To consider any apologies for attendance.

Apologies were received from Councillor Lesley Rennie.

To consider declarations of interest in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest in relation to any item on the agenda.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 12^th June 2025.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting held on 12^th June 2025 be approved as an accurate record.

To consider the report relating to the Procurement of Firefighting and Technical Rescue Helmets (CFO/21/2526).

Chief Fire Officer, Nick Searle, introduced the report  informing Members of the outcome of the regional procurement exercise for firefighting and technical rescue helmets.

Members were made aware that the current helmets used by Fire and Rescue Services in the North-West for firefighting operations were procured regionally approximately ten years ago and the production of this model was scheduled to cease next year. The Chief Fire Officer added that the Authority also deployed a separate technical rescue for a limited number of operational staff in technical rescue functions such as the Search and Rescue Team (SRT), Combined Platform Ladder (CPL) operators and the Incident Investigation Team (IIT) crews.

It was confirmed that a direct award under the YPO framework was viable and compliant and the approach secured preferential pricing and long-term value for money. Members were reassured that the specification required helmets suitable for structural firefighting and technical rescue operations and was compliant with relevant standards. The Chief Fire Officer added that the supplier’s proposal was evaluated against these requirements and met the operational, safety and financial criteria. 

Members’ attention was drawn to the total anticipated expenditure over the five-year contract being approximately £2.000m, however, the projected Authority expenditure over the life of the contract was approximately £540k. The Chief Fire Officer explained that current stock would be utilised until it had run out and natural migration would occur to switch to the new helmets, rather than replacing them all at the same time.

Councillor Kieran Murphy asked that with the cost being spent over a period of time, whether inflation in price had been considered. Head of Procurement, Hywyn Pritchard, explained that the costs would be governed by the fixed prices under the framework but would be subject to any CPI increases, over the term of five years.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, queried the challenges in uniform for women and wondered whether this had been factored in and if it would be better for female colleagues. The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the uniform was subject to an Equality Impact Assessment and was continuously under review. It was explained that the new helmets reduced weight considerably.

Councillor Dave Hanratty enquired that when the report mentioned the ‘region’ whether this was the Merseyside region or the North-West region. The Chief Fire Officer clarified that this was the North-West region. It was asked by Councillor Dave Hanratty whether this would have an impact on the cost being shared and it was confirmed that this was correct and Merseyside’s expenditure of the £2.000m would be approximately £540k.

Councillor Sam Gorst entered the meeting at 13:11.

It was queried by Councillor Dave Hanratty how the Authority identified obsolete equipment and the lifespan of helmets. The Chief Fire Officer explained that firefighters had guidance around this and would check regularly if there was any damage to them. He reassured Members that if there was any damage, they would always be inspected and if necessary, replaced. Members were made aware that these pieces  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To consider the report relating to the Approval of Expenditure for PPE Laundry (CFO/22/2526).

Chief Fire Officer, Nick Searle, explained to Members that the existing laundry contract between Elis UK Ltd and the Authority began on 24^th September 2022 and was extended until 23^rd September 2026. He advised that there had been a significant increase in the number of items sent for cleaning which was due to positive health and safety culture, reducing firefighters to exposure of contaminants.

The Chief Fire Officer added that contract costs had risen by approximately 20% over the last two years and it was anticipated that the demand for the service would remain high and laundry costs could increase further prior to the contract ending in September 2026. Members noted that at the end of the current contract period, the Authority would re-tender to secure the most economically advantageous arrangement available.

It was confirmed that expenditure under the contract was forecast to exceed £300k over its lifetime and the current spend to date was £278k. Members noted that the estimated expenditure up to 23^rd September 2026 was between £347k and £382k. The Chief Fire Officer stated that whilst expenditure was projected to surpass the original approval threshold, efficiency measures identified were expected to deliver savings across the current Medium Term Financial Plan. Members were advised that the Authority would use internal Service couriers to collect and deliver laundry from all locations to create a single collection and drop off location, with an annual saving of £50k. The Chief added that current structural firefighting kit had a maximum wash life of 40 cycles, however, the Authority was considering the introduction of a full technical rescue ensemble which could reduce the cost by a further £20k which would create an annual saving of up to £70k. Additional expenditure would be funded from the current budgets.

Councillor James Roberts praised how the Authority was taking tackling contaminants so seriously to protect the health of firefighters and staff. He drew Members’ attention to paragraph 20 on page 41 of the agenda which explained the wash life of structural firefighting kit having a maximum wash life of 40 cycles and technical rescue PPE having no wash life limitation which would reduce washing frequency. Councillor James Roberts queried whether the priority of tackling contaminants was still taking place if the kits were being washed less frequently.

The Chief Fire Officer stated that the contaminants were predominately on the structural firefighting kit as these were used in big fires such as house fires where maximum protection was necessary.. Members noted that  technical rescue jackets were worn more frequently for other types of incidents such as road traffic collisions, the kit being utilised appropriately would allow  the use of the structural firefighting kit to be reduced and therefore the 40 washing cycles would be spread out over a longer period of time..

Councillor Dave Hanratty asked for reassurance that there would be no cross contamination for the couriers who were picking up contaminated kits. The Chief Fire Officer noted that cross contamination was taken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To consider the report relating to the Procurement of a Telescopic Handler (CFO/23/2526).

The report was introduced by Chief Fire Officer, Nick Searle, who noted that Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority was the lead authority for National Resilience (NR) and all procurement for the multi-million-pound refresh of NR kit and equipment..

Members were made aware that New Dimensions 2 (ND2) was a national capability uplift programme that supported the UK NR. The Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Capability had a fleet of Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPVs) that operated to fulfil a number of outcomes. These included the loading and unloading of USAR vehicles and modules in Merseyside, the transportation of equipment at an incident ground and the moving of rubble at USAR incidents.

It was confirmed that the current MPVs had been discontinued and subsequently it had become difficult to maintain the current fleet of vehicles. The Chief Fire Officer also acknowledged that the current fleet had been deemed as unsustainable and that a Telescopic Handler provided greater capability. The procurement of four Telescopic Handlers formed part of a wider project for ND2.

The Chief Fire Officer made Members aware that the funding for Telescopic Handlers would be provided by MHCLG as part of the ND2 USAR project and the procurement of these was £423,000.

RESOLVED that:

a)    the contents of the report be noted; and

b)    the award of the contract to P. Tuckwell Ltd T/A Tuckwells for four telescopic handlers, at a total cost of £432,000 be approved.

To consider the report relating to Apprenticeship End Point Assessments (CFO/24/2526).

Chief Fire Officer, Nick Searle, introduced the report and reminded Members  that the Authority moved from the previous National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) approach for the development of new firefighters and implemented the Operational Firefighter Apprenticeship in 2019, which was a two-year programme. Members noted that under the apprentice programme, the Authority was able to reclaim significant costs associated with the training and development programme from the apprenticeship levy. It was explained that the final stage of the apprenticeship for a firefighter was the End-Point Assessment (EPA) and costs would only be incurred once an EPA was requested. 

Members were advised that an independent End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) was required as part of the apprenticeship. 

The Chief Fire Officer acknowledged that the route to market was through YPO’s Apprenticeships and Associated Framework that allowed direct award to providers. Members were advised that the direct contract award to SFJA would enable a continuation of the ongoing successful partnership that the Authority had. It was explained that the current SFJA cost per EPA was £1980 and the contract value had been estimated based on a maximum of 40 EPAs per year which would equate to £396k for five years. The Chief Fire Officer drew Members’ attention to the table on page 50 which showed the predicted EPA’s and costs over the years. He explained that the table suggested that the number of EPAs would reduce to around 10 per year from 2029 lowering the predicted cost to £265k. He reassured Members that the Authority would only book enough EPAs for firefighters who reached that element of the apprenticeship.

The Chair commented that this had been a very successful system of functionally managing and enabling new recruits to progress through a structured process.

Councillor Dave Hanratty praised the use of the apprenticeship levy and did not think organisations utilised it enough. He asked how people had come through the apprenticeship scheme and the King’s Trust and Beacon Courses. Councillor Dave Hanratty commented on succession planning taking two years to implement and stated that the Authority might not know when firefighters would retire, however, if the Authority could work out the amount of apprenticeships needed to backfill any vacancies, this approach could be seamless.

Councillor Les Byrom suggested that the Authority have a learning lunch on the modern apprenticeship scheme.

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that quarterly meetings were held to monitor staffing levels and ensured resources were appropriately allocated.. It was noted that, historically, firefighters typically retired after 30 years of service, however, this was no longer the case, making retirement projections more difficult to predict. Members were informed that over the past six years, three recruitment courses had been conducted annually. This would be reduced to two courses per year, with a longer-term goal of recruiting approximately 9–10 new firefighters annually. Consequently, adjustments to the recruitment process would be required to reflect these changes.

Councillor Dave Hanratty mentioned that there were a lot of benefits that could be utilised from all Fire and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

To consider the report relating to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report and Equality Analysis Workforces and Employment Data reports for 2024/25 (CFO/25/2526).

Chief Fire Officer, Nick Searle, highlighted the equality diversity and inclusion annual report which detailed the five equality objectives on pages 63 – 73. He noted that objective 1 showed that the Authority had 84 female firefighters which represented 13.8% of total firefighters, with the national percentage being 9.3%. Nationally, firefighters from an ethnic minority background equated to 5.4% and Merseyside showed 7.9% of the operational workplace being from an ethnic minority background.

Equality objective 3 showed that 51,242 home fire safety checks took place last year which was a huge amount and youth engagement activities and engaging with the young diverse population showed continuing success. It was explained that in terms of the work of the Kings Trust engaging with young people from 16-25 who were not in employment or education, 58.3% of those were male, 19.8% were from an LGBTQ+ background and 77.1% considered themselves to have a disability.

The Chief Fire Officer highlighted the progression with objective 5 where MFRS was awarded the Fair Employment Charter, White Ribbon Accreditation work that was ongoing with North West Protection Governance Structure and the ASFA Award winners. He drew Members’ attention to the workforce data and analysis starting on page 77 which showed that females in Fire Control was 87% with males being only 13% which showed that there was further work to be done in that area.

Councillor Jeanie Bell thanked the Chief for the amount of work that had gone into the report. She commented on the information about the Fire Cadets Programme on page 67 highlighting that the majority of attendees were white British which showed a lack of diversity. She asked what the Authority was doing to be proactive in recruiting in diverse communities for fire cadets going forwards. Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Ged Sheridan, advised Members that the Authority currently had a dedicated team in the prevention team who visited schools in Merseyside and next year there would be more involvement with wholetime firefighters on stations visiting schools. He noted the importance of young people seeing the diversity of firefighters when school visits take place and the Authority hope to see the benefits in the longer term.

Councillor Les Byrom highlighted the importance of fire cadets and the need for volunteers to come forward to continue this process. He also commented on the need to find people to grow a cadet community and give young people an opportunity to work with the Fire Service.

On page 63, Councillor Jeanie Bell highlighted the pay gap for support staff and wondered if this was within the Authority’s control and whether it was something that could be improved going forwards. The Chief Fire Officer acknowledged that he was aware of this small difference with non-uniformed staff and it was being looked at. He explained that there had been a lot more flexibility in roles since the new management team changed and there was fluctuation between grey and green book roles. The Authority had been transitioning roles that were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.