Questions to Joint Authorities
At Full Council we get the opportunity to ask questions to “Joint Authorities” in Greater Manchester. Here are quesions asked by me and my Lib Dem colleagues Richard Baum and Donal O’Hanlon.
Fire Authority:
Cllr Tim Pickstone
Would the Council’s representative to the GMFRS join me in congratulating all GMFRS staff who have been involved in work in Haiti following the recent terrible earthquake there.
A. Following the terrible earthquake in Haiti on the 12 January 2010, 9 of our colleagues travelled down to Gatwick Airport as part of the UK Fire Service International Search and Rescue Team, preparing to fly out and assist rescuers from other Fire and Rescue Services around the country with the rescue efforts.
The team members were;
Deputy Borough Commander Peter Stevenson Rochdale Borough
WM Simon Cording Sale
WM Andy Roughley Eccles
WM Martin Fisher Training Centre
FF Martin Foran Chadderton
WM Vic Kopicki Eccles
SM Dean Nankivell FSHQ
CM Mick Dewar with Echo Fire Investigation Unit
FF John Hughes Salford
Deputy Borough Commander Pete Stevenson, who led our team, was designated as Operations Commander for the UK contingent. Some of the team members had previous experience of dealing with the aftermath of earthquakes in India, Turkey, Algeria and Pakistan and will utilise everything they have learned previously.
As well as our team members the UK team was made up of personnel from West Sussex, Kent, West Midlands, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Hampshire as well as Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services. A total of 61 personnel were mobilised, assisted by two search dogs, one being Echo from GMFRS, and equipped with 12 tonnes of equipment.
The team took off from Gatwick at 18:40 and despite a very rapid mobilisation were frustrated by delays due to Gatwick being closed by snow. Once the situation eased the aircraft was able to be brought in to Gatwick for loading. Intelligence at this time indicated that the airport at Port au Prince was operational, but due to erratic power supplies was not safe to land at during darkness. The alternative airport in the Dominican Republic could have been used but would have left a difficult 120 mile drive that could have taken many hours or worse. The decision was therefore made to time the flight so that it would arrive at first light direct into Port au Prince on Thursday morning, the 14th.
They eventually landed in San Domingo, Dominica at 03:15 local time (8.15 GMT) on the 14th. An advance party which included GMFRS and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service staff made their way to Port-au-Prince in a small turbo-propeller plane.
The team arrived on the ground running by 08:00 local time, with the remaining Fire and Rescue Service personnel due to arrive later that day.
On the 15th all the UK team including GMFRS were tasked to search a hospital site 16 km away. They were accompanied by UN security staff due to security welfare issues, and had a large site to search despite lack of sleep. Our Firefighters, along with colleagues from other FRS’s, rescued Mia a two-year-old girl from a collapsed building. The rescue party were searching buildings in which people were believed to be trapped in the capital Port-au-Prince. Following a lengthy and difficult operation in high temperatures, one of the teams managed to reach Mia who was trapped for three day under piles of rubble under a kindergarten school that had totally collapsed.
On the 16 January the team rescued an adult male from a collapsed supermarket in the Deprez area of Port au Prince after three and a half days.
On 17 January there were over 40 International Search and Rescue Teams in Haiti, with over 1500 rescue personnel and 100 plus dogs. This was the most successful response on record with over 43 people rescued. The UK-ISAR Team had rescued 4 of those with GMFRS involved in 2 and Lancashire FRS involved in 1.
UK-ISAR Team then deployed from the base of operations at Port au Prince Airport to Leogane which is a 2 hour drive in lorries and a bus, approx 25 miles west of Port Au Prince. Leogane is much nearer to the epicentre, reports indicated that 80-90% has been destroyed and no Search and Rescue operations had been carried out in that area and aerial reconnaissance shows scenes of devastation.
UN had confirmed that security in Leogane was not a problem; however a battalion of UN peacekeepers from Sri Lanka provided any security necessary. If the team hadn’t enough on their hands, the camp was over run by tarantulas as big as a fist.
On the 20 January there was a major aftershock in Haiti measuring 6.1. Our team had been contacted and confirmed that the whole UK-ISAR team was in camp at the time and were all safe and well. The shock was significant and might have triggered more rescue work but the team were well placed and prepared to assist immediately.
On the 22 January the Team flew back to the UK via Halifax (Nova Scotia), landing at Gatwick at 05:30 and met by national media. After a hearty breakfast and clean underwear they flew to Manchester, arriving at 11:45 and met again by a barrage off media.
They are all fit and well and are hoping to return to work on Monday 1 February. Unfortunately, Echo remains in quarantine for a number of weeks yet, but the handler Mick can visit at anytime.
More information on the Team Members including photographs and radio interviews can be found on GMFRS Website www.manchesterfire.gov.uk
Integrated Transport Authority
Cllr Richard Baum
A number of people in my ward were forced to walk several miles home from Manchester during the snow after being let down by Metrolink. The service was frequently disrupted and reduced, and trams were vastly overcrowded if they turned up at all.
What measures are being put in place to ensure this situation will not happen in future years? What gestures of apology are they planning to give to local people?
A
The heavy snow and freezing temperatures experienced during the first two weeks of January caused considerable disruption across the transport network, including on the Metrolink system. On the Bury line, best efforts were made to run a 12 minute service between Bury and Atrincham via Piccadilly, complemented with direct services when sufficient number of trams were available. However, the service was subject to delays and varying frequency. The cold weather led to faults with brakes, suspension and door opening mechanisms rendering some trams unsuitable for operation. As a result an engineer from the supplier was brought on site to assist in the identification and repairing or faults, which led to the fast repair of some vehicles.
To minimise the impact on services, heaters were used to reduce the number of points freezing, and the points themselves were operated every 20 minutes. Technicians were also deployed at key points at peak times in the event that points failed. Staff were also deployed to remove snow and ice from stops, ramps, stairwells and platforms on the Bury line. Access areas were prioritised at each stop to ensure that, as a minimum, one safe access point was provided at each stop. In addition, trams were run throughout the night to ensure that the track and overhead lines were kept clear of snow and ice.
Keeping customers informed was of paramount importance and rolling announcements were made over the public address system informing them of expected delays. However, the number of announcements required to cover the system and the limitations of the PA system resulted in some passengers commenting that the frequency of announcements could be improved. In light of the disruption to services passengers in Bury were able to use their Metrolink tickets on the 135 and 98 bus services, additional Travel Safe officers were deployed in key areas to provide customer care and a temporary Severe Weather homepage was created on the PTE’s website to provide up to date information - it received 92,000 hits - 10 times the normal peak of visitors.
I am satisfied that the PTE and Metrolink did all that they could to keep the network running in extremely difficult circumstances. That said, the PTE will be working with all transport operators, including Metrolink to review the procedures in place to manage the transport network and to take into account the lessons learned over those two weeks.
Police Authority:
Cllr Donal O’Hanlon
What are the sickness absence statistics for the most recent year, and the mean average age of retirement for serving Officers?
A
Sickness absence - the force has an internal target of 8 days lost per Officer/Staff for the period April 2009 - March 2010. The figures below show how the Force is currently performing against this target year to date.
For the period April - December 2009 the year to date target for sickness is 5.99 days lost per Officer/Staff
Officers - 5.99 days lost per Officer (on target)
Staff - 7.33 days lost per Staff (currently 22% over target)
Average retirement age for Officers year to date is currently – 51.
Cllr Richard Baum
Greater Manchester Police have taken the DNA of 5,000 innocent people since the European Court ruled the practice illegal in December 2008. Why have they done this?
A. In terms of taking DNA/Fingerprints following arrest.
It is lawful to take fingerprints and non-intimate and intimate samples from persons who are lawfully arrested in connection with the investigation of an offence. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) deals with fingerprints at s61, non-intimate samples at s62 and non-intimate samples at s63. S63 (2A) PACE provides that non-intimate sample may be taken without consent from a person if that person is in police detention in consequence for his arrest for a recordable offence and either he has not previously had an non-intimate sample taken or a previous sample was taken but was insufficient (for identification purposes).
I think it is prudent to point this out since, in effect, if the taking of those samples is Cllr Baum’s point, it is the Government whom he should approach.
If however Councillor Baum wants a response to the fact that some people who are arrested in connection with an offence but who subsequently are never charged or against whom no further action is taken (and therefore in his eyes are “innocent”) still have their fingerprints and DNA taken and retained, I advise as follows:-
Simply because an individual is not later charged in connection with the offence with which they were arrested or no further action is taken or indeed is acquitted when the matter goes to court, does not necessarily mean they are “innocent” of that offence and it never occurred. Innocent is a vague term that does not adequately deal with the various stages in a criminal case. A simple example could be for instance, where a criminal offence has been committed, but an individual is not charged with that offence since the CPS do not feel that a prosecution would be in the public interest, or indeed where is insufficient evidence to charge.
As long as an individual is lawfully arrested, their DNA / fingerprints can in the first instance be taken, as set out in PACE above. S64 PACE deals with the destruction of fingerprints and samples. In essence, it allows for the retention of fingerprints and DNA taken from those people suspected of being involved in an offence regardless of the outcome of criminal proceedings, so that the same can be used in the prevention and detection of crime. Primary legislation has not been changed following the decision of Marper. Therefore, the Force is acting lawfully and in accordance with the direction given by the Director of Information at ACPO who advised that the current retention policy on fingerprints and DNA was unchanged following Marper. A copy of the letter from Ian Readhead dated 28 July 2009 is attached.
