Issue - meetings

(1)       The outcomes of the public consultation were noted.

(2)       The constituent council responses to the public consultation outcomes were noted.

(3)       Consent to proceed with submission of the Governance Review, Scheme and consultation outcomes to the Home Office was granted.

(4)       Authority was delegated to the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority, together with the Monitoring Officer, to approve the draft order once received from Government, in consultation with the Chief Fire Officer and Chair of the West Midlands Fire & Rescue Authority.

Councillor Syeda Khatun presented a report on the outcomes of the public consultation on the scheme to enable the Mayoral WMCA to assume governance of the West Midlands Fire Service, including letters received in support of this direction from key stakeholders.

At its meeting on 3 March 2017, the WMCA Board supported the West Midlands Fire & Rescue Authority’s broad proposals for the transfer of its functions to the Mayoral WMCA. A governance review had been undertaken, which examined the existing governance arrangements and proposed a new model under the Mayoral WMCA. A Scheme then detailed the roles, accountabilities and powers required by each individual and body in the proposed new governance model.

The report set out the results of the consultation exercise undertaken with constituent councils in October/November 2017 and a public consultation undertaken January - March 2018. The appendix to the report provided a detailed breakdown of the responses received to these consultations.

Councillor Peter Hughes, Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Committee, reiterated the view of his committee that there should be a clear split between the advisory/review responsibilities of the Mayoral Fire Advisory Committee and the statutory scrutiny responsibilities of Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Resolved:

(1)       The outcomes of the public consultation be noted.

(2)       The constituent council responses to the public consultation outcomes be noted.

(3)       Consent to proceed with the submission of the Governance Review, Scheme and consultation outcomes to the Home Office be granted.

(4)       Authority be delegated to the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority, together with the Monitoring Officer, to approve the draft order once received from Government, in consultation with the Chief Fire Officer and Chair of the West Midlands Fire & Rescue Authority.