PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report is to present to Members the findings of a review by Audit Wales of the Authority’s corporate resilience. Members will have an opportunity to discuss the review report with the authors at the meeting.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2020/21, Audit Wales completed a review of corporate resilience in each of the three fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) in Wales.

In relation to North Wales FRA, the review concluded that “the Authority has demonstrated its short-term resilience but needs to take some major decisions to remain resilient in the future”.

The review report (appendix 1) presents three proposals for improvement which relate to the Authority’s governance arrangements, succession planning and location of fire stations.

RECOMMENDATION

Members are asked to note the findings of the report.

BACKGROUND

Following on from work undertaken by Audit Wales between 2018 and 2020 it had become apparent to the auditors that FRAs in Wales were facing significant corporate challenges.

For 2020/21, therefore, Audit Wales undertook a review at each FRA to help inform the Auditor General’s conclusions in relation to his duties and to provide assurance on how well each FRA is addressing the financial and capacity challenges that all public bodies face. The review sought to establish whether the FRA was effectively managing its resources to secure its long-term resilience.

The review was intended to provide a commentary on how resilient and sustainable each FRA is and also to consider the impact of COVID-19 and the risks from the recovery planning phase that all public bodies will undergo.

Audit Wales anticipated that this work would provide assurance to the Authority on the risks it faces and also the Welsh Government on the challenges facing the sector.

INFORMATION

Overall, Audit Wales concluded that the Authority has demonstrated its short-term resilience but needs to take some major decisions to remain resilient in the future. Specifically, it found that the Authority:

• has managed budgets well, but some key risks need to be addressed to remain financially sustainable;
• has an appropriate governance framework but Members need to play a more central role in addressing the big risks facing the Fire and Rescue Service;
• has a resilient workforce and has dealt well with immediate challenges, but there are some medium-term risks that need to be managed to ensure services are sustainable;
• has good examples of how it is integrating assets and developing its use of technology but there are some long standing challenges that need to be addressed to help support future resilience;
• has business continuity plans that helped maintain corporate and operational resilience in responding to the pandemic.

The report proposes that:

• the Authority reviews the effectiveness of its governance arrangements to provide assurance that current arrangements support robust scrutiny, are holding officers to account and are focussed on addressing the big risks facing the Fire and Rescue Service;
• in order to improve succession planning the Authority should restart and build on its high potential candidates programme;
• in order to support resilience the Authority should review station locations to identify opportunities to optimise emergency response arrangements.

IMPLICATIONS

Well-being Objectives The review looked at whether the Authority is effectively managing its resources to secure its long-term resilience. This is consistent with the Authority’s long-term well-being objectives and contributes to ensuring the sustainability of its services.
Budget No budgetary impact identified yet, but responding to the proposals within the report have the potential to affect future budgets.
Legal No immediate effects, but legal implications for the Authority would need to be considered if planning any actions to increase the effectiveness of its governance arrangements.
Staffing None arising directly from the report, but the implications on staffing would need to be considered when responding to the report’s proposals.
Equalities/Human Rights/ Welsh Language None arising directly from the report, but planned changes would need to be assessed in relation to these aspects during their development and implications.
Risks The report refers to various risks facing the Authority, and presents proposals that could help improve its overall risk profile.

Appendix 1