Kent Fire and Rescue Service
Annual Governance Statement 2018/19

2.1 Identify and Assess

Every fire and rescue authority must assess all foreseeable fire and rescue related risks that could affect their communities, whether they are local, cross-border, multi-authority and/or national in nature from fires to terrorist attacks. Regard must be had to Community Risk Registers produced by Local Resilience Forums and any other local risk analyses as appropriate.

Fire and rescue authorities must put in place arrangements to prevent and mitigate these risks, either through adjusting existing provision, effective collaboration and partnership working, or building new capability. Fire and rescue authorities should work through the Strategic Resilience Board where appropriate when determining what arrangements to put in place.

 

How to we meet these requirements?

• The Authority publishes a Safety and Wellbeing Plan in order to consult on the services required to meet future needs. The priorities within this are developed following an assessment of risks across the county.
• As part of the development of the Safety and Wellbeing Plan, we conduct a comprehensive review of the risk profile across the county. This supporting information is published on our website.
• The outcomes of the safety and wellbeing plan, once agreed by KMFRA are then fed into the Customer and Corporate Plan. This is structured in a customer-facing way around safety at home, safety on the roads, community resilience, business safety and operations. These five objectives are underpinned by eight corporate strategies that support its delivery.
• Progress to deliver the actions that underpin each of the eight supporting corporate strategies is reported to KMFRA.
• We publish a county-wide risk profile, which considers risks related to geography, demographics, population, dwellings and other buildings.
• We have a mature risk assessment process which draws in data from a variety of internal databases and external sources.
• We conduct detailed analysis and carry out thorough assessments of risk.
• The Authority produces a Corporate Risk Register detailing the potential strategic, operational and programme risks it faces. 
• We are a key organisation within the Kent Resilience Forum. 
• Our emergency cover analytics team, (which includes risk profiling across the county) is co-located with the new Operational Assurance team to ensure operational learning is fed into profiling. 
• We engage with Community Safety Partnerships. This interaction provides essential local intelligence and is complimented by our Partnership Managers’ work with parish councils.

 

Where do we get assurance from?

• Safety and Wellbeing Plan update. Outcomes of consultation. KMFRA, February 2019 (Item No C1). Safety and Wellbeing Plan update. KMFRA, October 2018 (Item No: B3).
• KMFRA approval for the draft Customer and Corporate Plan 2019-23 (including the eight supporting strategies). KMFRA, April 2019 (Item No: B1).
• Update on progress to deliver the eight corporate strategies. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: B4).
• Performance update. KMFRA April 2019 (Item Number: C1).
• Kent Community Risk Register
• Risk Update. KMFRA, April 2018 (Item No: C1).
• Kent Resilience Forum

 

2.2 Prevent and Protect

Fire and rescue authorities must make provision for promoting fire safety, including fire prevention, and have a locally determined risk-based inspection programme in place for enforcing compliance with the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in premises to which it applies.

 

How to we meet these requirements?

• We have a single strategy for Community Safety, incorporating both prevention and protection, as we recognised that the two disciplines need to work more closely together to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. This is one of the eight supporting strategies of the Customer and Corporate Plan. We focus prevention work at those at highest risk.
• The Authority has a specialist team of 20 home safety officers working across Kent and Medway. We deliver up to 16,000 Safe and Well visits annually, using direct mail (with Exeter data) to help recruit and target those at most risk.
• The Authority has joined the safeguarding group run by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). The group aims to share best practice between FRAs nationally. 
• We have an operational Premises Risk Management (PRM) System that captures operational risks around the county. This provides a central repository for all premises risk data.
• Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, we developed and implemented a co-ordinated activity to offer reassurance to local residents and ensure that high-rise residential buildings in Kent and Medway are as safe as possible. Following this, we also implemented a plan to undertake a number of high-rise exercises to test local plans and firefighting operations.
• The risk assessment methodology for the PRM system has been developed in line with the risk assessment methodology for the Kent Community Risk Registers (KCRR). As such, the levels of risk across both systems can be directly compared, allowing joint priorities to be determined. The KCRR and PRM are used by the Operational Planning Team to produce a list of exercises that will need to be completed each year.
• In 2018 we set up the Complex Buildings Programme; a piece of work to ensure that when we respond to incidents in complex buildings we are trained to the latest standards, consistently select and apply the relevant processes and have all the information and equipment needed to keep our customers and firefighters safe whilst dealing with the incident efficiently.
• We have worked closely with a number of local authority partners to develop the Better Business for All and the Primary Authority Scheme. These initiatives bring businesses and regulators together in order to reduce the regulatory burden for businesses.
• Our Business Portal is a one stop shop to provide businesses, with the information they need to know to stay safe.
• The Authority is an active and leading member in the South East FRS Regional Business Continuity Group.

 

Where do we get assurance from?

• KMFRA approval for the draft Customer and Corporate Plan 2019-23 (including the eight supporting strategies). KMFRA, April 2019 (Item No: B1). Update on progress to deliver the Community Safety strategy. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: B4). In December 2018, KMFRA confirmed that the Customer and Corporate Plan and supporting strategies remain fit for purpose. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: B4).
• KMFRA approval for the Customer and Corporate Plan 2018-2022 and the eight strategies that support its delivery. KMFRA, April 2018 (Item No: B1).
• Safe and Well update. KMFRA, April 2019 (No: C1). Community and Business Fire Safety Update. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: C1).
• Safeguarding update. KMFRA, April 2019 (Item No: C1).
• Internal Audit, Review of Premises Risk Management Audit. KMFRA, July 2017 (Item No: B2).
• Community and Business Fire Safety Update. KMFRA, October 2018 (Item No: C1). Operational Update on the implications for Kent and Medway following the Grenfell Tower fire. KMFRA, October 2017 (Item No: C1).
• Internal Audit report on Exercise Planning. KMFRA, June 2018 (Item No: B4). This found the process for planning exercises to be “robust and sufficient in design”.

 

2.3 Respond

Fire and rescue authorities must make provision to respond to incidents such as fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies within their area and in other areas in line with their mutual aid agreements. Fire and rescue authorities must have effective business continuity arrangements in place in accordance with their duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

 

How to we meet these requirements?

• We have a published Operational Response Strategy, which sets out our approach to emergency response. This is one of the eight supporting strategies of the Customer and Corporate Plan.
• The service plays an active role in the National Operational Learning process and is committed to adopting National Operational Guidance.
• The Authority has provided a 24/7 on-site emergency response capability to Eurotunnel since the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994. The service is provided under a contract with Eurotunnel to provide the first line of response (FLOR) to any rescue emergency inside the Channel Tunnel.
• The Authority works with its French counterparts to provide the second line of response (SLOR) to any emergency event in the Channel Tunnel. The FLOR teams regularly work together, undertake joint training and exercises take place annually.
• Business continuity plans (including recovery plans) are in place for all reasonably foreseeable risks to the Authority. Our plans are designed to enable us to respond effectively to emergencies which may affect the delivery of our core functions. All business continuity plans are validated through exercises (both live and table top) to ensure they are comprehensive, fit for purpose and realistic. 
• The Authority participates in a national annual exercise on Business Continuity Awareness Week.
• We conduct risk assessments of locations of higher risk in Kent and Medway, such as places that store large amounts of chemicals.
• The Authority is required to undertake regular operational exercises against the key current risks and threats in Kent and Medway. In 2018/19 a three year training and exercise plan was developed to co-ordinate these Service-level exercises. 

 

Where do we get assurance from?

• Update on progress to deliver the Operational Response strategy. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: B4). KMFRA approval for the draft Customer and Corporate Plan 2019-23 (including the eight supporting strategies). KMFRA, April 2019 (Item No: B1). Update on progress to deliver the Community Safety strategy. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: B4). In December 2018, KMFRA confirmed that the Customer and Corporate Plan and supporting strategies remain fit for purpose. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: B4).
• KMFRA approval for the Customer and Corporate Plan 2018-2022 and the eight strategies that support its delivery. KMFRA, April 2018 (Item No: B1).
• Introduction of National Operational Guidance (NOG). KMFRA, April 2019 (Item No: C1).
• Channel Tunnel Update. KMFRA, October 2018 (Item No: C1).
• Bi-national exercises are undertaken with the Authority’s counterparts in France. The most recent of these was BINAT 28, a joint UK-French exercise in the Channel Tunnel involving a scenario where there were a large number of casualties. Operational Update. KMFRA, June 2018 (Item C1).
• Emergency Planning and Contingencies Policy. A copy of this is available on request.
• A large-scale, unannounced exercise was held at Service headquarters in December 2018 and was based on a scenario of massive staffing disruption due to a flu pandemic. This allowed us to test our procedures and response to such an event, ensure a cohesive response whilst all the while being able to maintain our front line emergency response and Service critical back office functions. Exercise Programme. KMFRA, December 2018, (Item No: C1).

 

2.4 Collaboration

The Policing and Crime Act 2017 created a statutory duty on fire and rescue authorities, police forces, and ambulance trusts to:

• keep collaboration opportunities under review;
• notify other emergency services of proposed collaborations that could be in the interests of their mutual efficiency or effectiveness; and
• give effect to a proposed collaboration where the proposed parties agree that it would be in the interests of their efficiency or effectiveness and that it does not have an adverse effect on public safety.

Fire and rescue authorities must collaborate with other fire and rescue authorities to deliver interoperability (between fire and rescue authorities) and interoperability (with other responders such as other emergency services, wider Category 1 and 2 responders and Local Resilience Forums) in line with the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP). Fire and rescue authorities must collaborate with the National Resilience Lead Authority to ensure interoperability is maintained for National Resilience assets. 

 

How to we meet these requirements?

• We operate a shared 999 control room with Kent Police. Working in partnership with Kent Police, we implemented the UK’s first inter-agency command and control solution, which has delivered significant benefits.
• Section 13 and 16 Agreements have been signed with all neighbouring fire and rescue authorities.
• We undertake familiarization and training with neighbouring fire and rescue authorities.
• A ‘Gaining Access’ memorandum of understanding has been agreed between the Authority, Kent Police and SECAmb, whereby the equipment and skills of firefighters can be deployed to assist in gaining entry when other options have been attempted.
• The Authority is part of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) with Kent Police and SECAmb. The programme sets out a standard approach to multi-agency working.
• We are a key organisation within the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF). The KRF is a local resilience forum, one of a number across England, which has been set up to ensure that agencies and organisations plan and work together, to ensure a co-ordinated response to emergencies that could have a significant impact on communities in Kent.
• The Authority hosts and manages the Kent Resilience Team (KRT). Part of the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF), the KRT is a multi-agency initiative to transform the delivery of emergency planning services in order to achieve better outcomes for the people of Kent. It does so by improving the effectiveness of the planning, response and recovery from emergencies.
• We support the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) by responding to life-threatening medical emergencies when our crews or officers are available to do so. Such is the value of this work that, in 2017/2018 we attended 4,805 emergency medical response (EMR) incidents. This which equates to 24% of all the incidents that we attended.
• We are members of the National Operational Guidance Implementation Forum.
• Our Chief Executive is one of the Committee Chairs of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). The Chief Executive also runs the National Collaborative Procurement Board.
• To ensure we develop better inter-agency working and to help save public money, we have proactively opened up our premises for use by other agencies, particularly SECAmb and Kent Police. 

 

Where do we get assurance from?

• Collaboration Update. KMFRA, October 2018 (Item No: C1)
• In April 2018, a large-scale multi-agency JESIP exercise was undertaken at Bluewater shopping Centre. (JESIP website)
• Kent Resilience Forum
• The KRT Annual Report can be made available on request subject to any exclusions as necessary.
• Internal Audit Annual Report. KMFRA, June 2018 (Item No: B4). Collaboration Update. KMFRA, December 2018 (Item No: C1). Updates on EMR are regularly provided to Authority. KMFRA, December 2018 (Appendix 3 to Item: C1).
• National Operational Guidance Programme
• NFCC website 
• The Authority has an open sharing agreement with Kent Police and SECAmb to allow the use of any premises. Collaboration Update. KMFRA, October 2018 (Item No: C1). We have made best use of our space to facilitate the creation of and host two multi-agency teams: the Kent Resilience Team and the Kent Community Safety Team.