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SECTION 6 - DELIVERING THE VISION - PERFORMANCE

"Continuously improves its performance to deliver Best Value ."

Collaboration

78. Full involvement with communities, stakeholders, private commercial business and the other emergency services as well as within the Scottish Fire Service arena should serve to strengthen service delivery. A key building block in the Executive's agenda is the concept of partnership working.

79. There is now a need to move from local co-operation to a strategic approach if the communities we serve are to be convinced that their needs are being reflected and that service delivery is fully satisfying Best Value. Collaboration is also the key to the effective delivery of the challenging new agenda. The Executive will facilitate this strategic approach to ensure Best Value is being delivered throughout the fire service. This may include the provision of funding through pump priming as well as the re-alignment of costs in order to ensure economies of scale and efficiencies are realised.

80. Work completed during the Structure Review identified a number of both internal and external activities which could benefit from collaboration ( see Appendix 1 ). At the Fire Conference 2001, the Deputy Minister for Justice stated that "Sound internal and external relationships will be a prerequisite [to successful collaboration]. Some of those relationships may be commercially based; others founded in mutual benefit. All need protocols, agreements or contracts and some may be better structured on a national basis."

81. Progress in developing suitable collaborative partnerships sits firmly within the Best Value framework. Under that framework authorities are charged with a clear commitment to challenge, compare, consult and compete in the pursuit of service delivery.

Procurement

82. Spending public money wisely is the responsibility of every public service. Scottish brigades currently spend around £30m of their annual capital and revenue budgets on procurement. Brigades vary widely in size but all should ensure that they avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and that full advantage is taken of opportunities for working together.

83. A review of procurement within the Scottish Fire Service was established in 1998 in the form of a joint Scottish Executive and Brigades Purchasing Arrangements Working Group. This group has recently re-established itself with the agenda of producing Best Practice Guidance - drawing on recent Audit Commission work. ¹³

84. In addition, the Executive has, following discussion with key stakeholders, taken initial action to develop a framework for a strategic approach to procurement, with agreed measures which will enable procurement performance to be benchmarked. Further development of common specifications for appliances, operational equipment and PPE linked to evaluation of consortia procurement and collaborative initiatives will enhance the Group's earlier work. The Executive is therefore already committed to exploring how best to improve fire service procurement and it will examine a wide range of options, as developed by consultants, in this area.

85. Working together is also a key component to achieving best use of public expenditure. In March last year the Deputy Justice Minister announced that the Scottish Executive would support a new Operational Support Centre at Newbridge in Edinburgh for Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade. It was recognised that this would co-locate the Brigade's support facilities, which are currently spread over five different sites and that this would free-up savings, which could be redirected to other priorities. This new centre is regarded as an ideal opportunity for collaboration with neighbouring brigades - namely Fife and Central. It would be the intention of the Executive to ensure more collaborative ventures and conversely to restrict independent developments through the use of capital support.

Command and Control

86. The surveys carried out under the auspices of the Structure Review indicated that nearly all brigades agreed that there was scope for sharing and collaborating across brigades and with the other emergency services in terms of joint controls for the mobilising of resources, providing it demonstrated value for money. An example is Strathclyde Fire Brigade who benefited from a move to one control room from five. Given the size and scope of Strathclyde there is an obvious read across to national opportunities in this area. It is the clear view of the Executive that major expenditure in this area has to be focused to achieve maximum benefit.

87. There are other issues in this context, which currently inhibit progress. These centre around the establishment of clear procedures in managing priorities across the emergency services, harmonisation of technology, clarity about maintenance and repair, quality assurance issues and statutory issues around command and control. The need to invest in replacement telecommunications across the emergency services in Scotland adds urgency to progressing this issue.

88. Due to the high costs involved in maintaining and replacing control rooms the Executive is keen to ensure that the emergency services exploit the advances in IT when considering the replacement or refurbishment of facilities. A recent report ¹⁴ explored the potential for collaboration through the replacement of control rooms in England and Wales that span more than one brigade and co-locate other emergency services. Building on this earlier work the Executive is interested in examining the potential for an approach which is particularly relevant for Scotland.

Information Technology

89. Scotland must be at the forefront of using new technology if it is to compete in the wider world. That is why it is a stated aim of the Scottish Executive ¹⁵ to ensure that Scotland embraces the opportunities provided by digital technology so that Scotland can become "a world class digital nation". The Scottish Executive already has in train a range of actions to take this issue forward particularly in respect of the public sector becoming an exemplar of best practice. Specifically the Executive:

"... recognises the importance of maximising integration of back-office functions as well as customer-facing services. Such integration has the potential to provide an improved basis for joined-up government."

90. Historically, brigades have developed their Information Technology systems on an individual basis. Although there is some collaboration it does not apply across all eight brigades. For example, all eight brigades use the FINDS system with only some collaborating at national User Group level. The downside of this is duplication in effort and resource in procurement, maintenance and administration of systems, which will be common across brigades.

91. Information Technology is the key to the delivery of an effective risk management approach. The vision for the future is one where Fire Authorities maintain a database perhaps in the form of a dynamic risk map of the entire brigade area. This database will detail information about the risk posed by individual buildings. This risk map would inform all aspects of work from Community Fire Safety through to the provision of fire cover.

92. Having a more integrated digital fire service could help improve performance and benefit the front line firefighter by reducing bureaucracy and providing greater access to both training and operational information. For example, brigades currently provide monthly statistical information on a form FDR1 about attendance at incidents. It is recognised that the FDR1 return does not supply the type and quantity of management information required. As a consequence individual forces are building up their own databases to supplement the FDR1 data. The result is fragmentation and duplication. The joint funding of a corporate solution would reduce the manual work associated with statistical and data collection and improve significantly the quality and timeliness of information available to brigades.

93. As the potential for collaboration in training is essential, new technology will have an important role to play in the delivery of interactive local based e-training, thus providing a flexible solution to improving access to national training courses and information.

94. However, Information Technology can be a costly resource. The development of a Scottish IT corporate strategy could therefore be very beneficial and assist in maximising the benefits of IT. This would develop the themes detailed in HMCIFS's Annual Report for 1999-2000 of a common national database and service-wide gathering of statistical data.

Radio Communications

95. The quality of its communications helps the fire service to respond better to public calls for assistance. With Scottish police forces planning to migrate from the system they share with the fire and ambulance services in 2004-05, brigades will have to consider replacing their existing radio system by 2005.

Special Services and Mutual Aid

96. The fire service has rightly been asked by the public to respond to more types of non-fire emergencies. As discussed in earlier paragraphs, there is now a fairly wide variance in the provision of non-fire-related services. Yet, for some more specialised services there is infrequent demand. Potentially each individual brigade replicates the holding of specialised equipment and other resources. For example, all brigades provide a service in respect of line rescue, waterborne rescue and dealing with hazardous materials.

97. The co-ordination of provision in one national centre could be beneficial and indeed may allow for greater and better equipment to be purchased on the basis of economies of scale. Concerns about the location of such a centre and the speed at which equipment and firefighters could be mobilised to any given area would have to be fully addressed. In this regard the Executive has already given a lead - triggered by the events of 11 September - in providing additional funding for the provision of specialist equipment which will allow a national response to a wide range of major incidents. The equipment is for national use although the specialist vehicles will be located at three brigades. This approach demonstrates a pragmatic solution to concerns about location and mobilisation.

Support Functions

98. While delivery of front line services will remain locally based there may be scope for centralisation of non-operational support functions across the brigades, i.e. human resources, finance, purchasing, information technology and the provision of statistics, etc. Indeed, with the desire to ensure recruitment in key skill areas and the need to ensure equal and consistent standards across the board, a common human resource approach has much to commend it.

99. While some brigades currently share some of these services with their local authorities, there is not a consistent approach nor a clear commitment to consider all of the options for support service delivery in order to achieve best practice. It is clear that, whatever conclusions are implemented from the joint Purchasing Arrangements Working Group and other agreements reached on inter-brigade collaboration, the staffing structure needs to be organised in such a way as to best support, complement and reflect the intended levels of service delivery.

Servicing the Service

100. The issues identified in the paragraphs above suggest that there is scope for fresh thinking on how best to achieve improvements without either major new resources or "reinventing the wheel". The Structure Review Working Group identified common threads and Ministerial support has been given to expanding collaborative ventures between brigades still further.

101. Meeting these challenges may require a new solution. Certain defined tasks, such as research and development activities, could be undertaken by a joint team of seconded staff for the benefit of all. The team's business would be directed by all brigades through a management board and the outcomes would reflect the service's requirements. Informal working arrangements of this kind have already produced examples in areas like Health and Safety, Diversity and Community Fire Safety. Progressing these informal initiatives in a more structured way, in the direction that will help the service, is something that deserves consideration. This could, especially where existing management and technical resources are limited, assist brigades meet new demands and allow service management locally to concentrate on core service delivery with a community focus. Currently around £16m per annum is spent across fire brigades on support staff.

102. Establishing both the working arrangements and agenda for such a common fire service Agency is challenging. The current initiative to establish a more effective national training strategy and delivery of the programme through the Scottish Fire Service Training School may be helpful in providing a possible template for the way forward. What cannot continue, however, in the interests of promoting and improving the fire service in Scotland, is any disjointed or inefficient use of resources.

103. Revisiting the Structure Review recommendations through a detailed examination of the issues raised in relation to collaboration and co-operation, either in the operational or support functions of brigades is essential. In acknowledging the statutory position of Fire Authorities the Scottish Executive is also conscious of its own responsibilities to achieve Best Value and sound governance. It would, therefore, be appropriate to commence a detailed investigation into aspects of fire service joint working to identify those areas, which might offer better use of financial resources and improved quality delivered centrally, or through other arrangements whilst retaining local accountability.

Funding - Revenue

104. Mention has been made already of the importance of spending wisely. Fire expenditure forms part of Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) and arrangements for the revenue funding of the Fire Service are much the same as for other local authority services. The Executive funds some 80% of fire service expenditure through Aggregate External Finance (AEF) with the remaining 20% being raised by local authorities. It is the Fire Authority's responsibility to set the budget for its brigade. In the main this is determined by the size of the establishment needed to provide the national standards of fire cover as detailed in paragraphs 38-40 above.

105. In addition, the fire service pension scheme is not a funded scheme and provision for the net cost of pensions is made in the Fire Service GAE. There is a current shared concern between service stakeholders and the Executive about an expected increase in pension costs. Currently, two UK-wide reviews of the pension arrangements are ongoing - one specifically examining the funding aspects of the scheme. There has been national consultation on these reviews and their outcome is awaited to inform the way forward. There is clearly a need to assist Fire Authorities in the resolution of the funding arrangements for pensions. In recognition of this the Deputy First Minister recently met with the Conveners of all eight Fire Authorities and joint boards and announced the formation of a short-term working group to examine these issues. The group will draw on both the outcome of the national consultation and local stakeholders' views in seeking to determine the best way forward.

106. As a general indication of the cost of the Fire Service within Scotland the following table details the financial returns for each brigade in the 2000-2001 financial year.

Table 3: Extract from HMCIFS Annual Report ¹⁶

107. The current system does generate some tensions as detailed in the Structure Review questionnaires. ¹⁷ The level of GAE is often regarded mistakenly as a spending guideline. In addition, although funding for the Fire Service is now set on a three-year basis, allocations to each authority are still made on an annual basis. This does not assist with medium to long-term planning, nor does the GAE distribution necessarily target those brigades most in need: the formula is weighted towards uniformed staff numbers.

108. There is a range of factors identified in this paper which will impact on funding, for example, the anticipated shift from the current standards of fire cover. If it becomes apparent that the current GAE formula is inadequate, alternative formulae for grant distribution can be considered within the context of more general work on the distribution of all central government support for local government, which is expected to take place in preparation for the next spending review which will get underway this year.

Funding - Capital

109. Since 1996 there has been a separate fire service capital programme. The Scottish Executive determines the overall capital borrowing consent and its distribution. This is achieved through a combined "top-slice" and formula distribution to the brigades.

110. The Structure Review made a number of recommendations in relation to funding. The main one being:

"Work should be undertaken on how the arrangements for fire service funding, both revenue and capital, within the current structure could be improved. In particular, a study should be undertaken to identify the best indicators of relative need in the context of maintaining acceptable levels of service."

111. The Executive is undertaking a review of the arrangements for local authority capital investment and this will extend to Fire Authorities. In addition the Executive wishes to ensure that capital investments are used effectively and, where appropriate, the risk and exposure of public expenditure benefits from partnership with the private sector. The wider use of initiatives like PPP and PFI is one way of delivering these benefits. Innovative use of funding and the release of staff time to concentrate on core business activities is seen as imperative and the Executive intends to explore and fully consider all of the mechanisms available. The Executive is currently reviewing a number of PFI models and "total care packages", the concept of which is to effectively outsource the provision and maintenance of equipment and vehicles over a long time period.

Supporting Committee Structure

112. Internally, the new direction and role of the modern Fire Service needs to be properly supported by an effective national advisory structure. The Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council (CFBAC) and its Scottish counterpart the SCFBAC were established under the Fire Service Act 1947. The structure is an integrated UK one, which properly took cognisance of UK wide - and now an ever-increasing EC wide - requirement for parity in standards within the Fire Service.

113. It has been widely acknowledged that the previous UK arrangements have not worked well as they were seen to be slow, bureaucratic and unable to deliver the required strategic guidance. A new configuration of advisory boards and working groups has now been agreed with Scottish stakeholder representation and the Executive welcomes this move. The need to reflect how these UK changes might be combined with the response to the proposals contained in this paper to improve arrangements in Scotland has still to be determined.

114. The issue is about the extent to which the Scottish Fire Service - in its now devolved context - should remain within the UK advisory committee structure. Or, whether a separate Scottish advisory committee structure should be put in place. A hybrid arrangement may be an attractive proposition.

Best Value Performance

115. The key driver for these areas is Best Value. Best Value itself has been inevitably an evolving process and one which involves shared responsibilities between the Executive, Audit Scotland, HM Fire Service Inspectorate and Fire Authorities and their brigades. There has been, in the evolving process, considerable discussion around measuring performance and benchmarking standards. Monitoring of performance has to date been undertaken jointly by Audit Scotland and the Inspectorate.

116. The importance of the entire Best Value approach cannot be underestimated. Setting stretching performance targets, adopting more explicit local indicators and introducing wider public reporting of the output performance is seen as an important next step.

117. The Executive, in wishing to hear from consultees on this issue, would therefore propose to outline broad activities to be incorporated into its overall Best Value approach for the fire service.

• Setting meaningful, specific but challenging targets designed to achieve the vision outlined in Section 2. These may include performance in areas of operational activity; enforcement; personnel and financial expenditure.
• Identifying performance indicators for all brigades that go beyond the current national key performance indicators.
• Confirming the function of HM Fire Service Inspectorate in the public monitoring and reporting of performance in these areas.
• Publishing guidance, through HM Fire Service Inspectorate, on best practice and priority areas for review.

118. There will be an expectation of clear performance improvements aligned to achieving safer communities and efficiencies linked to the Best Value agenda. A key part of this process will be agreeing - in consultation with service stakeholders - measurable performance improvements, which reduce unwanted losses and activities, whilst increasing other desired improvements. Areas for consultation would include:

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