Calls for greater focus on Warwickshire's worst fire and rescue response times fell on deaf ears last week as a new way of measuring performance was voted through. 

Warwickshire Fire & Rescue's updated community risk management plan (CRMP) – a document that each fire and rescue service has to produce – was considered at a meeting for all county councillors. 

It was refreshed on the back of the approval of a new operating model for the service with one of the performance measures changed as a result. 

The current target of reaching 75 per cent of emergency call-outs within 10 minutes has been replaced with keeping the average response time within 10 minutes across the county.

The new operating model aims to improve that average but acknowledges that the movement of fire appliances to locations where the greatest risk lies will increase response times in less populated and rural areas. 

Cllr Sarah Boad put forward an amendment to the new performance measure, making the case for not only considering the service's average response time but also the range that makes up that average. 

"Having an average will actually mask the ones where it takes 25-30 minutes to get there," she said.

"Most calls will be answered within 10 minutes and the mean will give you eight-and-a-half, nine minutes but the figures will be quite deceptive. 

"I will be the first to admit the 75 per cent was not fit for purpose because we never got it but the average will hide the outliers.

"I think for transparency and for the residents, particularly in the south of the county who expressed their concerns very strongly… that those living away from the main centres of population will be seriously disadvantaged by the changes (to the operating model), we would be able to see whether they are right or whether the council is right."

She was also unhappy that the CRMP had been considered at this council meeting, referencing how such plans "must reflect effective consultation".

"We haven't done that," she said. 

"I think it is almost disrespectful for this document to be made public a week ago. It has given people very little time to respond to it, particularly as we have seen very heavy consultation in previous years with districts, boroughs, parish councils and other partners."

The amendment gained support from all opposition councillors present but the Conservative group voted against it, arguing that such matters were already considered by the resources fire & rescue overview & scrutiny committee, the panel of councillors which oversees performance in this area.

Cllr Tim Sinclair, a member of that panel, said adding in the requirement would be "superfluous", while its chair Cllr Adrian Warwick said the assessing the average would be "a much fairer comparison", noting that what was proposed was in line with figures utilised by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Portfolio holder for fire & rescue and community safety Cllr Andy Crump said that ongoing data would be available to county councillors through Warwickshire County Council's online portal and that the scrutiny committee had to have the freedom to decide what it should look at. 

"It is up to them," he said. "I have attended meetings on a regular basis and they do look at these things, they do look at the details.

"I am not saying we don't need to look at the outliers but under the new measures we will look at 100 per cent of incidents, not for 75 per cent (as is the case now). That is a key point."