Minutes:
The
Mayor welcomed the Chief Fire Officer of the Mid and
West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Mr Chris Davies and the Deputy Chief Fire
Officer, Mr Rob Quin to their annual meeting with Council.
The
Chief Fire Officer then gave Members an overview of the service during which
Members noted that for the period 2006/16 the Service had had a 20% cut in
funding which equated to £9m. Members
were advised that at present there was a UK wide dispute on pay and conditions
which was being heard in London and that depending on the outcome, the Chief
Fire Officer may approach the Local Authorities within his area to fund the
shortfall.
Council
noted the work undertaken by the Fire and Rescue Service, including
preventative work, for example following a fatality, where Officers would visit
the area concerned to provide advice, etc.
In
relation to Road Traffic Collisions, the Chief Fire Officer advised that, in
light of the increase in numbers, he was asking that a Summit be convened to
discuss the reasons behind the increase and perhaps to mitigate them.
It
was noted that the number of medical emergencies attended by Fire and Rescue
Officers was now almost double the number of attendances at other incidences put
together. Members noted that such
attendances were at present unfunded – a position which could not be maintained
indefinitely, however the benefit to those concerned was significant.
Council
was reminded that the cost per person per month was £4 or £48 per annum. The service was the 2nd cheapest
per station, which was good value for money.
In
relation to changes in service delivery, Members were advised that any further
cuts would result in an increase in response times. In the survey carried out on 2015/16, the
majority of the public who responded indicated that they would prefer to pay
more to maintain the current service. A further survey would be undertaken
during the summer of 2018. With regard
to the co-location of services, the Chief Fire Officer requested that should
the Authority be considering closing facilities, consideration be given to
‘sharing’ the facility with other public bodies.
There
then followed a question and answer session where the following pints were
raised:-
·
Members of the public were not aware of the financial contribution that
the Authority made to the Fire and Rescue Service and perhaps this could be
addressed.
·
The Authority has vast experience in relation to budgetary cuts, how is
the Fire and Rescue Service dealing with its budgetary issues. The Chief Fire Officer advised Council that
any shortfall would come from the Local Authorities for the area and ultimately
from the Council Tax payer. This would
need to be taken up with the Welsh Government as the Local Authority was
experiencing its own budgetary issues following year on year cuts. It was agreed to re-establish the meetings
between the area’s Local Authorities’ Treasurers and the Fire and Rescue’s own
Finance Officer.
Money was in reserves as part of the Transformation Programme and the
Service was looking at Digitalisation in order to avoid double handling.
·
Members asked that as the reserves at the end of March 2017 totalled
£9.7m, including £1.3m for a levy equalisation reserve, how much was being used
to assist with the budget for 2018/19?
Members were advised that this was a contingency fund and that reserves
could only be used once, hence the Authority’s reluctance to utilise them in
this way. Going forward it was not
anticipated using the reserves to underpin the precept contributions.
·
Members thanked the Chief Fire Officer for the work that they carry out
particularly recently in attending a fatality in the Neath Valley. Concern was expressed that the Young
Firefighters Clubs held throughout the County Borough would suffer as a result
of the budgetary issues, however it was noted that firefighters volunteered
their time for free to hold the Clubs.
It was the Chief Fire Officer’s aim to hold 58 of these Clubs throughout
the area ie the number of Fire Stations.
·
Members noted that if the Fire Service got the increase in budget it
would not cut services, however a change in business procedure or more
economical vehicles would be looked at.
·
The Fire Authority was consulting on a budget precept of £46.6m which
was £8.6m or 22% more than the funding that Councils receive from the Welsh
Government. This was a proposed increase
of 2.7% in the precept. The Chief Fire
Officer was asked to confirm what discussions had taken place with Welsh
Government about this significant shortfall in funding made available through
the Local Government settlement. The
Chief Fire Officer advised that he had been in discussions with the Welsh
Government and that the view was that it was not their responsibility but that
of Local Government.
·
The Chief Fire Officer was reminded that last year he mentioned that the
Fire Service had a new statutory duty to respond to flooding. Members asked what additional funding had
been available from Welsh Government in respect of this and any other new
statutory duty?
The Chief Fire Officer advised that the additional duty had come into
force in April 2017. The Welsh
Government had provided a grant of £1.4m which was to provide for the
additional equipment required to carry out the work, which were strategically
located. They also worked with Natural
Resources Wales to undertake preventative work.
·
Members asked what services the Chief Fire Officer collaborated with or
what services are bought from other public bodies to improve service
efficiency? The Chief Fire Officer advised
that they worked with the Police, the Ambulance Service and Natural Resources
Wales, and also the Joint Arson Group on such things as grass fires. The Fire Service also worked with schools to
provide advice and education.
·
As the Fire Service visited in the region of 105,000 properties, would
it be possible for Fire Officers to ‘feedback’, to the relevant authorities,
any issues around vulnerability of residents.
Members were advised that Pathfinder, a multi-agency Team was being
trialled, which if successful would provide a one stop shop for those requiring
assistance and support and consideration would be given to rolling this out
across Wales.
·
Members expressed concern at the implications for the service should the
5% pay award increase requested by firefighters be approved and were advised
that this increase would need to be funded from Central Government.
·
In relation to the possible Ministerial summit on Road Traffic
Collisions, Members were advised that 60 Road Traffic Deaths had occurred in
the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service area
and that the Chief Fire Officer had approached Ministers and the Department of
Transport who were supportive of the proposal.
·
In relation to the proposed new super prison on Baglan
Moors, Port Talbot, Members asked whether the Service would provide assistance
, for example during a flood, as the area is on a flood plane? Members also asked where the prisoners would
re-located? The
Chief Fire Officers advised that there would be consultation before the
proposed build and that it would not be the responsibility of the Fire Service,
but of the Police and the Ministry of Justice.
The
Mayor then thanked the Chief Fire Officer, Mr Chris Davies and the Deputy Chief
Fire Officer, Mr Rob Quin for their attendance at today’s meeting.