Report of the monitoring officer

OPEN

INFORMATION

ITEM 8

1) Purpose of Report

1.1 To update Members on outcomes relating to Fire Authority policies.

2) Recommendation

2.1 That Members note the contents of the Monitoring Officer’s Report.

3) Legal and Governance Matters

3.1 This report sets out the work of the Monitoring Officer and outlines the governance arrangements in place, allowing Members, to monitor performance, which should promote Member and public confidence in the Fire Authority’s arrangements.

3.2 Training and development of Members and staff already includes training on the Fire Standards Board Core Code of Ethics and how this links to the Members Code of Conduct and the Employee’s Code of Conduct. Since training of employees started in March 2022, there remains less than 100 members of staff to be trained.

3.3 The attached action plan at Appendix A will look at key areas for review in how the Service works and deals with employees’ concerns:

3.4 Regular updates will be brought to Members for monitoring purposes.

4) Financial implications

4.1 There are no adverse financial implications for the Fire Authority.

5 Risk management

5.1 This report sets out the outcomes relating to Fire Authority policies with updates to give Members an overview and help Members monitor progress on any action plans developed by officers.

This report has been consulted upon and approved by the following officers:
Strategic Leadership Team – 2 November 2022

Contact Officer:
Louise Taylor – Solicitor and Monitoring Officer    

Background Papers
GPWG Report – 5 September 2022
DFRS –Service Procedure: Complaints, Feedback and Appreciations
DFRS - Whistleblowing Public Interest Disclosure Procedure
DFRS - Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy
Our Plan 2020-2023
Fire and Rescue National Framework for England 2018    
HMICFRS Assessment of Fire and Rescue Services in England 2019

Appendix A

No.	Task	Action	Task Owner	Completion date
1	Processes and procedures allow people to speak up.	Review of policies and procedures and introduce of Speak Up campaigns.		31.03.2023
2	Awareness of the informal action being taken to monitor and report on any negative cultural patterns or trends over time.	Review options for how this information is captured and monitored.		31.12.2022
3	Ongoing training to all staff which reinforces the behaviour expected as well as how issues and concerns should be handled.	Training already in progress but review arrangements for training contents, how training is carried out, how this is monitored and evaluated.		Ongoing
4	Exit questionnaires and exit interviews could be promoted and encouraged further, and recommendations could be monitored.	Review options for how this information will be reviewed, monitored and actioned.		31.12.2022
5	Maintain and promote the avenues to allow people to seek advice and assistance and to raise concerns, internally or through an external independent organisation.	Review of policies and procedures and maintain awareness of where advice and assistance can be obtained.		Ongoing