Inte

rnal

Aud

it R

epor

t St

rate

gic

Plan

ning

Rep

ort s

tatu

s Fi

nal

Rep

ort d

ate

Janu

ary

2013

Fina

ncia

l Per

iod

2012

/13

Pre

pare

d by

Ja

y H

ussa

in (H

aine

s W

atts

)

93

Exec

utiv

e Su

mm

ary

Obj

ectiv

e of

the

audi

t

The

over

all

obje

ctiv

e of

the

aud

it w

as t

o en

sure

tha

t an

ade

quat

ely

cont

rolle

d st

rate

gic

plan

ning

fra

mew

ork

is in

pla

ce t

hat

supp

orts

the

prod

uctio

n of

a ro

bust

stra

tegi

c pl

an fo

r the

Ser

vice

.

In a

rriv

ing

at o

ur o

pini

on th

e au

dit c

over

ed th

e fo

llow

ing

area

s:

• A

revi

ew o

f th

e bu

sines

s pl

anni

ng f

ram

ewor

k do

cum

ent,

incl

udin

g

role

s an

d re

spon

sibili

ties

over

pla

nnin

g in

itiat

ion,

dev

elop

men

t of t

he

plan

, scr

utin

y an

d ap

prov

al;

• lin

kage

s bet

wee

n st

rate

gic

plan

ning

and

fina

ncia

l pla

nnin

g;

• Th

e Se

rvic

e’s

com

mun

icat

ions

ar

rang

emen

ts

and

unde

rlyin

g

mec

hani

sms

such

that

it is

tran

spar

ent h

ow s

take

hold

er v

iew

s in

form

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

and

und

erly

ing

actio

ns a

nd d

ecisi

ons;

and

• lin

kage

s be

twee

n th

e Se

rvic

e’s

stra

tegi

c pl

anni

ng c

ycle

and

tho

se o

f

part

ner o

rgan

isatio

ns.

Key

back

grou

nd in

form

atio

n

Und

er th

e Fi

re &

Res

cue

Serv

ices

Act

200

4 fir

e au

thor

ities

are

requ

ired

to

plan

for

how

the

y w

ill u

se r

esou

rces

in t

he m

ost

effe

ctiv

e w

ay t

o sa

ve

lives

, im

prov

e pu

blic

saf

ety

and

redu

ce t

he n

umbe

r of

em

erge

ncy

inci

dent

s.

This

is en

caps

ulat

ed in

the

Inte

grat

ed R

isk M

anag

emen

t Pl

an

(“IR

MP”

) w

hich

in

turn

sho

uld

refle

ct t

he s

trat

egic

and

ope

ratio

nal

dire

ctio

n of

the

Ser

vice

as

wel

l as

prov

idin

g th

e ba

sis o

f its

per

form

ance

man

agem

ent f

ram

ewor

k.

The

key

build

ing

bloc

ks t

hat

supp

ort

effe

ctiv

e st

rate

gic

plan

ning

hav

e

ther

efor

e be

en i

n pl

ace

with

in F

ire A

utho

ritie

s as

a r

esul

t of

the

requ

irem

ent

to p

rodu

ce IR

MPs

. Th

e iss

ue in

rec

ent

year

s ho

wev

er h

as

been

a te

nden

cy fo

r the

IRM

P to

bec

ome

an o

verly

cop

ious

doc

umen

t as

it se

t out

in d

etai

l list

s of

act

ions

, pro

ject

s an

d in

itiat

ives

to a

ddre

ss ri

sks.

In d

oing

so

it w

as o

verla

ppin

g w

ith t

he S

ervi

ce’s

ove

rarc

hing

str

ateg

ic

plan

an

d op

erat

iona

l st

rate

gies

(e

.g.

Peop

le

stra

tegy

, O

pera

tions

stra

tegy

). T

he n

ew N

atio

nal

Fram

ewor

k is

clea

r th

at t

he I

RMP’

s ke

y

purp

ose

is to

set o

ut th

e ke

y ris

ks to

com

mun

ities

, inf

orm

ed b

y an

alys

is of

a ra

nge

of

inte

llige

nce

sour

ce

(e.g

., de

mog

raph

ics,

so

cial

-eco

nom

ic

chan

ges,

clim

ate

chan

ge a

nd h

istor

ical

rec

ord

of in

cide

nts)

and

pro

vide

key

miti

gatin

g ac

tions

and

con

trol

s.

The

IRM

P is

very

muc

h th

e ris

k

asse

ssm

ent e

xerc

ise (s

trat

egic

and

ope

ratio

nal)

that

info

rms

the

broa

der

stra

tegi

c pl

an a

nd so

the

two

docu

men

ts o

ught

to g

o ha

nd in

han

d.

Our

opi

nion

Ove

rall,

bas

ed u

pon

the

wor

k un

dert

aken

, w

e ca

n gi

ve A

DEQ

UAT

E

assu

ranc

e on

the

leve

l of c

ontr

ol in

pla

ce to

man

age

the

risks

ass

ocia

ted

with

stra

tegi

c pl

anni

ng.

Our

opi

nion

has

bee

n in

form

ed b

y th

e fo

llow

ing

key

findi

ngs:

Area

s of g

ood

prac

tice:

• Th

e bu

sines

s pl

anni

ng f

ram

ewor

k is

embe

dded

with

in t

he S

ervi

ce,

with

goo

d un

ders

tand

ing

by p

erso

nnel

of t

he p

roce

ss.

94

• Th

e St

rate

gic

Plan

an

d IR

MP

are

now

m

utua

lly

excl

usiv

e bu

t

com

plem

enta

ry d

ocum

ents

, w

ith t

he la

test

inca

rnat

ion

of t

he I

RMP

(201

2-15

) bei

ng c

onsis

tent

with

the

exp

ecta

tions

of t

he n

ew N

atio

nal

Fram

ewor

k;

• Ro

les

and

resp

onsib

ilitie

s fo

r co

mpi

latio

n of

the

Str

ateg

ic P

lan

are

gene

rally

cle

ar, w

ith o

pera

tiona

l sta

ff in

putt

ing

into

the

com

pila

tion

proc

ess a

s app

ropr

iate

;

• Go

vern

ance

str

uctu

res,

in p

artic

ular

scr

utin

y ar

rang

emen

ts, o

ver

the

stra

tegi

c pl

anni

ng p

roce

ss (

incl

udin

g m

ediu

m t

erm

fin

anci

al p

lann

ing

and

stra

tegi

c ris

k m

anag

emen

t) a

re in

pla

ce a

nd w

orki

ng e

ffect

ivel

y;

• Th

e Se

rvic

e ha

s an

up

to

da

te

com

mun

icat

ions

st

rate

gy

and

supp

ortin

g co

nsul

tatio

n en

gage

men

t str

ateg

y. I

t has

also

dev

elop

ed a

data

base

of

com

mun

ity i

nter

est

grou

ps n

umbe

ring

som

e 20

0 th

at

incl

udes

har

d to

reac

h, v

ulne

rabl

e an

d m

inor

ity g

roup

s, fe

edba

ck fr

om

whi

ch i

s sh

ared

with

Mem

bers

and

whi

ch i

s in

tegr

ated

int

o th

e

busin

ess p

lann

ing

fram

ewor

k;

• Th

e pl

anni

ng p

roce

ss a

nd a

ctio

ns t

o ac

hiev

e th

e st

rate

gic

obje

ctiv

es

reco

gnise

the

bal

ance

bet

wee

n th

e m

aint

enan

ce o

f an

effe

ctiv

e an

d

effic

ient

resp

onse

serv

ice

and

long

er te

rm p

reve

ntat

ive

wor

k;

• Be

tter

alig

nmen

t be

twee

n CP

U/o

pera

tiona

l pr

iorit

ies

and

stra

tegi

c

obje

ctiv

es a

re b

eing

dev

elop

ed,

with

CPU

man

ager

s de

mon

stra

ting

soun

d un

ders

tand

ing

of h

ow th

eir w

ork

cont

ribut

es to

wid

er s

trat

egic

prio

ritie

s; a

nd

• Fi

nanc

ial

plan

ning

an

d ris

k as

sess

men

t (a

s pa

rt

of

the

IRM

P

com

pila

tion)

are

inte

grat

ed in

to th

e st

rate

gic

plan

ning

pro

cess

.

Area

s for

furt

her i

mpr

ovem

ent:

• Th

e ke

y ac

tions

und

erne

ath

each

of t

he s

trat

egic

obj

ectiv

es w

ithin

the

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an c

urre

ntly

do

not l

ink/

have

ref

eren

ce to

the

appr

opria

te

Serv

ice

Perf

orm

ance

Indi

cato

rs th

at w

ould

then

hel

p th

e re

ader

gau

ge

prog

ress

aga

inst

the

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

;

• Fo

llow

ing

on f

rom

the

abo

ve,

the

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an c

urre

ntly

doe

s no

t

prov

ide

an o

vera

ll as

sess

men

t of

the

res

ults

ach

ieve

d ag

ains

t th

e

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

. T

here

is

an a

sses

smen

t of

suc

cess

es b

ut g

ood

prac

tice

wou

ld r

equi

re a

n ex

plic

it as

sess

men

t ag

ains

t ke

y ob

ject

ives

and

prio

ritie

s in

clud

ing

whe

re d

esire

d ou

tcom

es h

ave

not/

are

not

bein

g ac

hiev

ed;

• Th

ough

ther

e is

refe

renc

e to

it, t

here

nee

ds to

be

grea

ter c

larit

y w

ithin

the

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an i

tsel

f as

to

how

fee

dbac

k fr

om c

onsu

ltatio

n ha

s

been

fact

ored

into

/influ

ence

d th

e ob

ject

ives

and

act

ions

set o

ut;

• A

Cha

nge

Boar

d w

as e

stab

lishe

d th

is ye

ar w

ith t

he i

nten

tion

of

ensu

ring

focu

s on

the

lon

g te

rm v

ision

. H

owev

er,

its r

ole

rem

ains

unde

r rev

iew

by

the

seni

or m

anag

emen

t tea

m; a

nd

• Th

e st

rate

gic

plan

ning

arr

ange

men

ts d

o no

t cu

rren

tly e

xplic

itly

and

fully

sup

port

act

ions

tha

t pr

omot

e gr

eate

r jo

int

wor

king

with

oth

er

orga

nisa

tions

in

th

e im

med

iate

af

term

ath

of

serio

us

inci

dent

s,

resu

lting

in t

he S

ervi

ce’s

res

ourc

es b

eing

str

etch

ed a

s it

help

s vi

ctim

s

95

of s

uch

inci

dent

s ge

t ba

ck t

o “n

orm

ality

”. W

e un

ders

tand

tha

t

deve

lopm

ents

in

th

ese

arra

ngem

ents

w

ill

be

mad

e fo

llow

ing

final

isatio

n of

the

Serv

ice’

s lon

g te

rm v

ision

(in

Dece

mbe

r 201

2).

96

Act

ion

Plan

Ex

plan

atio

n of

prio

rity

ratin

gs:

Prio

rity

Expl

anat

ion

Hig

h:

Actio

n th

at is

con

side

red

impe

rativ

e to

ens

ure

that

the

orga

nisa

tion

is n

ot e

xpos

ed to

hig

h ris

ks.

Maj

or a

dver

se im

pact

on

achi

evem

ent o

f org

anis

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

if n

ot a

dequ

atel

y ad

dres

sed.

Med

ium

: Ac

tion

that

is c

onsi

dere

d ne

cess

ary

to a

void

exp

osin

g th

e or

gani

satio

n to

sig

nific

ant r

isks

.

Low

: Ac

tion

that

is c

onsi

dere

d de

sira

ble

and

shou

ld re

sult

in e

nhan

ced

cont

rol o

r bet

ter v

alue

for m

oney

. M

inim

al a

dver

se

impa

ct o

n ac

hiev

emen

t of t

he o

rgan

isat

ion’

s ob

ject

ives

if n

ot a

dequ

atel

y ad

dres

sed.

97

Fi

ndin

g Ri

sk

Reco

mm

enda

tion

Prio

rity

Man

agem

ent A

ctio

n

1 Th

e st

rate

gic

plan

ning

fram

ewor

k Th

e Se

rvic

e ha

s co

mm

itted

to

a

long

er

term

vi

sion

(tak

ing

it to

20

20),

whi

ch w

ill c

ompe

l it

to, e

ven

mor

e th

an b

efor

e, r

evie

w i

ts l

ong

rang

e pl

anni

ng

“thi

nkin

g”

and

asso

ciat

ed

proc

esse

s.

Th

ere

was

ac

know

ledg

emen

t du

ring

disc

ussio

ns w

ith s

enio

r man

agem

ent

that

the

cur

rent

bus

ines

s pl

anni

ng

fram

ewor

k ou

ght

to t

here

fore

be

revi

ewed

to

ensu

re t

hat

it re

mai

ns

fit fo

r pur

pose

.

The

curr

ent

busin

ess

plan

ning

fr

amew

ork

may

no

t be

fit fo

r pur

pose

goi

ng

forw

ard.

For

exam

ple,

lo

nger

ra

nge

plan

ning

in

lig

ht

of

the

long

ra

nge

visio

n,

wou

ld

requ

ire

a gr

eate

r le

vel

of

scen

ario

pl

anni

ng.

Give

n th

e Se

rvic

e’s

effo

rts

to

tran

sfor

m s

ervi

ces

goin

g fo

rwar

d,

enca

psul

ated

in

its

lo

nger

te

rm

visio

n, a

rev

iew

of

the

plan

ning

fr

amew

ork

shou

ld b

e un

dert

aken

to

ens

ure

that

it r

emai

ns e

ffect

ive

an e

ffici

ent.

The

Stra

tegi

c Pl

anni

ng

Fram

ewor

k ha

s bee

n re

view

ed

and

the

fram

ewor

k no

w

incl

udes

an

annu

al sc

enar

io

plan

ning

exe

rcise

. Ta

rget

dat

e: W

ith im

med

iate

ef

fect

.

2 St

rate

gic

obje

ctiv

es

It is

curr

ently

not

ove

rtly

cle

ar w

ithin

th

e St

rate

gic

Plan

w

hich

of

th

e Se

rvic

e Pe

rfor

man

ce

Indi

cato

rs

(“SP

I”)

(as

repo

rted

per

iodi

cally

to

Mem

bers

al

read

y),

cont

ribut

es

to

the

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

, sp

ecifi

cally

th

e ou

twar

d ob

ject

ives

1 to

3.

Prog

ress

ag

ains

t th

e ke

y st

rate

gic

obje

ctiv

es c

anno

t be

re

adily

ga

uged

in

an

ef

ficie

nt w

ay.

In a

ccor

danc

e w

ith b

est

prac

tice

the

Serv

ice

shou

ld

cons

ider

hi

ghlig

htin

g m

ore

clea

rly w

ithin

the

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an

how

th

e re

leva

nt

SPIs

co

ntrib

ute

to

the

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

.

The

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an 2

013/

16 is

in

dra

ft a

t pre

sent

and

doe

s in

clud

e sp

ecifi

c m

entio

n of

w

hich

SPI

s rel

ate

to w

hich

St

rate

gic

Obj

ectiv

e

Resp

onsib

ility

: Ass

istan

t Chi

ef

Fire

Offi

cer /

Dire

ctor

of S

afet

y Ta

rget

dat

e: 1

st M

arch

201

3

98

Fi

ndin

g Ri

sk

Reco

mm

enda

tion

Prio

rity

Man

agem

ent A

ctio

n

3 W

hilst

th

ere

is a

sect

ion

in

the

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an

that

de

scrib

es

succ

esse

s an

d pe

rfor

man

ce i

t do

es

not

prov

ide

a ro

unde

d pr

é cis

of

resu

lts a

chie

ved

agai

nst t

he s

trat

egic

ob

ject

ives

. S

imila

rly,

in t

he A

nnua

l Pe

rfor

man

ce R

epor

t th

ere

is sc

ope

to m

ake

a cl

eare

r th

e lin

k be

twee

n th

e “s

trat

egic

co

ntex

t”

and

perf

orm

ance

mea

sure

s.

It is

uncl

ear t

o st

akeh

olde

rs

whe

re t

he h

eadl

ine

area

s of

im

prov

emen

t lie

an

d m

ore

impo

rtan

tly h

ow t

his

info

rmat

ion

can

then

be

us

ed to

det

erm

ine

how

the

Serv

ice

can

impr

ove.

The

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an

(and

An

nual

Pe

rfor

man

ce

repo

rt)

shou

ld

expl

icitl

y re

fer

to

thos

e ar

eas

rela

ting

to t

he s

trat

egic

obj

ectiv

es

whe

re

prog

ress

/ach

ieve

men

t ha

s fa

llen

shor

t of

exp

ecta

tions

, th

e re

ason

s fo

r the

und

er-a

chie

vem

ent

and

rem

edia

l ac

tions

tha

t w

ill b

e ta

ken

to

ensu

re

impr

ovem

ents

go

ing

forw

ard.

This

is al

read

y in

pla

ce w

ithin

th

e Se

rvic

e as

par

t of t

he

Perf

orm

ance

and

Risk

Fr

amew

ork

but w

ill in

the

futu

re a

lso b

e bu

ilt in

to th

e SP

an

d An

nual

Per

form

ance

Re

port

Re

spon

sibili

ty: A

ssist

ant C

hief

Fi

re O

ffice

r /Di

rect

or o

f Saf

ety

Targ

et d

ate:

1st M

arch

for S

P an

d 30

th S

epte

mbe

r 201

3 fo

r th

e ne

xt A

nnua

l Per

form

ance

Re

port

4 Pa

rtne

rshi

p w

orki

ng

Ther

e is

a co

nsen

sus

amon

gst s

enio

r m

anag

emen

t tha

t the

re w

ill b

e so

me

mer

it in

wor

king

mor

e cl

osel

y w

ith

othe

r or

gani

satio

ns

bett

er.

Th

e fo

rmal

m

echa

nism

fo

r do

ing

this

how

ever

rem

ains

var

iabl

e, a

lthou

gh

it is

ackn

owle

dged

tha

t th

e Lo

cal

Resil

ienc

e Fo

rum

fo

r ex

ampl

e pr

ovid

es

a so

und

plat

form

up

on

whi

ch t

o de

velo

p ar

rang

emen

ts f

or

join

t st

rate

gic

plan

ning

, pa

rtic

ular

ly

with

the

polic

e.

Pote

ntia

l ef

ficie

ncie

s in

ho

w c

omm

unity

risk

s an

d w

ider

re

quire

men

ts

are

asse

ssed

and

ref

lect

ed i

n th

e re

spec

tive

stra

tegi

c pl

ans

of t

he v

ario

us m

ajor

pa

rtne

rs m

ay n

ot b

e fu

lly

expl

oite

d.

As

part

of

th

e Se

rvic

e’s

com

mitm

ent

to

effe

ctiv

e pa

rtne

rshi

p w

orki

ng,

area

s of

po

tent

ial

syne

rgie

s ar

ound

st

rate

gic

plan

ning

, not

ably

bui

ldin

g on

exi

stin

g m

echa

nism

s suc

h as

the

Loca

l Res

ilien

ce F

orum

, to

deve

lop

conc

erte

d ac

tions

to

ac

hiev

e re

spec

tive

obje

ctiv

es

shou

ld

be

expl

ored

.

Wor

k w

ith th

e LR

F, a

nd

indi

vidu

al p

artn

ers,

is

cont

inui

ng a

nd a

num

ber o

f ar

eas a

re a

lread

y pr

ogre

ssin

g w

here

ther

e ar

e ar

eas o

f sy

nerg

y, n

otab

ly sh

ared

vo

lunt

eers

with

the

Polic

e an

d im

prov

ing

com

mun

ity

prep

ared

ness

with

a ra

nge

of

part

ners

. Thi

s will

con

tinue

as

part

of t

he w

ork

with

the

LRF

and

othe

r mul

ti ag

ency

ar

rang

emen

ts.

99

Fi

ndin

g Ri

sk

Reco

mm

enda

tion

Prio

rity

Man

agem

ent A

ctio

n

5 Th

e cu

rren

t pl

anni

ng a

rran

gem

ents

do

not

ful

ly s

uppo

rt a

ctio

ns t

hat

prom

ote

grea

ter

wor

king

with

oth

er

orga

nisa

tions

in

th

e af

term

ath

of

maj

or i

ncid

ents

-e.

g. f

lood

ing.

W

e un

ders

tand

how

ever

that

the

natu

re

and

exte

nt o

f th

e Se

rvic

e’s

role

in

help

ing

peop

le g

et b

ack

to n

orm

ality

fo

llow

ing

such

inci

dent

s is v

ery

muc

h co

ntin

gent

upo

n th

e Se

rvic

e’s

Visio

n be

ing

appr

oved

in D

ecem

ber 2

012.

In th

e af

term

ath

of a

maj

or

inci

dent

th

e Se

rvic

e’s

capa

city

may

be

stre

tche

d an

d th

e bu

rden

of

re

spon

sibili

ty

is no

t pr

opor

tiona

tely

dist

ribut

ed

amon

gst

the

vario

us

orga

nisa

tions

.

We

conc

ur w

ith t

he C

FO’s

vie

w

that

st

rate

gic

plan

ning

an

d th

e va

rious

st

rate

gies

sh

ould

, w

here

ap

prop

riate

, pr

ovid

e sig

npos

ts t

o ot

her

reso

urce

s an

d or

gani

satio

ns

in

mee

ting

pote

ntia

l fu

ture

ob

ject

ives

aro

und

reco

very

.

This

will

alle

viat

e pr

essu

res

on S

ervi

ce

reso

urce

s an

d fo

ster

gr

eate

r pa

rtne

rshi

p w

orki

ng

with

th

e pr

ivat

e se

ctor

an

d vo

lunt

eer

bodi

es.

Sign

post

ing

is ta

king

pla

ce a

t lo

cal l

evel

and

at S

trat

egic

le

vel n

ow fo

rms a

key

par

t of

the

Inte

grat

ed R

isk

Man

agem

ent P

lan

appr

oved

by

the

Auth

ority

on

14th

Dec

20

12

6 Co

nsul

tatio

n Th

e Se

rvic

e ha

s m

ade

good

pro

gres

s in

de

velo

ping

a

data

base

of

co

mm

unity

gro

ups

(ove

r 20

0) t

hat

incl

udes

m

inor

ity

and

vuln

erab

le/h

ard

to

reac

h co

mm

uniti

es.

How

wor

k w

ith t

hese

gr

oups

sha

pes

and

info

rms

Serv

ice

obje

ctiv

es

and

unde

rlyin

g ac

tions

ho

wev

er

is un

clea

r w

ithin

th

e St

rate

gic

Plan

itse

lf- i.

e. t

here

is n

o ex

plic

it lin

k be

twee

n th

e w

ork

that

th

e Se

rvic

e un

dert

akes

on

co

nsul

tatio

n an

d de

taile

d ac

tions

set

ou

t in

the

stra

tegi

c pl

ans.

Cons

ulta

tion

exer

cise

s m

ay

beco

me

an

end

in

them

selv

es

and

stak

ehol

ders

w

ill

not

be

able

to

se

e ho

w

com

mun

ity

view

s ar

e tr

ansla

ted

into

ob

ject

ives

an

d ac

tions

.

An o

vera

rchi

ng “

outp

ut”

anal

ysis

capt

urin

g th

e ke

y m

essa

ges

eman

atin

g fr

om

the

vario

us

cons

ulta

tion

initi

ativ

es s

houl

d be

pr

oduc

ed t

hat

is th

en i

nteg

rate

d in

to

the

stra

tegy

fo

rmul

atio

n pr

oces

s.

Th

e ke

y co

nsul

tatio

n m

essa

ges

and

how

th

ey

shap

e st

rate

gic

obje

ctiv

es

and

plan

s sh

ould

be

incl

uded

in th

e St

rate

gic

Plan

.

Set u

p in

tern

al p

roce

ss

whe

reby

key

find

ings

from

co

nsul

tatio

ns a

re fe

d in

to

stra

tegy

form

ulat

ion

proc

ess.

Co

nsul

tatio

n in

put a

nd im

pact

al

so re

cord

ed in

Str

ateg

ic P

lan.

Re

spon

sibi

lity:

Co

rpor

ate

Com

mun

icat

ion

Man

ager

Ta

rget

dat

e:

July

201

3

100

Fi

ndin

g Ri

sk

Reco

mm

enda

tion

Prio

rity

Man

agem

ent A

ctio

n 7

Stra

tegi

c ac

tion

plan

ning

Di

scus

sions

w

ith

the

Plan

ning

&

Pe

rfor

man

ce

Team

(“

P&P”

), to

geth

er

with

th

e fin

ding

s of

pr

evio

us

audi

ts,

indi

cate

d th

at

prog

ram

me

man

agem

ent

arra

ngem

ents

re

quire

fu

rthe

r im

prov

emen

t. T

his

is im

port

ant

if th

e va

rious

, of

ten

mul

ti la

yere

d in

itiat

ives

that

col

lect

ivel

y co

ntrib

ute

to

the

achi

evem

ent

of

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

, ar

e to

be

man

aged

in

a co

ncer

ted

man

ner.

In re

cogn

ition

of

this

we

unde

rsta

nd t

hat

the

P&P

team

will

app

oint

an

indi

vidu

al t

o sp

ecifi

cally

fill

this

capa

bilit

y ga

p.

The

abse

nce

of

effe

ctiv

e pr

ogra

mm

e m

anag

emen

t in

crea

ses

the

risk

of

indi

vidu

al

proj

ects

po

tent

ially

ov

erla

ppin

g (b

oth

in

term

s of

th

eir

spec

ific

aim

s as

wel

l as

the

reso

urce

s de

vote

d to

th

em).

Ho

w

indi

vidu

al

proj

ects

co

llect

ivel

y co

ntrib

ute

to

the

achi

evem

ent

of

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

be

com

es

diffi

cult

to a

sses

s.

Prog

ram

me

man

agem

ent

arra

ngem

ents

sho

uld

be d

evel

oped

an

d pu

t in

to

plac

e as

so

on

as

poss

ible

. Ho

listic

rep

ortin

g of

how

va

rious

pro

ject

s ar

e co

ntrib

utin

g to

ke

y ob

ject

ives

sho

uld

be s

ubm

itted

as

pa

rt

of

the

perf

orm

ance

re

port

ing

fram

ewor

k.

Agre

ed.

Resp

onsib

ility

: Per

form

ance

M

anag

er

Targ

et d

ate:

1st

Sep

tem

ber

2013

8 G

over

nanc

e st

ruct

ures

Th

e Se

rvic

e ha

s re

cent

ly e

stab

lishe

d a

Chan

ge B

oard

. W

e un

ders

tand

th

at th

e pr

imar

y ai

m o

f thi

s Bo

ard

at

ince

ptio

n w

as t

o en

sure

tha

t th

e Se

rvic

e’s

vario

us

initi

ativ

es

and

chan

ge p

rogr

amm

es r

emai

n fo

cuse

d on

the

long

term

visi

on.

Disc

ussio

ns

with

se

nior

m

anag

emen

t ha

ve

indi

cate

d ho

wev

er, t

hat t

his

purp

ose

and

over

all

effe

ctiv

enes

s of

th

e Bo

ard

rem

ains

und

er r

evie

w g

oing

fo

rwar

d.

Dupl

icat

ion

of

effo

rt

and

reso

urce

s w

ith

exist

ing

gove

rnan

ce

mec

hani

sms,

no

tabl

y th

e Se

rvic

e De

liver

y Bo

ards

an

d th

e Pe

rfor

man

ce &

Risk

Boa

rd.

We

conc

ur

with

th

e Se

rvic

e’s

inte

ntio

n to

ke

ep

the

role

an

d va

lue

of t

he C

hang

e Bo

ard

unde

r re

view

. A

s pa

rt o

f th

is, t

he r

oles

, re

spon

sibili

ties

and

stra

tegi

c ac

coun

tabi

lity

of

the

exist

ing

Serv

ice

Deliv

ery

Boar

ds s

houl

d be

re

-visi

ted

and

rein

forc

ed.

Agre

ed.

Resp

onsib

ility

: Chi

ef F

ire

Offi

cer

Targ

et d

ate:

31st

Mar

ch 2

013

101

Fi

ndin

g Ri

sk

Reco

mm

enda

tion

Prio

rity

Man

agem

ent A

ctio

n 9

Stra

tegi

c pl

anni

ng

and

unde

rlyin

g ac

tions

ar

e dr

iven

by

fin

anci

al

cons

trai

nts,

w

ith

curr

ently

le

sser

em

phas

is on

a

proc

ess

whe

re

optio

ns a

re p

ut f

orw

ard

at t

he s

tart

of

th

e pl

anni

ng

proc

ess

and

an

asse

ssm

ent

then

bei

ng m

ade

over

af

ford

abili

ty

of

initi

ativ

es/a

ctio

n ve

rsus

pr

iorit

ies

(tho

ugh

it is

ackn

owle

dged

th

at

deci

sion

conf

eren

cing

rem

ains

a c

ompo

nent

w

ithin

th

e bu

sines

s pl

anni

ng

fram

ewor

k).

Goin

g fo

rwar

d, p

artic

ular

ly

in li

ght

of t

he lo

nger

ter

m

visio

n,

ther

e m

ay

be

a di

verg

ence

be

twee

n fin

anci

al

and

corp

orat

e pl

anni

ng

resu

lting

in

al

l se

rvic

e de

liver

y op

tions

not

be

ing

fully

con

sider

ed a

nd

asse

ssed

.

As t

he S

ervi

ce l

ooks

to

a lo

nger

te

rm v

ision

and

how

it i

nten

ds t

o as

pire

to

this

it sh

ould

int

rodu

ce

high

le

vel

scen

ario

an

alys

is th

at

sets

ou

t w

orst

an

d be

st

case

sc

enar

ios.

Th

is in

tur

n w

ill p

ave

the

way

fo

r a

“no

surp

rises

” de

cisio

n m

akin

g en

viro

nmen

t by

al

low

ing

Mem

bers

in

part

icul

ar t

o ge

t an

ear

ly in

dica

tion

of w

hat

the

Serv

ice

may

look

like

in t

he fu

ture

. In

do

ing

so

it w

ill

supp

ort

amen

dmen

ts

to

stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

and

und

erly

ing

actio

ns

as a

ppro

pria

te.

Agre

ed.

Resp

onsib

ility

: Ass

istan

t Chi

ef

Fire

Offi

cer /

Dire

ctor

of S

afet

y Ta

rget

dat

e: C

ompl

ete.

Thi

s no

w fe

atur

es in

the

Stra

tegi

c Pl

anni

ng F

ram

ewor

k on

an

annu

al b

asis.

102

App

endi

x A

– D

efin

ition

of a

ssur

ance

opi

nion

s

Leve

l of

Ass

uran

ce

Def

initi

on

Subs

tant

ial

Ther

e is

a

soun

d sy

stem

of

in

tern

al

cont

rol

desi

gned

to

achi

eve

the

syst

em

obje

ctiv

es.

Ade

quat

e W

hile

th

ere

is

a ba

sica

lly

soun

d sy

stem

of

inte

rnal

con

trol

des

igne

d,

ther

e ar

e w

eakn

esse

s,

whi

ch

put

som

e of

the

syst

em o

bjec

tives

at r

isk.

Lim

ited

Wea

knes

ses

in th

e de

sign

of t

he s

yste

m

of in

tern

al c

ontro

ls a

re s

uch

as to

put

the

syst

em o

bjec

tives

at r

isk.

Non

e C

ontro

l des

ign

is g

ener

ally

wea

k le

avin

g th

e sy

stem

ope

n to

sig

nific

ant

erro

r or

ab

use.

103

The

mat

ters

rais

ed in

this

repo

rt ar

e on

ly th

ose

that

cam

e to

our

atte

ntio

n du

ring

the

cour

se o

f the

aud

it w

ork

and

are

not n

eces

saril

y a

com

preh

ensi

ve s

tate

men

t of a

ll th

e w

eakn

esse

s th

at e

xist

or o

f all

the

impr

ovem

ents

that

may

be

requ

ired.

Whi

lst

ever

y ca

re h

as b

een

take

n to

ens

ure

that

the

info

rmat

ion

in t

his

repo

rt is

as

accu

rate

as

poss

ible

, it

is b

ased

on

the

info

rmat

ion

prov

ided

and

doc

umen

ts r

evie

wed

.

No

com

plet

e gu

aran

tee

or w

arra

nty

can

be g

iven

with

rega

rd to

the

advi

ce a

nd in

form

atio

n co

ntai

ned

with

in th

e re

port.

We

emph

asis

e th

at th

e re

spon

sibi

lity

to im

plem

ent a

sou

nd s

yste

m

of in

tern

al c

ontro

ls r

ests

with

man

agem

ent a

nd th

at o

ur w

ork

shou

ld n

ot b

e ta

ken

as a

sub

stitu

te fo

r th

is r

espo

nsib

ility.

Our

wor

k ha

s be

en c

onsi

dere

d to

iden

tify

mat

eria

l irr

egul

arity

w

hich

has

a re

ason

able

pos

sibi

lity

of d

isco

very

, how

ever

, thi

s do

es n

ot p

rovi

de a

bsol

ute

assu

ranc

e th

at m

ater

ial e

rror

, los

s or

frau

d do

not

exi

st.

This

repo

rt is

inte

nded

sol

ely

for t

he u

se o

f the

Aud

it, P

erfo

rman

ce a

nd S

crut

iny

Com

mitt

ee a

nd S

enio

r Man

agem

ent o

f the

Fire

Aut

horit

y. T

he d

isse

min

atio

n, d

istri

butio

n, c

opyi

ng o

r di

sclo

sure

of t

his

repo

rt or

its

cont

ents

is p

rohi

bite

d un

less

prio

r w

ritte

n pe

rmis

sion

is o

btai

ned

by H

W C

ontro

ls &

Ass

uran

ce.

No

resp

onsi

bilit

y to

any

third

par

ty is

acc

epte

d as

the

repo

rt ha

s no

t bee

n pr

epar

ed a

nd h

as n

ot b

een

inte

nded

for a

ny o

ther

pur

pose

.

©

201

2 H

W C

ontr

ols

& A

ssur

ance

. A

ll rig

hts

rese

rved

. Th

e H

aine

s W

atts

Gro

up

30 C

amp

Roa

d, F

arnb

orou

gh, H

amps

hire

, GU

14 6

EW

.

104