Agenda item

To put questions, if any, to the designated Members on the discharge of functions of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11(5).

There were 9 questions for the designated spokespersons:

1.    Councillor Ball: Rotherham’s night-time fire cover, once a shining beacon of protection, has dwindled alarmingly over the past decade. What stirring actions, what bold and decisive measures, have you personally undertaken to arrest this deeply worrying erosion of safety for our residents?

Councillor McKiernan explained that Rotherham fire station continued to provide 24/7 cover, supported by other stations and fire engines across the borough and across the county. The fire and rescue service had received significant, real-term reductions in funding since 2010. Councillor McKiernan stated that the bold and decisive measures that Councillor Ball took were to join the Conservative Party and become an advocate for austerity. Meanwhile, it has continued to receive single year funding settlements for many years, creating further financial uncertainty. Both the service and the Authority had continued to lobby successive government ministers for a fair and long term funding settlement for the fire and rescue service. The service reviewed its risk management planning annually as part of its established Community Risk Management Plan process.

In his role on the Fire Authority, Councillor McKiernan stated that he would be supporting the responsible decisions that needed to be taken, based on the risks facing the service and the public, and supporting a government that would back public services, not one that undermined them at every turn.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked Councillor McKiernan to provide specific examples (names, dates, decisions) of meaningful change .

Councillor McKiernan advised Councillor Ball to search online.

2.    Councillor Ball: Dearne’s on-call pump, a critical lifeline for large-scale emergencies, has become about as reliable as a British summer. What plans, what mighty and immediate steps, do you have to restore this vital resource to a state of robust operational readiness, ensuring that the people of Rotherham are not left high and dry in their hour of need?

Councillor McKiernan explained that the service continued to take steps to improve the availability of its on-call fire engines- including at Dearne fire station. This included the regular recruitment and training of new on-call firefighters (including 6 at Dearne in 2024) and the introduction of an on-call support team, which had had a big impact on the availability of on-call fire engines across the county. All fire and rescue services in the UK faced challenges in recruiting sufficient numbers of on-call firefighters due to the very specific eligibility requirements for the role, but Councillor McKiernan was confident the service was taking appropriate steps to address this issue in South Yorkshire.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked how the people of Rotherham could trust the plan to improve the reliability of on-call fire engines at Dearne fire station when the problem had persisted for years? He asked if the timeline was weeks, months or another decade.

Councillor McKiernan stated that he had not been on the Fire Authority long enough to know the specific details but as Councillor Ball had previously been a member, Councillor McKiernan suggested he may know some of the details himself.

3.    Councillor Ball: Given the grim decline in Rotherham’s fire cover, what representations have you personally made—what fiery speeches, what persuasive appeals—to ensure that sufficient resources and personnel are available to protect the safety of our community?

Councillor McKiernan explained that the Fire Authority wrote to ministers in the autumn calling for a longer term financial settlement, capital investment funding and council tax precept flexibility. Nationally, the Chief Fire Officer continued to join other services in lobbying government for stable, long term funding via the National Fire Chiefs Council. The Authority welcomed this government’s decision to allow Fire Authority’s to raise their council tax precept by £5 to help address their ongoing financial challenges, which were the result of significant real-terms funding reductions under the government since 2010. This council tax option would be considered by Fire Authority members at their budget setting meeting in February.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked what Councillor McKiernan had personally done.

Councillor McKiernan stated that he had attended every meeting, had been on and would be going on training sessions and he was doing the best he could in the limited amount of time he had been on the Fire Authority.

4.    Councillor Ball: How can the service justify delaying responses to secondary fires by dispatching smaller units instead of the nearest appliance, this proposal risks turning efficiency into folly. How, pray tell, does this protect the safety of our community, rather than leaving us vulnerable to the vagaries of chance?

Councillor McKiernan explained that Small Incident Units had long been used by fire and rescue services to respond to secondary fires, like bin and grass fires. Small Incident Units attended lower risk incidents like these in order to keep full size fire engines available to respond as quickly as possible to more serious, life threatening emergencies. The service constantly reviewed its data and performance to ensure that the right assets are placed in the right locations to maximise appliance availability, such as the proposed transition of the Small Incident Unit from Cudworth to Dearne.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked what the contingency plan was for when small units were tied up elsewhere, leaving secondary fires to smoulder and spread?

Councillor McKiernan stated that a full sized appliance should be available in that situation.

5.    Councillor Ball: Deploying smaller fire units to secondary fires sounds efficient on paper, but considering these units could be redirected to major incidents, how does this guarantee safety for Rotherham’s residents, are we not simply creating a system where secondary fires are left smouldering while resources are stretched thinner than a well-worn fire hose?

Councillor McKiernan explained that Small Incident Units kept fire engines available for more serious, life threatening emergencies by responding to lower risk incidents like bin and grass fires. The fire service continued to report its performance in responding to all 999 calls. In 2023/24, its average response time to all emergency incidents was 7 minutes 40 seconds.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked if Councillor McKiernan would take responsibility when major incidents arose and there were inevitable delays caused by the inefficient redistribution of resources.

Councillor McKiernan stated that he was not responsible for on the ground operations.

6.    Councillor Ball: Is the use of smaller fire units for secondary fires truly a stroke of efficiency—an innovative masterstroke worthy of applause—or is it, in reality, a penny-pinching measure dressed up in the finery of progress, what assurances can you give that this approach doesn’t leave public safety hanging by a thread?

Councillor McKiernan explained that he had answered this question previously. Small Incident Units had been used to respond to lower risk incidents, like bin and grass fires, for more than 15 years. They were also used successfully by most other fire and rescue services in the UK to achieve the same aims. Full size fire engines remained available to respond to the most serious incidents. The service would evaluate and review the movement of a Small Fire Unit from Cudworth to Dearne fire station, should this proposal be approved by the Fire Authority.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked that, if public safety was a priority, why were more robust solutions not being invested in, rather than relying on smaller, less reliable units?

Councillor McKiernan stated that front line services had been cut for the previous 14 years. He wished the Fire Authority could afford everything it wanted but it could not.

7.    Councillor Ball: You’ve endorsed public consultation on the CRMP, but have you rolled up your sleeves and properly engaged with the Fire Brigades Union, these valiant individuals represent the beating heart of our firefighting service. What effort have you made to understand their concerns and ensure their voices are not drowned out in the din of bureaucracy?

Councillor McKiernan explained that the Fire Brigades Union, along with other staff representative bodies, had been fully involved in project group meetings as the service had developed its draft Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), and the discussions which had followed its publication. The Fire Brigades Union had been invited to respond to the draft proposals. It had already responded, and this would be conscientiously considered by the service and the Authority before the final CRMP was published.

Councillor McKiernan confirmed that he had personally spoken with the Fire Brigades Union outside of meetings and had regular communications with them.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked Councillor McKiernan to explain what the CRMP was. He also asked, that if the Fire Brigade Union’s concerns were not addressed, how could the consultation be anything more than a box ticking exercise?

Councillor McKiernan restated that the FBU had been consulted and their comments had been taken seriously. However the Fire Authority had a responsibility to consult many stakeholders and take their views into account as well.

8.    Councillor Ball: Our firefighters, those brave souls who risk life and limb for us all, surely deserve a say in the CRMP consultation. Have their invaluable insights, forged in the heat of danger, been given the attention they so richly deserve, or are their concerns being swept aside like ash in the wake of ill-thought-out plans?

Councillor McKiernan explained that all staff were invited to share their views as part of a pre-consultation exercise which informed the contents of the draft CRMP. Now the draft CRMP had been published, the Authority were continuing to engage with firefighters via surveys, team briefs and meetings to seek their views on the draft proposals. Station managers were also engaging with watches to gather and record their feedback.  

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked Councillor McKiernan what the CRMP was.

Councillor McKiernan stated that it was the Community Risk Management Plan, and the title was self-explanatory. The Fire Authority had to have one and it engaged with the community and various stakeholders to access risk and provide the best possible for the community.

9.    Councillor Ball: The voices of frontline firefighters must surely ring loud and clear in shaping decisions on public safety. What specific and meaningful steps have you personally taken to ensure their expertise and experience are at the very heart of the CRMP process?

Councillor McKiernan explained that, as stated already, firefighters were asked for their views as the CRMP was being developed. This helped to inform the draft plan. Their views were now being further considered as the Authority formally consulted on the service’s draft proposals.

In his supplementary question, Councillor Ball asked what an example of a fire fighter feeding in to the CRMP would be? What meaningful suggestions might come back from a fire fighter who was risking his life?

Councillor McKiernan stated that a written response would be provided.