Issue - meetings

Health & Safety and Fire Safety Update

Meeting: 28/10/2021 - Audit and Governance Committee (Item 37)

37 Health & Safety and Fire Safety Update pdf icon PDF 432 KB

This report details progress made on the delivery of Health & Safety and Fire Safety governance arrangements for BCP Council and highlights:

·       Ongoing Covid 19 response and the recovery

·       Implementation of Governance framework

·       Reporting of Health and Safety and fire safety to the board

·       An overview of service delivery

Minutes:

The Head of Audit & Management Assurance presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A’ to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report provided details of progress made on the delivery of Health and Safety and Fire Safety governance arrangements for BCP Council.

It was reported that, during the ongoing Covid 19 response and recovery period, Health and Safety and Fire Safety Board meetings had continued with good attendance levels. Service Directorate level meetings had been significantly disrupted although now had mostly re-started. In addition, the Health and Safety and Fire Safety Forum continued to provide a forum for consultation with employees and for exchange of best practice supported by a Microsoft Teams channel for dedicated discussion.

A detailed overview of service delivery was provided including a description of the staffing structure in place. Particularly, a process of remote assurance assessments had been introduced to act as a tool to assist with completion of a revised risk register during the pandemic. Full on-site Fire Risk Assessment had now re-commenced.

In response to questions, it was explained that the arrangements for Fire Assessment of properties owned but not occupied by the Council were normally set out in property leases and that usually, where the Council was landlord, the lease provided that the responsibility for Fire Assessment was with the occupier.

Although noting that it was accordingly the responsibility of the Estates Function to follow up on these leasehold provisions, there was recognition that an internal audit on the adequacy of Estates follow-up of Fire Safety obligations would be useful and was therefore something that should be included within the Internal Audit Plan. A checklist of all Council-owned properties was likely to be required and, as a priority, there should be assessments of the situation at buildings occupied by community bodies such as Community Associations.

RESOLVED that

(a)     Health and Safety and Fire Safety on-going governance arrangements are reported to the Audit and Governance Committee annually;

(b)     the Audit and Governance Committee notes the continued progress in implementing the Health and Safety and Fire Safety governance arrangements, along with the significant contributions made towards managing the risks from the COVID-19 pandemic;

(c)     the Internal Audit Plan be amended to include an internal audit of the arrangements in place within the Council Estates function for the follow-up and enforcement of Fire Safety assessment responsibilities of the occupiers of Council owned buildings.

Voting: Unanimous