Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no declarations of interest received.

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member’s delegated powers.

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

There were none received.

Currently council meetings are taking place in-person (not virtually) with social distancing operating in the venues.  However, members of the public who wish to speak at this meeting can attend the meeting ‘virtually’ through an online connection.  Places at the meeting are very limited due to the requirements of social distancing.  While you can ask to attend the meeting in person, you are strongly encouraged to attend ‘virtually’ to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection.

Please also note that in line with current government guidance all attendees are strongly encouraged to take a lateral flow test in advance of the meeting.

Normally requests to speak at this public meeting are required by 9.00 a.m. on the day preceding the published date of the meeting. However, during the current situation and to facilitate these new arrangements we are asking that requests to speak are submitted by no later than 9.00 a.m. four working days before the meeting i.e. 9.00 a.m. on 15 September 2021. Requests to speak should be sent to lucy.tyrrell@oxfordshire.gov.uk.  You will be contacted by the officer regarding the arrangements for speaking.

If you ask to attend in person, the officer will also advise you regarding Covid-19 safety at the meeting.  If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails, then your views can still be taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9.00 a.m. 2 working days before the meeting i.e. Friday 17 September 2021. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

There were none received.

Forward Plan Ref: 2021/139

Contact: Rob MacDougall, Director for Community Safety & Chief Fire Officer Tel: 07881 583208

Report by Director for Community Safety & Chief Fire Officer.

The Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA) collaborate successfully in the operation of a single joint emergency call handling, mobilising and resource management function from a single location at Calcot in Berkshire and a fallback provision to a joint secondary control room in Kidlington in Oxfordshire (together the Thames Valley Fire Control Service). 

The FRAs have statutory responsibilities under sections 7(2)(a); 8(2)(a) and 9(3)(a) of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to secure the provision of personnel to respond to fires, road traffic incidents, and other emergencies; have powers under section 11 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to respond to other emergencies; and have duties placed on them as Category 1 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and regulations made pursuant to it (the “Statutory Functions”).

The FRAs recognise that the Covid 19 Pandemic is a national crisis that continues to test the capacity of the Services to protect the public from the impacts of the Covid 19 Pandemic, and acknowledge the risk that its Principal Officers may themselves become incapacitated through illness or the requirements of Covid 19 self-isolation such that such scenarios could compromise the ability of an FRA to discharge its Statutory Functions.

The FRAs therefore wish to enter into arrangements under section 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 for the discharge of the Statutory Functions of one FRA by another FRA through their respective cadres of Principal Officer acting as Level 4 Incident Commanders on the terms set out in the legal agreement.

The Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety is RECOMMENDED to authorise the sealing of the legal agreement which will allow Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue to enter arrangements under section 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 for the discharge of the Statutory Functions of one FRA by another FRA through their respective cadres of Principal Officers acting as Level 4 Incident Commanders across the Thames Valley.

Mr Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer presented the item which reported on the successful collaborate operation of a single joint emergency call handling, mobilising and resource management function from a single location at Calcot in Berkshire and a fallback provision to a joint secondary control room in Kidlington in Oxfordshire (together the Thames Valley Fire Control Service).

The FRAs have statutory responsibilities under sections 7(2)(a); 8(2)(a) and 9(3)(a) of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to secure the provision of personnel to respond to fires, road traffic incidents, and other emergencies; have powers under section 11 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to respond to other emergencies; and have duties placed on them as Category 1 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and regulations made pursuant to it (the “Statutory Functions”).

The FRAs recognise that the Covid 19 Pandemic is a national crisis that continues to test the capacity of the Services to protect the public from the impacts of the Covid 19 Pandemic and acknowledge the risk that its Principal Officers may themselves become incapacitated through illness or the requirements of Covid 19 self-isolation such that such scenarios could compromise the ability of an FRA to discharge its Statutory Functions.

The FRAs therefore wish to enter into arrangements under section 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 for the discharge of the Statutory Functions of one FRA by another FRA through their respective cadres of Principal Officer acting as Level 4 Incident Commanders on the terms set out in the legal agreement.

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, noted the strong working relationships developed by these collaborative working practices and asked how many principal officers worked across the services.  Mr MacDougall responded that officers work on a level 4 strategic rota, of which there are 5 officers in Oxfordshire and 8 across the remaining counties.