Attendees:
PFCC Stephen Mold (SM)
Nicci Marzec (NM)
Paul Fell (PF)
Louise Sheridan (LS)
Helen King (HK)
Stuart McCartney (SMc)
CFO Darren Dovey (DD)
ACFO Shaun Hallam (SH)
ACFO Rob Porter (RP)
Area Manager Phil Pells (PP)
Protection Manager Scott Richards (SR)
Nick Alexander (NA)
Budget and Treasury Management
Action – NA to check paragraph 6.2 and change November 2021 to 2020.
Action – DD & HK will review and finalise the potential savings list in the table provided when information from the Home Office and the precept level is finalised.
Action: DD to review Fire Capital Programme in the light of deliverability and affordability
Assurance statement:
The Commissioner is reassured that the 2021/22 budget will be balanced at either a 1.99% or £5 precept. However, he recognises that the Capital Programme needs to be reviewed and reprofiled and has asked the Chief Fire Officer to do this to ensure it is deliverable and affordable.
The Commissioner recognises the challenge over the Medium Term and whilst precept flexibility would assist in this, he recognises the need to ensure that a budget needs to be balanced over a three-year medium-term position and that reserves are not sufficient to do this. As such, he requires the Chief Fire Officer to start to look at how savings and efficiencies can be made to balance the Medium-Term position.
Buildings Safety Bill and Fire Safety Bill
Assurance statement:
The Commissioner recognises that both or either of these Bills may result in additional responsibilities and demand for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.
He was reassured that at this point, without full clarity on dates of the Bills becoming live and the full effects of these two pieces of legislation that NFRS was as prepared as it could be for their inception.
He requested that the Chief Fire Officer keep him appraised of the journey of these two Bills and alert him of any significant additional demands that they are likely to have on NFRS, as they progress.
Grenfell Inquiry action plan
Assurance statement:
The Commissioner recognised the work that has been and continues to be delivered on this agenda by NFRS.
He was reassured that the actions that had slipped from Q2 had now been implemented and welcomed the fact that progress on this action plan had been assessed as positive independently, via the internal audit process.
AOB
No further business was raised.