Community Safety Strategy

Transcription

1 Community Safety Strategy SUSTAINING EFFECTIVE PROTECTION AND PREVENTION DURING A PERIOD OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DECLINE David Mallin Head of Community Safety

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3 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 4 PAGE 2 SINGLE OUTCOME AGREEMENTS AND COMMUNITY SAFETY 5 3 SCOTLAND TOGETHER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6 4 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 10 5 STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS 12 6 BEST VALUE REVIEW 15 7 SUMMARY 16 8 Appendix 1: LBFRS Gap Analysis of Scotland Together Recommendations 18 2

4 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The financial crisis that has hit the UK economy is likely to have a significant impact on all aspects of the public sector over the next five years. It is also expected to lead to higher levels of unemployment and social decline, which has obvious implications for some of our more disadvantaged communities. There is a strong correlation between levels of poverty, deprivation and fire activity in communities 1. In the commercial context, fire related insurance fraud is also expected to increase during periods of recession Fire and Rescue Service resources are not immune to the economic downturn and sustaining the improvements made during times of relative prosperity must remain a high priority despite the obvious challenges. The statutory duty to prevent and protect will remain in place and it will be important to ensure that the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) recognises the need to continue to deliver effective prevention and protective services across all communities. 1.3 Since the introduction of the current IRMP published in 2005, local Firefighters have been given greater responsibility to deliver prevention initiatives to their communities. This has had a hugely positive effect and has also improved their connection to the people who live there. Firefighters now deliver a range of programmes including home safety visits (HSV), road safety, schools education, bonfire safety and early intervention youth programmes to help reduce fire-related antisocial behaviour. 1.4 The role of the Community Safety Function is to ensure these programmes are continuously developed, are properly resourced and ensure they continuously adapt to the changing environment. The Function also has a leading role within the five constituent Community Safety Partnerships and their associated working groups to ensure fire safety remains at the fore. Maintaining close working relationships with local partners to facilitate the delivery of better prevention services, is a fundamental role of the Function. 1 Office for the Deputy Prime Minister, Arson Control Forum (2004) Social Exclusion and The Risk Of Fire and Scotland Together Report P.18 2 Association of British Insurers BBC News 3 rd March

5 1.5 Reductions in public sector funding will undoubtedly impact on all aspects of service delivery and maintaining existing levels of service will be extremely challenging. This document is provided to highlight the key Community Safety priorities for the Service through these challenging times. It is recognised that it may not be possible to meet all priorities fully and should be considered more as a road map which points out the direction of travel but not necessarily the pace of travel. 2 SINGLE OUTCOME AGREEMENTS AND COMMUNITY SAFETY 2.1 Community Planning in Scotland has evolved continuously over the last decade. Most recently, the introduction of Single Outcome Agreements has consolidated the concept of partnership working to deliver much higher strategic outcomes than individual services could deliver working in isolation. Currently, Community Planning Partnerships are not constituted in law and remain as loose coalitions with limited legal accountability or the capacity to pool resources. It is anticipated that this is unlikely to change following the 2011 election and the challenge for the Service will be to continue to collaborate effectively with partners which have fewer resources and more pressing strategic priorities. 2.2 The Single Outcome that the Government seeks is continuous economic growth for Scotland and it has identified five key priorities to deliver that outcome: Smarter Safer and Stronger Wealthier and Fairer Greener Healthier 2.3 It is sometimes presumed that the only contribution the Community Safety Function can make to these priorities would be through the Safer and Stronger channel. However, the diagram below highlights the wider contribution of the Function through the programmes already being delivered. 4

6 Our youth programmes not only reduce fire-related anti-social behaviour, they also help young people improve their confidence and self-esteem 3 and help them to seek opportunities to develop a more fulfilling life and improve their communities from within SCOTLAND TOGETHER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 The report commissioned by the Scottish Government on fire deaths in the home was published in November 2009 and contained thirty-seven recommendations. Twenty-six of the recommendations have been assigned to the Chief Fire Officers Association (Scotland) (CFOAS) to be developed into framework policies for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. 3 Independent Evaluation of Cooldown Crew for West Lothian Council Clarity

7 3.2 Most of the 26 recommendations are already embedded into our service delivery processes and these have been reviewed accordingly. However, the gap analysis presented to the Fire and Rescue Board, (Appendix 1) highlighted nine areas specific areas for improvement for LBFRS. Many of these outstanding issues have also been identified through the earlier Best Value Review of the Function and is covered later in this document. The outstanding recommendations which require further action are listed below: 1. Establish a notification system for referrals from Mental Health Units and other agencies dealing with similar issues. 2. An increase in community safety initiatives across Scottish Fire and Rescue Services directed at reducing secondary fires and incidents of fire related antisocial behaviour. 3. Closer working arrangements are formed with health practitioners in order to access those most at risk from fire. 4. Development of multi-agency community safety resources to be delivered to schoolchildren via the Curriculum for Excellence. 5. Further research be conducted into the most efficient use of linked alarms and for handling these alarm calls. 6. The creation of Fatal Fire Case Conferences involving key agencies, in the same way as drug deaths are currently investigated. 7. Scottish Fire and Rescue Services become embedded in the Single Shared Assessment process. 8. Working in partnership with housing organisations to identify value Home Fire Safety Visits within Registered Social Landlord and local authority housing stock in Scotland. 9. The targeting of long-term fire safety initiatives at Scotland s ageing population. 3.3 One of the key themes of the report was that the people most at risk from fires in the home are those who suffer from one or more of the following: Chronic and long-term health needs Drug and alcohol dependencies Mental health issues Living in poverty or deprivation Living alone Mobility and cognitive impairment 6

8 3.4 These findings are not in themselves surprising as most Firefighters recognise these factors anecdotally in their day to day activities, however, the research now proves the link between these factors and the risk of dying in a fire and action now needs to be taken to focus our resources towards these specific risk factors. 3.5 In 2008 the department for Communities and Local Government in England published a report into the effectiveness of the HSV programmes which had received substantial central funding since One of the key findings was that the programmes were most effective and efficient in areas where resources had been targeted using electronic modelling tools. The use of address specific lifestyle data helped Services target specific groups which possessed many of the risk factors listed above. 3.6 The BVR of Community Safety identified seven prevention priorities, namely: 1. Working with partners to target resources to improve safety in the home and reduce injury and death from fires and other emergencies. 2. We will target all forms of deliberate fire-raising and work with partners to eradicate it completely from our communities in the longer term. 3. Working with partners, to improve road safety through the provision of education, advice and information. 7

9 4. Reduce fire-related anti-social behaviour community safety partnerships and work with young people to help them to become active citizens within their communities. 5. Maintaining and improving safety in commercial premises and public buildings through the effective enforcement of the Fire (Scotland) Act. 6. Protecting heritage and economically important buildings from fire to ensure our communities thrive and prosper. 7. Reduce the number of unwanted AFA calls to maximise resource availability for more important activities. 3.7 These priorities are not new, but they require a greater level of focus to ensure we deliver continuous improvement. The progress that has already been made is very positive, but maintaining the same level of improvement will become increasingly difficult as we progress to the core of each priority. More effective ways and means will be required and improvement can only be identified through the use of effective performance measurement and evaluation processes. 3.8 Strategic Priority 1 We will develop close working partnerships with colleagues from healthcare, social services and mental health units to identify individuals at risk from fire and ensure they receive an adequate level of protection in their homes to reduce the risk of injury from fires and other emergencies. (ST recommendations 1, 3, 7 & 8) 3.9 Strategic Priority 2 We will actively promote the use of Telecare alarm systems to ensure that people with disabilities, cognitive impairment and other mobility issues have the added protection and an FRS response is mobilised at the earliest opportunity. (ST recommendation 5) 3.10 Strategic Priority 3 We will implement the use of fatal fire case conferences across the Service area to identify areas for improvement in partnership approach to vulnerable people. (ST recommendation 6) 8

10 3.11 Strategic Priority 4 We will enhance our existing schools education programme to include safety messages from other partner agencies and link it to the new Curriculum for Excellence. (ST recommendation 4) 3.12 Strategic Priority 5 We will target deliberate secondary fires. Working through our Partnerships, we will identify perpetrators of low level fire-raising incidents and work with colleagues to take action to change their behaviour. (ST recommendation 2) 3.13 Strategic Priority 6 We will target deliberate primary fires. A new performance indicator will be developed which will be reported through quarterly audits. We will work closely with the Fire Investigation Unit and the Police to ensure perpetrators are identified and prosecuted wherever possible. (ST recommendation 2) 3.14 Strategic Priority 7 We will develop a long-term strategy aimed at providing a comprehensive range of initiatives that provide elderly people with the information and advice they need to make them safe in their own homes. (ST recommendation 9) 4 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 4.1 Each of the seven priorities listed at 3.6 above, already have some form of performance measurement associated with them ranging from Audit Scotland performance indicators to internal local performance indicators. However, each of these should be reviewed to confirm that they actually drive improvement in performance. Table 1 below shows the performance measurement methodology used in each of the priority areas. 9

11 4.2 Priority Existing Performance Measurement Safety in the home Points based qualitative system for HSV programme. Gaps in Existing Performance Measurement Points based on FSEC risk area instead of personal risk factors. The long term impact of the Number of children receiving fire safety education. education programme could be measured qualitatively by interviews with adults. Deliberate fire-raising Audit Scotland Indicator Considers only secondary fires and ignores more serious primary fires Road Safety Number of school visits No link between pupils taught and subsequent behaviour Fire-related anti-social Attacks on Firefighters No link between young behaviour people participating and subsequent behaviour FSA enforcement Number of premises audited Indicators could reflect the Proportion of premises with level of compliance with the no risk assessment legislation Protecting heritage buildings Not currently measured Number of buildings surveyed Reduce unwanted AFA calls League table of worst None currently identified offenders 4.3 The performance indicators that are adopted should ideally show a cause and effect from the relevant intervention initiative. The indicators will be reviewed to the effectiveness of specific initiatives, milestones for each priority will also be set to ensure continuous progress is being made. 10

12 4.4 Performance Targets Targets are widely used within the private sector to drive improvement and ensure organisations remain competitive. Although public sector organisations have no direct competitors, this should not deem the use of targets to improve performance as unsuitable. The incentive should be to reduce the problem to its lowest practicable level. 4.6 Strategic performance targets have already been set by the Service within the five constituent SOAs, however, these targets have not been replicated down to the service delivery level of the organisation. The risk with this approach is that if individual service delivery units aren t set, or don t contribute to the targets, the organisation will fail to deliver on SOA commitments in the future. 4.7 Strategic Priority 8 Performance indicators should be reviewed to ensure they reflect the outcomes sought. Performance targets should be set at service delivery level to ensure the targets set through SOA s are delivered. 5 STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS 5.1 The Service has a statutory duty to enforce Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act (FSA) and its associated regulations. The revised Act has removed the need to issue Fire Certificates and has broadened the scope of premises which fall within the Regulations. It is also now closely aligned to the principles of the European management of safety at work directives and should, in theory, be much easier for organisations and businesses to understand. 5.2 Scottish Government guidance recommends a more risk-based approach to auditing and inspecting commercial buildings. Although this is welcomed, it creates difficulties for FRSs which do not have a complete database of all the premises in their area. The existing premises database was based on the premises previously covered by the 1971 Fire Precautions Act and only contains 19,000 of the 45,000 actual business premises within Lothian and Borders. A new database which records risk scoring information for all business premises will be required to move to a risk-based process. 11

13 5.3 In addition to the duties allocated in Part 3 of the Act, there is also a wider duty for fire safety outlined in section 8 of Part 1 of the Act to provide information and advice to prevent fires and prevent their spread in buildings and other property. This is particularly relevant in heritage property, which often has poor passive protection and hidden voids, which allow fire to spread rapidly throughout the building. 5.4 Protecting heritage property and ensuring local communities are able to thrive economically and culturally is a key challenge for the organisation both in the statutory context and in the context of Single Outcome Agreements which are designed to promote economic growth. For example, media images of fire across Edinburgh skyline damage the image of the city as a safe place to visit. Work to protect vulnerable irreplaceable buildings has been limited because of the life safety focus of previous legislation which ignored the outcome of a serious fire on the building itself. 5.5 There is also a need to provide good advice to the occupiers of public buildings and to provide high standards of training for our staff and ensure consistent and professional standards of enforcement are maintained. Reporting offences to the Procurator Fiscal is now carried out via an electronic reporting portal, staff have to maintain a high level of competence and training to operate the system properly. 12

14 5.6 Strategic Priority 9 We will continue to audit those commercial premises which pose the highest risks and we will provide advice and information to duty-holders to ensure they comply with the legislative requirements. 5.7 Strategic Priority 10 We will rationalise the number of safety audits and re-directed resources to target them more effectively to higher risks within the community. Our officers will work locally to help solve longterm fire safety problems through community safety and community planning partnerships. 5.8 Strategic Priority 11 We will provide information and advice to owners and occupiers of Heritage and economically important buildings to ensure they are resilient against the spread of fire and that systems are in place to ensure a swift and effective response can be made if fire breaks out. 5.9 Since the early 1990s a large number of buildings in the Service area have been built off-code. This means they will have been designed with inherent engineered fire safety and ventilation systems. These systems require regular tesating and maintenance, they also need to be well understood by the occupiers of the building to ensure they are fit for purpose. The safety of Firefighters could be compromised by the activation of such systems and it is vital that intelligence is gathered and passed on to the Operations Planning Function in a systematic way Strategic Priority 12 We will introduce a smaller but effective enforcement and technical support team which will maintain standards and ensure consistency in the advice and training we provide to business. The team will also ensure enforcement processes are applied effectively and professionally at all times. We will also ensure that risk critical intelligence on commercial buildings is provided to the Operations Planning Function. 13

15 6 BEST VALUE REVIEW 6.1 The BVR of the Community Safety Function was completed in November 2009 and made nine recommendations to align limited Function resources more closely to the risk landscape of the five local authority areas. Areas for improvement include the level of participation in community safety partnership working and the coordination of actions which arise from them. 6.2 Each of the five community safety partnerships are structured differently and it is important that the Service is fully engaged with each of them, to enable more effective prevention initiatives to be developed and implemented. The BVR recommended that resources should be allocated according to the level of life risk across the community, very few people are killed or injured in commercial property compared to residential accommodation. 6.3 The removal of the need to issue fire certificates and inspect as many commercial buildings has reduced the burden on the Function and released resources to focus more effectively on prevention activities in the wider community. Although there is still a need to audit high-risk commercial premises, local officers will be freed up to manage projects which improve safety in the home and residential environments. 6.4 For example, figure 1 below highlights the changing face of community safety in Edinburgh. Police and council services have been amalgamated into local Neighbourhood Partnerships so they can be focussed in the communities. Twelve Neighbourhood areas have been established in the city, but they don t align naturally with the Service s station boundaries. 6.5 This new arrangement has made it difficult for local service delivery managers to fully support each Neighbourhood. The additional support provided by the CS Function will help to ensure targets are met and effective prevention measures are driven forward in each of the six partnership areas. 14

16 Figure 1 Twelve Neighbourhood Partnerships in Edinburgh 6.7 Each of the Partnerships have adopted a tasking and coordinating group (TaCG) for their area and partners are expected to identify problems and develop solutions and actions to solve them through the National Intelligence Model (NIM) process. This approach is also being rolled out in the other four council areas and it is vital that LBFRS is properly represented as a partner with the capacity to deliver on agreed objectives and actions. 6.8 The BVR recommended that local teams are created which have a combined commercial and residential role for the Service. Each of these teams will be responsible for ensuring the Community Safety Strategy is implemented in their area and that it is integrated into local service delivery plans for the area. 6.9 Strategic Priority 13 The Community Safety Function will be re-structured in accordance with BVR recommendations to establish more locally focused Community Safety teams. These teams will have a remit to address all residential and commercial risks within their communities and for highlighting building risks to operational Firefighters through Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) processes. 15

17 6.10 Strategic Priority 14 Community Safety teams will bridge the gap between community safety neighbourhoods/ partnerships and station personnel to ensure new and innovative initiatives are developed and delivered through meaningful and effective partnership working. 7 SUMMARY 7.1 The Best Value Review of the Community Safety Function made nine recommendations on how resources should be more closely aligned to community risk. Partnership arrangements across the five constituent authorities have evolved and the Function has to evolve to maximise future partnership opportunities to reduce risk and deliver the service to those who need it most. 7.2 The recommendations from Scotland Together have created new challenges for the Service and a number of strategic priorities have been identified to bridge the gap between what has already been achieved and what still needs to be done. There is a need to restructure the Community Safety Function to engage more effectively with community safety partnerships across the five local authorities and deliver on challenging objectives. 7.3 Single Outcome Agreements also raise challenges in reaching targets that have already been agreed. No targets have been set at service delivery level and it is difficult to see how strategic targets can be met when there is no measurement at lower levels within the Service. Targets for community safety will be reviewed to ensure they are aligned to strategic performance targets. 7.4 The strategy will aim to implement both the recommendations of Scotland Together report and the Best Value Review of the Community Safety Function, in a way that recognises the financial challenges ahead and makes best use of the resources available. 16

18 Appendix 1: LBFRS Gap Analysis of Scotland Together Recommendations No. Recommendation Progress 5. Establish a notification system for referrals from Mental Health Units and other agencies dealing with similar issues. Not Started 7. An increase in community safety initiatives across Scottish Fire and Rescue Services directed at reducing secondary fires and incidents of fire related antisocial behaviour. Started 11. Closer working arrangements are formed with health practitioners in order to access those most at risk from fire. Started 13. Development of multi-agency community safety resources to be delivered to schoolchildren via the Curriculum for Excellence. Started 16. Further research be conducted into the most efficient use of linked alarms and for handling these alarm calls. Started 19. The creation of Fatal Fire Case Conferences involving key agencies, in the same way as drug deaths are currently investigated. Started in Edinburgh and West Lothian 21. Scottish Fire and Rescue Services become embedded in the Single Shared Assessment process. Not Started 22. Working in partnership with housing organisations to identify value Home Fire Safety Visits within Registered Social Landlord and local authority housing stock in Scotland. Started 35. The targeting of long-term fire safety initiatives at Scotland s ageing population. Started 17