DMFD71 Delivering our Strategy: Incident Command

Report LFC-0347 to the London Fire Commissioner (LFC) sets out London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) transformation strategy for incident command, incorporating the recommendations from:

• Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue
Services (HMICFRS) Fire & Rescue Service effectiveness, efficiency in response to the recommendations;
• Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report; and
• Independent review of training report, (conducted by Ribband Star Limited).

This report requests approval of the expenditure to permanently establish the posts for the LFB ‘in-house’ incident command training team, as included in the strategy set out in LFC-0347.

The independent review of training report highlighted LFB’s inability to adequately respond to organisational training needs that are highlighted through organisational processes such as: the performance reviews of the command function (PRC) and performance review of operations (PRO) and identified this inertia can create delays of 12 – 18 months with our current processes to review training content.

This will be partly addressed by the implementation of a dedicated ‘in-house’ LFB incident command training team and is integral to LFB’s incident command strategy. It will provide a more agile training and development model, enabling LFB to respond to organisational learning needs through centrally delivered development of skills courses, facilitated locally and more flexibly.

This dedicated team of LFB officers will create a group who can specialise in the subject of incident command to create and deliver incident command training content and courses. The team’s creation will bring numerous benefits to LFB:

a) improve sector competence of incident command;
b) centrally delivered training events in improved localities;
c) provide structure and content for locally delivered command training and exercises, which is delivered by area and by officers. This will improve consistency across London;
d) improve capacity of LFB’s external training provider Babcock Training Ltd (BTL), enabling improved training delivery of other courses; and
e) improved relevancy and currency of incident command trainers and assessors.

The London Fire Commissioner and the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience are required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (s149 of the Equality Act 2010) when taking decisions. This in broad terms involves understanding the potential impact of policy and decisions on different people, taking this into account and then evidencing how decisions were reached.

It is important to note that consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty is not a one-off task. The duty must be fulfilled before taking a decision, at the time of taking a decision, and after the decision has been taken.

The protected characteristics are: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Pregnancy and maternity, Marriage and civil partnership (but only in respect of the requirements to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination), Race (ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality), Religion or belief (including lack of belief), Sex, and Sexual orientation.

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires decision-takers in the exercise of all their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other prohibited conduct;
(b) advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and
(c) foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to:

(a) remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic where those disadvantages are connected to that characteristic;
(b) take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it; and
(c) encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.

The steps involved in meeting the needs of disabled persons that are different from the needs of persons who are not disabled include, in particular, steps to take account of disabled persons' disabilities.

Having due regard to the need to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to—

(a) tackle prejudice; and
(b) promote understanding.

An Equality Impact Assessment was carried out for the incident command strategy. The incident command strategy will produce separate policy work streams and those work streams will also be subject to individual equality impact assessments.

Workforce comments

The representative bodies are generally supportive of LFB initiatives to strengthen incident command capability. The Fire Officers Association (FOA) and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) raised some comments. Both the FOA and the FBU have had responses to their comments. The FOA appear satisfied and the FBU have not responded further. However the large majority of FBU responses were concerns relating to National Operational Guidance (NOG) integration rather than this specific strategy. NOG integration is being dealt with via a separate project and the FBU are being consulted within this project. Comments from the FBU regarding this decision for the Incident command delivery team surrounded who the team would be accountable to and how the training would be quality assured.

Sustainability implications

A Sustainable Development Impact Assessment (SDIA) was completed on 18 March 2020. This showed negligible impact on resource sustainability from any of the recommendations contained within this LFB incident command strategy, as any services supplied following this review will be through existing contracts.

Additionally, any revision of an operational policy or procedure or training programme will be subject to individual SDIAs. The incident command strategy will enhance understanding of environmental protection across all incident command roles in the Brigade. The LFB Sustainable Development team have been consulted as part of the SDIA, and further consultation will take place if recommendations are accepted and delivery commences.

The LFC report outlines the strategy for developing incident command within LFB. The report notes that a proposal has been submitted to deliver the maintenance of skills courses with the use of an in-house LFB incident command team. Funding for this team of £433,00 has been included in LFB’s Transformation Reserve in 2020/21, with an estimated ongoing cost of £577,000 from 2021/22. This funding was to cover 2x Group Commander, 2x Station Commander, 2x Station Officer, 1x FRS D and a consultant.

After further consideration of the requirements for such a team it is proposed its structure will be 1 x Group Commander, 1 x Station Commander, 3 x Station Officers, 3 x Sub Officers (a full-year cost of £553,000). This is a slightly different structure to the original proposal but offers a more effective solution to deliver the requirements as well as utilising existing resources such as admin more efficiently to reduce cost. In 2020/21 the cost of this new team will be £369,000, as a result of its establishment part way through the year and will be met from the transformation reserve. The pressure in future years will be contained within the £4.1m estimated ongoing cost to deliver the LFB’s Transformation Delivery Plan.

Under section 9 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the London Fire Commissioner (the "Commissioner") is established as a corporation sole with the Mayor appointing the occupant of that office. Under section 327D of the GLA Act 1999, as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the Mayor may issue to the Commissioner specific or general directions as to the manner in which the holder of that office is to exercise his or her functions.

Section 1 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 states that the Commissioner is the fire and rescue authority for Greater London.

The statutory basis for the actions proposed in this report is provided by section 7 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, under which the Commissioner must secure the provision of personnel, services and equipment necessary to efficiently meet all normal requirements for firefighting. Establishment management in departments is a delegated matter to Heads of Service. The approval of this funding will enable the Assistant Commissioner for Operational Policy and Assurance to exercise those delegations and make the respective establishment changes. Recruitment and detachment of operational officers to posts will be in liaison with People Services where appropriate.