HMICFRS - Experts & Thought Leaders

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is performing well and has been congratulated for its performance, the fire inspectorate has said. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas and found the service was ‘good’ in ten areas and ‘adequate’ in one area. HMICFRS praises Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service HMICFRS said Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is good at understanding the risk of fire HMICFRS said Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is good at understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies, and that it considers a wide range of learning to support its ability to do so. This includes the Manchester Arena Inquiry report, with the service making improvements, such as the introduction of its new terrorist response capability. Inspectors also said they were encouraged by the service’s commitment to improve organizational culture, with staff at all levels showing behaviors that reflect the service’s well-defined values. His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services - Michelle Skeer, said: “I am pleased with the performance of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.” Service Implements new terrorist response capability Michelle Skeer adds, “The service has improved how it targets and evaluates its fire prevention work, and continues to provide an effective response to incidents. The service has also successfully implemented its new terrorist response capability, ensuring that all stations and fire engines are now equipped and ready to respond to terrorist attacks.” She continues, “Overall, I commend the service on the changes it has made and expect it to continue working to resolve the further areas for improvement we have identified.”

London Fire Brigade has made improvements and has therefore been removed from an enhanced level of monitoring by the fire inspectorate. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) continuously monitors the performance of all fire and rescue services in England. The monitoring process consists of two stages: Scan and Engage. All fire and rescue services are in routine monitoring under the Scan stage by default, but may be escalated to enhanced monitoring under the Engage stage, if they are not effectively addressing the inspectorate’s concerns. Several improvements London Fire Brigade was moved into Engage in December 2022. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services has decided to remove the London Fire Brigade from Engage, because it has made several improvements, including: Clear involvement of staff in developing values, with significant work to communicate values to staff; Most staff spoken to felt senior pioneers displayed brigade values; Clear commitment to improving leadership skills among managers through an ongoing program of leadership training; Clear progress in the brigade’s ongoing plan to improve its human resources function; Improved processes to deal with behaviors such as bullying and discrimination, including establishing a Professional Standards Unit; A comprehensive plan in place to improve the vetting of brigade staff; and Assurance in the sustainability of the brigade’s plans to change its culture. Enhanced level of monitoring His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services, Andy Cooke, said: “I am pleased with the progress that London Fire Brigade has made so far. While there is still more to do, I have decided to remove the brigade from our enhanced level of monitoring, known as Engage, and return it to routine monitoring." He adds, “I am reassured by the plans London Fire Brigade has in place to continue making improvements. The brigade will be inspected again this summer when we will assess its progress to make sure the people of London are getting the service they deserve from their fire and rescue service.”

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been assessed as 'Outstanding' in one of eleven categories inspected earlier this year by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). They also received six Goods, three Adequates and one Requires Improvement. The inspection team, who visited the Service in April, gave the highest score possible for how CFRS manages its resources, highlighting innovative practices for its ‘comprehensive financial and resourcing plans’ in its report published on August 18, 2023. Innovative and promising practice The Inspectorate scored the Service Good for promoting the right values and culture The Inspectorate scored the Service Good for promoting the right values and culture, ensuring fairness and promoting diversity, preventing fires and other risks, protecting the public through fire regulation, future affordability and understanding fires and other risks. The innovative and promising practice was also identified with its sustainability strategy, involvement of external assessors in the recruitment of whole-time firefighters, fitness equipment for firefighters and menopause and maternity provisions. It was also highlighted for being a neurodiversity-friendly employer and having a 'positive working culture where staff feel valued and listened to.' innovative ways Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland said: “I’m really pleased with our inspection outcome as it reflects the hard work and dedication that everyone who works for our fire service puts in day in, day out to help us deliver the best service we can with the resources we have." He adds, "I was particularly delighted with the Outstanding we received for how we manage our resources. We are a very lean fire service and over the years have had to invest much time and effort into coming up with innovative ways to save money to either meet budget cuts or to reinvest to continually improve, so it is great to see this recognized." Fire and rescue service There were areas highlighted where the Inspectorate believes we can make further improvement" Chris Strickland continues, “I am also particularly proud of the Good we were awarded for our values and culture. It has been our focus for a number of years now, promoting expected behaviors at work and supporting employee wellbeing. This particular success is a testament to everyone who works here, who ensures we are a welcoming fire and rescue service that values diversity and encourages inclusion.” He further stated, “As expected with any inspection process, there were areas highlighted where the Inspectorate believes we can make further improvement. We take this feedback into account when we undertake our planning and some of these were already in motion but not completed when the inspectorate visited.” Further improvement Chair of the Fire Authority, Councilor Edna Murphy, commented: “We think the Service should be very proud of this inspection report and I’d like to thank everyone at CFRS for their continued hard work and commitment to providing the best service they can to our communities. To receive an Outstanding in one of the categories is not easy to achieve so credit must be given for this as well as for the reams of other good work identified in the report." Councilor Edna Murphy adds, “As a smaller rural fire service with a tight budget, it is always a juggling act to prioritize areas for improvement as usually something else has to then take a back seat, but as a Service awarded Outstanding for how it uses its resources I am confident the right balance is found and we can look forward to demonstrating further improvement next time the inspection team visits, as we have done this time round.”