Memorandum by the North West Fire and
Rescue Management Board (FRS 06)
REGIONAL CONTROLS
AND FIRELINK
The North West Fire and Rescue Management Board
acknowledges that there is a clear requirement within the National
Framework to deliver the transition to Regional Control Centres.
There are genuine concerns over several aspects of the project
detailed below. The Authority believe that improving clarity in
these areas would improve the potential to work with Government
to secure the promised improvements to service delivery. These
areas are:
Governance and procurement
The draft national framework identifies that
governance arrangements for the RCC will be in place by Spring
2006. The new entity would then enter into a contract for mobilising
services with each FRS. Current guidance indicates that there
is an issue as to whether European Directives will require a tendering
process with a mandate to select the cheapest or the most economically
advantageous option. If this is the case and Authorities proceed
without a tendering exercise, the decision to contract with the
RCC would be capable of being challenged with unacceptable delays
being potentially introduced from even anonymous sources. Leading
views would indicate that these problems may not be easily resolved.
The North West is seeking to raise awareness to support the transition
to RCCs by ensuring these issues receive early consideration and
options for the resolution of such issues are identified.
Costs
There is a clear need to demonstrate that this
project represents value for money for people in the North West.
The business case has so far been based nationally, with indications
that the larger existing control centres predominating in the
North West will be advantaged less. The North West Fire and Rescue
Management Board would benefit from having clarity and reassurance
on when it will be provided with evidence that efficiency savings
will offset the resources and time committed to the project since
inception. There are indications that additional costs incurred
will only be covered by "new burdens" once they have
been offset against any benefits that may be accrued. If this
were to be the case surely these benefits cannot then be used
to justify the viability of the Project.
The RCC Finance Working Group has been well
supported by the North West. Recent developments would indicate
that "value engineering" is varying the original specification,
reducing the cost to the central project. The North West is concerned
over clarity regarding the costs and rationale for these changes.
Fundamental questions on project governance are raised when the
ODPM make changes to a technical specification that they have
previously deemed essential without consultation with Fire and
Rescue Authorities or their representatives. If an item such as
compliance with the Critical National Infrastructure is removed,
then the potential exists that the remaining facility may be over
specified and the leaseholder (and ultimately Fire and Rescue
Authorities) left paying for functionality or resilience that
is unnecessary. There is currently no independent scrutiny of
the rationale and detail over how the cost savings for the ODPM
are determined. These decisions ultimately affect the management
of risk for the new RCC. To secure robust arrangements the North
West would also urge early consideration of insurance arrangements
for the new RCCs. An apparent saving on building costs may not
even offset the increased potential insurance costs making it
impossible to view these issues in isolation.
Human resources
The North West Fire and Rescue Management Board
has a high level of commitment to all the constituent Authorities
staff. The National Project has been slow to determine several
key issues to allow progress with the Human Resources issues essential
to support our staff through this difficult transition. The Board
urges early progress on selection, terms and conditions, pay,
relocation expenses and redundancy. It is recognised that many
of these issues are linked to the new governance model for regional
control centres. However management and staff are becoming increasingly
frustrated at the lack of progress in these areas.
Timescales/quality
There have been several examples of slippage
in the project so far. It is difficult to reassure the public
and staff that the proposed improvements to efficiency and effectiveness
will be delivered when delays have been a feature of the FiReControl
Project to date. The project would benefit from being more explicit
on the guaranteed improvements that will be delivered and guarantees
that these will not be sacrificed if the project faces financial
pressures as it approaches completion. The project would also
benefit by ensuring that robust commissioning and testing arrangements
for the technical solutions are put in place given the crucial
role of mobilising in service delivery.
FIRELINK
North West Fire and Rescue Authorities are becoming
increasingly concerned with the proposed interim solution regarding
feasibility and possible loss of functionality during the period
involved. If problems are experienced with the first tranche of
RCCs there is every potential that the second tranche which includes
the North West will be delayed. This could result in the interim
solution with its temporary loss of functionality being extended
to six months or over. We would urge early consideration of this
issue to ensure that essential response standards are not compromised.
As this could be mission critical particularly during a terrorist
attack this requires urgent attention.
DIVERSITY
All North West Fire and Rescue Authorities have
fully embraced the Fire and Rescue Service reform agenda and have
through their Integrated Risk Management Planning process, placed
significant additional resources into prevention and protection
services, facilitated by the release of resources from emergency
response service. There has been a significant reduction in the
recruitment of wholetime operational firefighters as a direct
result. The effect of this is that Authorities have been unable
to make any real impact with respect to increasing diversity among
its operational workforce. It is worth noting, however, that by
increasing prevention and protection capability through the employment
of non-operational uniformed Community Fire Safety staff, Authorities
have successfully recruited a significant number from under-represented
groups, ie women and black and minority ethnic community members.
In light of the above, it would make sense for
the current diversity targets not to be restricted to uniformed
operational staff but should be expanded to include all uniformed
staff engaged in service delivery, whether those staff fulfil
an operational role or not. As the goal is for the Service to
reflect the communities we serve the visual perspective is a fundamentally
important one. Therefore seeing more Fire and Rescue Service staff
from under represented groups out and about in the community will
help achieve that objective.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM
The Board notes the Government's current position
regarding progress in the area of institutional reform. With regard
to national consultation and negotiation arrangements (as outlined
in the 2003 Pay and Conditions Agreement), however, the Board
wishes to urge the Government to set a final date for new arrangements
to be in place, following which the Government should impose a
solution, if no negotiated outcome is forthcoming.
WORKING WITH
OTHER EMERGENCY
SERVICES
In the North West the arrangements with the
two other blue light emergency services are very effective particularly
for operational responses. The NW resilience plans are robust
as a result of effective Major Incident Planning Committees in
all Authorities.
The Board notes the Government's recent statement
regarding Fire and Rescue Services in a regional context. However
the Board is aware of on-going consultation in relation to the
restructuring of other emergency services. The Board therefore
requests that the Government provides further clarity as to how
those other restructures will impact on Fire and Rescue Services
as it is necessary to have close co-operation plans in place with
other emergency services and this re-organisation is a potential
threat to effective joint working. There is clear evidence of
the three Services working better together in such areas currently.
There is also a great deal of evidence of effective
joint working on Community Safety agendas across the North West
which could potentially be jeopardised especially in the area
of successful youth engagement with disaffected/disadvantaged
youngsters.
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