Decision details

18.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance (copy appended to the signed minutes) on a review of the Council’s Fire and Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee (FRSSC) which was established in June 2020 after a broad review of governance arrangements for the Fire and Rescue Service at the Council following external inspection.

18.2     Cllr Boram attended the meeting as the current Chairman of FRSSC and commented that the review should be seen in the context of the work undertaken to improving both the governance of the Fire & Rescue Service and the Service itself. Both were key to the good management of the organisation. He said that effective member training was essential and FRSSC had been working closely with the Cabinet Member for Communities, Fire and Rescue and had also met crews and visited fire stations. FRSSC continued to examine the objectives in the Strategic Performance Report to make sure they were appropriate as measures of performance. He recognised the huge amount of work by the Fire & Rescue Service and the Scrutiny Committee since its creation and supported the continuation of the Committee.

18.3     Cllr Crow attended the meeting as Cabinet Member for Communities, Fire and Rescue. He commented that, prior to the establishment of FRSSC, the Fire & Rescue Service had been one of a number of services scrutinised by the then Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee. Now the new Scrutiny Committee was a trail blazer for stand-alone fire scrutiny committees and the arrangements were working well. The Cabinet had responded to the recent government White Paper which recommended separate scrutiny function and he hoped the Governance Committee would endorse the continuation of FRSSC.

18.4     As the first Chairman of FRSSC, Cllr Waight agreed that the previous scrutiny arrangements had meant scrutiny was less effective. The new Committee had enabled bespoke development of scrutiny of the Fire Service which fitted the requirements of the service, and had become smoother over time.

18.5     Members supported the continuation of these stronger governance arrangements. It was felt that the benefits of having a separate scrutiny committee were clear, particularly given the recent government White Paper, and that the separate Committee provided greater transparency around decision making and strong member engagement. The removal of scrutiny of the Fire & Rescue Service from the original scrutiny committee also made that committee’s workload more manageable.

18.6     In response to a question, the Senior Advisor – Member Support confirmed that the level of Special Responsibility Allowance for the Chairman of FRSSC had been considered by the Independent Remuneration Panel and is at the same level as other scrutiny chairmen.

18.7         Resolved – That the continuation of the current arrangements for scrutiny of the Fire and Rescue Service be endorsed for recommendation to the County Council.