1. Fire Performance Improvement Network
16th March 2010
Audit Commission Update
Andrew Brodie

2. Analysis of CAA in Fire 2009

3. FRA Organisational Assessment Scores

4. UoR Scores by FRA Type

5. Some headline messages – Use of Resources
Better able to compare results between and within sectors
UoR is a different and tougher test
FRAs in AC’s Central region scored lower than others
Only two County fire and rescue services scored a ‘3’ overall for UoR
Please tell us if you want further clarification on any area

6. Use of Resources – Managing Finance
Stronger areas:
Financial Monitoring
Financial reporting and information
Member engagement much better
Weaker areas:
Integrating financial planning
Medium to longer term financial planning
Understanding costs

7. Use of Resources – Governance
Stronger areas:
Procurement
Performance monitoring
Weaker areas:
Commissioning
Data quality
Partnership governance
Public involvement
Impact of member scrutiny
Risk management not as strong as police authorities

8. Use of Resources – Workforce
Stronger areas:
Skilled workforce
Retained Duty System seen as very positive – but long term planning is not and stress in system
Investing in health and safety
Weaker areas:
Diversity
Involving partners in managing change
Sickness absence
Talent management is weak
Understanding of staff productivity
Scored lower than STCCs and Police Authorities

9. FRA Managing Performance Scores

10. Some headline messages – Managing Performance
Steady progress in most FRAs
Clear progress with many aspects of the National Framework
Stronger focus on Health and Safety
Strong desire to learn and examples of good practice - but not enough learning outside FRS
FRAs tend to focus on activities and process rather than outcomes – evaluation is patchy
Impact of IRMP not well articulated
Retained Duty System capacity under real pressure
Still a long way to go to meet equality and diversity aspirations

11. Some headline messages – Area Assessment
Where the FRS is included in area assessments we see things like:
Effective efforts that are improving road safety
Information sharing resulting in better outcomes for vulnerable people
Use of fire stations and mobile services to improve people’s access to information
Work that is actively reducing deliberate fires
General performance information
See Manchester’s area assessments for good inclusion

12. Some headline messages – Area Assessment
Common reasons why FRAs are not included in area assessments:
Lack of evaluation of initiatives
Efforts not well linked to local priorities
Poor story telling
IRMP impact not always clear
Limited engagement with Local Strategic Partnerships
Timing of Organisational Assessment and Area Assessment

13. CAA and Oneplace 2010 What are we doing about it?
Update – not full reassessment
Sector-led evaluation = less assessment
- OpA
- EF FRS
‘The FRS in Oneplace’
OA 28 Oct
AA 9 December
Assessment will feel less intrusive and more joined up
New national fire team
Sector led improvement subject to some reality checking to see if robust or not

14. National Framework This year we will look at the following issues:
Equality and Diversity
Community engagement
Regional Management Boards (RMB)
Business Continuity

15. Approach to Inspection

16. Operational Service Delivery
Basis for Inspection
Area
Assessment
Triggered
improvement
support
including
service
inspection
Organisational
Managing
Performance
Use of
Resources
Governing the
Business
Finances
Peer Assessment
Operational Service Delivery
CAA
FRS

17. Inspection will provide
assurance
• diagnosis
• accountability
• promotion of improvement

18. Triggers for Inspection Activity
We will consider carrying out a triggered inspection in the following circumstances:
• Concerns about performance or improvement levels;
• where a service, outcome or user group is at significant risk;
• where underperformance can best be addressed by inspection;
• where ministers have given directions for an inspection to take place;
• where performance levels are currently satisfactory but are declining substantially and rapidly;
• indication of unsatisfactory performance but insufficient evidence available to make a robust judgement.

19. What has been done so far?
Draft ‘Audit Commission Approach to Inspection in Fire and Rescue Authorities’ developed
Draft approach approved by Methodologies group
Test inspections undertaken in Humberside and West Sussex
Initial feedback received

20. What remains to be done? Issue of first draft reports
Qualitative feedback session
Redraft of Approach prior to consultation
External consultation
Redraft and approval of final version

21. Business Continuity Management Survey

22. Business Continuity Management
Why are we doing this work?
Year 1 OA considered BCM
Ministerial request for more detailed verification
Focus of the work
In the 2009 OA work, the Audit Commission looked at Contingency planning for emergencies
Each Fire and Rescue Authority must:
• have in place a plan to provide such level of emergency cover as it regards as appropriate during any period of emergency, liaising as necessary with other relevant organisations, but without reliance upon support of the Armed Forces
• ensure the availability of all necessary vehicles, equipment, training and support; and
• Have in place arrangements for heightening public awareness and vigilance in respect of safety issues during periods of emergency cover.
Why now?
Public expectations and media scrutiny of public services is increasing. And the public appear to be less tolerant of strike action.
Fire-fighters and support staff have already walked out in South Yorkshire FRA and ballots for strike action have been carried out in Essex and Merseyside. It is likely that further unrest will occur driven by the economic situation and increasing concerns over pensions and pay.
The Fire and Rescue Service has a target to save £110 million in efficiency savings by Most savings are coming from making changes to crewing and shift arrangements, sometimes in the face of local resistance.
FRAs must function in a wide range of adverse situations and are obliged under different pieces of legislation to take steps to be able to do so.
What are we doing?
Ministers through CLG have asked us to verify how well Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) are planning to deal with disruptions to services caused by things like swine flu, flooding, bad weather, and particularly from strike action.
To do this we are designing a questionnaire asking all FRAs about business continuity planning. This will fills the gaps in what we and our partners already know and is being designed in close consultation with the Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor, CLG, the Chief Fire Officers Association, and Cabinet Office. We will distribute the questionnaire to all FRAs in late January 2010.
The results will be assessed in late February by a national project team and will result in a report to CLG in late March. This report will be made public and is about the Fire and Rescue Service – not individual FRAs.
Individual results for FRAs will be fed back to you in March to incorporate into your ongoing OA work. We will work with you to agree a common set of judgements that can be fed back to FRAs and used in the OA reports.
We will not use any of your budgets to do this work. Your budget to carry out the Managing Performance element of the OA remains the same as last year.

23. What are we going to do?
Online survey questionnaire – developed with partners
Questionnaire pre-population
Main question areas:
Effectiveness of BCM
Effectiveness of plans to deal with a mass absence of staff
Capacity to deal with service disruptions
We will provide a report of our findings to ministers
Findings form part of OA 2010
We have designed a questionnaire which will ask all FRAs about business continuity management. This will fills the gaps in what we and our partners already know and is being designed in close consultation with the Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor, CLG, the Chief Fire Officers Association, and Cabinet Office. We will distribute the questionnaire to all FRAs in early February 2010.
The results will be assessed in late February by a national project team and will result in a report to CLG in late March. This report will be made public and is about the Fire and Rescue Service – not individual FRAs.
Individual results for FRAs will be fed back to you in March to incorporate into your ongoing OA work. We will work with you to agree a common set of judgements that can be fed back to FRAs and used in the OA reports.
We will not use any of your budgets to do this work. Your budget to carry out the Managing Performance element of the OA remains the same as last year.