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ITEM CM12 COMMUNITY SAFETY SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - 30 APRIL 2007 FIRE SERVICE COMMAND AND CONTROL ROOM – THE FiReControl PROJECT Report by Area Manager Colin Thomas (Oxfordshire’s Senior User for the FiReControl and Firelink Projects and Joint Regional Project Board member) Purpose/Background 1. This note brings Members up to date following earlier reports. Further information is available via the national FiReControl and Firelink websites https://fire-control.org.uk/, https://firelink.org.uk a new FRS website https://frsonline.fire.gov.uk and through a periodic local briefing note available on the OCC inter/intranet (under Community Safety / Fire and Rescue Services / Projects). Project Timescale 2. The Fire Minister, Angela Smith MP, announced on 8 March 2007 that EADS had been selected as the contractor to deliver the Infrastructure Services Contract for FiReControl. The formal contract signing took place on 30 March with a formal announcement to the media on 4 April. DCLG issued top level contracted dates for both FireLink and FiReControl with the announcement. For Oxfordshire these were: · FireLink Phase A (mainly integration of the new radios in Control and a small number of trial vehicles) is planned to happen in June 07 · FireLink Phase B (the installation of all Airwave radios in vehicles) is planned to be completed by September 08 · The cutover of our control service to the South East RCC is planned to happen in January 2011. 3. DCLG have now issued a new version of the FiReControl Project Plan which now includes contractual dates that reflect the timescale for the planned cutover of control services for Oxfordshire. We can now start the detailed development of our own plans although the detailed contractor plans will not be released for some months. Similarly, the Full Business Case should be reissued shortly. We have been told that this will include the costs of the Infrastructure Contract but we believe will still lack accurate staff costs. If our assessment is correct, we will require further development of the Business Case before we can have any confidence that it will give us a reliable cost for the RCC. 4. The FireLink project team were expecting to issue the Individual Detailed Design Specification (IDDS) in mid April 2007 following the Due Diligence Visit carried out in September 2006. This is now 5 months late. However, it is believed that FireLink team have formally rejected the latest version of the IDDS which has been returned to the contractor for amendment – the length of any subsequent delay is unknown. FireLink have formally acknowledged a programme delay of 2 months for Phase A and Airwave, the contractor, has had to pay a penalty. However, the project team still believe that the delivery of Phase B can be achieved within the original programme timings. Accommodation 5. Work continues apace on the site of the South East Regional Control Centre at Kite’s Croft Business Park in Fareham. The foundations are completed and the steelwork is in place up to first floor level. The building is expected to be completed by May 2008 when the communications and IT systems will begin to be installed. Setting Up the Local Authority Controlled Company 6. The process to set up the LACC has been on hold until the relationship between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire became clear. We now believe that the IOW Council have voted against a merger and, if this is correct, work can recommence. However, even with this news, registration of the Company is unlikely to take place before July 07. In the meantime, the Regional Project Team have instructed a solicitor to continue development of the Members Agreement. The major item to be agreed within the Members Agreement is that of cost apportionment for the RCC which will need to be debated at the RMB. The establishment of the Company is central to the eventual resolution of the major personnel issues such as TUPE, and conditions of service in the new Control Centre. FireLink Activity 7. FireLink have now formally signed Milestone 1 with the contractor, Airwave. This has released the first stage payment to the contractor, minus the penalty for the delay. In all areas we continue the work for FireLink Phase A and B. The formal implementation of Phase A is now imminent and once the detailed information has been issued by the contractor and agreed by the FRS we anticipate starting the enabling works for installation as soon as possible. The assessment toolkit we have been issued to allow estimation of maintenance costs has had anomalies identified in the model it uses and is currently being revised. We therefore await a re-issue before we can model our options and determine the best way forward on this issue. The assessment of the Phase B training needs continues and a workshop is planned with FireLink on the 9th of May to take this work forward. A FireLink workshop held to examine the Fleet Mapping for the new radio system was widely regarded as poor and did not meet our requirements. This is being re-examined by the national team and we expect further work on this. Planning 8. The FiReControl national project team issued a Transition Framework 3 months ago. It is in effect a project plan without dates. It lists some 1600 activities, over 1000 of these are FRS actions necessary to deliver the Regional Control Service. Clearly a lot of work has gone into producing the plan and it is a very useful document, but without sensible times against which to develop our local plans it has limited value. However, now the Infrastructure Contract has been signed we have just received a version with contracted dates. This still lacks the detailed contractor’s planning information but nonetheless, will allow us to start developing our transition programme, evaluate the resources required and identify any shortfalls. 9. The FireLink Initial Detailed Design Specification (IDDS) had a planned issue date of 9th April. At the time of writing this report the IDDS has still not been received. Once the IDDS is received, we have 20 working days to review and comment on it before it is returned to FireLink. It sets out the work to deliver FireLink Phase A which has a planned completion of June 2007. This is a demanding timescale and, until we have had a chance to review the IDDS in detail, we are unsure if we or the contractor can meet it. In addition, DCLG have agreed to set up a Task Force to look at the interim FireLink solution (which will be in operation from Phase B until the RCC cutover) in terms of its robustness and operation. This could also impact on the timing of Phase A. We await further information. Funding 10. At the time of writing we still await the issue of the Full Business Case following the signing of the Infrastructure Services contract for FiReControl. This version will include the ‘real’ costs of the Infrastructure Contract but will still not reflect reliable figures for RCC staffing. As staff costs will represent around 50% of the total running cost of the RCC this is still a significant area where actual costs will not be reflected in the Full Business Case. DCLG still maintain that an overall saving of 30% will be achieved. However, the South East Region Fire Finance Working Group, with financiers from each FRS in the region, does not agree the figures on which this estimate is based. We have yet to see the assumptions DCLG have used in constructing the Business Case; we expect to see these once the next version of the Full Business Case is issued. 11. Concerns remain that we will be unable to resource the very large amount of work that needs to be undertaken to implement FiReControl as well as FireLink. Fire Service Circular 76-2006 outlined the additional funds the DCLG was making available but currently, without a firm plan, we do not know if they are sufficient to meet the tasks we face. West Sussex are about to start discussions with DCLG , on behalf of the South East region, to determine the practical process to bid for New Burdens funding where FRSs identify a shortfall in resource against their planning targets. Now we have a national level plan with reasonably firm dates we need to undertake our own internal planning exercise to identify resource issues and the funding required. COLIN THOMAS Tel: (01865) 855211 April 2007
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