To consider Report CFO/053/18 of the Chief Fire Officer, concerning scrutiny of performance against the objectives and the performance targets/outcomes as set out in the Service Delivery Plan 2018/19 for the period April to July 2018.

A presentation will be delivered in support of this report.

Members considered report number CFO/053/18 of the Chief Fire Officer, concerning performance against the objectives and the performance targets/outcomes as set out in the Service Delivery Plan 2018/19 for the period April to July 2018.

Members were provided with a brief introduction in relation to the 2018/19 planning process which began in January 2018. They were informed that the April to July Service Delivery Plan Performance Report for 2018/19, is the document that reports and updates on the Functional Plan action points and Key/Benchmark Performance Indicators, against the targets that were approved by Members in March 2018.

A presentation was then delivered to Members by Jackie Sutton - IRMP Officer, in support of the report, which highlighted the following:-

·         There were 31 less primary fires this year, compared with the same period last year.

·         In July 2018, performance against the attendance standard dropped due to the hot weather, which increased the volume of incidents crews attended, both in Merseyside and in neighbouring authorities.  As performance remained above target for every other month, the attendance standard target has still been achieved.

·         Carbon output was under target. 

·         In July, sickness absence amongst grey book staff exceeded the 4% target for the first time this year, but as other months were below target, cumulatively, all personnel sickness absence is still achieving the target. 

·         Accidental dwelling fires were under target which is consistent with last year’s performance, however they did show a peak during June. 

·         Up to 31^st July, there has been 1 fatality and 27 injuries resulting from accidental dwelling fires.  Only 8 injuries were recorded as serious and the remainder were due to smoke inhalation. 

·         The number of deliberate vehicle fires has been an ongoing problem, but so far this year numbers have fallen with 44 less incidents than in 2017. 

·         The total number of false alarms that have been attended is within 10% of target. 

·         There were 4317 more emergency calls received between April and June this year than last year.  In April there were 1603 calls recorded, raising to 6076 in July. 

·         In terms of incidents attended, there were 278 more than last year. 

·         The total number of secondary fires attended in April was very low at 233, due to heavy rain. 

·         The total number of special services attended was slightly under target.

·         There has been 1 fatality at a Road Traffic Collision this year. 

·         Home Fire Safety Checks were suspended in July, meaning the numbers completed so far are slightly lower than last year.  However the number of checks completed will be made up during the year. 

Members thanked Jackie for a very informative presentation which highlighted some good figures, including the low fatality numbers. They stated that they are questioned by Members of Parliament regarding the performance of Merseyside Fire & Rescue Services, so regular reports such as this ensures that they fully understand performance and are able to respond to questions when required. 

Members questioned if the Government are aware of the figures with regards to consideration of climate change.  They were informed that the Government get the figures directly from Services via the Incident Recording System and Home Office returns.  Members were also informed that this has been the hottest sustained since 1976. 

It was suggested to Members that they may wish to scrutinise this issue at a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee. 

Members then queried the reasons behind the increase in Grey Book Staff sickness absence and asked if more information could be provided to them, to identify any reasons for this increase.

Members asked if the increase could be connected to climate change and the result of this is an increase in incidents, but were advised that it is likely to be due to long term sickness absence. 

Members were advised that they would be provided with this information and it was suggested that this could also be scrutinised by the Scrutiny Committee. 

Members resolved that: 

a)    the attached reports be approved for publication on the website.

b)    the impact of climate change on incidents, be recommended as a topic for scrutiny.

c)    the increase in sickness amongst grey book staff, be recommended as a topic for scrutiny.