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Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority
MEETING OF THE RESOURCES COMMITTEEMONDAY, 26 APRIL 2004FIRE SERVICE HEADQUARTERS,
1 PERSONAL MATTERSThe Chairman wished to place on record the Committee’s very deepest sympathy to Councillor F M Jones on the recent passing of her son and it was noted that a letter of condolence had been sent to Councillor Jones on behalf of all Members. 2 DECLARATION BY MEMBERS OF ANY PERSONAL INTERESTCouncillor E T Morgan declared an interest in Agenda items 9 and 10 as a Member of the Dyfed Powys Police Authority and took no part in the discussions thereof. 3 TO CONFIRM AS A CORRECT RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 19TH JANUARY 2004.The Minutes of the Resources Committee held on 19th January 2004 were received and confirmed as a true record. 4 MATTERS ARISING 8 – Fire Authority Allowance Regulations 5 TO RECEIVE THE TREASURER’S BUDGET MONITORING REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2003/04Revenue Monitoring Report for the period 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2004 The Treasurer presented the Revenue Monitoring Report for the period 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2004 which showed the expected out turn for 2003/04, based on expenditure and income recorded to 31st March 2004. Within Operational Employees’ costs was an overspend on Pay which, together with the overspend on Control Room, represented the unbudgeted cost of the pay settlement in 2003/04. Members noted that this had resulted in an overall overspend against the original budget of £423k, which would be funded from Constituent Authority contributions in 2004/05. The surplus on Income represented additional funding (New Dimension Programme funding, etc) which would be set against certain expenditure under Employees, Supplies and Services and Leasing. Capital Monitoring Report for the period 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2004 The Treasurer reported that
expenditure incurred to 31st March 2004 on Capital projects was reported
against the Approved
Capital Programme, which was based on Basic Credit Approval of £904,000.
The Basic Credit Approval had been fully utilised. A small excess of capital
expenditure on vehicles and equipment had been financed from the revenue (Capital
Financing) budget. In addition, New Dimension capital work had been undertaken
at a number of locations, funded by ODPM grant. 6 INSURANCE RENEWALThe Chief Fire Officer reported that terms had now been agreed, in discussion with the Authority’s brokers, Marsh UK, for the portfolio of insurance policies for the 2004/2005 financial year. In negotiating insurance arrangements, early attention had been drawn to continued challenges facing Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority and to Fire Authorities in general. These included a “hardening” of the insurance market, with premiums subject to a general upward pressure caused by increasing claims with liability settlements being awarded in the Courts currently increasing in value by some 15% per year. Particular pressures facing fire authorities arose because of a substantial increase in the pay bill following the recent pay settlement, producing volume increases in the value of potential liability settlements of approximately 17%. As was reported to Members during the budget setting process, agreement with the Authority’s insurers had proved to be difficult and the brokers had faced a challenging round of negotiations, with the liability insurers in particular presenting an initial renewal portfolio which would have significantly undermined the Service’s financial security. The year had proved extremely difficult exacerbated by the recent final settlement in the Crymlyn Burrows incident, where the Fire Authority was found partially liable for compensation payments made to Fire Service personnel, together with Police Officers, Ambulance personnel and members of the public. These factors had influenced the assessment made by the Authority’s insurers of future liability and the brokers, working with Service officers, successfully negotiated renewal terms which not only maintained ground up cover, but limited the premium increases to 19.4% rather than the much larger increase originally sought by the liability underwriters. Total premium levels therefore for next year had increased by £73,499.74, to a total premium of £544,953.44, which represented an approximate 15% increase, excluding the brokerage fee. This was containable within the budget limit set by the Authority for the service’s insurance portfolio. Officers expressed their appreciation for the work undertaken
on the Authority’s behalf by Marsh UK, in securing terms which,
significantly, remained below the combined insurance premia paid by
the three former Brigades
prior to 1996. i) the insurance renewal terms be approved ii) the contract with Marsh UK, acting as the Authority’s brokers, be continued in 2004/2005, at the fee level shown in the table. 7 DRAFT FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR WALES FOR CONSULTATION Members were aware that responsibility for the Fire and Rescue
Service in Wales was to be devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government
who
had recently published
a draft Fire and Rescue Framework for Wales. The document set out
the Assembly's objectives, its expectations of Fire Authorities and
how it
proposed to
support
Authorities in meeting those expectations. A proposed response had
been prepared for consideration by the Authority before the closing
date of
3rd May 2004. 8 THE WELSH MUSEUM OF PUBLIC ROAD TRANSPORT A letter had been received from the Secretary of the Welsh Museum
of Public Road Transport in respect of an appliance that was to be
disposed
of at
auction. The museum had requested that the appliance be donated to
themselves as it
was formerly stationed in the West Cross area of Swansea. Members
were aware that redundant appliances had previously been donated
to charities
abroad
in Bosnia, Romania and Kenya.The charity had indicated that should
Members agree
to this request then a Community Fire Safety message would be displayed
alongside the appliance at the museum. i) No costs being incurred by the Authority in delivering the
appliance 9 CONTROL ROOM – SITE SHARING AGREEMENT WITH DYFED POWYS POLICEAt the Fire Authority Meeting on the 9th February 2004, the formation of a Property Sub-Committee with delegated powers was approved, to deal with issues relating to the proposed site sharing arrangement with Dyfed Powys Police to relocate the Fire and Rescue Service Control Room.At that time, it had been anticipated that the Police Authority would require a firm commitment from the Fire Authority to the proposed relocation, as the building of the new communications centre at Police Headquarters in Carmarthen was nearing completion. The Authority had granted the Sub-Committee plenary powers to enter into a contractual arrangement, subject to the proposal being consistent with the Welsh Assembly Government’s National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service. On subsequent publication, the Assembly’s commitment to the type of collaboration between services as exemplified by the proposed site sharing arrangement with Dyfed Powys Police was confirmed. It was anticipated that the WAG would be commissioning a further study to examine optimal control room arrangements in Wales, taking account of both the proposed control room solutions in England and the different circumstances pertaining in Wales. In light of this, it had been considered inappropriate to ask the Property Sub-Committee to agree a contractual commitment, pending the outcome of the Welsh Assembly Government’s deliberations. The Police Authority had been advised of this position, and latest estimates indicated that the outcome of the report to be commissioned by the Assembly would not be available until November this year. Members were informed that the construction of the new Police and Ambulance communications centre was virtually complete, and that if the relocation of the Authority’s control room was to proceed, some internal reconfiguration work would have to be undertaken in the very near future, involving realignment of mechanical and electrical installations. These works would be in addition to the construction costs that the Police Authority would otherwise have incurred, and would fall to be met by the Fire Authority either as a capital payment or as deferred payments within the overall rental agreement. The value of the additional works which needed to be commissioned were in the region of £40,000 - £45,000. It was recognised that these costs could be aborted in the event that Welsh Assembly Government altered its position in broadly supporting the initiative, and directed the Authority towards an alternative position inconsistent with the proposed co-location at Police Headquarters in Carmarthen. RESOLUTION 10 TO RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEMBERS PROPERTY WORKING GROUPThe minutes of the meeting of the Members Property Working Group held on 2nd April 2004 were received for information. 11 RETIREMENT OF CHAIRMANCouncillor P B Davies, Chair of the Resources Committee, announced that this would be his last meeting of the Resources Committee as he would not be standing for re-election at the forthcoming County Council elections on 10th June 2004. He wished to record his grateful thanks to both fellow Authority Members and Officers who had supported him during his term of office and expressed his good wishes to all for the future. |
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