Agenda item

The Chairman apologised for changing the meeting date of the Panel and the inability to webcast the meeting due to the room change. The changes were made to facilitate an early opportunity for the Panel to consider PCC's draft Initial Business Case for the joint Governance of Police and Fire and Rescue services in Hereford and Worcester and Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. This had, unfortunately, been un-necessary as the Consultation had been published the previous week.

In his introduction, the PCC explained that he had wanted the Panel to have the opportunity to consider the Consultation at the earliest opportunity and was keen to understand a range views on changes, which he believed would significantly improve local police and fire services, whilst saving the taxpayer £4m a year.

If the proposals were approved, it would mean that the PCC would take on governance of both Shropshire and Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Services, there would be no changes to front line police and fire crews as a result of the changes to governance.

Expert analysis suggested that the changes would help drive forward police and fire collaboration, improving services to communities, whilst delivering significant back-office efficiencies. The plans would also help protect frontline services, whilst retaining each organisation’s individual identity and specialist skills.

It would mean that:

·       the two local fire and rescue authorities would be disbanded

·       there would be a single body holding chief police and fire officers to account, providing a strong voice on behalf of communities

·       West Mercia Police, and the two fire and rescue services (Shropshire and Hereford & Worcester) would continue to operate as individual organisations with their own professional skills

·       the services would share more back office functions and information, to improve efficiency and focus resources on the frontline

This proposal was about delivering the best long term results for communities and emergency services. The PCC felt that Fire Authorities had laid some good foundations, but that communities were not getting the most effective, efficient services they could which could only achieved by making this change.

The Consultation commenced on 12 June and would end on 11 September (3 months), there would be two weeks to review responses and amend the Business Case in light of those responses with submission to the Secretary of State by 1 October.  If the Business Case was accepted, the new arrangements would come into effect on 1 April 2018. If there were objections to the proposals and one of the 'top tier' local authorities did not support the proposals, the Secretary of State would arrange for an independent review.

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·       At its meeting on 20 October 2015, the Panel Members at that time generally agreed that they were in favour of closer collaboration between the emergency services, but considered that the operational heads of the two services should remain autonomous under the overall strategic control of the PCFC (Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner)

·       In response to the Panel's request to see the results of the Consultation, the PCC confirmed that the results would be published on the PCC's website

·       In terms of the alignment of boundaries of the West Mercia and the two fire authorities, the PCC confirmed that the Business Case could only be proposed if the boundaries were co-terminous

·       The PCC believed that by assuming the role of the two Fire Authorities and doing things differently, local police and fire services could be significantly improved whilst saving £4m

·       There was a concern that there was very little financial information or information on the operational savings to be made and there was a feeling that the changes were heading towards being one organisation eventually.  In response, the PCC pointed out that a number of options were considered  and the Business Case was giving a flavour of what could be achieved if the Joint Governance option was adopted

·       It was suggested that the Business Case was a proposal rather than a Consultation, there had been no input from service staff or representative bodies, no evidence to substantiate the £4m projected savings and that two weeks was a short period of time in which to analyse responses

·       The PCC stated that there was a lot of detail, a considerable amount of engagement was being undertaken and the more responses received the stronger the Business Case would be

·       Concern was reiterated about the timescale and how the Panel could consider the Business Case properly. The PCC pointed out that the Panel's role was to hold the PCC to account; not to influence the proposal and that a briefing could be arranged for the Panel before submitting the case if required

·       The PCC referred to paragraph 6.3.4 of the Business Case which outlined the possible implications of the proposal on back office staffing, there would however need to be a review

·       In response to the suggestion that the Chief Fire Officer posts would merge over time, the PCC confirmed that the Chief Officer posts would not be affected by these proposals as the Police and Fire service needed to be run by experienced professional officers who were experts in their field

·       The PCC confirmed that the figures detailed in paragraph 6.3 had been endorsed by the PCC's Chief Financial Officer and any changes to staffing structures would not affect front line service staff

·       In response to the question as to whether there was a 'Plan B', the PCC confirmed that the Fire Authority's Medium Term Financial Plan was 'Plan B'.

In summary, the Panel considered and made comments on the Initial Business Case considering the Governance of Shropshire Fire and Rescue, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Services by the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner.  It was agreed that the final proposal would be considered by the Panel at its next Meeting on 26 September, prior to submission to the Secretary of State on 1 October 2017.