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2022-03-31-accounts

Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022

Company Registration No. 3677186 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. 1074071

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

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Contents

1. Legal and Administrative Information.....................................................................................................3
2. Trustees’ Report .....................................................................................................................................5
Statement from the Chair of the NFCC Trustees ...........................................................................5
Vision/mission/values ......................................................................................................................6
Governance and management .......................................................................................................7
Risk management ...........................................................................................................................8
Membership and structure ........................................................................................................... 11
3. Strategic report .................................................................................................................................... 16
Statement from Mark Hardingham, NFCC Chair ........................................................................ 16
3.2
Strategic focus ............................................................................................................................. 18
3.3
Achievements and performance .................................................................................................. 20
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 30
Statement of trustees’ responsibilities ......................................................................................... 31
4 Financial review ................................................................................................................................... 33
5 Reserves policy ................................................................................................................................... 33
6 Directors .............................................................................................................................................. 35
7 Independent Auditors’ Report to the members and trustees .............................................................. 36
8 Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account) ................................. 40
9 Charity statement of financial position ................................................................................................ 41
10 Statement of cash flows .................................................................................................................. 42
Notes to the accounts ................................................................................................................................. 43

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1. Legal and Administrative Information

Directors T. Budworth
R. Thomas
W. Bowcock
M. Crennell Resigned 31 March 2022
J. Roberts
R. Haggart
A. Roe
L. Taylor Appointed 23 March 2022
D. Wood Appointed 20 April 2022
D. Stout Appointed 11 April 2022
C. Skinner Appointed 12 April 2022
K. Eason Appointed 1 April 2022
Senior staff members with M. Hardingham NFCC Chair
delegated authority for day to
day management of the charity		 S. Adams Chief Operating Officer till 4thJuly 2022
S. Hancock Chief Operating Officer appointed 4th
July 2022
Registered Office 99 Vauxhall Road,
Birmingham
B7 4HW
Bankers HSBC Bank Plc
10 Market Street
Tamworth
Staffordshire B79 7LZ
Solicitors Veale Wasbrough
Vizards LLP
Narrow Quay House,

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Narrow Quay, Bristol
BS1 4QA
Independent auditors Saffery Champness LLP
St John’s Court
Easton Street
High Wycombe
HP11 1JX
Company Secretary S. Adams

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2. Trustees’ Report

Statement from the Chair of the NFCC Trustees

Everything that we do supports our charitable objects which are at the heart of all activity and I am proud to present this Annual Report which details the ongoing development of the charity, in particular the work delivered through our Chiefs Council.

Our ability to deliver on behalf of our members and partners has been recognised by the continuation of large grants from the Home Office for improvement and protection work and with the addition this year of a new grant which we were able to deliver in a very short time frame. Over the last 12 months we have worked hard as an organisation to continue to develop and improve our own internal processes to support the rapid growth we required to be able to deliver the successes that we have. These achievements are detailed later within this report.

Our successes over the last year have also presented the charity with new challenges. The rate at which we have delivered has to be balanced with the rate at which our members are able to take in new or refreshed products and so this year we have established an implementation team to focus on supporting our members throughout the full life cycle of our products, demonstrating our development and maturity as an organisation.

The support from our members is crucial to the success of the charity and we continue to represent every UK public Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) with all keeping their Professional Partner membership. At our Annual General Meeting on 29 September 2021, we proposed a number of changes to our Articles of Association by Special Resolution in order to support the ongoing success of the organisation and I was delighted by the overwhelming support from our Individual Members for these proposals. The most notable change to most is our alignment of the charity’s name to our main brand: National Fire Chiefs Council, therefore our official charity name is now National Fire Chiefs Council Limited. Our change of name is another recognition of the great success of the establishment of our Chiefs Council and the National Fire Chiefs Council brand.

Teresa Budworth

Chair of NFCC Trustees

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Vision/mission/values

The National Fire Chiefs Council Limited (NFCC) is a registered charity and company as well as a membership association. As a charity, the association has several objects which are detailed below.

NFCC Objects

The purpose of NFCC is to provide a platform for the NFCC to:

Our activities have continued to promote improvement within the fire and rescue service for the benefit of the public and communities across the United Kingdom. The beneficiaries of our work are the UK public as they benefit from an improved FRS, capable of saving more lives and all the work we do is planned with this aim in mind.

Strategic aims

NFCC’s work, through the facilitation of the NFCC, can be categorised under our four strategic aims which continue to run through every activity undertaken. These aims are:

Leadership:

NFCC leads and influences the future direction of the UK FRS on professional, managerial and leadership issues which affect the fire service.

Communication:

NFCC effectively communicates views and priorities to firmly influence key decision-makers.

Professional Advice:

NFCC provides professional advice that drives and contributes to policy development which impacts on the UK FRS.

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Development:

NFCC supports its members through NFCC to achieve individual and collective improvement.

Governance and management

The Association has been governed by NFCC Trustees who represent the different FRS governance models: combined authorities, county councils, metropolitans, London Fire Brigade, the Scottish FRS, Northern Ireland FRS and the Welsh FRSs, with a Trustee representing NFCC’s Individual Membership along with two independent trustees who are not from the fire sector.

At the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM), the members voted through changes to the Articles of Association which changed the composition of trustees to increase the number of independent trustees to four. The vote also agreed to change the representation of the fire trustees from FRS governance models to representatives of the individual membership. The trustees already in post will continue as representatives of the membership and a Nominations Committee has now been established which has managed the recruitment of the new trustees into the vacant positions.

The Board of Trustees continues to be chaired by one of the independent trustees. The trustees oversee all financial and governance aspects of the association and meet quarterly. Governance processes are in place to ensure that the Association is managed effectively and efficiently as well as in line with charity and company law. In 2020/21 we commissioned a full review of our corporate processes and policies and throughout this financial year we have been implementing recommendations from this review, both in our ’business-as-usual’ activities as well as part of our One NFCC programme. The induction and ongoing training programme for trustees has been reviewed and continues to be developed to support the trustees needs throughout their time on the board.

The day-to-day management of the Association has been delegated by the trustees to key management roles. This year the trustees took the decision to create a new interim Chief Operating Officer role to provide a single point of corporate leadership and governance, as a principal part of the transformation agenda to unify an organically grown, dispersed structure. This year also saw the transition from the inaugural NFCC Chair to the second post-holder. The NFCC Chair is a paid, fulltime role employed by the Association and appointed by NFCC’s Individual Membership. The role is held for an initial two-year term with the possibility of a further extension of up to two further years, both periods subject to satisfactory performance which is managed through a dedicated Performance Committee.

The charity has seen a further increase for our employee numbers to 42 with a wider team consisting of secondees and staff dedicated to the delivery of organisation’s work through our continued Service Level Agreements with London Fire Brigade and West Midlands Fire Service. Due to the level of the

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charity’s funding currently being from a Home Office grant confirmed on an annual basis, employment is offered on fixed-term contracts.

Risk management

The trustees manage the risks to the Association through its risk management policy which outlines NFCC’s approach to risk management. Due to the success of the Association, in particular the securing of significant grant income this year, the charity has identified a number of new risks. Mitigating actions have been implemented or started with further mitigating actions also identified to address these risks. All major risks are detailed in the Association’s risk register which is reviewed regularly by the management team and discussed in detail at every trustees meeting.

Higher-rated risks for NFCC this year have been:

Mitigation of the risks has been the focus of trustees over the last year and actions taken include the commissioning of the One NFCC programme (detailed within this report), establishing the Senior Leadership Team and, in particular, seeking advice from Stephen Walsh Q.C. on the legal status of National Operational Guidance (NOG).

With the support of our insurance broker, we have also secured us a significant increase in our professional indemnity cover which had decreased significantly over recent years due to the increased status of the charity and the prominence of our products, in particular NOG. As further mitigation and to ensure that NOG continues to meet the needs of fire and rescue services, NFCC has commissioned a comprehensive review of NOG as part of our commitment to proactive, corporate risk management and ensure it meets the current and future needs of the UK Fire and Rescue Service (UKFRS). The NOG programme began in 2012 and since then, several high-profile incidents have occurred (Grenfell Tower fire, Manchester Arena bombing, widescale flooding, wildfires, etc.) and various initiatives have been introduced (Fire Standards (England), HMICFRS Inspections (England), the inclusion of the NFCC in the

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National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service in England, and the move from CFOA to NFCC). Although the elements of NOG are continually reviewed and maintained to ensure outputs/learning from these incidents/initiatives are fed in, NOG as a concept and its application has not been reviewed.

NOG has come under close scrutiny through the public inquiries into the Manchester Arena attack (22 May 2017) and the Grenfell Tower Fire (14 June 2017). In both inquiries, the use of NOG as the basis for developing policies and procedures by fire and rescue services locally, has been considered. As the owners of NOG, this has informed the NFCC view of the need for this review to consider how NOG is developed, its governance, the liability NFCC may hold, and the process of adoption in a FRS. NFCC recently commissioned Stephen Walsh Q.C. to review the status of NOG and associated liability it holds following the implementation of NOG by FRSs. This advice has informed this review.

Income diversification

As an organisation we are developing a commercial strategy to explore diversification of our income streams to ensure a sound and stable financial future for the NFCC. This will ensure, in the instance of loss of an income stream, for example withdrawal of government grant funding, we can maintain resource and infrastructure to deliver the valuable work undertaken by NFCC which ultimately contributes to keeping our communities safe.

Many of the products we create and deliver for UK fire and rescue services hold a beneficial value to commercial and wider sector organisations. The commercial strategy will scope out what products we own that have a potential value to external organisations and how we can make these products available for a financial return for the organisation. The strategy will focus on the opportunities for sustainable income for NFCC while fully exploring the risk, mitigation and resource involved for each potential product.

One NFCC Programme

The ‘One NFCC Programme’ was launched in response to recommendations made as part of a 2021 external review into our organisational structures and capabilities, commissioned by the trustees at their meeting on 12 July 2021. Trustees agreed that after four years since the establishment of the current structure it was time to build on our previous successes and achievements by investing in the

organisation to enable NFCC to continue to meet its goals. This includes providing greater focus on the role of NFCC, effectively delivering the ‘Achieving More Together’ strategy while being adaptable to changes across the sector and promoting a ‘One NFCC’ culture.

Within the One NFCC Programme are four specific projects:

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Governance : Articulate a clear vision of what we are here to do and how we govern ourselves to

achieve this.

Digital Transformation : Review our digital footprint and produce a single NFCC website, intranet, and members’ portal. The members’ portal will benefit our membership and allow more effective engagement.

NFCC Transformation : Review our structures, considering moving from a hub-based model with teams at West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) and London Fire Brigade (LFB) into a single organisation, with consistent lines of management and accountability, effective ways of working, and efficient use of resources. Organisational transformation is complex and requires specialist legal and HR expertise and we are committed to following the correct procedures, being thorough and considerate in our approach, and ensuring the appropriate engagement and consultation is carried out with our staff, therefore we have engaged an external consultant to advise us.

Review NFCC Service Level Agreements : Review the existing agreements with WMFS and LFB in line with the transformation project, ensuring that we recognise the quality and resilience they have provided during the inception and growth of the NFCC, whilst ensuring we are able to develop into an organisation that continues to support the sector into the future.

The One NFCC Programme is overseen by a Programme Board consisting of the Chair of Trustees, the NFCC Chair, the COO and three Individual Members. It is envisaged the programme will take between 18 and 24 months to complete; however, this will form the basis for our continued development and improvement as an organisation to ensure we remain effective and flexible to meet the challenges ahead.

Over the past nine months the programme has delivered a number of outputs and comes such as the publication of Terms of Reference for the Board of Trustees, Performance Committee, Nominations Committee and the Senior Leadership Team. The 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) took a Special Resolution proposing changes to our Articles of Association including changing the charity’s name to align to the externally facing brand of the National Fire Chiefs Council. The objectives of the programme are ambitious and we are committed to delivering these ambitions through strong programme management to ensure that the organisation is not only sustainable, but can flourish and continue to provide the best support to our members in order to further our charitable objects.

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Membership and structure

The Association continues to offer different types of membership as detailed in our Articles of Association. Our membership gives NFCC a very strong reputational base and over the last year we have been working hard to reinvigorate our member engagement activity. The NFCC Chair has visited nearly every Professional Partner leadership team since starting in post. We have reintroduced annual member surveys to provide another method for our members to provide feedback on our offer. The first physical New Members Induction since the pandemic was held in February 2022 and a further induction event aimed at new Chiefs is being planned to further develop our peer support offering.

Membership numbers on the 31 March 2021 were:

Our membership numbers remain constant which reflects the satisfaction of the membership with the benefits offered from their membership and the achievements of the organisation. The change in the Professional Partner membership number was due to a merge of two FRS; every UK public FRS remains a member.

Honorary membership was given to Roy Wilsher, previous NFCC Chair, in recognition of his immense contribution to the organisation over his 11 years in leadership positions within the charity and the significant influence he has had within the sector during his career.

Chiefs Council (Council)

The Chiefs Council is a committee of NFCC which provides all UK fire and rescue services, which are NFCC Professional Partners, with:

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The Council meets quarterly and on average 48 FRSs are represented at every meeting. The opportunity to join the meetings digitally is always available to every FRS as we are committed to ensuring that Council is a forum where every FRS has a voice as strategic national policy is shaped. The Council is a forum for decision-making at a national level and policy will be presented to Council for collective understanding and agreement. It is expected that by the time work has reached Council, it will have already been through significant consultation to allow for a decision to be made via the committee structure. NFCC has increased its activity levels significantly which has further pressurised Council agendas, therefore an informal element has been introduced to the meetings where attendees are invited to debate key topics for the sector in a closed environment. This ensures that all topics can be tackled, and all voices heard as well as allowing the time needed to explore significant issues.

Council Committees

Our committees and programmes deliver the work for the NFCC, against priorities set out by the Council for the benefit of the UK FRS.

Using networks of subject matter experts, each of our seven committees aims support the UK FRS in reducing risk to life and property, minimise injury and harm, and improve health and wellbeing in ways that are sustainable and cost effective. All committees are chaired by NFCC Individual Members and also contribute to the achievement of NFCC’s work portfolio.

NFCC Portfolio Office

The Portfolio Office provides programme, project and benefits management services to the fire and ' rescue sector. It forms one of the three hubs supporting the delivery of the NFCC s strategy.

It coordinates the multiple improvement programmes on behalf of the NFCC, and this overarching coordination helps NFCC avoid duplication; prioritise work more effectively and develop solutions and tools more effectively which support fire and rescue services where a national approach would be beneficial.

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The work is focused on key areas of NFCC’s strategy:

Community Risk Programme – this is focused on developing guidance, tools and a Fire Standard relating to risk management planning. It will produce a clear definition of risk that would allow communities to hold the performance of their fire and rescue service to account. It has a number of projects underway, including: Definition of Risk; Economic and Social Value of the UK fire and rescue service; Community Risk Management Planning (CRMP) Guidance; Competencies for Risk Management.

– People Programme this has multiple projects already completed and more underway. The live projects include: the Core Code of Ethics, Leadership Framework, Coaching and Mentoring Toolkit and National Portal, Talent Management Toolkit, Direct Entry at Area Manager and Station Manager, Supervisory Leadership Development Programme; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Apprenticeships; Core Learning Pathway, establishing an End Point Assessment Partnership; Recruitment.

Digital and Data Programme – this aims to drive national consistency in the identification, implementation and use of digital capability; make our workforce digitally literate; shift demand for services to online channels where feasible; and to maximise the use of data to drive operational excellence.

The Protection and Prevention programmes seek to address aspects of these activity areas where national change is required.

National Operational Guidance

NFCC maintains National Operational Guidance, ensuring the guidance remains accurate and up-todate by reviewing content based on an agreed schedule, and dynamically responding to the recommendations of National Operational Learning and legislative changes.

The National Operational Learning secretariat support the review of incidents, to ensure risk critical information can be shared with all UK fire and rescue services in a timely fashion while applying robust scrutiny.

The suite of operational guidance is being expanded to encompass guidance specifically for fire control rooms. Through this project, NFCC is also supporting the government in delivering the Multi-Agency Incident Transfer (MAIT) system which will significantly improve the transfer of incident data between blue light control rooms.

Fire Standards

NFCC also supports the new Fire Standards Board for fire services in England through coordinating Fire

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Standards development work which will be aligned to NFCC’s improvement programmes. We are the main body providing subject matter expertise to inform the Fire Standards.

Protection Policy and Reform Unit (PPRU)

Following funding secured from Home Office and MHCLG (now Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities , NFCC has established the Protection Policy and Reform Unit (PPRU) to provide the link between FRSs and government by representing the collective views and expert technical advice of FRSs. The PPRU now incorporates the wider Building Safety Programme Team.

The PPRU reports into the Chair of NFCC’s Protection and Business Safety Committee who in turn sits on the NFCC Steering Group. The Steering Group sets the strategic direction for NFCC.

The overarching objectives and purpose of the unit is to:

The PPRU will exist to provide the tools, guidance and support to FRSs for protection activities whilst promoting best practice and influencing and advising government. We aim to be the first port of call for national issues and offer both individual and regional support and technical expertise.

As members of the Joint Regulators Group we are working on the operational policy development to inform the Building Safety Regulator and are also members of the Industry Safety Steering Group.

We will provide enforcement guidance and be the central hub for support and leadership.

We will play a key part in service improvement helping to progress HMICFRS and Grenfell Tower Inquiry (GTI) recommendations, and to promote consistency and support the development of competency and capabilities across protection departments. We aim to influence government policy on behalf of FRSs, providing technical advice and engaging regularly with HO and DLUHC on legislative development. We will work with FRSs to understand how proposals will impact on the sector.

The PPRU also support the secretariat for the Protection Board, including the Building Risk Review programme.

Implementation Support

We established our Implementation Support Team to further develop our relationships with fire and rescue services, alongside drawing out good practice where direct support might not be necessary. The team provides a single point of contact for fire and rescue services implementation managers and

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delivery teams and provides support with the implementation of Fire Standards and NFCC products, while recognising that each service was responsible for its own implementation strategy. The team is able to offer support when required or requested through workshops, planning, evaluation activities, sharing best practice and collaboration opportunities.

The team has adapted a methodology for support and developed an account management approach to service delivery, rather than a traditional implementation management function, which is a better reflection on the demand placed on the team by services.

The publication of new Fire Standards as well as HMICFRS inspection reports, provide the main levers that enable the team to demonstrate where they are able to add value by mapping specific standards, guidance and NFCC products to gaps in service delivery. The team also use the responses to NFCC surveys to target services with particular needs.

Prevention Programme

This programme aims to make communities safer by supporting fire and rescue services with new and innovative ways to prevent fire and other emergencies. The programme has worked with the Fire Standards Board to launch the Prevention Fire Standard and Safeguarding Fire Standard. It has also worked in partnership with the Home Office to deliver the National Fire Kills campaign and evaluation. It has a number of projects underway, including: Person Centred Framework (PCF), Mental Health and Fire Risk Research, Prevention Evaluation Toolkit and Safeguarding. It works closely with the NFCC Children and Young People workstreams.

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3. Strategic report

Statement from Mark Hardingham, NFCC Chair

Our members are at the heart of our organisation. A key focus since I took over the role as NFCC Chair has been to increase engagement and further develop our understanding of the needs of our membership.

Since beginning my term I made it a priority to meet with fire and rescue services’ senior leadership teams and to date I have met with more than 40 services across the UK. This has provided a fantastic insight into the passion, leadership, and plans for continuous improvement, and the role of NFCC in realising that.

The last 12 months have brought more challenges for fire services and NFCC as we continued to see the impacts on the pandemic. I am proud of the role of NFCC and FRSs in the support we have provided to communities and partners throughout. While there were many additional activities carried out, I am exceptionally proud of the support to the national vaccination programme, where more than half a million vaccinations were administered by FRS staff, with many thousands of hours of support.

The call for NFCC and FRS assistance came again at the start of 2022; we were asked if, through our National Resilience function, we could assist with sending equipment to support firefighters on the frontline in Ukraine. A sector-wide effort was soon underway and 60 fire engines, packed with kit and equipment, was driven in three convoys[1] to get the equipment to those who needed our help. Once again, we showed how the UK FRS is ready, willing and able to offer support to those who need it. This – along with the continuing pandemic assistance – was all carried out while ‘business as usual’ activities were maintained.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is a key component of any great organisation and NFCC and FRSs are not short of intent, initiatives and leadership. As highlighted through HMICFRS and by the recent Home Affairs Select Committee, progress is being made, however more is needed to further embed this work and achieve the outcomes we all want so EDI is firmly part of the fabric of the UK FRS. As an organisation, we seek to ensure that we always consider EDI with a real emphasis at our conferences and through our Lunch and Learn sessions.

The long-awaited government White Paper on Fire Reform has now been published[2] for English FRS. It builds on the reforms and improvements of recent years. The improvements include the role of the

1 The second and third convoys setting off in April and May 2022.

2 18 May 2022.

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National Fire Chief Council – now firmly captured in the National Framework; the role of the Fire Standards Board and the maturing inspection regime through Her Majesty’s Inspectorate, all with a focus on continuous improvement and the important role of national functions in supporting the fire and rescue service.

Of course, whilst there is much to celebrate and some effective reform so far, we’re far from complacent and there are further improvements we want to make to deliver the very best service to the public right across the UK - a service that meets their changing needs and expectations both now and in the future.

Much of this is captured in the evolving work of the National Fire Chief Council, with the Local Government Association and Employers in England, on the Fit for the Future work that will inform our response to this White Paper. I expect there will be many similarities between the White Paper and Fit for Future about the ambition for continuously improving fire services in the years ahead.

We know the public have great confidence and trust in firefighters and their fire and rescue services. We all carry a collective responsibility to build on that reputation in how we shape the fire and rescue service for the future – with the needs and expectations of the public at the forefront of our thinking. NFCC has a significant role to play in advising and delivering on reform and improvements. However, no one organisation alone holds the key – we want to work with the various fire service bodies to inform and implement further improvements.

In June 2021 we launched the NFCC Plan 2021-24 which is a comprehensive programme of activity designed to support fire and rescue services in improving service delivery in their local areas. We set out how the ambitions and commitments outlined in our Strategy will be delivered over the next three years. It ensures that the appropriate tools, resources and skills are in place to deliver the objectives outlined, in a way that remains relevant to, and has the greatest impact on, UK fire and rescue. Our plan is a significant milestone for NFCC and one that will pave the way for our future activity and the support we give to the UK fire and rescue sector.

I have been proud of so many areas of our work over the last year which are outlined in the following section of this report all of which we would not be able to deliver without the commitment and expertise of our members and staff team. It has been another challenging year for all of us but together we are achieving more, and I am looking forward with pride to the next 12 months.

Mark Hardingham NFCC Chair

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3.2 Strategic focus

NFCC has a unique role in representing fire and rescue services on the national stage with one voice for maximum impact and harnessing the knowledge and expertise across the country, bringing it together for the benefit of all. We want our members to understand what we can do to support and help their own fire and rescue service on a day-to-day basis, but also in times of crisis. We describe the three key benefits of NFCC’s role below.

In recent years, much of our work has been dominated by responding to the consequences of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire. NFCC has worked with its members, governments, and many other parts of the fire sector, to understand what needs to change to ensure that the risk of another fire on this scale is significantly reduced. We know that we cannot be defined by one incident, but we must let it guide our thinking, actions, and journey to improvement in all areas of fire and rescue service business.

We are committed to undertaking a regular review of the external influences that affect NFCC. For example, the impact of climate change is starker than ever; we continue to live in financially challenging times, and we must be adaptable to the ever-changing world of technology. We can help our members by using, for example, our convening power or by lobbying for legislative change. Whatever the need, NFCC stands ready to support its members.

NFCC is committed to supporting fire and rescue services as they seek to improve service delivery at a local level. To best co-ordinate efforts nationally we have set out our approach through four strategic commitments, three of which form the backbone of our continuous improvement programmes: Community Risk, People, and the need to revitalise our approach to digital and data. Our fourth commitment focuses on efficiency, finance and collaboration.

We are a membership organisation and our members carry considerable commitments and obligations as employers of fire and rescue personnel, with clear legislative parameters. Safety is at the heart of what fire and rescue services do; they provide a 24/7 insurance policy for communities as set out in a local contract in the form of risk management plans. NFCC cannot deliver this, but it can provide members with access to good practice through the creation of national guidance; it can bring people together to create solutions that can be used in all areas of fire and rescue service business.

The collaboration that NFCC can encourage, negotiate and support comes from the fact that it represents all fire and rescue services in the UK. That can manifest itself at a local level where risk goes beyond organisational boundaries, at a national or even international level.

We put in considerable effort and resource to assist our members with the changes that result from the Grenfell Tower fire – from both the public inquiry Phase 1 outcomes and the recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. We must also remain vigilant to the other factors that influence the context in which we operate and present different

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challenges. We also know that society is changing in different parts of the country in various ways. Our members are reshaping themselves to address societal changes, including population growth and movement, an ageing society and health issues such as obesity and heart disease. Fire and rescue services need also to consider environmental changes, leading to increasing risks of flooding, wildfires, and water shortages. They also need to be able to build upon their success in changing human behaviour and improve their contribution to a safer more prosperous society. There is a role for fire and rescue services in the future that builds on the excellent work so far and continues to not only save lives but change lives.

Our members continue to be on high alert as terrorism remains a threat to our communities. NFCC, while not a responder defined under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, is able to use its convening power and influence to contribute to responses as appropriate. The NFCC Chair has attended the Government’s COBR(A) meetings set up in the aftermath of terrorist incidents. The Chair, supported by members, has been a critical link between the national stage and the local delivery of response at times of crisis.

All of this forms the landscape against which we operate and support our members to deliver high quality public services. We know that they operate within tight financial restraints and as a result we seek to operate as leanly and efficiently as we can so that the professional partnership fee is used effectively.

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3.3 Achievements and performance

This section of the report summarises the key achievements of the NFCC over the last financial year, all of which support our strategic aims.

Covid-related activities in 2021/22

NFCC has worked alongside others to introduce additional types of work activity to serve the public, including assisting in the responsibilities of other agencies, such as ambulance services. As an example Fire and rescue staff made 17 million deliveries of personal protective equipment.

Fire and rescue service staff have assisted with the vaccinations since the start of the 2021 and have continued to work alongside other emergency services to support the public.

More than half a million vaccinations were administered to the public by fire and rescue service staff, following a drive to assist with the national programme. It is estimated up to 2,500 members of staff supported this vital work to get everyone eligible protected and boosted.

We have also continued to publish Strategic Intentions, national risk assessments guidance and position statements to FRS during the different stages of the pandemic and set up a dedicated COVID Committee to run alongside the duration of the government’s COVID Act.

NFCC also utilised its data team to ensure weekly reporting to the Home Office on fire and rescue service activities in relation to the pandemic.

19/NFCC_Making_A_Difference_Document.pdf to highlight the work undertaken during the pandemic,

----- Start of picture text -----
Administered 4,216 deliveries of 37,241 deliveries of Spent 186,451 hours
389,239 PPE and medical essential items to supporting testing and
vaccinations supplies vulnerable people vaccinations
----- End of picture text -----

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Convoys to Ukraine

NFCC supported the work that sent three convoys of UK fire service kit and equipment have now been sent to Ukraine, providing vital life-saving equipment to firefighters in Ukraine.

These monumental ‘mega’ convoys were the culmination of a number of weeks of incredible hard work and planning to ensure support is being given by the UK.

This means 60 fire vehicles – packed with hoses, helmets, thermal imaging cameras, generators, ladders, rescue equipment and protective equipment and other kit requested by Ukraine – have now been donated by UK fire and rescue services and the wider fire sector.

Organised by UK charity FIRE AID and International Development, NFCC, and the wider fire industry, the convoys have also been supported by the Home Office and other government departments. The first convoy left in mid-March, the second one set off on 21 April 2022 and the third convoy left on 4 May 2022.

These donations of firefighting equipment – which has been requested by Ukraine – will help its fire and rescue service as they continue their life-saving work in the most difficult conditions imaginable. Over 100 fire stations and 250 fire engines have been destroyed in Ukraine with a number of firefighters tragically losing their lives as they battle to protect their country.

National Operational Guidance

We continue to maintain and increase the library of national operational guidance and national operational learning accessible on the ukfrs.com platform.

Key inclusions to the Knowledge Base this year include:

National Resilience responds to Greek Wildfires

In August 2021 NFCC National Resilience responded to a formal request from the Home Secretary to give operational assistance to Greece as it saw extreme wildfires in the midst of the most severe heatwave in the region for over 30 years.

Teams from Merseyside, Lancashire, South Wales, London and West Midlands fire services worked alongside local counterparts at a fire front in the area of Gortynia. They were then deployed to another area, to maximise their impact while maintaining a base of operations in Tropaia, Peloponnese. The team assisted with the removal of trees and creating of fire breaks in key areas as well as tactical firefighting.

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Online Home Fire Safety Check

Our Prevention Programme launched the Online Home Fire Safety Check (OHFSC) tool to the public. The tool was provided to all FRS in England and developed in collaboration with Fire Kills and Safelincs.

The OHFSC has been designed to provide a person-centred self-assessment of fire risk for individuals as well as to flag vulnerable users to their local FRS where a physical visit would be recommended. It has been designed to be used by either the home occupant directly, a third-party (police, social worker, paramedic, etc.) who may have concerns to an occupant’s welfare or safety, or simply aid the FRS directly with home visits.

The tool aims to provide advice and guidance to the public as well as feeding back data to local FRS to aid in ensuring that time and resources are correctly utilised to assist the vulnerable.

We, in Q1 2022, had eight services live, 16 onboarding, and 13 interested. We also have endorsement from the Fire Minister, and good feedback from those who are now live.

Fire Standards Board

The Fire Standards Board have continued to oversee the development and maintenance of a suite of professional Standards that set out “what good looks like”.

The Board has published 10 Fire Standards since May 2021 including:

They have also developed an implementation tool for each standard, in response to feedback received through engagement with FRS. The tools assist FRSs in the planning, delivering and reporting of the Fire Standards.

FireKills

We were delighted to take up the challenge of delivering the Home Office’s national fire safety advertising campaign FireKills. This national multimedia advertising campaign was delivered in a reduced timeframe in conjunction with the Home Office. The £1.1m campaign and programme delivery has been a success in the view of all stakeholders. The team worked well together, at pace, building on the strong working relationships between the Home Office, and NFCC. We continue to work with the Home Office to produce monthly campaign toolkits for English FRS.

The grant also allocated funds to work on NFCC-led StayWise education platform to provide and promote high quality, nationally consistent fire safety educational resources to children and young

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people. This funding has contributed towards interactive educational games, linked to the national curriculum, as well as translating books into other languages which provides improved accessibility to fire safety information.

NFCC continues to run a range of prevention and protection safety campaign which are well-supported by all fire and rescue services.

Protection Learning Portal/Virtual Learning Environment

This year saw the completion of the learning portal for protection-based fire and rescue service staff. NFCC partnered with the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) to enable fire safety regulators and fire engineers to access training materials in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) through the new learning portal. The development of the national interactive VLE included the roll-out of the VLE learning and CPD platform for FRSs Protection Staff, combined with the establishment of National Protection Learning, to mirror National Operational Learning. We rolled out 13 eLearn training packages, 6 technical guidance documents, 12 national protection learning notes, and 50+ LABC training courses on the VLE during 2021-22. FRS engagement with the VLE for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has seen a 62% increase in course completions from Q3 to Q4 and the certificates for completed e-learning packages within the VLE has helped fire services demonstrate their commitment to CPD in line with the protection competency framework.

Building Risk Review Programme

Working with FRSs, we successfully delivered the Building Risk Review Programme. This achievement met the commitment made by the Secretary of State and included the development of guidance and an online reporting tool for FRSs. The vast programme involved coordinating the collection of data on almost 15,000 buildings, including detailed building information and audit breakdowns, where relevant, on over 11,000 high rise residential buildings.

Additional investment in FRSs

Over the past year, we have continued to advocate for, and support the utilisation of, Government investment in FRS Protection departments. This has resulted in securing an additional £12 million for the 2022/23 financial year, bringing the total amount of investment to £36 million since 2020.

Partnership work in fire safety

During this period, we successfully implemented Phase 1 of the IFE’s Contextualised Auditors Register and took a major step forward in the third-party accreditation and professional standards of the Fire Safety Regulators. As an indicator of how positively our work in raising competency standards has been received, IFE and Zurich insurance have requested the support we developed for CAR applicants and reviewers to be made available for wider use across the sector.

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We collaborated with Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures (CROSSUK) to extend their remit to fire safety. Following our partnership work and active dissemination of CROSS reports, CROSS reported a significant increase in the number of safety reports made anonymously from the FRS in the last year.

NFCC has worked closely with Government to secure policy changes on electric vehicle charging points, to find safer solutions that both met policy intentions and avoided unsafe practices.

Protection Engagement Forum

We held a successful face-to-face Protection Engagement Forum on 29-30 March in central London. With representatives from almost every FRS in the UK, it provided a great opportunity to network, share best practice and learning. The forum received very positive feedback from delegates, and also featured external speakers from DLUHC, BRAC, HSE and LGA. [Protection Engagement Forum photo.jpg’]

Business Fire Safety Awareness Tool

The Business Fire Safety Awareness Tool is an exciting new interactive web-based tool that has been developed by PPRU and West Sussex FRS. This video game-style learning tool is an innovative way to engage small businesses on their fire safety responsibilities. The tool has been shared with FRSs and will be fully rolled out this year. We are proud to have been shortlisted in the Regulatory Excellence Awards 2022 for this piece of work.

Equality of access documents published

We were delighted to be able to share four new Equality of Access documents with UK fire and rescue services published this year. The four new documents relate to the following areas of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

The Equality of Access documents provide a range of information about different groups of people and ideas, and the actions which services could take to make a positive difference. All fire and rescue staff are encouraged to read them, particularly those working most closely with our communities.

These documents have been produced to support NFCCs plans to improve EDI and support cultural change across the sector, promoting discussion, capturing learning and encouraging research locally, as well as the sharing of good practice improvements across the sector.

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Lunch and Learn sessions

In 2021, we introduced Lunch and Learn sessions; inviting a range of different speakers to talk about lived experiences across a host of topics, including neurodiversity, trans visibility in fire and rescue services, racial equality, techniques to avoid burnout and being part of the LGBT+ community.

Based on feedback, these sessions, and those going forward, will now be available as a podcast, allowing everyone to access at a time and a place that suits them. The sharing of lived experience and learning among our fire and rescue services is a key focus for the NFCC in our building of an equal, diverse and inclusive sector.

Tools to support FRSs in the selection, recruitment, nurturing and growth of diverse talent.

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Hub contains a wealth of resources to help services ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are part of everything they do.

Designed in consultation with external professional organisations, the EDI Hub provides a range of information about different groups of people and ideas around the actions in which services could take to make a positive difference to them. The hub can be found on the UKFRS website.

The Recruitment Hub is a centralised resource for colleagues finding and bringing in diverse talent. Collaborative in its approach, the Recruitment Hub provides the basis for a more unified national approach to recruitment for the sector and is designed to complement a modern UK fire and rescue service. The hub can be found on the UKFRS website.

The Talent Management Toolkit has been developed to provide support to fire and rescue services around the key talent management areas: attract, identify, develop, engage, retain, deploy, and evaluate.

The Talent Management Toolkit dovetails with the national Talent Management Model Policy and Talent Management Maturity Model, forming the Talent Management Framework. The toolkit can be found on the UKFRS website.

The Coaching and Mentoring Portal allows a continuation of learning and connects individuals with coaches and mentors from within the sector. The portal can be found on the UKFRS website.

Operation Willow Beck

The Home Office and the NFCC have worked closely together, in conjunction with British Telecom, to develop the new procedure, Operation Willow Beck, with the majority of fire and rescue services in England, Scotland and Wales signing up to be part of it which will assist with the national redistribution of 999 calls into fire and rescue service control rooms during times of significant demand. The new arrangements go live in early April as a six-month pilot.

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Operation Willow Beck provides a pre-determined call distribution plan meaning that during times of extreme call demand, the calls can be spread to a wider number of control rooms, limiting the number of calls taken by one single control room so they do not become overwhelmed. This will allow for quicker call answering, and improved resilience across all control rooms at no extra costs to individual fire and rescue services.

NFCC have also produced guidance for fire service control rooms on the call handling process if Operation Willow Beck is instigated by a Service due to a high volume of 999 calls.

Fire Minister, Lord Greenhalgh, said: This is a huge achievement due to the collaborative hard work and effort of the Home Office, NFCC and BT.”

National data analytics capability

We are delivering a national data analytics capability that will make efficient and effective use of data to support current and emerging needs of the UKFRS, as well as ongoing decision-making and policy development.

Once fully implemented, the resource will be a central function of the NFCC comprising of skilled people, standardised processes, and technology, providing national data analytics and data governance to the NFCC and UKFRS to solve problems and support decision-making.

Its successful implementation will be a game-changer for the UKFRS, however, customers of the planned National Data Analytics resource could also include partner agencies, such as the NHS, as well as external change programmes and committees associated with NFCC’s Portfolio.

The core services provided by the analytics resource will include problem solving (through descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics), data sourcing (from internal and external sources, including data cleansing), and data consulting (such as methodology and subject research). Initially there will be limited capacity and service provision for proving the approach, with a focus on processing the highest value data questions to support areas of the NFCC change portfolio. This pilot approach will launch early 2022. Over time the capability will scale up to the target state, providing the full suite of business services and a capacity to match demand

Water Safety

NFCC helped to develop the UK’s Drowning Prevention Strategy and works as an active member of the ‘ ’ NWSF, as well as running its annual Be Water Aware campaign.

In July 2021 we launched a new water incident dashboard to help Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) gather information on incidents in their area. It uses live data from the Water Incident Database (WAID) which records vital information from agencies such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

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The dashboard was developed through the NFCC Data Portal and Digital and Data Programme in partnership with WAID. NFCC’s Water Safety Group worked with the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) to develop the brand new resource.

Aimed at analysts, performance managers, prevention practitioners, community safety managers, water safety advocates and communication professionals, this new tool helps FRSs refine searches and use information tailored to their area. It also drills down and provides information such as area, risk, and days of the week, with the aim that this valuable information can be used help reduce incidents and drownings. This means FRSs will have access to better data to gain more understanding of local risks – which can then be used to further develop development prevention, education, and communication strategies.

An estimated 235,600 people drown every year worldwide. It is among the ten leading causes of death for children aged 5 – 14 years. More than 90% of drowning deaths occur in rivers, lakes, wells, domestic water storage vessels and swimming pools in low and middle-income countries, with children and adolescents in rural areas disproportionately affected. In the UK 2020 has seen an increase of accidental drownings with 254 people dying. Progress has already been made in drowning prevention through work with the National Water Safety Forum, Water Safety Scotland and Water Safety Wales. The UK has a drowning prevention strategy which aims to reduce accidental drowning fatalities as well as contributing to the reduction of water-based suicide.

Events

NFCC has a number of core products that both provide valuable benefits to the membership and wider sector and importantly contribute to the sustainability of the organisation financially. These include;

NFCC Events is a recognised and valued brand within the fire sector. It manages a core programme of events that are unique, sector relevant and are embedded in the FRS calendar and exists to:

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• Project key information and a positive external image to stakeholders.

The associated event sponsorship packages are open to industry who would benefit from strategic brand association with the professional voice of the UK fire and rescue service. There are a variety of different packages available for different events and audiences offering a range of benefits including increased market exposure for suppliers’ products, unrivalled networking opportunities and a cost-effective route to target markets.

Executive Leadership Programme

The custom-designed Executive Leadership Programme (ELP) is for aspiring strategic leaders in the FRS. The ELP is now seen by participants, and the FRS as a whole, as a crucial element in an individual’s personal journey. The ELP for the FRS focuses on transformation through development to provide an exciting, stimulating and rewarding experience for all strategic leaders in the FRS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The programme content is delivered by Warwick Business School and students who pass all five modules leave with Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership.

The Programme is open to both operational and professional fire service staff who already hold a strategic leadership position or likely to in the near future.

The ELP is designed to give participants the opportunity to learn in a social manner, whilst challenging them to think about the difficulty and knotty issues associated with strategic leadership in times of great uncertainty. It creates a space for individuals to explore and get to know themselves better as a leader in a volatile and ambiguous world. Embedded within the programme are three golden threads: 1. Diversity 2. Political acuity 3. Self-awareness. These will drive the content and approach of the modules and they will be continually referenced across all elements of the programme.

In order to provide oversight, scrutiny and ensure the programme content is reflective of the most current leadership academic thinking along with the current issues faced by the FRS an ELP board chaired by the NFCC sponsor is held quarterly. The Board comprises members from the Home Office, the LGA Fire Services Management Committee, a representative from the devolved administrations, WBS and the NFCC sponsor and programme director and key staff.

Apprenticeship End-point Assessment Partnership

The end-point assessment is a crucial step for anyone enrolled on NFCC’s Apprenticeship programme since its release in 2018.

We are now partnering with Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service to deliver a newly enhanced end-point assessment service for fire and rescue services.

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Under the EPA Partnership, Cornwall FRS will continue to offer end-point assessments for the operational firefighter apprenticeship and retain their registration with the Education and Skills Funding Agency. The Partnership offers a new opportunity to grow the current provision and supply services to all fire and rescue services who wish to carry out end-point assessment.

These assessments have been designed by the sector for the sector to provide a standardisation of training and complete the end-to-end training with a quality EPA experience.

Working Patterns

NFCC worked with services to identify new and innovative working patterns, which have been compiled into nine case studies. Case studies include supporting information about the wholetime and on-call duty systems for UK services with useful information about international working patterns.

The case studies provide examples of innovative practices across services; with examples including changing ridership, banded on-call contracts and flexible mobilising. The project team also learned from services who have changed from a traditional 2-2-4 wholetime model in response to local risk planning and community needs.

A supporting implementation tool will allow services to evaluate new and existing working patterns against a measurable framework, which looks at effectiveness and efficiency indicators as well as competency, safety, wellbeing, EDI, and community measures.

Maturity models and Workforce Good Practice Framework

Developed in conjunction with fire and rescue services and based on the principles of the Deloitte methodology , the models and framework allow fire and rescue services to assess current practice by using a self-assessment tool to determine current maturity level.

The tool can be used to assess current practice against a range of different areas, these being: Leadership Development, Recruitment, Learning Organisation, Blended Learning, Performance Management, Employee Recognition, Talent Management, EDI, Wellbeing and HR Analytics.

These models and framework will support fire and rescue services in assessing their current practice as well as identifying potential steps for the future. This isn’t intended to be a tick-box exercise, it’s a work in progress and should involve fire and rescue service staff at all levels and across all departments to build a bigger picture.

A service can choose how many or how few areas to benchmark themselves against, but they should revisit and review periodically to identify any opportunities.

It is the objective of NFCC that the models and framework will help to drive consistency across services in becoming leading practice organisations and shared learning is encouraged.

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Home Affairs Select Committee

NFCC Chair Mark Hardingham gave evidence to a cross-party committee of MPs responsible for

scrutinising the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies.

The catalyst for the session was HMICFRS's annual assessment of fire and rescue services in England, published at the end of last year.

Mark Hardingham was on the panel alongside Sir Thomas Winsor, HM Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services and HM Inspector Roy Wilsher.

This session saw those giving evidence an opportunity to examine a wide range of areas related to fire and present these to MPs, through the lens of the HMI inspections and recommendations.

It also gave the opportunity to discuss other areas of work and the opportunity to reflect on where we want to see improvements, while outlining what will be required to make this a reality.

This includes area such future challenges fire and rescue services face; such as climate change, global terrorism and maintaining public confidence.

Acknowledgements

The Trustees acknowledge that without the support of the UK FRS senior managers and the expertise of individuals within the UKFRS who are part of the working groups within the committees, the strategic aims and objectives of NFCC would not be achieved.

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Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees (who are also directors of the National Fire Chiefs Council Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group; hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the reparation and dissemination of the financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Public benefit statement

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, ‘Charities and Public Benefit’.

The Association’s public benefit is enshrined in its charitable objects as outlined on page 6.

Statement as to disclosure of information to auditors

So far as each of the directors is aware, there is no relevant information that has not been disclosed to the company’s auditors and each of the directors believes that all steps have been taken that ought to

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have been taken to make them aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors have been made aware of that information.

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4 Financial review

The net surplus for the year is £197,683 (2021: surplus £608,642). This increases the charities net assets to £4,154,604 (2021: £3,956,922) of which £0 (2021: £403,766) is designated funds for specified projects and investments considered to be long term. £287,459 (2021: £355,759) is restricted funds as explained in note 31 and £nil (2021: £nil) represents the net assets of the subsidiary company as it was struck off on 18[th] May 2021. General reserves have increased to £3,867,146 (2021: £3,601,163)

The Charity currently forecasts that the unrestricted reserves will decrease in 2022/23 due to a few oneoff projects being funded by reserves in the year.

5 Reserves policy

The trustees consider the risks facing the charity at each board meeting and will ensure that systems and procedures are established and maintained to mitigate any risks identified.

To ensure the charity can meet its commitments, the trustees have considered the level of free reserves necessary to meet any changes in income and maintain the level of activity and fund a transition period.

It is the policy of the trustees:

To hold a risk reserve to enable the charity to continue to operate during a transition phase in the event of a reduction in or loss of a material income stream. The trustees have concluded that this is to be a minimum of £500,000.

To hold a general operating reserve equivalent to 26 weeks of NFCC’s general revenue expenditure reported in the audited accounts (2021/22: expenditure: £3,163,137), and;

To hold a strategic reserve to fund projects that will further the charitable objects over a 3-year planning cycle.

At the balance sheet date 31 March 2022, NFCC held ‘free’ reserves, defined as unrestricted funds less restricted reserves, designated reserves, and other reserves not freely available for spending, of £3,867,146.

Total consolidated reserves
Less: restricted reserves
Balance of general reserves
Less: investments
Less: designated for specific purpose
Balance of free reserves
have allocated the reserves as follows:
1.
Risk reserve
2.
General operating reserve
3.
Strategic project reserve
Total reserves		 £
4,154,604
(287,459)
3,867,146
-
-
3,867,146
£
500,000
1,581,569
1,785,577
3,867,146

The trustees have allocated the reserves as follows:

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The trustees are satisfied that sufficient reserves are currently being held. The trustees intend to sustain the risk reserve at a minimum of £500,000 and the general operating reserve at 26 weeks of revenue expenditure.

The strategic project reserve will be monitored through the year in line with strategic project planning.

Designated funds represent amounts that have been put aside out of unrestricted funds at the discretion of the trustees for projects. The designation is for administrative purposes only and does not legally restrict the trustees’ discretion to apply the funds. The purposes of the charity’s funds are detailed below.

The trustees released the designated reserves that were held at 01/04/2021 back into the unrestricted reserves. Although there are no designated funds currently, this is under review.

Fundraising

The trustees take their responsibility under the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 seriously and have considered the implications on their activities. The charity does not raise funds directly from the general public and does not actively solicit donations. The charity only works with commercial sponsors where seeking support for NFCC events. Where commercial sponsorship is arranged for an event, such as the Autumn Conference, a clear contract is in place between the charity and the commercial sponsor. The trustees are not aware of any complaints made in respect of fundraising during the period.

Remuneration policy – key management personnel (KMP)

For the purposes of this policy, KMP are the senior staff members to which the trustees have delegated authority for day to day management of the charity.

The remuneration and the other terms of employment should be sufficient to attract, retain and motivate KMP, take account of the responsibilities and expectations of each role and pay due regard to NFCC as a charity exclusively supporting public sector organisations.

In most cases the Association employs a third-party professional for role evaluation and remuneration benchmarking linked to the external market. For some roles, for example secondments or appointments related to established national terms and conditions, the remuneration and terms and conditions will be determined by reference to national agreements.

Appointments at KMP level, including recruiting to vacancies as well as new posts, will be agreed by the trustees.

For the year ending 31 March 2022, the NFCC Chair was directly employed by NFCC and the Chief of Staff seconded by arrangement from their host fire and rescue service. Remuneration paid by the host services was recharged to NFCC at cost.

Information on the total remuneration of the KMP for the year ended 31 March 2022 is included in note 21.

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6 Directors

The directors during the year were:

W. Bowcock

The Trustees’ Annual Report has been prepared by incorporating the Report of the Directors for the purpose of company law.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

14 July 2022.

…………………………………………….

Steven Adams

Company Secretary

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7 Independent Auditors’ Report to the members and trustees

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of the National Fire Chiefs Council for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprise Statement of financial Activity, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise

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to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page 18, the trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditors under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with regulations made under that Act.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that

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includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are detailed below.

Identifying and assessing risks related to irregularities:

We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement and how fraud might occur, including through discussions with the trustees, discussions within our audit team planning meeting, updating our record of internal controls and ensuring these controls operated as intended. We evaluated possible incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements. We identified laws and regulations that are of significance in the context of the charitable company by discussions with management and updating our understanding of the sector in which the charitable company operates.

Laws and regulations of direct significance in the context of the charitable company include The Companies Act 2006, and guidance issued by the Charity Commission for England and Wales .

Audit response to risks identified:

We considered the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items including a review of financial statement disclosures. We discussed the charitable company’s records of breaches of laws and regulations, minutes of meetings and correspondence with relevant authorities to identify potential material misstatements arising. We discussed the charitable company’s policies and procedures for compliance with laws and regulations with members of management responsible for compliance.

During the planning meeting with the audit team, the engagement partner drew attention to the key areas which might involve non-compliance with laws and regulations or fraud. We enquired of management whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations or knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud. We addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and identifying any significant transactions that were unusual or outside the normal course of business. We assessed whether judgements made in making accounting estimates gave rise to a possible indication of management bias. At the completion stage of the audit, the engagement partner’s review included ensuring that the team had approached their work with appropriate professional scepticism and thus the capacity to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 38

Year-ended 31 March 2022

involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Karen Bartlett (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Saffery Champness LLP

St John’s Chartered Court Accountants Easton Street High Wycombe HP11 1JX

Statutory Auditors

Date: 21 July 2022

Saffery Champness LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 39

Year-ended 31 March 2022

8 Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account)

Notes
Income from:
Charitable activities
16
Other trading activities
Fixed Asset Disposal – Gains
Investments
17
Total
Expenditure on:
Trading activities
Charitable activities
19
Total
18
Net incoming resources
- net income (expenditure) for the year
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Charity
Restricted
funds
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
8,970,773
-
-
-
8,970,773
-
9,039,073
9,039,073
(68,300)		 Charity
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
2,578,240
847,075
-
3,805
3,429,120
575,331
2,587,806
3,163,137
265,983		 Charity
Total funds
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
11,549,013
847,075
-
3,805
12,399,893
575,331
11,626,879
12,202,210
197,683		 Charity
Restricted
funds
Year ended
31 March
2021
£
5,198,767
-
-
-
5,198,767
-
5,198,442
5,198,442
325		 Charity
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March
2021
£
2,610,260
232,525
-
11,964
2,854,749
150,245
2,096,187
2,246,432
608,317		 Charity
Total
funds
Year ended
31 March
2021
£
7,809,027
232,525
-
11,964
8,053,516
150,245
7,294,629
7,444,874
608,642
(68,300)
355,759
287,459		 265,983
3,601,163
3,867,146		 197,683
3,956,922
4,154,605		 325
355,434
355,759		 608,317
2,992,844
3,601,163		 608,642
3,348,280
3,956,922

All activities are derived from continuing operations. The notes on pages 43 to 56 form part of these financial statements. There have been no recognised gains and losses for the current and preceding year other than as stated above.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 40

Year-ended 31 March 2022

9 Charity statement of financial position As at 31 March 2022

Notes
Fixed Assets
Investments
24
Current Assets
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
25
26
Creditors: Amounts falling due
within one year
Net Current Assets
27
Total net assets
Reserves
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
- General funds
- Designated funds
31
31
31
Total Reserves
Charity
31 March
2022
£
-
4,350,603
4,647,002
8,997,605
(4,843,001)
4,154,604
4,154,604
287,459
3,867,146
-
4,154,604		 Charity
31 March
2021
£
2
2
4,427,710
3,492,981
7,920,691
(3,963,771)
3,956,920
3,956,922
355,759
3,197,395
403,768
3,956,922

The notes on pages 43 to 56 form part of these financial statements.

These financial statements were approved by the trustees on 14 July 2022 Signed on behalf of the trustees

…………………………………………

T Budworth, Chair of the trustees

(Company number: 3677186 (England and Wales))

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 41

Year-ended 31 March 2022

10 Statement of cash flows For year ended 31 March 2022

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities:
Operating profit for the financial year
Adjustments for:
Profit on disposal of property
Decrease/(Increase) in trade and other receivables
Increase in trade payables
Cash from operating activities
Income taxes paid
23
Net cash from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Proceeds from disposal of property
Interest received
17
Net cash from investing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2021
Charity
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2022
26		 2022
£
193,878
-
77,108
879,230
1,150,216
-
1,150,216
-
3,805
3,805
1,154,021
3,492,981
4,647,002
4,647,002		 2021
£
596,677
-
(4,188,504)
2,386,289
(1,205,538)
-
(1,205,538)
-
11,964
11,964
(1,193,574)
4,686,555
3,492,981
3,492,981

The notes on pages 43 to 56 form part of these financial statements.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 42

Year-ended 31 March 2022

Notes to the accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

11 Company information

The National Fire Chiefs Council Limited (NFCC) is incorporated in England and Wales as a registered charity, number 1074071 and a limited company, number 03677186. The registered office is West Midlands Fire Services, 99 Vauxhall Road, Birmingham, B7 4HW.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable United Kingdom accounting standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 – ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland’ (FRS102).

The charity is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102. The charity has therefore also prepared these financial statements in accordance with ‘The Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with FRS 102’ (Charities SORP (FRS 102)).

The particular accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical basis except for the modification to a fair value basis for certain financial instruments as specified in the accounting policies below.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

Going concern

Considering the change programme that is ongoing, the Trustees have considered the operating position of the charity for 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years and remain of the opinion that there are no material uncertainties regarding the Charities ability to continue as a going concern.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 43

Year-ended 31 March 2022

12 Principal accounting policies

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost less estimated residual value of all tangible assets, other than freehold land, over their expected useful lives using the straight-line method. The rates applicable are:

Improvement to premises 10 years Freehold premises 40 years

Assets are capitalised when they cost more than £2,000 and are expected to have a useful life of 3 years or more. All other costs are written off as expenditure as incurred.

Impairment of assets

The fixed assets are periodically reviewed to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If there is an indication of possible impairment, the recoverable amount of any affected asset is estimated and compared with its carrying amount. If estimated recoverable amount is lower, the carrying amount is reduced to its estimated recoverable amount, and an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss.

If an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carry amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but not in excess of the amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss.

Financial instruments

The Charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with except for bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount is offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

13 Creditors and provisions for liabilities

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in a transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

The charity recognises a provision for annual leave accrued by employees because of services rendered in the current period and which employees are entitled to carry forward and use within the next 12 months. The provision is measured at the salary cost payable for the period of absence.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 44

Year-ended 31 March 2022

Investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date. The Charity does not acquire options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

Incoming resources

Income from investments and gift aid is included gross and is accounted for when it is receivable or the Association’s right to it becomes legally enforceable.

Grants receivable

Grants receivable are accounted for when there is sufficient information to enable the claim to be made or the claim has been made and there is clear indication to suggest the claim will be met.

Membership income, fees and other income

All such income is accounted for on a receivable basis.

Deferred income

Subscriptions are paid by members on an annual basis and fees are paid for seminars held and publications produced by the charity. The amounts received are treated as deferred income until the period to which the subscriptions and seminars relate to commences.

Resources expended

Allocation of costs

The charity’s operating costs include staff costs, overheads and other related costs. Such costs are allocated between costs of charitable activities and cost of generating funds. Staff, premises and general running costs are apportioned on the basis of percentage of direct charitable cost each cost category.

Governance costs

Governance costs represent the costs of running the charity as a legal entity and include the costs of audit, costs of trustees’ meetings and costs of complying with statutory requirements.

Employee benefits

Short-term employee benefits and contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as an expense in the period in they are incurred.

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for the benefit of its employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from the Association in independently administered funds.

Irrecoverable VAT

The Charity is unable to recover 100% of input VAT incurred. Irrecoverable VAT is allocated to the appropriate cost categories.

Leases

Rentals payable under operating lease, are charged to income on a straight-line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 45

Year-ended 31 March 2022

Fund accounting

The Charity maintains various types of funds as follows:

14 Restricted funds

Which represent funds which are allocated by the donor for specific purposes.

15 Unrestricted funds:

Designated funds represent amounts which have been put aside out of unrestricted funds at the discretion of the trustees for fixed assets, specified projects and investments considered to be long term. The designation is for administrative purposes only and does not legally restrict the trustees’ discretion to apply the funds.

General unrestricted funds represent amounts which are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the objects of the charity.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 46

Year-ended 31 March 2022

16
Analysis of the components of charitable activity income
Income from:
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Grants
8,970,773
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,578,240
Other income
-
-
8,970,773
2,578,240
Income from:
Restricted funds Unrestricted funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Grants
5,198,767
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,598,240
Other income
-
12,020

5,198,767
2,610,260
17
Investment income
2022
£
Bank interest
3,805
3,805		 16
Analysis of the components of charitable activity income
Income from:
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Grants
8,970,773
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,578,240
Other income
-
-
8,970,773
2,578,240
Income from:
Restricted funds Unrestricted funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Grants
5,198,767
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,598,240
Other income
-
12,020

5,198,767
2,610,260
17
Investment income
2022
£
Bank interest
3,805
3,805		 16
Analysis of the components of charitable activity income
Income from:
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Grants
8,970,773
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,578,240
Other income
-
-
8,970,773
2,578,240
Income from:
Restricted funds Unrestricted funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Grants
5,198,767
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,598,240
Other income
-
12,020

5,198,767
2,610,260
17
Investment income
2022
£
Bank interest
3,805
3,805		 16
Analysis of the components of charitable activity income
Income from:
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Grants
8,970,773
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,578,240
Other income
-
-
8,970,773
2,578,240
Income from:
Restricted funds Unrestricted funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Grants
5,198,767
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,598,240
Other income
-
12,020

5,198,767
2,610,260
17
Investment income
2022
£
Bank interest
3,805
3,805		 16
Analysis of the components of charitable activity income
Income from:
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
Grants
8,970,773
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,578,240
Other income
-
-
8,970,773
2,578,240
Income from:
Restricted funds Unrestricted funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
Grants
5,198,767
-
Corporate subscription income
-
2,598,240
Other income
-
12,020

5,198,767
2,610,260
17
Investment income
2022
£
Bank interest
3,805
3,805


Total funds
Year ended
31 March 2022
£
8,970,773
2,578,240
-
8,970,773 11,549,013
Restricted funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
5,198,767
-
-
5,198,767		 Total funds
Year ended
31 March 2021
£
5,198,767
2,598,240
12,020
7,809,027
2021
£
11,964
11,964
3,805

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 47

Year-ended 31 March 2022

18 Resources Expended

18
Resourc		 es Expended
Cost of generating funds
Trading expenses
Charitable activities
1. Leadership
2. Professional Advice
3. Communications
4. Member Development
Governance		 Total
Restricted
Funds
costs
(note 25)
Staff Costs
Other Direct
Costs
Support Costs
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
£
£
£
£
63,233
512,098
575,331
2,899,604
127,279
114,800
387,397
3,529,080
3,101,867
127,279
126,834
409,618
3,765,598
2,993,076
127,279
115,752
387,397
3,623,504
-
127,280
116,669
409,619
653,568
44,526
10,603
55,129
9,039,073
572,350
986,153
1,604,634
12,202,210

Resources expended 2021

Cost of generating funds
Trading expenses
Charitable activities
1. Leadership
2. Professional Advice
3. Communications
4. Member Development

Governance




Total
Restricted
Funds
Costs

Staff Costs
Other Direct
Costs
Support Costs
Year ended
31 March
2021
£
£
£
£
£
-
-
150,245
-
150,245
1,671,409
42,206
84,797
379,408
2,177,820
1,789,976
42,206
94,537
401,183
2,327,902
1,727,656
42,206
84,538
401,183
2,255,583
-
42,206
85,538
379,408
507,152
9,401
-
-
16,771
26,172
5,198,442
168,824
499,655
1,577,953
7,444,874

19 Analysis of restricted expenditure 2022

Charitable activities
1. Leadership
2. Professional Advice
3. Communications
4. Member Development
Governance		 Total
Staff Costs
Other Direct
Costs
Support Costs
Year ended
31 March
2022
£
£
£
£
2,214,528
503,402
384,992
3,102,922
2,214,528
318,828
420,321
2,953,677
2,214,528
318,828
404,592
2,937,948
-
-
-
-
44,526
-
-
44,526
6,688,110
1,141,058
1,209,905
9,039,073

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 48

Year-ended 31 March 2022

20 Analysis of restricted expenditure 2021

Charitable activities
1. Leadership
2. Professional Advice
3. Communications
4. Member Development
Governance		 Total
Staff Costs
Other Direct
Costs
Support Costs
Year ended
31 March
2021
£
£
£
£
66,321
79,009
1,526,079
1,671,409
66,321
57,524
1,666,131
1,789,976
66,321
57,524
1,603,811
1,727,656
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,401
9,401
198,963
194,057
4,805,422
5,198,442

21 Staff costs and trustees’ remuneration

21
Staff costs and trustees’ remuneration
Directors’ remuneration
Average number of full-time equivalent employees during the
year were:
Administrative staff
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2022
£
-
24
1,027,125
113,756
26,330
1,167,211		 2021
£
-
7
324,784
37,927
5,076
367,787

No Trustees or person related or connected by business to them, has received any remuneration from the charity during the year.

During the year, the total expenses reimbursed Trustees amounted to £nil (2021: £nil for four Trustees) in respect of travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses incurred in fulfilling their duties.

During the year £315,094 (2021: £253,305) was paid for the key management personnel of the charity. £172,724 (2021: £88,441) was reimbursed to host fire services in return for the secondment of staff. This was invoiced by London Fire Brigade (£138,163) and Suffolk County Council (£34,561) and £142,370 (2021: £164,864) represents the total amount of direct employee benefit.

Details of employees paid more than £60,000 in the year ended 31 March 2022 are given below:

Between £120,001 and £130,000
Between £160,001 and £170,000
22
Movement in total funds for the year
This is stated after charging:		 2022
1
-
2022
2021

-

1

2021

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 49

Year-ended 31 March 2022

Depreciation – owned assets -
Auditors’ remuneration
For the audit of the charity 10,000 8,950
For the audit of other group undertakings -
For other services 1,500

23 Taxation

The charity has charitable status and is thus exempt from taxation of its income and gains falling within Section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that they are applied to its charitable objectives.

24 Investments

Charity
At 1 April 2021
Share redemption
At 31 March 2022		 Shares in
Subsidiary
Company
£
2
(2)
0
Total
£

2
-

2

Total investment relates to 100% ownership of £2 share capital in CSL. On 1 April 2021, all of the trading activities were transferred to NFCC. CSL was dissolved on 18[th] May 2021.

25 Debtors

Trade debtors
Prepayments & accrued income
Other debtors		 Charity
2022
£
324,267
3,946,147
80,189
4,350,603		 Charity
2021
£
284,494
4,031,609
111,607
4,427,710

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 50

Year-ended 31 March 2022

26 Cash & cash equivalents

26
Cash & cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand
Fixed term - (due within 12 months)		 Charity
2022
£
3,638,271
503,266
4,647,002		 Charity
2021
£
2,992,648
500,333
3,492,981

27 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Accruals
Deferred income
Other creditors		 Charity
2022
£
2,783,985
1,642,315
164,147
252,553
4,843,001		 Charity
2021
£
3,306,754
591,134
16,820
49,063
3,963,771

The charity has deferred income in respect of the Executive Leadership Programme and Extreme Weather Conference June 2022. The income has been deferred as it relates to the 4 modules remaining for 2022 and an event in June 2022.

28 Financial assets/(liabilities) measured at amortised cost

Financial assets/(liabilities) measured at amortised cost amortised cost
Cash in bank and in hand
Debtors
Creditors
29
Analysis of changes in net debt
At 1 April
2021
£
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash
3,492,981
3,492,981		 Charity
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
4,647,002
3,492,981
4,350,603
4,427,710
(4,843,001)
(3,963,771)
Cash
Non- cash
At 31 March
Flows
changes
2022
£
£
£
1,154,021
-
4,647,002
1,154,021
-
4,647,002
4,647,002

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 51

Year-ended 31 March 2022

30 Financial commitments

Contractual financial commitments Charity
2022
£
363,454		 Charity
2021
£
776,222

Financial commitments relate to a number of call-off contacts for the provision of advice, support and integration of digital data platform transformation and related risks management.

The costs are in line with the expected grant funding from the Home Office therefore any withdrawal such funding will mean the committed costs are also withdrawn. Contractual terms permit this also.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 52

Year-ended 31 March 2022

31 Restricted and Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted funds
General funds – charity
Subsidiary’s retained
reserves
Designated funds
Investment in subsidiaries
NFCC Chair
Designated support
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Youth United funding
Research and Development
funding
Children and Young People
Home Office
CSR
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance
at 1 April
2021
£
3,197,395
-
2
-
403,766
403,768
3,601,163
10,000
170,472
9,697
-
165,590
355,759
3,956,922		 Income
£
3,429,120
-
-
-
3,429,120
8,970,773
8,970,773
12,399,893
 Expenditure
£
(3,163,137)
-
-
-
(3,163,137)
(8,970,773)
(68,300)
(9,039,073)
(12,202,210)		 Transfers
£
403,768
-
(2)
(403,766)
(403,768)
-		 At 31
March
2022
£
3,867,146
-
-
-
-
3,867,146
10,000
170,472
9,697
-
97,290
287,459
4,154,604

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 53

Year-ended 31 March 2022

Year ended 31 March 2021

Unrestricted funds
General funds – charity

Subsidiary’s retained
reserves

Designated funds
Investment in subsidiaries
NFCC Chair
Designated support


Total unrestricted funds

Restricted funds
Youth United funding
Research and Development
funding
Children and Young People
Home Office
CSR
Total restricted funds

Total funds		 Balance
at 1 April 2020
£

2,278,252
Income

£





2,854,749


-



-

-

-

-


2,854,749



-

-
-
4,979,267

219,500

5,198,767


8,053,516		 Expenditure

£


(2,142,117)
-
-
(104,315)
-
(104,315)
(2,246,432)
-
(9,800)
(155,465)
(4,979,267)
(53,910)
(5,198,442)
(7,444,874)		 Transfers

£



206,511
(9,081)
-
(23,277)
(183,234)
(206,511)
(9,081)
-
-
-
-
-
-
(9,081)		 At 31
March
2021

£


3,197,395

9,081		 -


2
127,592
587,000		 2
-
403,766
714,594 403,768
3,001,927 3,601,163


10,000
180,272
162,162
-
-		 10,000
170,472
9,697
-
165,590
355,434 355,759

3,357,361		 3,956,922

Designated funds

The Trustees have designated funds that represent those assets of the charity that are not readily realisable or for a specific purpose. It is the general policy of the charity to return unexpended designated reserves to general reserves at the end of each financial year.

The funds represent:

The commitment that has been made by the trustees to develop the NFCC with a strong leadership and build on the resilience and business continuity for the leadership of the NFCC.

The support that the Charity has committed to specific project and research carried out furtherance of the Charity’s objects .

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 54

Year-ended 31 March 2022

The restricted funds balance represents:

The balance of the grant received from Youth United for the sole purpose of funding the Fire Cadets and Supporting Young Persons Programmes. Any surplus of funding remaining after the final disbursements will be returned to the funder.

Income received from UK FRSs for the sole purpose of research and development for the benefit of all UK FRS.

Income received from UK FRSs for the sole purpose of a comprehensive spending review for the benefit of all UK FRS.

Income received from the Home Office in furtherance of continual development of all UK FRS within the defined framework of deliverables.

32 Analysis of charity net assets between funds

Fixed assets:
Tangible assets
Investment
Current assets
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Current liabilities		 General
Fund
£
-
-
986,193
6,216,345
(3,335,393)
3,867,145		 Restricted
Funds
Designated
Funds
Subsidiaries
– Retained
Reserves
£
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,364,410
-
-
(1,569,343)
-
-
(1,507,608)
-
-

287,459
-
-		 Total
£
-
-
4,350,603
4,647,002
(4,843,001)
4,154,604

Year ended 31 March 2021

Fixed assets:
Tangible assets
Investment
Current assets
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Current liabilities

General
Fund
£

-
2
407,054
2,980,892
(501,380)
2,886,568		 Restricted
Funds
Designated
Funds
Subsidiaries
- Retained
Reserves

£
£
£




-
-
-
-
-
-
4,020,656
-
-
(202,506)
714,595
-
(3,462,391)
-
-
355,759
714,595
-
Total

£


-
2
4,427,710
3,492,981
(3,963,771)
3,956,922

33 Results of the trading subsidiary – CFOA Services Ltd (CSL)

Application to strike off the company initiated on 24 February 2021 and then was formally struck off on 18 May 2021. No trade took place in the year to 31 March 2022.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 55

Year-ended 31 March 2022

34 Members’ liability

The Charity is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital divided into shares. In the event of a Winding Up Order, each member of the Association guarantees to pay during their membership and for one year after membership ceases, a sum not exceeding £10 to the Association. Any surplus on Winding Up is to go to a charity having objects of a similar nature.

National Fire Chiefs Council Limited – Report and Financial Statements

Page 56

Year-ended 31 March 2022