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1. As agreed at the Combined Fire Authority meeting held on 20 February 2023 (resolution 67/22 refers) the purpose of the working group is for member engagement in the potential relocation of Service headquarters to the Leadership and Development Centre (LDC), the redevelopment of Preston Fire Station and a review of training props at LDC.

Composition

2. The group comprises a politically balanced group of 10 Authority members in total.

3. Meetings are also attended by the Chair of the Capital Projects Programme Board (Director of Corporate Services), Head of Property and the Project Manager, plus other officers as required according to the agenda.

4. The meetings may also be attended by the Head or Deputy Head of Procurement, who will be the point of contact for procurement services and will collate relevant procurement information on behalf of the Service for presentation to the working group.

5. The group meets three times each year.

6. Members unable to attend can provide their views in writing given the non-legal status of the working group.

Status and purpose of the working group

7. The Capital Buildings Projects Member Working Group does not have committee, sub-committee or any other constitutional legal status and has been set up for the following purposes:

7.1 Member engagement, given the scale and size of all three programmes for consideration.

7.2 To discuss options with members based on officers’ specialist views and expertise, prior to agreement and before engaging with public procurement and tendering processes.

7.3 To update members on progress made by the Service in all stages of the programmes and to seek views on that progress.

7.4 Where possible to collaborate with members on aspects of the programme that cannot be dealt with by Service leaders under the scheme of delegation, provided it is compliant with all aspects of public sector procurement legislation.

7.5 To seek general views and where possible consensus on financial and strategic planning decisions that have been proposed by Service leaders prior to application of the Authority’s legal and administrative obligations.

7.6 To seek general views and where possible consensus on financial and strategic planning decisions falling outside the Authority’s scheme of delegation, prior to ratification by the full Authority and engagement and compliance with public sector procurement regulations.

7.7 For members to be updated by Service leaders in relation to those procurement decisions made under the current scheme of delegation and within the budgetary limits.

Items for consideration

8. At each meeting the group will receive a report with the following content:

8.1 General progress.

8.2 Work done in last period.

8.3 Tasks for next period.

8.4 Updated programme.

8.5 Updated budget position.

8.6 Risk review.

Recommendations

9.1 Where appropriate, recommendations of this working group on any of the matters discussed during meetings will be reported into the relevant decision-making process for the specific matter, and those recommendations will be taken into account by the decision-maker.

9.2 The “relevant decision making process” referred in paragraph 9.1 will differ depending on the matter under discussion but may be the Resources or Planning Committee; the full Authority; or a relevant department within the Service.

9.3 Any such recommendations must be compliant with all relevant public sector procurement regulations and the Service’s internal contract standing orders.

Minutes

10. In addition to any recommendations made under paragraph 9 above, the minutes of this working group will be reported to the next Resources Committee meeting for information.

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