Highland and Islands Fire Board Minute

Agenda

Minutes of Meeting of the Highland and Islands Fire Board held in the Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Wednesday, 22 November 2006 at 2.00 p.m.

Present

Representing the Highland Council

Mr D M MacKay (Substitute), Mrs R Finlayson, Mr R W Durham, Mrs M E Paterson, Dr D Alston, Mr J Laing, Mr J Ford, Mr R A C Balfour, Mr A Milne , Mrs H Carmichael, Mrs L MacDonald, Mr A Gordon, Mr N M Clark, Mr A R McFarlane Slack

Representing Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Mr D MacLean, Mr M Macleod, Mr R Morrison, Mr N M Macleod

Representing Orkney Islands Council

Mr R C Sclater, Mr A Drever.

Representing Shetland Islands Council

Mr W Tait, Mr J P Nicolson

In attendance as an Observer:

Mr R J Lyon, The Highland Council (Substitute)

Officials in attendance:

Mr B Murray, Chief Fire Officer

Mr T Wood, Deputy Chief Fire Officer

Mr H Henny, Assistant Chief Fire Officer

Mr A MacAllister, Highland and Islands Fire and Rescue Service (HIFRS) Head of Corporate Services

Mr J Donaldson, HIFRS Area Manager Operations Support

Mr D Gill, HIFRS Area Manager, South

Mrs L Govan, HIFRS Human Resources Manager

Mr M Jenks, HIFRS Finance Manager

Mr D Robertson, Treasurer’s Office

Mrs M Grigor, Treasurer’s Office

Mr J Batchelor, Personnel Adviser to the Board

Mr J Kelman, Project Manager, Property & Architectural Services, the Highland Council

Ms R Pieroni, Clerk

Mrs R Moir, Assistant Clerk

Ms L Lee, Clerk’s Office

Also in attendance:

Mr K MacGillivray, Assistant Inspector, HM Inspectorate of Fire Services (HMIFS)

Mr J Nicholls, Fire and Rescue Services Branch Team Leader, HMIFS

Mr A R McFarlane Slack in the Chair

1. Preliminaries

i. Awards

Prior to the commencement of business, the Convener congratulated the Assistant Chief Fire Officer on his recent receipt of the Queen’s Fire Service Medal. He then congratulated Mr J Donaldson, HIFRS Area Manager Operations Support, on his recent success in undertaking and passing the Leadership Development Programme at the Fire Service College. The Chief Fire Officer presented Mr Donaldson with his Certificate.

ii. New Uniform

With the consent of the Convener, a number of Members expressed the view that the new Brigade uniform was not suitable for more formal occasions such as Board meetings. In response, the Chief Fire Officer advised that the new uniform was intended for all occasions and that it was beneficial to the cohesion of the Service for all officers, regardless of rank, to wear the same uniform. However, he would be content to wear a suit to Board meetings, if Members considered this more appropriate.

2. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr D C M Flear and Mr A Mackay of the Highland Council.

3. Minutes of Meeting held on 25 August 2006

The Minutes of Meeting of the Board held on 25 August 2006, copies of which had been circulated, on the motion of the Convener, were found correct and APPROVED.

4. Audit Working Group – Minutes

There had been circulated Minutes of Meeting of the Audit Working Group held on 10 November 2006. Audit Scotland had found the Board’s financial stewardship to be satisfactory and an unqualified audit outcome had been awarded. Points raised under the audit relating to a Reserves Strategy for the Board and revision of Standing Orders would be discussed later in the meeting, whilst the Service Plan update would be brought to the next meeting of the Audit Working Group on 9 January 2007 and thereafter to the Board.

Members were advised that, following Audit Scotland’s comprehensive review of the Service’s performance undertaken throughout the year, an initial draft report had very recently been issued to the Service for the purpose of checking for accuracy. Copies of (i) the Executive Summary and (ii) the Improvement Agenda from the draft report were tabled for information. The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that a meeting between Fire and Rescue Officers and Audit Scotland would take place in early course to discuss both accuracy and contextual issues and it was possible that the final report might differ from the circulated draft.

While the overall outcome of the Audit was extremely positive, a list of draft improvement actions had been drawn up in response to areas in which the Audit had identified improvement could be made. The Service was already acting on a number of the issues raised and these would be included in the Service Planning process. The final version of the local report would be brought to the meeting of the Audit Working Group on 9 January 2007 for debate and scrutiny, and then to the Board meeting on 19 January 2007 for full Member consideration, when Audit Scotland would be invited to address the Board. Any further improvement actions identified would be fed in to the Service Plan process and Audit Scotland might return in Autumn 2007 to monitor and review progress against the Improvement Plan.

The Convener commended the Board on its high level of engagement with the Service over the previous 4-5 years, which had been instrumental in finding solutions to the unique challenges facing the Highlands and Islands. The Board’s depth of experience and active involvement had been noted by Audit Scotland.

The Board NOTED the position, and that the finalised report would be submitted to the Audit Working Group and the full Board on 9 and 19 January 2007 respectively.

5. Review of Emergency Preparedness

In June 2006, the Fire and Civil Contingencies Division of the Scottish Executive Justice Department had instigated a review of Scotland’s preparedness to deal with major emergency situations. As part of the consultation exercise, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Services (HMCIFS), Mr Jeff Ord, and other members of his team were to address the Board on the Emergency Preparedness Consultation Exercise. However, Mr Ord had submitted his apologies due a minor accident. The Board wished him a speedy recovery.

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-44-06 dated 10 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer comprising a draft response to the Scottish Executive Justice Department’s Consultative Review of Scotland’s preparedness, for consideration by Members following the HM Inspectorate of Fire Services (HMIFS) presentation.

Mr K MacGillivray and Mr J Nicholls of HMIFS gave a presentation summarising (i) the reasons for the review, (ii) the nature of the changes being proposed and progress made to date, and (iii) the issues upon which the Review Team were seeking input from Fire and Rescue Services and other stakeholders across Scotland.

Reasons for the Review

Whilst the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 had introduced changes, including the establishment of risk registers, and appeared to be bedding in well, a number of developments since then required a response, including:

the London bombings of 7 July 2005
the Mott MacDonald review of the Fire and Rescue Service control room establishment across Scotland of Spring 2004 (whose original recommendation for a single control room to serve the whole of Scotland had been changed to 3 control rooms, following consultation)
the Scottish Parliament document “Transforming Public Services – The Next Phase of Reform” of 15 June 2006, identifying five fundamental elements which would form the basis for change in the way public services were provided in Scotland.

Proposed Changes

In response to the London bombings, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Services (HMCIFS) had been asked to compile a report on the preparedness of the Fire Service in Scotland to respond to Simultaneous Terrorist Attacks, including the adequacy of communications, the potential for increased collaboration, and means to ensure the continuous improvement of the Service. His report had concluded that decisive political and professional leadership at the highest level was required to facilitate decision-making relating to these issues and had made four recommendations, namely that:

a radio scheme capable of emergency services interoperability must be secured for Scotland’s Fire and Rescue Services without delay;
a review of the number of Fire and Rescue Services should be undertaken with the aim of introducing a single, strategic Fire and Rescue Service for Scotland whilst still achieving local accountability, identity and service delivery, as there was a need to shorten communication lines and reduce tiers of decision-making across current boundaries;
through the auspices of the Scottish Emergency Coordinating Committee (SECC), the number of Scottish-wide multi-agency exercises designed around a series of simulated terrorist attacks of a simultaneous nature should be increased; and
in order to achieve integration and resilience of Fire Control Rooms for Scotland, three regional-sized Control Rooms should replace the current eight existing facilities and should be secured without delay.

It was considered that addressing these recommendations would provide Scotland with an appropriate level of resilience whilst remaining part of the wider UK provision. Progress was being made on recommendations (i) and (iii) above, with the introduction of the “Airwave” communications system expected to provide an interoperable system within 3 years. However, recommendations (ii) and (iv) remained unaddressed at present. It was also recognised that simultaneous incidents were not restricted to terrorist attacks but could also include, for example, the simultaneous occurrence of severe weather, nuclear release, or a pandemic. The emergency services required to be able to respond to a combination of such scenarios.

Information sought by the Review Team

The Review Team comprised Mr Ord, HMCIFS, as facilitator, Mr MacGillivray and Mr Nicholls, and also Mr J Urquhart of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, and was impartial. Written consultation responses from stakeholders were sought, ideally by the end of November 2006, but would be accepted until the end of the year. Any consultee experiencing difficulty in meeting this deadline should contact the Team. In coming to its conclusions, the Review Team would take full cognisance of factors such as: (i) the five fundamental elements of the “Transforming Public Services” document, (ii) the HMIFS “Simultaneous Terrorist Attacks” report, and (iii) the outcome of the Scottish Executive capabilities mapping exercise. The Team would also look at Best Practice both in the UK and elsewhere in the world.

Points raised by consultees would be fully considered by the Review Team. It was suggested that the Board’s response might include comments on the factors at (i) to (iii) above. The importance of consultees’ comments being evidence-based was stressed – for example, if the Board did not agree with the Mott MacDonald recommendation for three Control Rooms, it would need to demonstrate either that circumstances had changed in the past 2½ years (such as through the introduction of new technology), or provide concrete evidence that the benefits of the current arrangements outweighed the arguments for centralisation, and suggest ways that any disadvantages could be mitigated. The Review Team would welcome examples of good practice and collaboration.

The Chief Fire Officer summarised the main points of the circulated draft response. He emphasised that the proposed changes for Fire had far-ranging implications for other services, as it would be logical for similar changes to be introduced for the Police and others, rather than just the Fire and Rescue Service. Whilst accepting that improvement was an ongoing and necessary process, he was, however, of the view that there was more than one way this could be achieved, and the concept of a single Service and single control room disregarded many aspects of the Fire Service that were held in high regard. Reducing the number of control rooms would have a negative effect on local response and it was difficult to see how a centralised control room could have responded as effectively as the existing arrangements to the recent flooding events, and the severe storms earlier in the year. His preference would be to see investment in IT to allow the existing 8 control rooms to link with each other. This would have some cost implications, but would result in increased resilience.

With regard to the proposals for a single Fire Authority, the Chief Fire Officer was of the view that this was not required; rather, that better equipment, training and cross-border exercises would be a more effective way forward. Strategic Coordination Groups were already in existence to deal with emergencies across Scotland and the Fire Service already worked with other emergency responders and local authorities through community planning. There was a risk that decreasing the number of Fire and Rescue Services would introduce barriers to these working arrangements. A great deal of trust had been built up between the emergency responders and this was a significant factor in providing an effective response; it was important that this was not lost.

In discussion, Members strongly questioned (i) the assertion that creating a Scotland-wide service would improve “accountability, identity and service delivery”; (ii) whether “accountability” referred to the Scottish Executive or to the people they as Members represented; and (iii) how a controller based in the Central Belt could have as much local knowledge as existing staff. Further comments included that:

the level of trust between the Board and the Service was 100%; local accountability was crucial for the Board and for communities; there was close involvement between Members and the provision of service in their ward
the proposals were part of the gradual erosion of local authorities
it was accepted that there was a need to prepare for simultaneous attacks, but by far the biggest risk facing the Highlands and Islands was the increasing occurrence of extreme weather conditions resulting from global warming - it was certain that these incidents would continue to happen in the future; the operation of the service should therefore be geared to dealing with these known risks, with the existing structures and practices adapted as and when required to respond to incidents that were less certain to happen
existing control room staff did an excellent job and there was no reason to change; effective responses in extreme weather depended on local knowledge – this had been borne out repeatedly over the previous few years
experience had shown that mistakes were more likely to be made in a larger control room
efficient response to incidents depended on the close working of the Officer in Charge with the control room – it was difficult to see how this would happen with a single control room
staff had just been through a period of major change, further change would have an adverse impact at this point in time
a contingency plan could be drawn up to provide the communication lines required for dealing with simultaneous crises; the plan could be tested in cross-border exercises
MSPs and aspiring MSPs should be made aware of the proposals and the Board’s response to the consultation.

In response, Mr Nicholls accepted that the HIFRS control room operated extremely well and stated that, given its geographical reach, he used this control room as an example of best practice for dealing with distant incidents. He stressed that no decision would be taken regarding the number of control rooms until after the May 2007 elections. He welcomed the information that strategic plans were in place, but commented that at present there was little in place for cross-border Principal Officer flexibility. The current structure of 8 separate Fire and Rescue Services was not suited to dealing with major simultaneous incidents; circumstances had changed following the London bombings and new ways of working must be considered. Ministers would be looking at resilience across Scotland, value for money and enhanced service delivery for local and major incidents.

The Convener thanked Mr Nicholls and Mr MacGillivray for their presentation. The Board NOTED the information given and AGREED that the Chief Fire Officer prepare a revised draft response to the consultation, incorporating points raised at the meeting, and circulate this to Members for comment, prior to submission of the finalised response to the Scottish Executive.

6. Appointment of Interim Monitoring Officer

In view of the long-term sickness absence of the Board’s Monitoring Officer, the Board AGREED that the Director of Corporate Services, the Highland Council, be appointed as Interim Monitoring Officer until further notice.

7. Revenue Expenditure 2006/07 – Monitoring Statement

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-45-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer setting out the current revenue monitoring statement for the period to 30 September 2006 and the predicted year-end position. The actual gross revenue expenditure (excluding pension payments and capital charges) was £8,514,000 against an anticipated budget of £9,131,000. Total income received to 30 September 2006 was £10,000 against an anticipated budget of £14,000. The report indicated an anticipated year-end underspend, excluding pensions, of £504,000 and a potential pension underspend of £316,000. The latter would be transferred back to the Constituent Authorities.

The report drew attention to a number of challenging future commitments, including the roll-out of the Firelink project (item 23 below refers), the impact of continuous Professional Development, the cessation of top-slice funding for capital projects and the possible need to absorb transitional funding; all to be faced in a climate of uncertainty as to the future GAE distribution mechanism. It was important that the Board maintain adequate contingency reserves.

The Board AGREED:

a) to transfer, at year end, any remaining pension underspend back to the
Constituent Authorities

b)    to transfer £250,000 from revenue to capital and bring forward planned
       expenditure in 2007/08 on vehicles to 2006/07, allowing a reduction in
       2007/08 vehicle spend which would be reallocated to assist the building
       programme; and

c)    to the transfer of any remaining underspend to the Revenue Reserve
       (up to the maximum permitted), in order to address the future
       challenges as identified in the report.

8. Requisitions from Constituent Authorities

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-46-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Treasurer advising that the Scottish Executive had agreed to apply new percentages for the distribution of Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) between the constituent authorities, to reflect the changing expenditure profile caused by the upgrading of fire-fighters in the Board area from volunteer to retained status. The revised GAE distributions would take effect from 2007/08.

The requisitions from the constituent authorities agreed in January had been on the basis that the new percentages would apply from 2006/07. This was not now the case and the report set out a recommended approach for dealing with the disparity between GAE and requisitions in the current financial year.

The Board AGREED to request a one-off payment from the Highland Council of £1,025,958 to the other constituent authorities of the Board, to be distributed as follows:

Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar £289,257

Orkney Islands Council £277,180

Shetland Islands Council £459,521

9. Revenue Reserve Strategy

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-47-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer setting out the relevant guidelines pertaining to the permitted and recommended revenue reserves for local authorities and identifying forthcoming projects and specific requirements for 2007/08. The report recommended that a sum of 3% of the Board’s revenue budget (approximately £650,000) be retained for contingency purposes, with any sums in excess of this figure being earmarked to meet identified future projects or specific requirements.

The Board APPROVED the strategy for revenue reserves as set out in the report.

10. Capital Programme – Monitoring Statement 2006/07

There had been circulated and was NOTED Report No. FIRE-48-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer summarising income and expenditure relating to the Board’s capital programme for the period to 30 September 2006.

11. IT Partnership Project Update

There had been circulated and was NOTED Report No. FIRE-49-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer providing an update on progress with the Fujitsu IT partnership, which would provide an IT capability to every Retained station and was progressing in accordance with the agreed project plan and within the agreed financial framework.

12. Staff Cars – Principal Officers

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-50-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer advising the Board on the existing arrangements for the replacement of Principal Officers’ cars and recommending an amended process based on a best value approach.

The Board APPROVED the amended process for replacement of Principal Officers’ cars, such that the criteria, type and frequency of their replacement would be based on the advice of the Service’s Head of Engineering and Supplies, who would monitor market trends, costs, suitability and availability, with purchases reported to the Board for information.

13. New Pension Scheme Update

There had been circulated and was NOTED Report No. FIRE-51-06 dated 19 October 2006 by the Treasurer updating the Board on progress in respect of implementation of the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (NFPS) and clarifying issues outstanding from the consultation exercise.

14. Corporate Governance

i. Financial Regulations and Standing Orders Relating to Contracts

At its meeting held on 25 August 2005, Members had noted that the Board’s and Brigade’s Financial Regulations and Standing Orders relating to Contracts were being kept under review and that any recommendations for amendment would be brought to a future meeting of the Board for approval.

Following consultation between the Chief Fire Officer, the Treasurer and the Highland Council’s Procurement Manager, there had been circulated draft revised Financial Regulations and Standing Orders Relating to Contracts.

The Board APPROVED (i) the amended Financial Regulations and (ii) the amended Standing Orders Relating to Contracts.

ii. Scheme of Delegation

In light of legislative changes, particularly those introduced by the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, and also recent Board decisions on aspects of the remits of some of its Working Groups, there had been circulated revised and updated Scheme of Reference and Delegation to Sub-Committees/Working Groups and Officers.

The Board APPROVED the revised Scheme, subject to the reinstatement of the word “minor” in item 10 of the list of matters delegated to the Chief Fire Officer.

15. Disability Equality Duty

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-52-06 dated 7 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer advising that the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 required that, from 4 December 2006, all public bodies would have a duty to promote disability equality (similar to the duty to promote race equality under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000). This required the Highland and Islands Fire Board and the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service to have developed a Disability Equality Scheme by this date. There was tabled draft Disability Equality Scheme for the Highland and Islands Fire Board and Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service.

The Board NOTED the content of the report and AGREED to adopt the tabled document as the Highland and Islands Fire Board/Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service Disability Equality Scheme.

16. Capital Programme Monitoring Report

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-53-06 dated 8 November 2006 by the Director of Property and Architectural Services of the Highland Council summarising the progress and expenditure on all capital projects currently being carried out for the Board.

The Project Manager, Property & Architectural Services, the Highland Council, highlighted a number of aspects of the report, including progress on the Fort William, Beauly and Valtos projects, and advised Members that progress on all projects was now down to contractors’ performance, which would be monitored monthly. He confirmed to Members that the investigations into concerns about flooding issues in the vicinity of Stornoway Fire Station had determined that the problem lay outwith the Fire Station site. He also undertook to check and report directly to the local Member on outstanding delays in the establishment of a telephone connection to the new Fire Station at Dunvegan.

The Board NOTED the report.

17. Site Acquisitions Progress Report

There had been circulated and was NOTED Report No. FIRE-54-06 dated 8 November 2006 by the Director of Property and Architectural Services of the Highland Council summarising the current status of site acquisitions for the Highland and Island Fire Board projects and contracts as at that date.

18. Planned and Capitalised Maintenance – Monitoring Report

There had been circulated and was NOTED Report No. FIRE-55-06 dated 7 November 2006 by the Director of Property and Architectural Services of the Highland Council inviting the Board to note the Planned Maintenance Programmes and the progress being made.

19. Disposal of Surplus Property – Dunvegan Fire Station

Following completion of the new build Fire Station at Dunvegan, and in consultation with the Convener and Vice-Convener, the Chief Fire Officer had declared that the former fire station at Dunvegan was now surplus to requirements and that arrangements could be made for its disposal.

The Board APPROVED the disposal of this property.

20. Chief Fire Officer’s Activity/Progress Report – October 2006

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE-56-06 dated 9 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer providing an overview of the Service’s activity for July, August and September 2006 and covering Community Risk Management, Performance Management and Intervention.

In response to a question, the Chief Fire Officer undertook to check and report back as to whether there was ever any lack of clarity about the command structure for individual inter-agency mountain rescue operations.

The Board NOTED the terms of the report and RESOLVED that individual letters of appreciation and complaint, which had been available for inspection by Members prior to the meeting, be declared exempt information by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

21. Schedule of Meetings

At its meeting on 25 August 2006, the Board had agreed that its first scheduled meeting in 2007 be held on Friday, 19 January 2007, to meet the Constituent Authorities’ budget schedule.

The Board NOTED that (i) as in previous years, a meeting of the Budget Working Group would be held on Tuesday, 9 January 2007, to give preliminary consideration to the 2007/08 budget proposals; and (ii) a meeting of the Audit Working Group would also be held on 9 January 2007; and AGREED that the Board’s final meeting prior to the local government elections in May be held on Friday, 30 March 2006.

22. Strategic Review of the Service

There had been circulated Report No FIRE-59-06 dated 16 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer advising Members that he had carried out a fundamental review of the Service structure and setting out a proposed revised strategic management structure. The intention was to afford greater strategic control and flexibility with regard to the use of organisational structures, staff and resources. This would ensure that risks were mitigated, resources were utilised effectively and the Service was fit for purpose now and into the medium-term future. The revised structure would be implemented within approved revenue budgets and was forecast to realise efficiencies.

In speaking to the report, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer set the proposals in the context of current developments such as the development of integrated risk management planning (IRMP), the roll-out of the Integrates Personal Development System and the outcomes of the Audit Scotland Performance Audit process.

In response to a question as to the relative responsibilities of the various public agencies in relation to flooding incidents, particularly in the context of IRMP, the Chief Fire Officer undertook to bring a full response to Members at a later date.

The Board APPROVED the proposed revised functional structure of the Service, as set out in the report, and AGREED that further consideration of the relevant proposals of the fundamental review and their implications, including detailed financial projections, be referred to the Integrated Risk Management Planning Working Group for recommendation to the Board for its approval.

23. Exclusion of the Public

The Board RESOLVED that, under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act, the relevant Paragraphs being shown.

24. Principal Officer’s Pay Review

Paragraph 1

All Fire and Rescue Service staff left the room during discussion of this item.

There had been circulated Report No. FIRE57/06 dated 1 November 2006 by the Clerk inviting Members to consider an independent review by an external consultant of the Chief Fire Officer’s salary.

The Board AGREED to commission a review on the basis set out in the report.

25. Firelink – Update

Paragraph 8

There had been circulated and NOTED Report No. FIRE-56-06 dated 2 November 2006 by the Chief Fire Officer (i) providing the Board with a brief on the Firelink project, which would replace all United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service radio systems with a single modern digital system, and (ii) informing Members of the potential impact of the Firelink project to Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service (HIFRS).

26. Acquisition of Additional Land at Tongue

Paragraphs 8 & 9

With the consent of the Convener, this matter was taken as an item of urgent business, of which no prior notice had been given, as the District Valuer’s report under reference had only just been received and the business could not be delayed until the Board’s next meeting, due to the urgency of making progress on the project in question.

The Convener advised Members of the contents of a report received from the District Valuer on proposed terms for the acquisition of additional land required for the proposed Fire Station at Tongue. The Board AGREED that negotiations and acquisition proceed on the basis of the District Valuer’s recommendations.

The meeting ended at 4.30 p.m.