Government of Jersey

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made (31.01.08) to approve the commencement of arrangements for an independent review of the Fire and Rescue Service.

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2008-0007
Decision Summary Title :	Fire & Rescue Service – External Inspection of the Service		Date of Decision Summary:	02 January 2008
Decision Summary Author:	Group Manager Paul Brown		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Fire & Rescue Service Senior Manager Promotions		Date of Written Report:	31 December 2008
Written Report Author:	Paul Brown – Group Manager (FRS)		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Ministerial approval to commission Her Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland to conduct an independent inspection of the States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the commencement of arrangements for an independent review of the Fire & Rescue Service, five years having passed since the last independent inspection of the Service.
Reason(s) for Decision: To provide an objective independent review of the managerial and operational efficiency and effectiveness of the States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service. To validate or otherwise current risk management plans being used by the Service and to inform future plans and strategies designed to help protect the community from fire and other emergencies.
Resource Implications: Several key managers within the Service are likely to be engaged in preparatory work in the three or four weeks prior to the inspection at the request of HMFSI (Scotland) with the cost of the review itself being approximately £10,000.
Action required: The Chief Fire Officer to ensure that all necessary arrangements are made for an independent inspection to be carried out by Her Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate (Scotland) in the third or fourth quarter of 2008.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Fire and Rescue Service - external inspection of the Service

Report

To: Senator W Kinnard, Minister for Home Affairs

From: Paul Brown – Group Manager (FRS)

Date: 31 December 2008

Subject: External Inspection of the Fire & Rescue Service

1. Purpose

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide relevant information in seeking permission to commence arrangements for an external inspection of the States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service (SJFRS).

2. Background

2.1 The Service’s last external inspection was carried out by Her Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate for England and Wales (HMFSI) in 2002 in line with the policy to invite such reviews every four years.

2.2 Since the last inspection, which resulted in four main recommendations and the reappearance of some recommendations made in 1998 that remained extant, HMFSI for England and Wales has been disbanded and replaced by the Chief Fire & Rescue Advisor’s Unit – this has, in fact, occurred since the last letter to you from the previous Chief Fire Officer in 2006. The role of this new unit is to advise Ministers on Fire related matters and provide operational guidance to COBRA during major emergencies; however, it no longer conducts inspections of Fire & Rescue Services as these are now carried out by the Audit Commission and focus mainly upon governance and management direction. The Audit Commission has indicated that they do not currently have the resources to undertake an Inspection of SJFRS and in any case their assessment process does not appear suitable due to the political and governance differences between the UK and local fire and rescue services.

2.3 HMFSI for Scotland remains however, under the direction of the devolved administration and continues to conduct general inspections of management and operational performance of fire & rescue services. They have recently conducted an inspection for Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man Fire & Rescue Services. Initial discussions with HMFSI (Scotland) have revealed that they would be willing to do the same for SJFRS and Guernsey Fire & Rescue, who are also seeking some form of external inspection.

2.4 With your sanction, it is proposed that the inspection would be carried out in the third or fourth quarter of 2008, with the proposed Terms of Reference being to review and make recommendations to improve:

§ Service strategic management, governance and direction

§ Workforce management and development

§ Risk analysis

§ Prevention and protection services

§ Operational preparedness

§ Call management and incident support

§ Emergency response

2.5 The Chief Fire Officer and the SJFRS’ Strategic Management Board consider that maintaining the facility of an external inspection programme through HMFSI (Scotland) is a vital, objective tool to validate current plans and for helping to shape and inform future plans to efficiently protect the Island’s community.

3. Recommendation

3.1 The recommendation is made to the Minister to approve the commissioning of HMFSI (Scotland) to conduct a full service inspection and to instruct the Chief Fire Officer to ensure that all necessary arrangements are in place.