Agenda item

The Community Risk Management Plan 2022-26 has been developed, providing data and analysis on key fire and rescue related risks, and information on how Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service will work with communities to address and mitigate those risks.  The purpose of the report is to raise awareness of a public consultation on the Plan which opens on 5 January 2022 and closes on 16 February 2022 and to provide an opportunity for feedback from Local Area Council into the process.

The Local Area Council received a presentation from the Chief Fire Officer on the draft Community Risk Management Plan 2022 – 2026.? He introduced his colleagues also in attendance: Graeme Binning, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, and Deborah Brown, Strategic Policy, Risk and Performance Officer 

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He explained that all fire and rescue authorities were required to produce a Community Risk Management Plan which must:? 

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• reflect up to date risk analyses;? 
• demonstrate how prevention, protection andresponse activities would best be used to preventand mitigate the impact of identified risks on itscommunities;? 

• outline required service delivery outcomesincluding the allocation of resources;? 
• set out its management strategy and risk-basedprogramme for enforcing the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005;? 
• cover at least a three-year time span;?  
• reflect effective consultation throughout its development; and? 
• be easily accessible and publicly available.? 
   

The plan would need to be reviewed as often was required, for example, as it had been in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.? An annual update reviewed performance, changes to risk and whether this impacted on the service.? 

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The plan set out the definition of risk as a 'combination of the likelihood and consequence of a hazardous event' and provided more information to explain the risk analysis process and the 10 most frequently attended incidents in the previous 5 years.? Over 90% of attendances were attributable to these incident types and rarely changed which allowed the service to target resources effectively.? Dwelling fires were highlighted as one of the top incidents and the plan set out what they did to reduce risk and what they planned to do, to further reduce risk.? 

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The fire and rescue service also needed to be prepared to respond to emerging risks, which although infrequent, had the potential for a high impact.? This included:? 

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• Climate change and extreme weather events.? 
• Pandemic.? 
• Future housing and commercial development.? 
• Ageing population and increased vulnerability.? 

• British Volt.? 
• Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Rail Line.? 

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The aims and priorities for 2022/23 were outlined.? 

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Consultation on the plan had commenced on 5 January 2022 and was due to close on 16 February 2022.? Councillors and members of the public were encouraged to respond to the survey or provide feedback to allow the fire and rescue service to better shape and deliver their service.?It was agreed that the link to the consultation be shared with members after the meeting.  

The following comments were made in response to member’s questions: 

• Members congratulated the Chief Officer and his team for an excellent report. Thanks was also given to Northumberland Fire & Rescue for their continued hard work. 
• It was confirmed that the PowerPoint and links to the consultation would be shared with the members after the meeting.  

• The end date of the consultation was confirmed as Wednesday 16^th February 2022. 
• Members noted that the reduced use of jargon in the report and Risk Management Plan meant the document was more accessible to the public.  
• Members noted the statistics included in the report were current and the plan was implemented for four years but were advised that there would be yearly updates. 

RESOLVED that the presentation be received.