects locally.

This includes targeted development and majorinvestment and regeneration in Crewe,Warrington and Chester/Deeside andsupporting major projects such as the HighSpeed 2 rail hub, the second Mersey Crossingin Halton, Europe’s biggest development atOmega in Warrington and developments inChester, Alderley Park and Daresbury.

Graph showing growth in the number of new homes against reduction in house fires

Plans under consideration would see the sub-regional economy double in size by 2040, anddeliver 131,000 new jobs and 92,000 newhomes. This is more than previous unitaryauthority plans for over 70,000 new residentialdwellings. Updated 2011 Census projectionsfrom the ONS placed Cheshire’s population atmid 2014 at 1,039,171, with 218,077 (21%)aged 65 or over.

With an increase in the number of people,dwellings and development sites there mightbe an expectation that dwelling fires and otherincidents will also increase. However, analysis

has shown, that although the number ofdwellings has steadily grown since 2001,dwelling fires have reduced in England - seegraph opposite.

New homes also tend to have the lowest rateof fires (0.7 per 1,000 per year) as more firesoccur in areas of high density social housing(3.3 per 1,000 per year).

Despite the limited potential increase in housefires as a result of new housing developmentsacross Cheshire, the Authority will continue toreview in detail the potential impact on any ofits plans to change its emergency responseservice in the future.

Targeting those most atriskThe Community Risk Management (CRM)model is the Service’s way of monitoring risklevels so that it can target its resourceseffectively in the most appropriate areas.


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Community Risk Management Model

The CRM diagram highlights how data andinformation is used to support the delivery ofthe organisation’s fire prevention, communityprotection and emergency response activity.

The strategic cycle, delivered annually throughthe Authority’s IRMPs, prioritises key issuesidentified through a variety of internal andexternal intelligence including:

• specialist computer modelling software• Geographic Information Systems • demographic data • historical fire and rescue incidentinformation and trends.

The Service was the first in the country to begiven heath data to help develop a picture ofthose most at risk which supports ourtargeting methodology.

This allows the Service to focus its preventionand protection activities where they will havemost impact and ensures the Fire Authority canreview future emergency response options.

The tactical cycle highlighted in the CRMmodel involves the monitoring of intelligenceand performance at least quarterly. This checksthat the Service’s activity is still being deliveredaccording to local risk issues and ensurescommunity safety action can be targetedeffectively.

This use of intelligence informs a range ofdifferent Service activities such as its key HomeSafety Assessment (HSA) programme, youthengagement, arson reduction and road safety

initiatives - helping staff to understand who,where and when to target for the best results.The risk analysis processes and methodologiesare also reviewed on an annual basis to ensurethey remain fit for purpose and reflect goodpractice.

Response standardsThe CRM model also highlights the newperformance indicator which the Authorityintroduced at the beginning of the 2013-14financial year following extensive publicconsultation.

This is a blanket 10 minute response standardto all life-risk incidents (dwelling fires and roadtraffic collisions) on 80% of occasions. TheService’s performance in 2014-15 was 83%,with full implementation of the four yearemergency response programme expected tosee this figure improve further.

Use of the CRM model ensures that areas withthe longest response times are prioritised forprevention and protection activity.

Targeting our CommunitySafety workThe Fire Authority has previously committed toundertaking a minimum of 25,000 targetedHome Safety Assessments (HSAs) a year in themost vulnerable households. This is basedupon a targeting methodology which centreson enriching our existing data on vulnerablepeople, with data that the NHS and localauthorities share with the Authority, byincluding;

• Personal risk - based on age and sex• Lone persons risk• Social, economic and location factors• Operational response times.

Research shows that fire-risk increases with ageand the methodology uses weightings toensure that these factors are balanced. TheAuthority also receives high-risk referrals

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including oxygen users, domestic abusevictims and social care clients.

The Service also recognises the value of thisdata to its partners and that our approach ofidentifying people at risk of fire can alsoidentify people at risk of other issues such aswinter mortality, falls and loneliness. TheService is committed to collaborating closelywith partners to deliver a better service tothese people, addressing a wider array of risksthan just fire.

Lower risk households are targeted throughother routes, such as local and nationalcampaigns as well as online approachesthrough the Authority’s website. Kitchen firesafety has been identified as a key demand-reduction issue and demographic data is usedto identify the types of people who experiencethe most cooking and kitchen fires. This data iscoupled with life-style information to ensurecampaigns have the best chance of reachingthose most likely to be affected. Our staff alsoidentify emerging activity hotspots to make

sure that we visit all areas of demand across,Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester,Halton and Warrington.

Enforcing Fire Safety work The Authority uses the same risk-based andintelligence-led approach to the regulation ofbusinesses, commercial and other non-domestic premises. This is achieved through abusiness safety team, routine enforcement, fireinvestigation and arson reduction.

The Service also works closely with keypartners to protect communities andbusinesses from fire. These include HousingAssociations, HM Prison Service, the Police, thePolice and Crime Commissioner, Cheshire andWarrington Local Enterprise Partnership, theHealth and Safety Executive, United KingdomBorder Agency, Care Quality Commission andothers.


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Hotspot map - one of the tools used to monitor trends

Premises with a history of good fire safetypractices benefit from extended periodsbetween audits, such as every three years.Those with poor management standardsreceive closer attention, such as annual checks.

The Authority’s focus is always on helpingbusinesses to fulfil their fire safetyresponsibilities in the first instance. Itsapproach of having a dedicated businessoutreach safety team which engages with localfirms was cited as best practice in a recentReview of Enforcement of the RegulatoryReform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 carried out bythe Department for Business, Innovation andSkills.

If firms fail to respond to issues or concernswhich have been raised with them, then theService will, as a last resort, commence courtaction. Several prosecutions have alreadyresulted in fines running into many thousandsof pounds.

Response and resilience The National Framework also requires each fireand rescue authority to identify and assess allforeseeable fire and rescue related risks thatcould affect its communities, including thosewhich may cross local borders or escalate intonational emergencies.

To achieve this, the Fire Authority has anumber of collaborative arrangements withneighbouring fire and rescue services andother national agencies in place andcoordinates its approach with local emergencyresponders through the Cheshire ResilienceForum – the local body set up to coordinatethe plans and activities of emergencyresponders.

These arrangements enable the Service tooperate seamlessly with others, asdemonstrated during major incidents,including water and motorway emergenciesalong the border with Merseyside and GreaterManchester and the recent major explosion,fire and rescue operation at the wood flour millin Bosley.

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The Framework also requires the Authority toproduce an annual statement of assurance toformally demonstrate how it is meeting itsstatutory responsibilities.

The Authority is committed to open andtransparent communication and uses itswebsite – www.cheshirefire.gov.uk – as a keyway of providing residents and partners withthis statement and other information to helpthem scrutinise the effectiveness of its financial,governance and operational arrangements.

Primary Authority SchemeThe national Primary Authority Scheme allowsbusinesses operating from different sites acrossthe country to partner with a single local fireauthority to ensure there is consistency in firesafety auditing and enforcement practices.

The Government’s Enterprise Bill, due tobecome law this Spring, contains proposals tosimplify elements of the scheme, includingwho can participate. A consultation period willcommence in the coming months and havingsupported the initial pilot, the Authority willmake representations to ensure the schemecontinues to provide mutual benefits instreamlining processes and improving safety.


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Projects andproposals


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This section of the Plan highlights how theAuthority is already responding to some of thechallenges previously highlighted, as well assetting out some of its future proposals forprotecting the communities it serves.

So there is clarity on how the organisationintends to provide an efficient and effective fireand rescue service in the future, its draftprojects and proposals are set out under thefollowing three headings:

• Developing the organisation• Protecting local communities• Responding to emergencies.

Developing theorganisationThe Authority actively looks for opportunitiesto challenge and compare its performancewith others and was among the first in thecountry to successfully go through the nationalOperational Assessment and Peer Reviewprocess in 2012.

The scheme involves an independent team ofsenior representatives from other fire andrescue services and local councils carrying outan in depth scrutiny of performance and futureplans. Action plans are then produced settingout how any issues raised by the team will beaddressed.

The Service was planning its secondOperational Assessment and Peer Review in2016 under the programme’s latest revisedformat. This is being kept under review,however, in light of potential changes to theprocess following the move to the Home Office.

As a major local employer, the Authority iscommitted to ensuring its workforce isrepresentative of the communities it serves andthat staff are dealt with fairly throughout theircareer with the Service. To demonstrate thiscommitment the organisation supportsinitiatives like the 'two ticks' positive aboutdisability programme while also subjectingitself to high profile assessment andaccreditation schemes including:

• the annual Stonewall Workplace EqualityIndex - a key assessment of workplaceculture and how positive employers aretowards lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender (LGBT) staff. In January 2016the Service was proud to be ranked 13thoverall and the top emergency service inthe country as well as being the topemployer in the North West. In 2014 theService’s Chief Fire Officer Paul Hancockwas also presented with Stonewall’sprestigious title of North West SeniorChampion.

• the National Fire and Rescue ServiceEquality Framework - Cheshire become oneof the first fire authorities in the country togain the ‘Excellent’ accreditation under thescheme and will be going through theprocess again in 2016.

The Service is also committed to listening andresponding to staff and has carried out regularindependent surveys of staff satisfaction fornearly a decade. The results of these are alwayspublished and made available to staff anddetailed action plans are developed to addressspecific issues and concerns. Progress is thenreported and monitored by Members of theFire Authority.

The latest staff satisfaction survey was carriedout in July 2015 and saw 69% of staff takingpart – the highest figure ever recorded. Anoverall ‘score’ for employee engagement isnow the recognised way for judging how wellan organisation is motivating, inspiring andengaging its staff as it allows performance tobe compared with others.

The Service’s 2015 employee engagementscore is 74% - slightly above the average forsimilar organisations. And it is the same as orabove the benchmark on seven of the nine key

themes explored in the survey, with thehighest score being 90% on line management.

When the headline results from the latestsurvey are compared to those from theprevious one in 2011, however, there arereductions in satisfaction levels in a number ofareas. The national Fire Brigades Union strikes,local changes to shift systems and the loss ofposts as the organisation looks to save moneyare all likely to have influenced the decline,however, the issues will be explored in detailduring focus group discussions with staff.

Implementing the resulting action plan will bea key priority for the organisation in 2016-17.

Value for moneyGiven that major annual cuts to the money theAuthority receives from the Government aredue to continue up to 2020, the organisationrecognises that ensuring value for money is amajor and continuing priority.

Nearly 75% of the Service’s current annualbudget is made up of staff costs, the majorityon firefighters and fire officers. This led to theproduction of the Authority’s currentEmergency Response Programme to ensure themost efficient and cost-effective use of its firestations, fire engines and staffing systems.

The programme runs until 2017-18 and ismaking a significant contribution to thesavings required. However, options for furtherefficiencies in frontline services will still beneeded. These will be the subject of a majorpublic consultation from September 2016.

Similarly, while an original three-yearprogramme of value for money (VFM) reviewsof all support areas of the organisation broughtannual savings of £1.3 million, moreefficiencies are still required.

During 2015-16 the first phase of the neworganisational review programme waslaunched with an initial target of delivering afurther £1 million in savings. That initial phaseproduced savings of £900,000 which weretaken out for the 2016-17 budget.

There remains pressure to make even greaterefficiencies, followsing the Governmentstatements highlighted in the previous sectionabout continuing public sector fundingreductions over the next few years.

Ways of reorganising existing internal supportare being explored but the extent of thesavings required is such that more significantand wholesale change is required.

Blue Light CollaborationThe main element of this is a blue lightcollaboration project with the two otheremergency services responsible for protectingthe communities of Cheshire East, CheshireWest and Chester, Halton and Warrington. Inparticular, during 2016-17 the Authority willbe developing plans with CheshireConstabulary which will see many of eachorganisation’s support services delivered by asingle team in the future.

A detailed work programme has beendeveloped with the ultimate aspiration of theService moving from its current Headquartersto share accommodation and facilities at theConstabulary’s nearby Headquarters inWinsford.

The move is designed to make significantsavings by using common systems andprocesses and combining the majority ofsupport service areas. Bids have been made tosecure specific Government funds to cover thecosts of developing and implementing theproposals.


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Detailed agreements are being drawn up toensure there is clarity about the level ofsupport the Authority can expect under anynew arrangements and to provide consistent,transparent and fair processes for staffrecruitment and selection.

The Authority is clear, however, that there is nointention of a complete merger. Eachorganisation will keep its own identity,frontline emergency response services andgovernance arrangements.

Workforce development While the organisation will be going throughsignificant change over the next few years andreducing posts in a number of areas, theAuthority recognises the need to invest in itscurrent and future workforce.

To support national changes in firefighterfitness tests the Service recently established anew post of fitness advisor as well as investingin the provision of key training equipment atall fire stations. While the role is mainly thereto support firefighters through the assessmenttest, a range of advice and support is providedto any employee.

The Service also works pro-actively with staffand its Occupational Health contractors onabsence management and this has been a keyfactor in staff sickness levels reaching recordlows. In 2014-15 there was an average of just4.18 days or shifts lost per person compared to5.01 the previous year.`

In addition, only 66 working days were lostdue to injuries suffered at work in 2014-15 –

nearly half the previous year’s figure of 128days.

As part of its workforce planning, the Servicerecognises the potential for future skills gaps inits operational staff and is therefore launchinga new two year apprentice firefighter schemein 2016-17.

The project intends to recruit eight apprenticesin the first year and if the scheme provessuccessful it would then run every two years.

The environmentThe Authority has an existing carbon reductiontarget of 40% by 2020 (compared to its 2009-10 consumption). This is equivalent to a cut of1,189 tonnes.

Significant progress has been made over thelast few years and to date the Authority hasachieved a carbon reduction of 1071 tonnes.While this means that only 118 tonnes nowneed to be saved to meet the 2020 target, thecompletion of the four new fire stations overthe same period creates a significant challenge,even though energy efficiency has been afeature of their design.

A major HQ boiler replacement programmehas proved particularly successful. Since thebiomass boiler was installed, it has cost less toheat the premises than has been received inpayments from the Government’s RenewableHeat Incentive (RHI) payment scheme.

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A key environmental initiative continuing into2016-17 will see the completion of acommitment by the Authority to pilot the useof electric vehicles in its fleet.

A successful application to the Office of LowEmission Vehicles (OLEV) has resulted in a 75%grant towards the cost of leasing 12 electricvehicles for two years and installing 10 dualcharging posts at key fire stations. Total cost ofthe project is expected to be around£110,000, with the Authority only having tocontribute approximately £27,000.

The success of the pilot will be evaluated,however, five charging posts for electricvehicles have already been installed at theService’s Headquarters and there will becharging available at each of the new firestations currently being built.

In addition, the new premises will already besupporting the Service’s environment andsustainability commitments by includingfeatures such as solar photovoltaic panels andground source heat pumps while also ensuringthe impact on local biodiversity is minimised.

Planning for the futureA summary of some of the headline challengesfacing the Authority at local, regional andnational level was included in the previoussection. Recognising the significance and scaleof those issues, the Authority agreed todevelop a longer term strategy setting out howit aimed to protect the communities it serves.Following community and partner consultationduring 2014-15, the new five year strategy“Planning for a Safer Cheshire 2015-2020”,was formally approved in June 2015.

Coinciding with the life of the current five yearfixed term Parliament, the strategy places anemphasis on maintaining the Authority’sCheshire footprint for the delivery of all of itsservices which work directly with localcommunities.

The strategy says that the approaches itproposes should ensure local communities willcontinue to be protected by a first class fireand rescue service. It warns, however, that ifthe Authority feels further cuts would producean unacceptable increase in risk levels, then itwill consider asking residents to vote for anadditional Council Tax increase.

Protecting localcommunitiesThe Authority has always recognised that thebest way of improving the safety of theresidents it serves is through a clearcommitment to investment in prevention.


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That strong focus on prevention has helped todeliver major improvements in fire safety inrecent years across the Authority’s area.

Over the last five years (2010-11 to 2014-15),the total number of incidents attended by theService has reduced by 29% down to 7,281.Other key improvements over the same periodinclude:

• The number of injuries in AccidentalDwelling Fires down 13% to just 28

• Accidental Dwelling Fires reduced by 15%to 401

• The number of fires in businesses andcommercial premises down by 15% to 191

• Deliberate Fires reduced by 57% to 1,043.

There were five fire deaths in 2014-15, withthree as a result of accidental dwelling fires.The numbers have been consistently low inrecent years, with most occurring among olderpeople who are most at risk.

That’s why the Service’s Home SafetyAssessment (HSA) programme - which giveshouseholders vital safety advice and free smokealarms if needed – has been adapted in recentyears. It is now only provided to those whohave been identified as most at risk rather thanbeing an universal offer.

Recent national, regional and local discussionswith partners in the National Health Servicehave highlighted the potential for the Serviceto expand the scope of its programme.

The Service will continue to focus on thosemost at risk from fire but will work with healthpartners to identify those households whichalso face additional health risks. It is alsoconfident that it can substantially increase itsannual target of 25,000 by making use of theextra capacity from recent changes to dutysystems.

As a result, in 2016-17 the Service intends torelaunch its HSA programme as ‘Safe and Well’visits, with its firefighters and communitysafety advocates carrying out additional basichealth checks. These are likely to focus onpreventing falls, providing cancer screeninginformation and drug, alcohol and smokingcessation support and referral. In addition, theService will also support those who haverecently been discharged from hospital.

It is hoped that the move to increase the scopeof the Service’s 25,000 home visits a year toaround 40,000 will act as an early warningsystem for those whose health is starting todeteriorate. In addition, it is expected thatfuture Safe and Well visits will be able to help inreducing the number of excess winter deathsthat occur among the over 65s, mainly to:

• Influenza and chest conditions• Cold housing• Loneliness and isolation.

CampaignsThe continuing development of the Service’sHSA programme has been a major factor in theimprovements to the safety of local residents inrecent years. It is clear, however, that otherapproaches are also necessary if the Authorityis to achieve its vision of “a Cheshire wherethere are no deaths, injuries or damage fromfires or other emergencies.”

In 2015 the Authority saw the culmination of asuccessful three-year campaign whenParliament approved new legislation requiringprivate landlords to fit long life smoke alarmsin all their properties. The move is expected tosave over 26 lives a year nationally and followsa high profile campaign by the Service and arange of key partners.

The Service is also supporting another long-term national campaign to make the fitting ofsprinkler systems a requirement in all newdomestic buildings in England. In Cheshire theAuthority has been pursuing a scheme whichhas earmarked £160,000 to work with localhousing associations on retro-fitting sprinklersystems into local high-rise blocks of flats.

While legislation can make a big difference byrequiring people and businesses to take moresafety precautions, changing people’sbehaviour and attitude towards fire risk takeseven more time and commitment.

That’s why the Authority remains committedto a comprehensive programme of youthengagement which covers courses for pupils inYears 5 and 6 right through to Prince’s Trustprogrammes for older teenagers and young

adults. It has been working with the Prince’sTrust for over 20 years, with its 12-weekprogrammes helping to turn round the lives ofthousands of local young people.

The Service’s community fire stations also havestrong links with young people in their area,with virtually every one having an active FireCadet unit. Some of the cadets completed alife-changing trip to Nepal in November 2015and built a school in the Himalayas havingraised over £65,000.

The Authority’s biggest ever statement on theimportance of prevention, however, is itscommitment to build Cheshire’s first dedicatedsafety centre. Scheduled to open towards theend of 2016-17, the innovative circularbuilding is integrated with the new fire stationplanned for Lymm, near the M6 / M56interchange.

It will feature scenarios designed to raiseawareness of a wide range of risks andalthough young people are the main audience,priority will also be given to older people andthose who provide care.


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A number of major private sector companieshave already committed to support thecreation of some of the scenarios, whilediscussions with public sector partners willcontinue in 2016-17. The centre will be run bya charity and other work will be carried outduring the financial year to finalise themanagement, partnership and fundingarrangements.

PartnershipsThe Authority recognises that some of theunderlying issues which can increase the risk offires and other emergencies - such as drugs,mental health and alcohol misuse - are in areasoutside its immediate influence. That’s why itworks hard to ensure it is recognised as a keylocal partner on projects and programmesdesigned to co-ordinate and streamline thework of agencies.

After operating as the lead agency for theGovernment-funded sub-regional TransformingCommunity Safety Programme, the Authorityis also supporting a £5 million Government-funded programme to integrate front lineservices across the sub region of Cheshire andWarrington.

The Complex Dependencies Programme aimsto tackle the causes of crisis for children,families and individuals across a range ofrelated complex issues. The Service isproviding dedicated staff to work with theProgramme which aims to improve the lives ofan estimated 10,000 individuals across the subregion as well as delivering nearly £10 millionin savings through improved casemanagement, commissioning and serviceintegration.

False alarmsWhile automatic fire alarm systems (AFAs) canbe important in alerting staff and visitors tobusinesses about potential fires and the needto evacuate, faults can result in fire crewsbeing turned out unnecessarily. Not only doesthis waste time, it can lead to delays infirefighters being able to respond to genuineemergencies elsewhere.

In recent years, changes by the Service to theway it handles and responds to these calls haveresulted in a significant reduction in thenumber of false alarms attended. In 2014-15crews attended 1,251 AFAs – nearly half thenumber they did five years ago.

The Service has always piloted any changesbefore formally adopting them to ensure thereisn’t any increased risk. It intends to adopt thesame approach when it proposes any furtherchanges to its policies in 2016-17.

Enforcing fire regulationsAs highlighted previously, the Authority has aduty to enforce the Regulatory Reform (FireSafety) Order 2005 but always tries to workwith businesses to help them fulfil theirresponsibilities in the first instance. Itsdedicated business safety team goes out tomeet and discuss issues with local firms as wellas staging specific events to highlight keyissues or themes such as arson.

While the Service prefers to work with firms, itwill take court action as a last resort. To datethe Service has always been successful in itsprosecutions, leading to fines and coststotalling many thousands of pounds.

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During 2016-17 the Service will continue toensure any prosecutions are highlighted andpublicised as a deterrent to encourage firms towork with the Service and avoid court costsand damage to their reputation.

During 2016-17 the Service will continue tosupport the primary authority schemefollowing completion of the consultationexercise highlighted in the previous section.Any approaches which offer improvements instreamlining processes and improving safetywill be presented to the Fire Authority forapproval. The Service is hoping to developexpertise and relationships with a specificsector such as brewing.

Responding to emergencies The 2016-17 financial year will be a critical onefor the Authority’s initial Emergency ResponseProgramme, with work on building all fournew fire stations due for completion.

The first station in the £16 million scheme wasofficially opened in August 2015 after a ninemonth build programme to completelyrenovate a former council depot in Alsager.The on-call station has a team of new recruitswho have completed their initial training andwill become fully operational shortly.

The other three fire stations are at Penketh,Powey Lane near the M56 and at Lymm wherethe building will also incorporate “SafetyCentral” - a dedicated safety centre to educatethose most at risk. Just under £6.5 million ofthe costs are being met by funds secured fromthe Government with the remainder from theAuthority’s reserves to avoid the cost of takingout loans.

In addition to the building work, theprogramme involves a range of other activityin 2016-17 to ensure the new sites are ready togo live. This includes recruiting and trainingnew staff, redeploying some existing staff andimplementing new duty systems as well asbuying and installing new kit and relocatingexisting vehicles.

The final phase of the programme in 2017–2018 will see new crewing arrangementsintroduced for the second fire engines atCrewe and Ellesmere Port, while the on-callcrew at Penketh is due to become fullyoperational.

Throughout the four year Emergency ResponseProgramme the Service has continued toreview risk and activity levels, particularly inthose station areas where the Programmeproposed removing or changing how thesecond fire engine is crewed.

The latest review has confirmed that the plansremain fit for purpose, with continuingreductions in local risk and activity levels.

Considerable work is already underway,however, on a second, comprehensiveEmergency Response Review to identify furtheroptions to improve the efficiency andeffectiveness of the organisation’s frontline staffand vehicles.

A dedicated project team has been establishedwith the objective of developing a range ofoptions to remodel the Service’s frontlineservices, to assure firefighter and public safety,exceed the agreed performance standards, andassist the Authority in achieving a balancedbudget between 2017 and 2020.


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24

The comprehensive review will aim to ensureall options are able to guarantee a professionalresponse to day to day activity while alsohaving the resilience to cope with majorincidents such as the Bosley wood millexplosion.

Other key areas of the review include optionsto improve the recruitment and retention ofon-call staff – those who live or work close totheir local fire station and respond by pagerwhen there is an emergency.

The Fire Authority will then launch a detailedconsultation on all the agreed proposals inSeptember 2016 to ensure residents, staff andpartners can have their say. Final decisions willbe made in February 2017 when the FireAuthority sets the budget for the 2017-18financial year.

The Service will also explore a pilot schemethat will support the North West AmubulanceService by mobilising our resources as well astheirs to cardiac incidents.

Crewing and shift systemsFollowing nearly two years of detaileddiscussion with trade union representatives,local agreements were confirmed for both thewholetime and day crewing duty systems.

From January 2016, wholetime crews startedworking two 12 hour days and two 12 hournights followed by four days off, instead of theexisting two 9 hour days, two 15 hour nightsand four days off.

Changes to the day crewing system – wherefirefighters live in Authority - owned houses

next to the stations, providing cover as normalduring the day but responding from home atnight - were brought in from April 2015.

The objective behind the changes was to agreesystems which balance the need to improveproductivity and provide an efficient andeffective emergency response service to bestprotect local communities while also ensuringthe health, safety and positive workingconditions of firefighters.

The Service is now going to do acomprehensive review of its Nucleus DutySystem to ensure that it supports the othershift systems, is fit for purpose and providesvalue for money.

During 2016-17 the Service will also be aimingto implement changes designed to improvethe efficiency of local station management andofficers’ out of hours arrangements inpreparation for the new stations all going live.

Review of emergency vehiclesThe Service regularly reviews the developmentof its fleet of emergency vehicles to ensurethey continue to meet current and anticipatedemergency response requirements.

During 2016-17 the Service will be replacingtwo of its three aerial appliances which allowcrews to work at height. It will also be movingsome of its more specialist units to the newPowey Lane fire station near the M56. This willinvolve transferring the Foam andEnvironmental Protection Units from EllesmerePort, the Incident Response Unit from Chesterand potentially the High Volume Pump fromCongleton.

In addition, the Service will be monitoring theeffectiveness of a pilot project which will seesome existing petrol and diesel vehicles usedby station staff and advocates replaced byelectric cars. If successful, the use of electricvehicles could then be rolled out on a morepermanent basis to parts of the support fleet.

Emergency Services Network The Service continues to support the multibillion pound Emergency Services Network(ESN) project to implement a newcommunications network for all threeemergency services.

Staff will be working to ensure the Serviceremains on track to meet the expectationsrequired of it for the project which aims toimprove interoperability between blue lightservice with a new service which is smarter,faster and cheaper than existing arrangements.

North West Fire Control The joint North West Fire Control inWarrington went live in May 2014, handlingall 999 calls and mobilising crews and fire

engines on behalf of the fire and rescueservices in Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire andGreater Manchester.

Since then the Service has continued to workclosely with the centre and colleagues in theother fire and rescue services to ensure thesystem is working effectively and best use isbeing made of the new technology.

The new Centre is managed by a companywholly owned by the four fire authorities, witha board of directors comprising two Membersfrom each. It has allowed the Authority tomake annual savings of around £300,000, witheach of the four organisations contributing tothe running costs in proportion to the volumeof incidents in their area.

Work continues to identify furtheropportunities for collaboration between thefour services and to explore the potential forthe Centre taking on additional services.


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Developing the organisation

• Launch Safety Central – the Authority’s new dedicated safety centreat Lymm

• Transform the Service’s Home Safety Assessment programme into Safeand Well visits and increase the annual target to 40,000

• Support the Government’s revised ‘Primary Authority Scheme’ aimed atstreamlining fire safety processes for businesses

Protecting local communities

• The new on-call fire station at Alsager becomes fully operational

• Go live for the new fire station at Penketh, using the second fireengine from Warrington and removing the second fire engine fromWidnes

• Launch of the new fire station at Powey Lane, near M56, using the secondfire engine from Chester. Transfer the Foam and Environmental Protection Units atEllesmere Port, the Incident Response Unit from Chester and potentially the High Volume Pumpfrom Congleton to the new station

• Go live for the new fire station at Lymm, with Technical Rescue Unit transferred there fromKnutsford as well as the Incident Response Unit from Winsford

• Transfer the hydraulic platform from Stockton Heath to Warrington

• Introduce on-call model for Stockton Heath and Knutsford

• Review the Service’s Nucleus Duty System

• Launch a pilot project with NWAS to mobilise our resources to cardiac incidents in certain areas

• Launch a comprehensive public consultation on options identified during the Authority’ssecond major review of emergency response services

Responding to emergencies

Projects and proposals 2016-17 - summary

• Finalise implementation plans and begin delivery of the blue lightcollaboration programme with Cheshire Constabulary

• Carry out value for money reviews on those areas of the Service notcovered under the blue light collaboration programme

• Develop action plans to respond to any operational assessment of theorganisation and the reaccreditation under the national Fire and Rescue ServiceEquality framework

• Implement a staff engagement plan in response to the Service’s fourth staff attitude survey

• Launch a new two-year firefighter apprentice scheme

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Consultationand engagement


Consultation andengagement This plan sets out the final phases of theAuthority’s emergency response programmewhich was developed following its mostcomprehensive consultation to date.

While the work to build, fit out, equip and staffthe four new fire stations will clearly occupymost of 2016-17, the plan also includes otherproposals on how the Authority aims to makesavings and manage its budget in the future.

While the proposals in this plan are not as farreaching as recent years, the Authority remainscommitted to ensuring residents, businesses,partners and staff have the opportunity to givetheir views.

A formal 12 week consultation andengagement programme ran from September28 to December 28, 2015.

In addition to face to face briefings andpresentations for key stakeholders, there werea number of community consultationroadshows for residents and seniormanagement roadshows for staff. Extensiveuse was also be made of the Service’s website,Intranet and social media channels.

A full feedback report was considered by theFire Authority at its meeting on February 10,2016 when Members also set theorganisation’s budget for 2016-17.

The contact details for further information andto take part in future consultations are asfollows:

e-mail: [email protected]

tel. 01606 868407

post: Consultation and Engagement OfficerCheshire Fire and Rescue Service,Sadler Road, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 2FQ

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29

Financial update


30

Medium Term Financial Plan 2015–16 to 2019–20

2015-16£000

42,840

744

679

(58)

1

(1,957)8350

42,382

23,65519,068

42,723

470388

3280

105

(1,632)

(341)

42,382

2016-17£000

42,382

293

677

36

1

(900)(446)50

42,093

24,51317,436

41,949

498530

457(152)14963

(1,401)

144

42,093

2017-18£000

42,093

500

681

235

1

(1,421)(1,411)

50

40,728

25,54116,098

41,639

513260

00016

(1,700)

(911)

40,728

2018-19£000

40,728

500

530

0

1

(1,421)32750

40,715

26,31414,414

40,728

528268

000

(79)

(730)

(13)

40,715

Total efficiencies required 2016-17 to 2019-20

2019-20£000

40,715

500

530

0

1

(1,421)86650

41,241

27,11013,605

40,715

545271

000

(290)

526

41,241

(5,163)

Base Budget pre additions and savings

Additions:

Revenue Growth

Inflation (pay 1.5% in 2016-17 and 17-18, then 1%; non pay 2%)

Section 31 grants Business Rates

Contribution to PCSOs

Other savingsIRMP/Capital reserve Provision for non collection

Revised Total Budget Requirement

Base Funding b\fwd

Council TaxSettlement Funding Assessment

Total Base Funding

Add Increases\(Decreases) in Funding:

Increase in council tax (1.99%)Increase / reduction in council taxbase

Surplus / (deficit) on collection fund:Council TaxBusiness Rates

Additional business ratesTransition Grant

Settlement Funding Assessment

Total movement in funding

Total Available Funding


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As part of its budget management, the FireAuthority produces a Medium Term FinancialPlan (MTFP) which covers a five year period.The plan is subject to regular review to reflectissues at a local, regional and national leveland makes informed assumptions about futurepay, inflation, Government grants and CouncilTax levels.

By April 2015 the Authority had achievedsavings of £7.5 million over the previous fivefinancial years to ensure it could balance itsbudget following changes and cuts inGovernment funding.

Most initial savings came from reductions incorporate budgets and support servicedepartments, however, efficiencies from theAuthority’s Emergency Response Programmeare starting to make significant contributions.In addition, the value for money review ofsupport areas produced ongoing revenuesavings of £1.3 million.

This latest Plan has highlighted currentGovernment indications about reducingcentral funding for fire and rescue authoritiesby 25% between 2016-17 and 2019-20. Theplan also includes the following assumptions:

• a 1.99% annual increase in the Authority’sCouncil Tax precept

• a 1.5% increase in staff pay for 2016-17followed by annual rises of 1%

• a 2% allowance each year for inflation.

As a result it means that the Authority willneed to make over £5 million in revenuesavings by 2019-20.

The Authority also has a capital spendingprogramme to plan for the purchase ofbuildings, fire engines and other specialistequipment. With the Government no longerproviding annual capital grants, the Authoritynow pays for this spending by using its ownreserves and bidding for one-off pots of centralfunding.

This has meant that the near £17.4 millioncapital cost of building the four new firestations and integrated safety centre can bepaid for without having to borrow money andpay back interest in the future from theAuthority’s day to day revenue budget.

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Performancemanagement


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Strategic monitoring of the organisation’sperformance is carried out by the FireAuthority, including quarterly reports to thePerformance and Overview Committee. Moredetailed scrutiny is carried out by an internalperformance management group and throughthe Service’s unitary council performancegroups which involve both local councillorsand staff.

A mixture of nationally accepted fire andrescue service performance indicators togetherwith local targets are used to track progressand monitor trends. Dedicated staff ensurerisk, planning and performance data iscollated, checked, interpreted, reported andscrutinised effectively.

Summary performance 2015-16This section provides the latest information onsome of the headline indicators used by theAuthority to monitor progress in achieving itsvision of ‘a Cheshire where there are nodeaths, injuries or damage from fires or otheremergencies.’

Annual and longer term targets are set and akey principle of our approach is aiming forcontinuous improvement to achieve the bestoutcomes for our communities. The trendanalysis shown here is based on five years’worth of data and illustrates the impact overtime of our efforts to drive down the numbersof fires, deaths and injuries.

As at 29th February 2016, there had been fivefire deaths, three of these being as a result ofthe major explosion and fire at the wood flourmill in Bolsey. The numbers are in line withprevious years, although annual changes arevolatile given the low numbers relative to apopulation of over one million.

The number of fire-related injuries recordedacross Cheshire is in line with last year’sperformance, with several injuries alsooccurring at the Bosley incident.

Primary fires The number of primary fires recorded remainslow, with year on year decreases recorded. Thishas been helped by the downward trend inaccidental dwelling fires, which appears to becontinuing a five year downward trend.

Accidental house fires

Accidental fires in the home are projected tobe on target with annual and five yeardownward trends. Delivery against plannedprevention and protection activities is on trackwith strong performance at the end of theFebruary for the completion of Home SafetyAssessments and all the planned road safetyevents, youth programmes and fire safetyaudits.

Arson

The lowest number of deliberate fires everattended was recorded in 2014-15 and asubsequent annual increase has been reportedin 2015-16 although five year trends remainvery positive. Arson prevention work,community engagement and educationcontinues as well as close partnership workwith local Police.


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Fires in non-domestic premises

Performance is projected to be positive againsta stretch target applied in 2015-16, withencouraging five year trends also projected. Adedicated team of staff work closely with localbusinesses, aiming to provide guidance andadvice to limit the occurrence and impact ofthese incidents.

ResponseThe pass rate for the 10 minute responsestandard stands at 86% at the end of February2016 against the target of 80%. Average on-call availability stands at 67% and recruitmentof on-call staff continues across the Service.

CorporateSickness continues to decrease, with the lowestfigure ever recorded and performancepositively under target by 38%. The number ofduty days lost to accidents has decreased so farthis year, with performance under target by42%.

Unitary Area PerformanceThe Service monitors the performance of itsfrontline services at a local level, with quarterlymeetings to look in detail at fires, road trafficcollisions and other incidents. Over the page isa breakdown of this performance in each ofthe four unitary council areas which make upthe Fire Authority.

• Emergency response to life risk incidents within 10 minutes

• Reduce the number of accidental house fires by 10% compared tothe previous five year average

• Reduce the number of injuries in accidental house fires by 20%compared to the previous five year average

• Deliver a minimum of 40,000 Home Safety Assessments to high riskhouseholds

• Reduce the numbers of false alarms from automatic systems in nondomestic premises by 30% compared to the previous five year average

• Reduce the numbers of deliberate fires by 16% compared to theprevious five year average

• Reduce the numbers of fires within business premises by 20%compared to the previous five year average

• Limit staff sickness to no more than 5.5 days lost per person peryear

80%

369

27

40,000

1,034

1,256

151

5.5

Headline performance indicators Projected target

86%

385

28

26,606

1,037

1,262

157

3.4

Projected performancefor 2015–16

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Unitary Performance Area Profiles

Cheshire East

National Indicator 13-14 14-15 15-16*Primary Fires per 100,000 pop 114.3 100.5 92.0Deliberate Fires per 10,000 pop 7.4 5.0 5.6Accidental Dwelling fires per 10,000 dwellings 8.2 8.5 7.8Fires in Non Domestic Properties per 1,000 non domestic properties 5.8 5.4 4.8

HSAs completed to High Risk Households 6,087 7,109 9,023

*Projected at 29 February 2015




Cheshire West & Chester

Halton




Warrington




www.cheshirefire.gov.uk

SMOKE ALARMS IN RENTED PROPERTIES

New laws now approved

From October 1st 2015 landlords are required to:

• Fit at least one smoke alarm on each floor of their premises

• Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms containing a solid fuelappliance

• Check that all alarms are working when a new tenancy starts.

To help landlords prepare for the new laws the Government provided500,000 free alarms to Fire and Rescue Services across England.

If you are a landlord with property in the Fire Authority’s area, visitwww.cheshirefire.gov.uk to see if you are eligible to receive your freealarms.

Don’t wait – act now and request your free alarm. It could savesomeone’s life. #alarms4life

Making Cheshiredeliver 131,000 new jobs and 92,000 new homes. This is more than previous unitary...

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