Agenda item

Governance of the West Midlands Fire Service

Report of the Chief Executive.

Minutes:

Further to Minute 69/17, the Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive, which provided an overview of the public consultation evaluation in respect of the Mayoral West Midland Combined Authority (WMCA) Governance Scheme for the West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) and sought consent to the submission of the Scheme and consultation to the Secretary of State for the Home Office, the Home Secretary.

 

The WMCA supported the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority’s (WMFRA) broad proposal for the transfer of its functions to the Mayoral WMCA on 3rd March 2017.  On the 8 September 2017 the WMCA board noted the indicative timeline for the proposed governance route and approved the development of a governance review and scheme for the Mayoral WMCA governance of WMFS pursuant to Sections 111 and 112 (1d) of Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.

 

The Governance Review provided a review of existing governance arrangements and functions, including the proposed new model and its benefits under the Mayoral WMCA.  As part of the review, the WMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee formed a Task and Finish Group to consider and make recommendations around the future Governance model.

 

The Scheme, presented to Cabinet on the 31st October 2017 and Council on the 5th December 2017, detailed the roles, accountabilities, and powers required by each individual and body in the proposed governance model.

 

In adherence to section 112 of Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, which states that a combined authority must seek the approval of its constituent councils on the governance review and scheme, all seven constituent councils were consulted between October and November 2017.   Unanimous support for the proposed scheme was received from all seven constituent councils, along with approval to proceed to a public consultation. Comments received from councils included: that the fire budget and fire reserves be ring-fenced, that the Mayor appoint the Chair of the Mayoral Fire Advisory Committee (MFAC) in consultation with Constituent Council Leaders, and that MFAC be composed of no fewer than 15 members to ensure sufficient representation from all constituent authorities. As part of the public consultation exercise the Scheme was revised to reflect these concerns and was set out at Appendix A of the report submitted.

 

A formal public consultation on the proposed scheme was launched on 11th January 2018 for a period of eight weeks to 8 March 2018.  This was pursuant to section 113 (3) Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.  The consultation was a requirement for the making of an order, which stipulated that the Secretary of State must not only consult constituent councils within a combined authority’s area but also must have ‘due regard to the need - (a) To reflect the identities and interests of local communities and (b) To secure effective and convenient local government'.  Details of the consultation responses was set out in Section 3 of the report submitted along with a Consultation Outcome Evaluation at Appendix B.

 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

 

1.  Note the outcomes of the formal public consultation.

 

2.  Agree to consent to the submission of the Scheme together with the results of the Consultation to the Secretary of State for the Home Office so as to enable the transfer of governance of West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority (WMFRA) to the Mayoral West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

 

3.  Delegate authority to the Chief Executive following consultation with the Leader of the Council to approve the draft order received from Government to be laid before parliament, to enable the changes for WMCA to assume governance of WMFS.

Supporting documents: