Acting to Protect and Save Reflections on the Combination of Devon and Somerset CFO Paul Young and Cllr Bernard Hughes (Chairman)

Acting to Protect and Save What Did We Do and Why Did We Do It? Combined Devon and Somerset into a new single Fire and Rescue Service Combined Devon and Somerset into a new single Fire and Rescue Service Increased organisational capacity Increased organisational capacity Improved efficiency Improved efficiency Improved effectiveness Improved effectiveness Greater value for money Greater value for money Benefits to the council taxpayer Benefits to the council taxpayer

Acting to Protect and Save The Planning Process Initially officer led Initially officer led Comprehensive Performance Assessment results prompted action Comprehensive Performance Assessment results prompted action Political endorsement Political endorsement Professional/political engagement Professional/political engagement Management Team engagement Management Team engagement CLG engagement CLG engagement

Acting to Protect and Save Options Appraisal Status Quo Status Quo Enhanced collaboration Enhanced collaboration Full combination Full combination Staff and union engagement Staff and union engagement External political engagement External political engagement

Acting to Protect and Save Business Case External consultant used to assist External consultant used to assist Completed April 2006 Completed April 2006 Full combination the favoured option Full combination the favoured option Budget predictions made over a 5 year horizon Budget predictions made over a 5 year horizon Transitional costs of £429k in 2006/07 Transitional costs of £429k in 2006/07 Transitional costs of £630k in 2007/08 Transitional costs of £630k in 2007/08 Net savings from year one onwards Net savings from year one onwards

Acting to Protect and Save Political Dimension Authority Members Authority Members CLG and Minister CLG and Minister Local Members of Parliament Local Members of Parliament Councillors Councillors Constituent Authorities Constituent Authorities Chief Executives Chief Executives

Acting to Protect and Save Financial Dimension Council tax; CFRA v County Council Council tax; CFRA v County Council Devon £61.26 Somerset £58.77 Devon £61.26 Somerset £58.77 Extraction of corporate costs attributable to Fire and Rescue from Somerset County Council Extraction of corporate costs attributable to Fire and Rescue from Somerset County Council Grant allocation negotiations Grant allocation negotiations Alternative Notional Amount 2006/07£60.46 Alternative Notional Amount 2006/07£60.46 Combined Authority council tax 2007/08£63.47 Combined Authority council tax 2007/08£63.47 Increase to Devon council tax payer3.6% Increase to Devon council tax payer3.6% Increase to Somerset council tax payer8.0% Increase to Somerset council tax payer8.0%

Acting to Protect and Save Staffing Dimension Communication, communication, communication! Communication, communication, communication! Staff face-to-face briefings Staff face-to-face briefings Intranet page Intranet page Questions and answers Questions and answers Monthly staff bulletin Monthly staff bulletin Vertical slice workshop Vertical slice workshop Group discussions Group discussions Interim Leadership Team Interim Leadership Team Organisational structure consultations Organisational structure consultations No compulsory redundancies No compulsory redundancies

Acting to Protect and Save Industrial Relations Dimension Fire Brigades Union Fire Brigades Union Fire Officers Association Fire Officers Association Retained Firefighters Union Retained Firefighters Union UNISON UNISON

Acting to Protect and Save Community Response Comprehensive public consultation not undertaken Comprehensive public consultation not undertaken CLG undertook stakeholder consultation CLG undertook stakeholder consultation All reports in public domain All reports in public domain Regular press releases Regular press releases Consultation of MP’s, councils, etc. Consultation of MP’s, councils, etc. Public opinion telephone survey Public opinion telephone survey

Acting to Protect and Save Project Work Streams Project team worked on 10 key work streams: information communication technology infrastructure information communication technology infrastructure finance finance procurement procurement constitutional arrangements constitutional arrangements organisational structure and human resources organisational structure and human resources service delivery service delivery physical assets physical assets corporate branding and identity corporate branding and identity service planning service planning communication and consultation communication and consultation

Acting to Protect and Save Devon and Somerset

Acting to Protect and Save Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority 25 Elected Members 25 Elected Members 11 Members from Devon County Council 11 Members from Devon County Council 8 Members from Somerset County Council 8 Members from Somerset County Council 4 Members from Plymouth City Council 4 Members from Plymouth City Council 2 Members from Torbay Council 2 Members from Torbay Council

Acting to Protect and Save Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service 13 wholetime shift stations 13 wholetime shift stations 1 day crewed station 1 day crewed station 67 retained stations 67 retained stations 2 volunteer stations 2 volunteer stations 128 pumping appliances, 48 special appliances 128 pumping appliances, 48 special appliances 2,250 employees 2,250 employees 4,000 square miles 4,000 square miles 1.6+ million population 1.6+ million population £70 million revenue budget £70 million revenue budget

Acting to Protect and Save Combination Timetable December 2005Options Appraisal December 2005Options Appraisal 25/26 April 2006Business Case adoption 25/26 April 2006Business Case adoption 2 October 2006CLG Consultation 2 October 2006CLG Consultation 16 October 2006 Order made 16 October 2006 Order made 23 October 2006 Order laid in Parliament 23 October 2006 Order laid in Parliament 13 November 2006Parliamentary approval 13 November 2006Parliamentary approval 1 December 2006Shadow Authority meets 1 December 2006Shadow Authority meets 12 February 2007Budget determination 12 February 2007Budget determination 1 April 2007New Authority formed 1 April 2007New Authority formed

Acting to Protect and Save Lessons Learnt Business case must support the need for central government financial support Business case must support the need for central government financial support Fortunate timing – just lucky! Fortunate timing – just lucky! Progress the project quickly Progress the project quickly Importance of internal communications at middle management level Importance of internal communications at middle management level

Acting to Protect and Save Lessons Learnt Transitional Costs Transitional Costs Corporate Identity and Culture Corporate Identity and Culture Interim Leadership Team Interim Leadership Team Dealing with mutual suspicion Dealing with mutual suspicion Benefits Realisation Benefits Realisation

Acting to Protect and Save Is this the Future? Number of Fire and Rescue Services Number of Fire and Rescue Services 19381, ,

Acting to Protect and Save Is this the Future? We believe the future must be bigger and, therefore, fewer Fire and Rescue Services in the UK! We believe the future must be bigger and, therefore, fewer Fire and Rescue Services in the UK!