Information

1 Welcome and introductions.

Attendees:
PFCC Danielle Stone (DS)
Marianne Kimani (MK)
Jonny Bugg (JB)
Paul Fell (PF)
Stuart McCartney (SMc)
CFO Nikki Watson (NW)
ACFO Phil Pells (PP)
ACO Paul Bullen (PB)
Nick Alexander (NA)

2 Minutes and decisions of previous meeting

The Commissioner noted there was one action relating to standards of response. The Chief Fire Officer explained this will now form part of the regular performance update meeting and the OPFCC Performance Director will share data with the Commissioner outside of the meeting.

3 PART 1

Given the importance of the annual budget setting process there were no issues raised under Part 1 of this meeting, in order to allow for meaningful discussions on this matter.

3 PART 2

Draft Budget Proposals 2026/2027

The Commissioner opened the agenda item with an update following a recent meeting with the FBU relating to the issue of maternity leave, and their national campaign for 52 weeks paid maternity leave. The Commissioner was interested in the SMT’s position relating to this issue. The Chief Fire Officer responded and noted there was a national conversation relating to this issue which was ongoing. The Commissioner felt it was an important issue as there was a need to diversify the workforce and make the service a more attractive proposition to more people. The OPFCC Chief Finance Officer noted the need to look at the costs involved following which, the meeting was given an update on both the costs and how they could be met. The Commissioner was pleased with the update and suggested that she speak to the OPFCC Chief Executive and draft a response to the FBU.

The Chief Fire Officer then briefed the meeting on the both the background to the budget and the work being undertaken by the service. She noted savings were needed and work was being delivered on modelling the work to help ensure the frontline is more efficient and effective. The modelling will also look at other areas to identify further efficiencies to meet the savings target. The Chief Finance Officer noted that the fire budget was in a better place than it had been compared to the previous six years thanks to the work of the SLT. He noted that savings need to be examined in a holistic manner as he believed efficiencies can be delivered. The Commissioner noted the need to reduce the cost of overtime, The Chief Finance Officer responded that this will be form part of the ongoing review. The Commissioner then asked the Chief Fire Officer about the maintenance of stations and whether this is kept under review. The Chief Fire Officer responded and noted that on call stations could be old fashioned and the OPFCC Chief Finance Officer explained the costs within the capital budget to for maintenance going forward. The Chief Fire Officer explained that essential works are undertaken which is supported by firefighters who can help paint the stations. The OPFCC Performance Director suggested this is an area of work the Immediate Justice team could support and would explore if this was possible to deliver.
The OPFCC Chief Finance Officer briefed the meeting on the efficiencies within the proposed budget which he felt were achievable though with the final settlement yet to be released, some of the figures may change. The NFRS Finance Officer outlined the issues relating to business rates and the growth of commercial buildings in the County and its potential impact on the service. The Commissioner sought assurance relating to the level of reserves and the OPFCC Chief Finance Officer responded by noting that within the budget, resources were allocated to topping up the reserves. The OPFCC Performance Director noted that the budget was in a better place and hoped that when it final figures were available in January, it would have more detail relating to savings which should be covered by the modelling work. The NFRS Finance Officer explained the service has appropriate contingencies in place and is in a more secure position, but the issue of business rates remains a concern. He then explained how the Transformation Fund may be needed to help transform the organisation. The Commissioner then asked if the service were happy with the budgetary position. In response the NFRS Finance Officer noted that they were and there were no real gaps that had been identified by the Transformation Fund was available should it be needed.

Action – JB and PFCC to draft letter to FBU in relation to her position on the 52 weeks maternity leave campaign issue and respond.
Action – PF to explore with the OPFCC IJ team the feasibility of them assisting in the low level maintenance of fire stations.

Assurance Statement

The Commissioner welcomed the fire service budget paper and acknowledged the work undertaken to get the submitted paper to the position where it was.

She was assured that she was being presented with a proposal in the paper for a balanced budget, albeit with some requirements for savings included, despite the fact that there was still some clarity and further details potentially expected in relation to the financial settlements.

She endorsed the draft budget paper but stressed again the need for the Chief Fire Officer to reduce the money spent on overtime and stated that the final paper to be submitted for January required additional details in relation to where proposed savings would be sourced from.

4 AOB

No further business was raised.