Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Authority
The Fire & Rescue Authority is funded partly by the Government through the Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates, and partly by the local tax payer in the form of Council Tax.
The Fire & Rescue Authority is funded partly by the Government through the Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates, and partly by the local tax payer in the form of Council Tax.
The Fire & Rescue Authority is a separate entity from the Fire & Rescue Service and operates within a legal framework, which is heavily influenced by Central Government.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service is accountable to the Fire & Rescue Authority, which sets out rigorous guidelines and is responsible for setting the level of revenue funding and the costs incurred in running a front line service.
The Service's strategic decisions are driven by the Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority in conjunction with the Strategic Leadership Team. Details of meetings of the Fire & Rescue Authority open to the public can be found in our Meetings section.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority consists of 16 councillors; 12 are from Derbyshire County Council and 4 are from Derby City Council.
Members are able to claim various allowances in connection with carrying out their duties as a councillor. Details of these allowances, reference documents for the members and the annual governance statements can be accessed through the documents section.
The Chair of the Fire & Rescue Authority is Cllr Trevor Ainsworth and the Vice Chair is Cllr Evonne Williams. The Independent Person s are Mr Graham Knight and Mr Mervyn Busby-Jeavons.
Basic information about the members of the Fire & Rescue Authority are listed below, where available electronic versions of each members declaration of interest form will be provided and links to more information about the member included. Some links may take you to external websites.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service cannot be held responsible for the content of external sites.
Trevor Ainsworth - CHAIR
Derbyshire County Council
Amber Valley Borough Council
View profile for Trevor Ainsworth - CHAIR
Download Trevor Ainsworth - CHAIR's Declaration of interests
Stuart Swann - VICE CHAIR
Derbyshire County Council
Linton - South Derbyshire District Council
Ged Potter
Derby City Council
Allestree Ward
View profile on the Derby City Council website for Ged Potter
Richard Ilife
Derbyshire County Council
Heanor Central - Amber Valley Borough Council
David Taylor
Derbyshire County Council
Alport and Derwent - Amber Valley Borough Council
Jack Woolley
Derbyshire County Council
Sutton - North East Derbyshire District Council
Ludwig Ramsey
Derbyshire County Council
Spire - Chesterfield Borough Council
Kevin Gillott
Derbyshire County Council
Clay Cross South - North East Derbyshire District Council
Steve Bull
Derbyshire County Council
Ashbourne Division
View profile on the Derbyshire County Council website for Steve Bull
Sue Burfoot
Derbyshire County Council
Matlock Division
View profile on the Derbyshire County Council website for Sue Burfoot
Jean Innes
Derbyshire County Council
St Mary's Division
View profile on the Derbyshire County Council website for Jean Innes
Ron Ashton
Derbyshire County Council
Ripley East and Codnor Division
View profile on the Derbyshire County Council website for Ron Ashton
Nigel Gourlay
Derbyshire County Council
Chapel and Hope Valley Division
View profile on the Derbyshire County Council website for Nigel Gourlay
Stephen Fowke
Derby City Council
Alvaston South Ward
View profile on Derby City Council website for Stephen Fowke
Ndukwe Onuoha
Derby City Council
Mackworth and New Zealand Ward
View profile on Derby City Council website for Ndukwe Onuoha
Gulfraz Nawaz
Derby City Council
Arboretum Ward
View profile on Derby City Council website for Gulfraz Nawaz
The Fire Authority's Work Programme which contains a break down of the terms of reference by meeting.
FRA Committee Annual Work Programme 2023-24.pdf (pdf 205.00 KB)
The Fire & Rescue Authority holds a number of meetings throughout the year, one of which is the annual general meeting (AGM) during which a Chair and Vice Chair for the following year are elected. A further five meetings a year are held, one of which includes the Annual Budget.
The Fire Authority meetings deal with the following issues which are known as its terms of reference:
Papers from meetings prior to those shown here are available on request by submitting a Freedom of Information request.
Meeting papers will be available here 5 clear days ahead of the meeting.
Please note that PDF versions may not be fully accessible
7 December 2023
8 February 2024
28 March 2024
27 June 2024 (AGM)
FRA Meeting - 21 September 2023
FRA Meeting - 29 June 2023 (AGM)
FRA Meeting - 30 March 2023
FRA Meeting - 9 February 2023
FRA Meeting - 1 December 2022
Fire & Rescue Authority Meeting Papers 22-12-01 Open (pdf 7,234.82 KB)
FRA Meeting - 22 September 2022
FRA Meeting 22 September 2022 (pdf 824.11 KB)
Fire Rescue Authority Meeting Papers 2022-07-28 OPEN.pdf (pdf 4,063.36 KB)
Fire Rescue Authority Meeting Papers 2022-06-30 OPEN.pdf (pdf 15,321.24 KB)
Fire & Rescue Authority Meeting Papers 2022-03-24 - OPEN (pdf 3,694.44 KB)
Fire & Rescue Authority Meeting Papers 2022-02-10 - OPEN (pdf 1,953.34 KB)
The Fire & Rescue Authority members are involved in a number of working groups and forums that interact with each other and that cover a range of issues. The inter-relating structure of these committees is shown in the image below.
The Local Government Act 2000 requires the Authority to have a written constitution that acts as its rule book. This Handbook includes key documents such as the:
Standing Orders Relating To Procedures pdf 161.97 KB
Scheme Of Delegation (July 2020) pdf 133.64 KB
Local Code of Corporate Governance 2022 pdf 344.63 KB
Fire authority members code of conduct pdf 318.36 KB
These form part of the Authority’s Constitution which sets out the Authority’s powers and the procedures to be followed to ensure that decisions made by the Authority are transparent and properly accounted for.
Documents that provide information and advice for the members of the Fire & Rescue Authority are available below to view or download.
Fire authority members code of conduct pdf 318.36 KB
Scrutiny of finance councillors workbook pdf 374.96 KB
Protocol on member - officer relations pdf 172.79 KB
Local Code of Corporate Governance 2022 pdf 344.63 KB
The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England states that fire and rescue authorities and their services remain free to operate in a way that enables the most efficient and effective delivery of their services. However, this freedom and flexibility means that fire and rescue services need to demonstrate that they are accountable to their communities and transparent and states that each Fire and Rescue authority must provide annual assurance by producing a Statement of Assurance on the following key areas:
Annual Governance Statement 2020-21 (pdf 300.99 KB)
Do you have a question you would like to ask at a Fire & Rescue Authority, would you like to submit a petition to support your viewpoint, do you have a complaint you would like to make about the Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority or the conduct of its members?
This page contains specific information for submitting feedback and questions regarding the Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority. If you wish to view the feedback and complaints information for the wider Fire & Rescue Service please visit the general feedback and complaints page.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority is keen to receive feedback from all residents, visitors and from people working or studying in Derbyshire.
Please read the following information that is relevant to how you would like to submit your question or feedback.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority is keen to receive feedback from all residents, visitors and from people working or studying in Derbyshire.
Please read the following information that is relevant to how you would like to submit your question or feedback.
Subject to the time limit for Public Question time, members of the public can ask up to three questions at the meetings of the full Fire and Rescue Authority. Any question you wish to ask needs to be put down in writing and sent to the Service Solicitor no later than 12 noon eight working days before the full Fire and Rescue Authority meeting on the Thursday (for example, the questions must be received by 12 noon on Monday 19 June for a Fire Authority meeting on Thursday 29 June). These may be submitted by either of the following methods:
Send an e-mail to mailto:ltaylor@derbys-fire.gov.uk
In Writing
Send the details to:
Solicitor / Monitoring OfficerWe recognise that petitions are a useful way to let us know about your concerns.
Any petition must contain the following information:
A minimum of 10 signatories from 5 separate households is required in order for a response to be made.
Guidance on how to submit a petition and the actions the Authority will take is provided in the Petitions Protocol which can be downloaded below.
Protocol for Submission of Petitions (pdf 201.30 KB)
If you have any concerns about the way in which the Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority, or its Members conduct themselves, please contact the Monitoring Officer in confidence in either of the following ways:
Solicitor / Monitoring Officer
Louise Taylor
DFRS Headquarters
Butterley Hall
Ripley
Derby
DE5 3RS
Your enquiry will be treated confidentially and a response made following investigation of the facts in each case.