At the start of the meeting, the Chair advised that the flag was being flown at half mast, in response to the recent tragedy in London; and requested that all present stand and observe a minutes silence as a mark of respect.

Information regarding general housekeeping was then provided by the Chair to all in attendance.

The Chair confirmed to all present that the proceedings of the meeting would be filmed and requested that any members of the public present who objected to being filmed, make themselves known.

No members of the public voiced any objection therefore the meeting was declared open and recording commenced.

Members are requested to consider the identification of:

a)  declarations of interest by individual Members in relation to any item of business on the Agenda

b)  any additional items of business which the Chair has determined should be considered as matters of urgency; and

c)  items of business which may require the exclusion of the press and public during consideration thereof because of the possibility of the disclosure of exempt information.

Members considered the identification of declarations of interest, any urgent additional items, and any business that may require the exclusion of the press and public.

Members resolved that:

a)  no declarations of interest were made by individual Members in relation to any item of business on the Agenda

b)  no additional items of business to be considered as matters of urgency were determined by the Chair; and

c)  no items of business required the exclusion of the press and public during consideration thereof because of the possibility of the disclosure of exempt information.

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee, held on 15^th December 2016, are submitted for approval as a correct record and for signature by the Chair.

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee, held on 15^th December 2016, were approved as a correct record and signed accordingly by the Chair.

To consider a Deputation from Mr John Brace and Mrs Leonora Brace, concerning: Data Protection Matters relating to MFRA audits. 

Members considered a Deputation from Mr John Brace and Mrs Leonora Brace, concerning: Data Protection Matters relating to MFRA audits. 

The Monitoring Officer referred to the Constitution Standing Order number 11.5, and cited from it that once called upon by the Chair the deputation speaker has no more than 5 minutes to speak regarding the deputation topic only. 

The speaker for the Deputation, addressed the Committee regarding a MFRA audit of invoices/contracts, in which names were visible on documents that had been requested. It was stated by the speaker for the Deputation that this had been brought to the attention of Members, so similar issues do not reoccur in future years and cause data protection issues. 

Members noted the Deputation. 

To consider Report CFO/0191/17 of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, concerning the Service Delivery Plan for 2017/18 and the contents of the station plans.

Members considered Report CFO/019/17 of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, concerning the Service Delivery Plan for 2017/18 and the contents of the station plans. 

Members were provided with an overview of the report, which highlighted the Annual Service Delivery Plan for 2017/18.  Members were informed that this plan includes an estimate of the year end Local Performance Indicator results, which will be updated in June 2017; and that performance indicators had been renumbered using the methodology of: context, owner, tier and code. 

Members were advised that targets for station outputs have been set, which are relevant and specific to the station area. For example there will be a focus on Home Fire Safety in Heswall due to it being a predominately residential area; whilst for Liverpool City there will be an emphasis on Site Specific Risk Information, due to the number of commercial properties. 

Members were also advised that MFRA use a technique called trend analysis to create statistically robust targets for the 2017/18 plan, by utilising the previous 5 years incident data. 

A question was raised regarding a figure within section 1.5 – “Overview of the Districts of Merseyside”, which shows the number of businesses within Wirral as being the same as within Liverpool. This figure was queried as it appeared unlikely to be correct.   The Chief Fire Officer advised that the figures would be checked and amended if required.

Members resolved that:

The attached Service Delivery Plan (Appendix 1), would be considered and approved, for 2017/18 prior to the publication on the website. 

To consider Report CFO/020/17 of the Chief Fire Officer, concerning the revised Code of Corporate Governance and Service Instruction 0875, which sets out the Authority’s assurance and transparency arrangements.

Members considered Report CFO/020/17 of the Chief Fire Officer, concerning the revised Code of Corporate Governance and Service Instruction 0875, which sets out the Authority’s assurance and transparency arrangements.

Members were provided with an overview of the report, which highlighted the 3 key principles which underpin the Authority’s Code of Corporate Governance.

Members were advised that these high level principles are supported by detailed principles of good governance. The 2007 CIPFA/ SOLACE Framework has now been updated following the release of the 2016 version. The 2016 Framework has expanded the fundamental detailed principles from 6 in the 2007 Framework to 7.

Within the Authority’s proposed revised Code of Corporate Governance, the 3 key principles remain the same, however it does reflect the 7 detailed principles within the 2016 CIPFA/ SOLACE Framework. 

The Chair commented on plans to bring back an inspectorate for the Fire & Rescue Service; and questions were raised regarding possible timeframes for implementation.  The CFO confirmed that the Fire Minister had indicated that inspections would  commence from September/October time. He also commented that as the Lead Authority for National Resilience, it is likely that the Inspectorate will wish to look at National Resilience arrangements specifically, to seek reassurances that they are sufficiently robust.

Members resolved that:

The revised Code of Corporate Governance attached at Appendix A, be approved.