Agenda and minutes

Agreed:- That Councillor Jayne Dunn of Sheffield City Council be appointed Chair of the Emergency Planning Shared Services Joint Committee (Rotherham and Sheffield) for the remainder of the 2014/15 Municipal Year.

(Councillor Dunn assumed the Chair)

Agreed:- That Councillor Mahroof Hussain of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council be appointed Vice-Chair of the Emergency Planning Shared Services Joint Committee (Rotherham and Sheffield) for the remainder of the 2014/15 Municipal Year.

Agreed:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Emergency Planning Shared Services Joint Committee (Rotherham and Sheffield), held on 15^th July, 2014, be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

Consideration was given to a report, presented by the Emergency and Safety Manager, containing a summary of the current year, 2014/15 budget and also the 2015/16 budget forecast for the Emergency Planning Shared Service (Rotherham and Sheffield). The report highlighted the following salient issues:-

:  the likelihood of the 2014/15 budget remaining the same amount for the 2015/16 financial year;

:  the Shared Service is one of the least-resourced and has the lowest budget compared to other similar shared services;

:  the forecast is for a balanced budget to be achieved by 31st March, 2015 and the underspent amounts achieved in this and in previous financial years will be used to fund the Shared Service in future years;

:  the budget is shared proportionately by the two local authorities, based on the populations of their areas.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That Members of this Joint Committee be provided with detailed budget monitoring reports for the current financial year, including an explanation of the underspent budget amounts.

Consideration was given to a report, presented by the Emergency and Safety Manager, containing an overview of future proposals on both Sheffield City Council’s and Rotherham Borough Council’s corporate strategic resilience position, including business continuity management. The report stated that there are three core issues underpinning the authorities’ corporate strategic resilience:-

- People (employees volunteering for various roles);

- Buildings/premises operated by the two local authorities;

- ICT functions.

The continual review of these core issues enables any concerns to be identified and necessary measures taken to address them. The importance of employee training, including adjustments for anyone who has a disability, was emphasised.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the arrangements for the corporate strategic resilience of both local authorities, as now reported, continue to be reviewed and progress reports be submitted to future meetings of this Joint Committee.

Further to Minute No. 8 of the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 15th July, 2014, consideration was given to a report, presented by the Emergency and Safety Manager, describing various key issues affecting the development of the Emergency Planning Shared Service in 2014/15 and beyond. The issues highlighted were:-

: the Shared Service concept;

: emergency mortuary arrangements - revised arrangements have recently been agreed, as a consequence of lessons learned during the emergency planning Exercise Rutland, held during 2014;

: reservoir grant – revised emergency plans for reservoirs’ inundation have been prepared as a consequence of Exercise Rutland (2014);

: Business continuity management – work continuing and progress being made;

: Staffing issues affecting the Shared Service – details of the current establishment were included within the report; it was noted that the reduced number of staff within the Service had resulted in some amendments to the structure and that, currently, there was sufficient resilience within the Service to deliver its responsibilities;

: Internal governance arrangements were discussed, including the role of the new Strategic Resilience Management Team, at Sheffield City Council, which will be replicated at Rotherham Borough Council;

: Emergency planning training and exercises – endorsed delivery of training and exercising in line with the agreed programme, including sessions to be attended by senior management of both local authorities;

: Issues affecting the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) partner organisations were discussed - a favourable Peer Review has recently been completed and any recommendations are being progressed; a more strategic approach to Community Resilience has been adopted and a part-time post of LRF Coordinator will shortly be advertised; whilst the latter is a positive step, it will result in both local authorities incurring more expenditure, as well as the other six core LRF partners

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That Members of this Joint Committee be informed of issues which may occur locally, from time to time, necessitating an emergency planning response.

(3) That the minutes of the meetings of the Local Resilience Forum be submitted, for information, to the meetings of the relevant portfolio holder within the two local authorities.

Consideration of suitable dates:-

: Informal briefing (if required) – Tuesday 3rd March, 2015, to start at 12.30 pm

: Full Meeting – Friday 3rd July, 2015 – to start at 9.30 am  (briefing at 9.00 am)

: Informal Briefing – September, 2015 – to start at 2.00 pm

: Full Meeting – December, 2015 – to start at 2.00 pm  (briefing at 1.30 pm)

venue is Rotherham Town Hall

Consideration was given to suggested dates and times of the future meetings.

It was agreed that meetings of the Emergency Planning Shared Service Joint Committee take place on the following dates during 2015, at the Town Hall, Rotherham:-

·                Friday, 3rd July, 2015 at 9.30 a.m. with a briefing at 9.00 a.m.

·                December, 2015 (to be confirmed)