The Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority met to discuss a range of issues, including the appointment of an Assistant Chief Fire Officer, updates to the efficiency strategy, and the annual report on information governance. The authority also discussed insurance provision and the Stockhill Fire Station rebuild project.

Efficiency Strategy Update

The Fire Authority scrutinised the current and future activities planned as part of the Efficiency Strategy, assuring themselves that it is delivering service improvements and contributing towards the financial sustainability of the Service.

The Efficiency Strategy is part of the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025-2028, and is designed to help the authority set a balanced budget and deliver service improvements.

Since 2021, the Home Office has required fire and rescue services to publish an annual efficiency and productivity plan, with the expectation of delivering 2% non-pay efficiencies and a 3% increase in productivity per annum.

The Strategy is composed of several themes and workstreams:

• Commercial and Income
• Asset Management
• Best Use of Existing Resources
• Service and Process Reviews
• Financial Management

Commercial and Income

The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 gives fire and rescue authorities the power to charge for certain functions beyond their core statutory duties¹. The decision for cost recovery and charging amounts was originally approved in 2015 and is reviewed annually as part of the budget approval process. The Service has undertaken a review of the policy on chargeable special service calls (CSSCs). The review identified opportunities to broaden the range of chargeable incidents, bringing the Service more in line with neighbouring fire and rescue services and the wider sector. A future report with recommendations will be tabled at Finance and Resources Committee for members to consider.

The Service continues to seek opportunities to access grant funding. The Community Engagement Team successfully bid to the National Fire Chiefs Council for the UK Fire Cadets Start-up Fund Award, receiving £8,514 for FY 2025/26.

The Service continues to receive and utilise a Protection Uplift Grant from central Government totalling £128,000 for the FY 2025/26, which has enabled service improvement through increased focus on fire protection audits and proactive work in this sector.

Service enhancement has also been delivered through a grant application through the East Midlands Combined County Mayor (EMCCA) as part of the Government's Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP). This grant is being used to recruit three new fire protection posts which will focus on a collaborative approach to addressing unsafe cladding on residential buildings over 11 metres.

The Service has a variety of lease and license agreements relating to provision and sharing of the estate, equipment and vehicles, generating a total income of circa £165,000 per annum. During FY 2025/26, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) has renegotiated lease charges at West Bridgford fire station, using independent valuations to ensure the Authority is receiving best value from this arrangement. Additionally, room hire rates are being reviewed to ensure these reflect ancillary costs including administration, utilities and building maintenance.

Asset Management

As part of the closure of the previous NFRS Headquarters site at Bestwood Lodge and relocation to the Joint Police and Fire Headquarters, a number of functions were relocated across the NFRS estate utilising previously vacant space. An Estate Utilisation Review has been undertaken to assess how efficiently the Service is using its estate and if further opportunities for lease arrangements or agile working opportunities exist. The review has identified less than 1% of the estate is currently vacant.

The review of the current specialist rescue provision is progressing in line with expectations. Engagement with representatives from the existing specialist rescue crews at Highfields and Newark, alongside representative bodies, has enabled the development of proposals relating to a revised model. It is believed the revised model of specialist rescue will address capacity issues which have been reported at both Highfields and Newark stations and enable NFRS to provide an improved service to the community, with the potential for efficiency savings. The proposals are being considered by a strategic board with the ambition to implement a revised model of specialist rescue for the start of 2027/28.

Best Use of Existing Resources

Contract management is an area of strategic focus to drive efficiencies and ensure best value through procurement activities. Improvement work has been undertaken, including the prioritisation of additional fixed term capacity to support the development of a procurement pipeline, contracts register and policy, procedure and training enhancements.

Service and Process Reviews

To support the Service's ambition to be 'outstanding', a review of the People Services function was commissioned from an external provider in January 2025. The main driver for the review was to identify opportunities to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the function, including ensuring the capacity and capabilities are in place to support the wider change agenda set out in the CRMP and associated People and Culture Strategy. The outcomes of the review, and road map to enhance the People function, will be presented to the Human Resources Committee for their consideration.

As part of the Futures 25 Change and Improvement Programme, a digital maturity assessment was commissioned in 2024. The outcomes of the assessment have been used to inform a wider improvement programme including the development of a new digital strategy and digital and data functional restructure. An ICT restructure has been approved and will be in place by October 2025. Enhanced digitisation of systems and processes, alongside reviews of software systems and opportunities that emerging technology presents is a key enabler to drive further efficiency and productivity improvements across the Service.

Financial Management

NFRS insurance provision has been reviewed and further details regarding the insurance position are included within a separate insurance report being presented to the Fire Authority.

The Minimum Review Provision (MRP) review has been carried out in two stages. The first stage was completed in Quarter 1 2025/26 and reported to the Finance and Resources Committee in June 2025. This stage covered the application of the £1.286m 2024/25 underspend as voluntary revenue provision (VRP). The second stage of the review was to reconcile the position at 31 March 2025 across the capital financing requirement (CFR)², balance sheet, and the MRP schedule, amending the MRP schedule and delivering reductions in the charges. A financial model has been developed and used for projects such as the Stockhill new build, compartment fire behaviour training unit and a financial appraisal regarding lease vs purchase for small fleet. The finance model evaluates all the capital and revenue costs, and any income and savings over the entire lifecycle of the project including the cost of capital.

As part of a scheme of work to improve the financial literacy of managers with budget responsibilities, an e-learning financial training package for budget holders is planned to be developed in Autumn 2025.

Annual Report on Information Governance 2024/25

The Fire Authority sought assurances that the Service is adopting a compliant approach to managing information governance related risks.

The report provided members with an update on information governance at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service for the year 2024/25. Data protection and public sector transparency remain key priorities for both the UK government and the Service. In May 2018, new data protection legislation came into effect, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). In June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 was introduced, bringing further updates to the UK's data protection framework aimed at simplifying compliance, supporting responsible data-sharing, and enhancing safeguards around automated decision-making and subject access.

The Service shares information with other agencies to reduce fire risks and to protect communities, requiring an ongoing focus on staff awareness and risk controls. The Service has continued its efforts to promote transparency and accountability, embedding effective information governance practices in line with the National Fire Chiefs Council Data Management Fire Standard.

The annual report covered information governance for April 2024 to March 2025, including:

• Overview of freedom of information requests;
• Overview of environmental information requests;
• Overview of data protection areas of interest; and
• Report on Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) activity or inactivity.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides public access to information held by NFRS. Between April 2024 and March 2025, the Service received 129 FOI requests, with 113 (87.5%) completed within the statutory timeframe. Compliance continues to be monitored closely, with any significant issues escalated to the Protective Security Group. An automated booking system has been introduced (2025) to ensure staff are promptly notified of FOI requests and can provide the required information within the specified deadline.

Environmental Information Requests

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 sits alongside the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to ensure public access to environmental information held by public bodies. No requests for information under the Environmental Information Regulations were received between April 2024 - March 2025.

Data Protection

Responsibilities for correct use of personal information about individual members of the public and members of staff are set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR. During the 2024/25 financial year, the Service received 60 subject access requests, with 100% completed within the statutory timeframe. In the 2024/25 financial year, no incidents recorded by the Service met the threshold for mandatory notification to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). During the 2024/25 financial year, the Service received a total of 176 general information requests (GIR).

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA)

NFRS is authorised by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to undertake some types of covert investigation for the prevention or detection of crime, the prevention of disorder, or in the interests of public safety. There were no applications for covert investigations at NFRS under RIPA from April 2024 to March 2025.

All NFRS staff are required to complete data protection training every two years. At the close of the 2024/25 financial year, the Service recorded 728 users, with 713 completions (97.9%) and 15 non-completions (2.1%).

Other Matters

• The Authority also discussed insurance provision and the Stockhill Fire Station rebuild project.
• The Authority moved to exclude the public from the meeting to discuss a Mobilisation Project Update, in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972³.