Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Mr F Cassidy, Mr D Gawne and Mr T Markley

There were no changes in membership at the meeting.

There were no disclosures of interest made at the meeting.

There were no items on the Agenda that required the exclusion of press and public

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 10 June 2022 (copy enclosed).

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2022 be agreed as a correct record

To consider a report by the Chief Fire Officer (copy enclosed).

A report was considered from the Chief Fire Officer on the future of Fire Service Governance. The report outlined the current position and future direction of travel of governance.

The Chief Fire Officer talked members through the process of Local Government Reorganisation in Cumbria. He detailed the future governance of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) as it had not been included in the Structural Change Order. The actions of the Police and Crime Commissioner were outlined. This included the drafting of a Business Case to take over the governance of CFRS which had been subsequently approved in August 2022 by the Home Secretary.

Members were informed of the arrangements for CFRS under the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and advised that the legislation to deal with the change was different to that for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). Officers were currently working on disaggregation of the CFRS from Cumbria County Council, aligning it with the PCC Business Case.

A member queried if the Chief Fire Officer was content with how the work relating to the Resilience Unit was progressing and how it would work after Vesting Day. The Chief Fire Officer advised that the decisions relating to the Resilience Unit were safe and pragmatic and added that retaining the Cumbrian footprint was the best option.

The same member asked if the Chief Fire Officer was satisfied with the plans for CFRS. The Chief Fire Officer explained that he was, as long as CFRS received high quality scrutiny of its governance. He talked about other Fire Services which had followed the same reorganisation route, the discussions that had been undertaken with the Unions and the engagement and communications that had taken place with staff.

The current Chairman of the Police and Crime Panel asked how the Panel would work in future. The Chief Fire Officer explained how CFRS would be scrutinised by an expanded Police and Crime Panel using the current structure of the Panel.

A member asked if measures were underway in planning for the change which would require a Risk Management Plan and what was being done to mitigate risk. The Chief Fire Officer reported that all risks had been identified using the same guidelines as those used for the Local Government Reorganisation process and explained his role on the Programme Board.

After referring to  the programme of work for day one requirements, a member highlighted his concerns about staff. He asked about how part time workers and those doing part time support work for both the CFRS and County Council would be handled and if staff would be relocated. The Chief Fire Officer explained the work undertaken on the number of posts needed, highlighting the complexity of some cases. Decisions around people would be undertaken next and it was noted that in terms of relocating staff, there would be an emphasis on minimising impact on staff.

A member commented on the importance of an organisational structure chart which identified posts. The Chief Fire Officer undertook to share this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

To consider a report by the Executive Director – Economy and Infrastructure (copy enclosed).

A detailed presentation on Nature Recovery and Natural Capital was given by the Senior Manager - Environment and Regulatory Services. An introduction to the presentation was given by the Assistant Director - Environment and Enterprise.

The presentation covered the following:

·         Nature Recovery Natural Cap

·         Nature Recovery Projects

·         Local Nature Recovery Strategy

·         Planting for pollinators

·         Local Authority Treescapes Fund

·         Cumbria Coastal Community Forest

·         Trees for Climate Fund and the Governance

·         Delivery

·         Ambition

·         Cumbria County Council’s Environment Fund

·         Biodiversity Net Gain

·         Nutrient Neutrality 

·         Natural Capital

·         Borderlands – Natural Capital

·         Cumbria Innovative Flood Resilience (CIFR)

·         Community Preparedness and Resilience

·         CIFR Project Principles

·         Natural Flood Management at Scale

·         Farming and Community Officers

·         Benefits for Cumbria – nature, people and climate

The Assistant Director - Environment and Enterprise outlined what Nature Recovery and Natural Capital was and highlighted the great deal of work being undertaken by the County Council’s Environment and Infrastructure directorate in these areas. He noted the rare flora and fauna in Cumbria and added that he had been particularly struck by the statistics contained within the presentation.

Members asked their questions throughout the presentation.

A member referred to the restoration and management of peatlands, highlighting that people were planting trees in areas of peat soil. He was interested to know if there was a strategy on this matter. The Senior Manager - Environment and Regulatory Services commented that officers were ensuring that excessive overplanting of trees (greenwashing) was avoided and there should be a focus on the planting of diverse plants. This was being managed through the Local Nature Recovery Strategy maps.

Members were offered a demonstration of the Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Habitat Basemap and a visit to one of the Planting for Pollinators projects.

With regard to Planting for Pollinators, a member asked if the funding available for habitat creation and restoration was to purchase land. The Senior Manager - Environment and Regulatory Services reported that funding would be used for working with organisations and that private landowners were volunteering land. She drew member’s attention to the site locations and invited members to suggest potential locations. A number of Members commented positively on the Planting for Pollinators project, with one member asking about the plans for maintaining the sites following the establishment of 2 unitary authorities. The  Senior Manager - Environment and Regulatory Services reported on the work being undertaken on protecting the sites for the future which would be passed onto the Unitary Authorities who it was anticipated would have the same aspirations for the project.

A member talked about the importance of wildlife corridors to the residents in his electoral division, hoping these would not be cut down. He highlighted that some natural areas were threatened by developments and asked that consideration was given to the natural environment when processing planning applications. The Senior Manager - Environment and Regulatory Services advised that changes to planning law and the introduction of the biodiversity net gain in the Environment Act 2021 to ensure that these decisions were made at a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To consider a report by the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services (copy enclosed).

This report informs members of new and updated items of significance to the Board (including relevant aspects of the Council’s Forward Plan and Key Decisions).

A report from the Strategic Policy and Scrutiny Advisor was considered. This provided members with the Board’s Work Programme and the County Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

Members were reminded that the Board needed to have a full Work Programme until the end of the Board’s existence in March 2023.

The Chair asked for a report on Electrical Waste at the Board’s meeting on 30 November 2022 which detailed the methods of material recovery and how costs were recovered.

A member asked the Chief Fire Officer what plans Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service had for dealing with electric car fires. The Chief Fire Officer reported on a national project on new products to deal with the extinguishment of electric car fires. The member asked for an update on this matter when available.

A short discussion took place on the handover of successful Scrutiny work from the County Council to the new Unitary Authorities. A member advised that the Scrutiny Management Board would be collating this work for handover. The Chair asked members to advise him or the Strategic Policy and Scrutiny Advisor of any scrutiny work that they thought would inform the future work of the Unitary Authorities and this could be forwarded on.

Members reviewed the Forward Plan of Key Decisions. The Chair welcomed that the new Windermere Ferry would be electric.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

To note that the next meeting of the Board will be held on 30 November 2022 at 10 am in Cumbria House, Carlisle.

The next meeting of the Board will be held on 30 November 2022 at 10.00am at Cumbria House, Botchergate, Carlisle.