Location and Accessibility of Meetings

All meetings of the Authority and its Committees are held in the Conference Suite in the Headquarters of Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service in Bridle Road, Bootle. Bridle Road is located between Netherton Way and Park Lane in Bootle, a short walk from Aintree Station which is on the Ormskirk branch of the Merseyrail Northern Line. There is a small visitors car park at the front of the building and a larger car park to the rear from where access to the Conference Suite can be gained.

Meetings of the Authority and its Committees are accessible to the public except where exempt information, as defined in the Local Government Act 1972, is being considered. This is for example likely to be the case for most meetings of the Appeals and Appointments Committees.

The Authority does welcome the attendance of members of the public at meetings. Any members of the public who do want to attend meetings are requested if possible to speak in advance to Helen Peek or a member of Committee Services on 0151 296 4114 so that suitable arrangements can be made.

Dates of Meetings

All Authority & Committee meetings are in the Conference Suite, at Fire Service Headquarters, Bridle Road unless otherwise stated.

2011/12

Date	Event
Wednesday 15th June 2011	North West Strategic Partnership Board (external meeting)
Thursday 16th June 2011	Annual Meeting/New Member Induction
Thursday 30th June 2011	Authority/Member Development/Executive Leadership Board
Monday 11th July 2011	Executive Leadership Board
Tuesday 12th July 2011	Strategic Assets Committee (preceded by Learning Lunch) Followed by Community Protection Committee followed by Member Development
Thursday 14th July 2011 Friday 15th July 2011	North West Strategic Partnership Board (external meeting)
Tuesday 19th July 2011	Standards Committee followed by Tues 19th July Consultation & Negotiation Committee
Thursday 21st July 2011	Authority
Tuesday 26th July 2011	MF&RA Strategy Day (in house)
Wednesday 27th July 2011	MFRA Strategy Day (in house)
Wednesday 27th July 2011	IRMP Scrutiny Panel
August Break
Thursday 25th August 2011	Executive Leadership Board
Tuesday 6th September 2011	Community Safety Scrutiny Panel
Thursday 8th September 2011	Audit & Value for Money Scrutiny Panel
Thursday 15th September 2011	Asset Management Scrutiny Panel
Wednesday 21st September 2011	NW Strategic Partnership Board
Tuesday 27th September 2011	Authority followed by Member Development
Tuesday 4th October 2011	Executive Leadership Board
Thurs 6th October 2011	Standards Committee Followed by IRMP Scrutiny
Thursday 13th October 2011	Consultation & Negotiation Committee followed by Member Development
Tuesday 25th October 2011	Community Protection Committee followed by Audit & Value For Money Scrutiny Panel
Tues 1st November 2011	Executive Leadership Board
Tues 15th November 2011	Strategic Assets Committee preceded by Learning Lunch Followed by Community Safety Scrutiny
Thursday 29th November 2011	Authority
Tuesday 6th December 2011	Executive Leadership Board
Wednesday 7th December 2011	North West Strategic Partnership Board
Tuesday 13th December 2011	Authority followed by Asset Management Scrutiny Panel
Christmas Break
Date	Meeting
Thursday 5th January 2012	Audit & Value for Money Scrutiny Panel preceded by Learning Lunch followed by Community Protection Committee
Tuesday 10th January 2012	Executive Leadership Board followed by Consultation and Negotiation Committee
Thursday 12th January 2012	Standards Committee
Thursday 19th  January 2012	Authority Meeting followed by Community Safety Scrutiny Panel
Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th January 2012	MF&RA Budget Strategy Day
Thursday 26th January 2012	IRMP Scrutiny Panel
Thursday 2nd February 2012	Executive Leadership Board followed by Asset Management Scrutiny Panel
Thurs 16th February 2012	(Budget) Authority Meeting
Thursday 1st March 2012	Executive Leadership Board followed by Member Development Group
Thursday 15th March 2012	Standards Committee followed by IRMP Scrutiny Panel
Thursday 22nd March 2012	Strategic Assets Committee preceded by Learning Lunch Followed by Community Safety Scrutiny Panel
Thursday 29th March 2012	Audit an Value for Money Scrutiny Panel followed by Community Protection Committee
Tuesday 3rd April 2012	Executive Leadership Board followed by Consultation & Negotiation Committee
Thursday 17th May 2012	Authority
Thursday 31st May 2012	Executive Leadership Board

Membership of Outside Bodies 2011/12

The Authority is a Member of the Local Government Association and of the North West Employers' Organisation as well as of LACDE (Local Authorities Confronting Disasters and Emergencies) and the Safer Merseyside Partnership.

Its representatives for 2011/12 are as follows:-

Organisation	Members
Fire Service Commission	Councillors Newman and Mahon
LGA Urban Commission	Councillor Ted Grannell
L.A.C.D.E (Local Authorities Confronting Disasters and Emergencies)	Councillor Ted Grannell
Merseyside Brussels Office	Councillor Steve Niblock
Fire Support Network	Councillor Newman
North West Partnership Board	Councillors Tony Newman, Dave Hanratty and Lesley Rennie
North West Employers Organisation	Councillor Robbie Ayres

North West Partnership Board

North West Partnership Board - Cllrs Newman, Hanratty and Rennie.

The Authority is represented by 3 Elected Members on the North West Partnership Board, meetings of which are also attended by the Chief Fire Officer or Deputy Chief Fire Officer. The Board was created in September 2010 as a requirement of the Government for Fire Authorities and is a grouping of the five North West Authorities of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The Board is comprised of 14 Elected Members nominated by the constituent Authorities in accordance with their respective sizes. It meets approximately every two months and rotates its meetings around the region. North Wales Fire Service usually attends the meetings in an observer capacity. The Board is one of a number across the country which the Government needs to meet its requirements and work collaboratively in the following areas:

• Common and Specialist Services
• Effective Resilience Plans for large scale emergencies
• Personnel and Human Resources
• Training
• Control Rooms
• Procurement

Where possible the Board also works with other regional organisations such as the Government Office North West, the North West Development Agency and the North West Employers’ Organisation. Merseyside provides the lead Legal Advisor to the Board.

In 2011/12 the representatives of Merseyside on the Board are Councillors Newman, Mahon and Rennie.

Elected Member Sponsors 2011/12

• Equality & Diversity - Cllr Robbie Ayres paired with Cllr Tony Newman
• Consultation, Information Management & ICT - Cllr Terry Jones paired with Cllr Lesley Rennie
• Fire Service Direct - Cllr Ted Grannell
• Prevention & Protection - Cllr Barbara Murray paired with Cllr Jimmy Mahon
• Value For Money/ Finance - Cllr Andrew Blackburn
• Corporate Risk & IRMP - Cllr Violet Bebb paired with Cllr Linda Maloney
• Health, Safety & Environment - Cllr Niblock 
• Response Cllr Colin Strickland paired with Cllr Dave Hanratty
• Training, Development and Lifelong Learning - Cllr Sharon Sullivan 
• Voluntary Sector - Cllr Ian Lewis paired with Cllr Barbara Murray
• Youth Engagement - Cllr Ian Lewis paired with Linda Maloney
  
  

District Council Questions

Under the provisions of the 1985 Local Government Act, Councillors from the five District Councils are entitled to put down questions about the Authority to meetings of their individual constituent Councils.

The Authority Members nominated to answer such questions in 2010/11 are:

• Liverpool - Councillor Dave Hanratty
• Knowsley - Councillor Tony Newman
• St. Helens - Councillor Linda Maloney
• Sefton - Councillor Jimmy Mahon
• Wirral - Councillor Denise Roberts

Equal Opportunities Policy

The Authority is firmly committed to providing equality of opportunity for current and potential employees and equality of service to the community. To achieve this the Authority will create an environment in which there is respect for every individual and recognition of their needs and aspirations, regardless of their sex, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, religion or creed, political beliefs, trade union activity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age or any other factor which cannot be justified.

Secretariat

The Secretariat to the Authority is provided by Democratic Services within the Legal Services Directorate, who are located in Bridle Road. They can be contacted by way of the following telephone numbers and email addresses

Tel: 0151 296 4112

Email: democraticservices@merseyfire.gov.uk