Alarm over fire service governance

A number of allegations about fire service governance have been substantiated, according to the highly critical report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO).

The report on the accounts of the NIFRS summarises the findings of the investigations of the service undertaken by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) and identifies key strategic issues which NIFRS and the Department need to address in moving forward.

A whistleblower initially came forward in 2011 after being relocated from a position but given limited or no duties to perform and claimed this was poor use of public money, a claim found to be largely substantiated after investigations by the Department of Public Safety and the Audit Office.

Other whistleblowers eventually came forward and furnished the DHSSPS and the NIAO with a range of allegations.

The report says that in 2009 the Assistant Chief Fire Officer accepted a Landrover but the then Chief Fire Officer instructed him to return it “to the company because he did not want the gesture to be misconstrued as a bribe.”

Reporting on the Landrover allegations the report says: “This allegation was found to be largely substantiated. The Landrover was in fact stored in a lock up in Carryduff. “The Department was told that all parties were aware it had not been returned to the company.

“As part of its investigation, the Department found that NIFRS actually requisitions its tyres under a framework contract established by the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Central Procurement Directorate. The company which provided the Landrover is currently the supplier of tyres to the service.”

The report, however, says that the DHSSPS reviewed the tyre contract between NIFRS and the company which provided the Landrover and found no cause for concern.

“The Department found that none of the Service’s staff were involved in tender evaluation and the choice of supplier for almost all the requisitions examined by the Department were based on the lowest price,” it says.

It explains that the Landrover has now been returned to the supplier and that the advertising company confirmed by phone that the Landrover had been returned to the supplier in July, 2011.

The allegation about unapproved bonuses was also substantiated, as the report states: “The Department had suggested that a one-off payment could be made to the then Chief Fire Officer.

“With three other senior uniformed officers whose pay was officially linked to that of the Chief Fire Officer, the cost was £15,200 in aggregate (plus £1,946 Employer’s NIC). These payments did not have the necessary approval.”

The allegations about a now deceased stores manager making money by selling protective clothing to other organisations has also been largely substantiated, though the report says there have been recent improvements.

“An internal audit of stores in August 2011 had previously identified weaknesses and made 11 recommendations. A follow up exercise in May 2012 found that four of these recommendations had been implemented.

“Five of the remaining recommendations relate to proposed links between stock and procurement systems. The former stores manager is deceased (since 2009-10),” the report says.

The NIAO’s assessment also states that NIFRS has lacked consistent leadership in recent years.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, Kieran Donnelly, said: “An organisation of the size and complexity of NIFRS, and facing considerable challenges, needs senior posts to be filled on a long term basis as soon as possible.”

He also said that whistleblowing has been badly handled and ethical standards in NIFRS Headquarters need to be developed.

Commenting on the management of conflicts of interest, in relation to the stores manager selling protective clothing to other organisations, Mr Donnelly said: “If senior NIFRS officials did not know that this conflict of interest existed, it is evidence of a poor standard of supervision. If they did know, then it would appear they failed to address the issue.”

The report is also critical of the way the firefighter recruitment exercise was handled. Mr Donnelly said that to “introduce an appeals process part way through a recruitment exercise clearly was not good practice. No public body should leave itself so open to a perception of unfair treatment of applicants.”

The Public Accounts Committee will be considering this report in detail on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.