Issue - meetings

Councillor Andy Crump (Portfolio Holder for) moved the recommendation as set out in the report.  In doing so, he highlighted that the strategy set out the approach to make Warwickshire safer for the next five years and supported the outcomes and objectives of the Council. 

Councillor Parminder Singh Birdi seconded the recommendation, noting that a good response to the consultation had been received with a high proportion of residents supporting the approach.

Debate

Councillor Sarah Boad noted the difficulties of consulting in such a way that met statutory requirements but also attracted sufficient responses.  She thanked those who had taken the time to respond and particularly drew attention to paragraph 4.8 of the report which set out the responses to what else Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service should consider in the prevention, protection, and response priorities and the frequency of responses around funding, resources, education and response.   She congratulated the Fire Service on its social media presence and the prevention and safety messages that were shared.  Her sense was that residents valued the Fire and Rescue Service and welcomed the cross-party involvement in CRMP meetings and the responsiveness of Fire Officers to the questions and queries raised in that forum.

Councillor Sarah Feeney expressed her disappointment that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough and Rugby Borough were under-represented when comparing where survey respondents resided to the 2021 Census populations for these areas and that the age of respondents was also comparatively high.  She considered that learning from other consultations which had greater youth engagement could be helpfully shared ahead of the next survey, particularly noting the success of the bus surveys conducted by the Bus Service Improvement Plan Group. 

Councillor Sarah Millar thanked those involved in preparing the report and was pleased to see the climate change theme running throughout the strategy.  She recalled concerns in the summer around fires on Newbold Comyn and the work that had taken place to raise awareness of the risks posed by portable barbecues.  It had been a summer of extremes and she was of the view it would not be a one-off. 

Councillor Jonathan Chilvers applauded the work of the Fire and Rescue Service, particularly recalling the response to the fire at the Leeson Polyurethanes facility in August 2022 and the gratitude of local residents.  He also noted that there was no mention of arson in the report and sought further details about the time spent on arson cases and the concern this caused.

Councillor Falp added her support for the strategy whilst noting that a good service had to be well funded and reminded Members to consider this during budget setting activity. 

Councillor Crump welcomed the comments received and applauded the work of the Fire and Rescue Service, particularly its partnership working and the events of the extreme summer. He noted that the level of engagement had increased since the last consultation but that he would like to see a higher number of responses, particularly among young people and work was underway to increase  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3