Information

1 Welcome and introductions.

Attendees:
PFCC Danielle Stone (DS)
DPFCC Marianne Kimani (MK)
Jonny Bugg (JB)
Paul Fell (PF)
Vaughan Ashcroft (VA)
Vicki Martin (VM)
CFO Nikki Watson (NW)
ACFO Phill Pells (PP)
ACFO Jim Powell (JP)
ACO Paul Bullen (PB)
Nick Alexander (NA)
Stuart McCartney (SMc)

Actions – An update was provided to the Commissioner in relation to the Mounts Fire Station and a visit has been planned to help provide assurance in relation to the use of the building.

2 Emergency Cover Review with CRMP Workstreams

The Service provided the Commissioner with an update in relation to the progression of work and noted that good progress is being made and that separate work streams are being brought together and are reported to the Improvement Board.

The Commissioner was reassured that some progress was being made but noted the need to demonstrate to a wider audience the work being delivered and its associated improvements. The Commissioner did express her concerns relating to timescales as she explained the public want to see things being delivered through the investments being made into the service. The Commissioner specifically raised the issue of recruitment and retention of retained firefighters as a key challenge that needs action. In response the Service noted that the work in relation to response modelling will need to be revised as some of the data available is now three years old and in light of the newly agreed standards of response.

The Commissioner also noted that she wanted to see some progress on some of the key areas of the ECR recommendations such as shift patterns, noting that these discussions which may not be universally popular needed to be framed in the positives that were being delivered in the service, relating to matters such as new uniform, new equipment and improved well being and welfare arrangements.

The Chief Fire Officer explained that additional support work will be commissioned to help deliver this work by January 2026. The Service also explained that prioritising decisions and allocating resources is an ongoing challenge, but one that is under discussion. The OPFCC Chief Finance Officer provided an update on the resources available to the Service and the need for proper project resources to further professionalise the project delivery work and now was the time to delivery this. The Commissioner asked the Service if this could be achieved by January 2026 who responded that it may be best delivered slightly later. The OPFCC Chief Executive responded by noting the value of bringing additional support in early to help capture and communicate the improvements being delivered. The Chief Fire Officer stated that the team were discussing these matters at a meeting that afternoon.

The Chief Fire Officer updated the Commissioner in relation to the work being undertaken in relation to the Emergency Cover Review. The Commissioner responded and noted the need for the Service to understand what changes will be required when new stations are completed. The Chief Fire Officer explained that the new stations will be flexible and future proofed and that the Service was data and evidence led which underlined the importance of establishing accurate data going forward. The Commissioner responded and explained the importance of ensuring this was delivered as a matter of urgency by the Service. In response the Service explained the need for them to prioritise their work, but the Commissioner reminded them a lot of actions rely on a small number of key priorities being successfully delivered. The OPFCC Performance Director suggested this should be a standing agenda item for the Improvement Board to help drive things forward.

The Service promised to bring an update on the ECR and CRMP when their work has been completed. The Commissioner also suggested to the OPFCC Director a meeting with the OPFCC Director of Communications to compile a list of key achievements in relation to the Service’s journey of improvement.

Action – Chief Fire Officer to nominate a member of her team to link in with the Director of Communications to compile and a list of service accomplishments and publicise them more widely internally and externally.

Action – The matter of project resource and recruitment was to be discussed at a meeting on the afternoon of 8th October. The Chief Fire Officer to provide an update at the next accountability board meeting on decision made at this meeting and rationale.

Assurance Statement
The Commissioner welcomed some of the progress that had been made with some of the early actions and recommendations arising from the emergency cover review being implemented. She stated that she understood the desire of the service to incorporate these into the annual plan relating to the Community Risk Management Plan. She agreed that there was a process in place to deliver this and that moving forwards a senior member of her team would attend those meetings for assurance.
The Commissioner expressed a desire to see some pace in relation to some of the core remaining actions and recommendations, stating that there was a need to do so to drive improvements and efficiencies where these were required and previous timescales that she had been provided with were unacceptable. Key to this was the revisit of the remodelling data. She was clear that this needed to take place at some pace and was expecting some results from this in January 2026.

3 Retained Firefighters

The Chief Fire Officer provided an update to the Commissioner and noted the challenges relating to the role of retained firefighters. She noted improvements have been made to the recruitment process to help give the service has a better understanding of where people are needed which will help give the service the ability to set the hours and numbers of people need at different stations across the county. The OPFCC Director for Performance noted that the difficulties in policing and the expectations of Special Constables and in response, the Chief Fire Officer explained the Service are looking at flexible crewing to make better use of the on-call firefighters and other ways to be more efficient. The Commissioner sought more clarification in relation to response times required for those undertaking this role. The Chief Fire Officer explained that the response time can vary, and the Service were reviewing this as part of their modelling work. The Commissioner suggested that it would be useful to engage with Parish Councils going forward. The Commissioner then raised the Local Safety Officer concept which could be a positive addition to the work being undertaken. The OPFCC Director for Performance responded and suggested that he pick this issue up outside of the meeting to discuss the practicalities of implementing such a scheme with partners.

4 AOB

No further business was raised