Overall summary
Our inspection assessed how well West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has performed in 11 areas. We have made the following graded judgments:
In the rest of the report, we set out our detailed findings about the areas in which the service has performed well and where it should improve.
Changes to this round of inspection
We last inspected West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in October 2021. And in July 2022, we published our inspection report with our findings on the service’s effectiveness and efficiency and how well it looks after its people.
This inspection contains our third assessment of the service’s effectiveness and efficiency, and how well it looks after its people. We have measured the service against the same 11 areas and given a grade for each.
We haven’t given separate grades for effectiveness, efficiency and people as we did previously. This is to encourage the service to consider our inspection findings as a whole and not focus on just one area.
We now assess services against the characteristics of good performance, and we more clearly link our judgments to causes of concern and areas for improvement. We have also expanded our previous four-tier system of graded judgments to five. As a result, we can state more precisely where we consider improvement is needed and highlight good performance more effectively. However, these changes mean it isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between grades awarded in this round of fire and rescue service inspections with those from previous years.
A reduction in grade, particularly from good to adequate, doesn’t necessarily mean there has been a reduction in performance, unless we say so in the report.
This report sets out our inspection findings for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Read more information on how we assess fire and rescue services and our graded judgments.
HMI summary
It was a pleasure to revisit West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, and I am grateful for the positive and constructive way in which the service worked with our inspection staff.
I am pleased with the performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks, but it needs to improve in some areas to provide a consistently good service. For example, the service needs to make sure that prevention activities are carried out in a timely manner to help keep people safe in the home.
I am pleased to see that the service has made progress since our 2021 inspection. For example, the service has improved measures and processes that support performance management of its key business functions.
My principal findings from our assessments of the service over the past year are as follows:
- The service has replaced its mobile data terminals and implemented control measures to make sure that firefighters have access to up-to-date risk information.
- It has improved how safe and well visits are targeted to individuals that are most at risk or are harder-to-reach.
- The service has an effective electronic system in place for sharing fire survival guidance and evacuating high-rise buildings.
- Staff shortages due to sickness are reducing prevention team activity, control room capacity and the availability of fire engines, but the service has taken steps to address this.
Overall, I am pleased with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s performance and the improvements it has made since our last inspection. I encourage it to continue to improve in the areas we have highlighted.
Michelle Skeer
HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services
Service in numbers





Percentage of firefighters, workforce and population who are female as at 31 March 2022

Percentage of firefighters, workforce and population who are from ethnic minority backgrounds as at 31 March 2022

References to ethnic minorities in this report include people from White minority backgrounds but exclude people from Irish minority backgrounds. This is due to current data collection practices for national data.
Read more information on data and analysis in this report in ‘About the data’.
Understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at understanding risk.
Each fire and rescue service should identify and assess all foreseeable fire and rescue-related risks that could affect its communities. It should use its protection and response capabilities to prevent or mitigate these risks for the public.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service identifies and understands risk in the community
The service has assessed a suitable range of risks and threats using a thorough community risk management planning process. In its assessment of risk, it uses information from a broad range of sources and datasets. This includes data from the Office for National Statistics, crime and road accident data from the police and census information. The service also uses internal sources, such as historical incident data.
When appropriate, the service has consulted with its communities and other relevant parties to understand risk and explain how it intends to mitigate it. For example, it has spoken to local councils, housing authorities, police, community groups, staff members and the public.
The service spent three weeks reviewing the previous community risk management plan (CRMP), including discussions with the public and stakeholders. It then started a 10-week formal consultation period to update the plan. It developed an internal video for all staff, carried out online surveys, held forums and used social media to gather feedback. We were told that the consultation reached over 250,000 people.
The service has an effective CRMP
Once it has assessed risks, the service records its findings in an easily understood CRMP. This plan describes how the service intends to use its prevention, protection and response activities to mitigate or reduce the risks and threats the community faces both now and in the future. For example, the following areas are mentioned in the plan:
- Prevention – raising awareness about the risks people face to prevent emergencies and reduce vulnerability.
- Protection – promoting and enforcing the fire safety measures required by law to make sure buildings and occupants are protected.
- Response – preparing for and responding to emergencies.
- Resilience – being able to deal with major emergencies and disruptions locally and nationally, while continuing to deliver its day-to-day services.
- Planning and deploying resources based on risk.
- Improving the safety and effectiveness of its firefighters.
- Collaborating with partners to improve all its services.
- Focusing prevention and protection activities on reducing risk and vulnerability.
The service uses a range of data, including societal and historical incident data, to make sure its fire stations are in the correct locations. The service’s CRMP has been externally validated and assured.
The service has improved its arrangements to gather information and make it available to staff
The service routinely collects and updates its information about the highest-risk people, places and threats it has identified. This includes building risk information such as water supplies, hazards, evacuation plans and environmental considerations.
We sampled a range of the risk information the service collects. This included information from safe and well visits, site-specific risks, building fire safety and temporary risks, such as sporting events and festivals.
This information is readily available for the service’s prevention, protection and response staff. This means these teams can identify, reduce and mitigate risk effectively. For example, it uses an electronic database to record and share building risks and concerns with prevention, protection and response staff. Where appropriate, the service shares risk information with other organisations, including the police and local councils.
During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted as an area for improvement that the service should make sure that firefighters have good access to relevant, up-to-date risk information. We found that mobile data terminals used by firefighters to access risk information were unreliable. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed. The service has put control measures in place while it is in the process of replacing its mobile data terminals as part of its fire engine replacement plan.
Staff at the locations we visited, including firefighters and emergency control room staff, showed us that they could access, use and share risk information quickly to help them resolve incidents safely.
The service uses the outcomes of operational activity effectively to build an understanding of risk
The service records and communicates risk information effectively. It also routinely updates risk assessments and uses feedback from local and national operational activities to inform its planning assumptions. For example, one person is responsible for sharing and receiving national operational learning and joint organisational learning.
The service has analysed national reports that relate to major incidents. It has identified learning and improved policies and guidance in many areas, including changes to the operational procedure for tall buildings.
Good
Preventing fires and other risks
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service requires improvement at preventing fires and other risks.
Fire and rescue services must promote fire safety, including giving fire safety advice. To identify people at greatest risk from fire, services should work closely with other organisations in the public and voluntary sectors, and with the police and ambulance services. They should share intelligence and risk information with these other organisations when they identify vulnerability or exploitation.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service’s prevention strategy prioritises those most at risk from fire and other emergencies
The service’s prevention strategy is clearly linked to the risks it has identified in its CRMP. The service uses data from several areas to target its prevention activity. These include areas of deprivation, data relating to crime, oxygen users and wider health data. The strategy states that the service will deliver safe and well visits to those who are most at risk from fire. It will also play a key role in sharing road and water safety messages across West Yorkshire.
The service’s teams work well together and with other relevant organisations. They share relevant information when needed. For example, it works closely with the NHS, Care Quality Commission, local authorities and social care teams to identify the most vulnerable people. It uses information to adjust its planning assumptions and direct activity between its prevention, protection and response functions.
The service effectively targets its prevention activity
The service uses a risk-based approach to clearly target its prevention activity towards people most at risk from fire and other emergencies. Data and intelligence are gathered from partner organisations, internal evaluations, historical incident data and national statistics.
It carries out a range of interventions, which it adapts to the level of risk in its communities. These include safe and well home visits for those most at risk from fire in the home.
Staff told us they have the skills and confidence to carry out safe and well visits. These visits cover a range of hazards that can put vulnerable people at greater risk from fire and other emergencies, including:
- the assessment of fire safety in every room;
- the identification of potential fire risks;
- advice on risk reduction;
- bedtime routines;
- escape plans; and
- smoke alarm testing.
Risk level is determined based on a series of questions. These include:
- Does the property have working smoke alarms?
- Does the person live alone?
- Is the person over 65?
- Is the person a smoker?
- Does the person have hearing difficulties?
- Does the person have mobility issues?
- Does the person have mental health issues?
People who aren’t determined as high risk receive safety advice. The service also gives basic advice regarding crime prevention, falls prevention, cold homes, stopping smoking and social isolation. It also works with partner organisations to promote water and road safety and works with young people that demonstrate challenging behaviour.
During 2022/23, the service carried out 5.2 home safety visits per 1,000 of the population. This is lower than the rate for fire and rescue services across England of 9.4.
The service needs to improve the timeliness of its safe and well visits
During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted as an area for improvement that the service should make sure it consistently quality assures its prevention activity, so all staff carry out safe and well visits to an appropriate standard. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed. Quality assurance is carried out following safe and well visits by specialist prevention team members and firefighters. Quality assurance includes direct observation and file sampling.
During our 2021 inspection, we found that safe and well visits weren’t always carried out promptly and the quality of records was inconsistent. Disappointingly, we found the same issues during this inspection. The service has a detailed safe and well visit policy in place. This includes timescales, which are to contact the person within 7 days, carry out a safe and well visit within 28 days and close the case within 56 days. However, at the time of our inspection, we found high-risk cases that had been waiting for a safe and well visit for over five months. The prevention visit backlog (which includes home safety checks and safe and well visits) has also increased from 839 in 2021/22 to 1,211 in 2022/23.
We also found that records weren’t always up to date and lacked detail. Safe and well visits aren’t prioritised consistently, with some being prioritised based on the waiting time and others on risk level. Therefore, this area for improvement will remain.
We found the service’s post-incident prevention work was inconsistent. Its post‑incident prevention work processes weren’t clear, based on the files we sampled and the staff that we talked to. We found evidence of post-fire visits being carried out while the occupiers weren’t there, the following day or not being carried out at all.
In 2022/23, the service carried out 12,336 safe and well home visits. This is 5.2 safe and well visits per 1,000 of the population, which is slightly lower than the national rate for fire and rescue services in England of 5.35. However, all safe and well home visits carried out during 2022/23 were targeted at vulnerable people. Staff understand how to identify and safeguard vulnerable people.
Staff we interviewed told us about times when they had identified safeguarding problems. They told us they feel confident and trained to act appropriately and promptly. All staff complete a safeguarding and vulnerability e-learning package every three years. Many staff receive additional, in-person training. We found staff to be aware of how and when to raise concerns, both during and out of office hours.
The service works well with other organisations to reduce risk
The service works with a wide range of other organisations to prevent fires and other emergencies. These include local councils, Vision Zero road safety group, local schools, youth justice teams, pupil referral units and the Canal and River Trust.
We found evidence that it routinely refers people at greatest risk to organisations that may better meet their needs. These organisations include housing authorities and a fuel poverty charity.
The service also has arrangements to receive referrals from other organisations. These organisations include the Living Well social prescribing service and Together Housing (Association). Partner referrals are made by phone, email or online. The service acts appropriately on the referrals it receives. For example, in 2022/23 the service carried out 5,178 prevention visits as a result of referrals from partner agencies. During the same period, safe and well visits resulted in 1,152 referrals to partner agencies.
The service exchanges information with other public sector organisations about people and groups at greatest risk. It uses this information to challenge planning assumptions and target prevention activity. For example, the service worked closely with Kirklees Council and the police to develop a plan to address fire safety. The service used historical incident data to identify hot spots. It involved targeted public communication with the aim of reducing antisocial behaviour, including deliberate fire setting.
The service has dedicated resources to tackle fire-setting behaviour
The service has many effective interventions to target and educate people with different needs who show signs of fire-setting behaviour. The service’s youth intervention team works closely with the police to tackle antisocial behaviour and fire setting. It targets young people through partnership working with youth justice teams, pupil referral units and The Prince’s Trust. Through its school visit programme, the service provides targeted education to young people demonstrating challenging behaviour.
When appropriate, it shares information with relevant organisations to support the prosecution of arsonists. The service has a fire investigation team that works closely with the police to determine the cause of a fire and support the police with prosecutions.
The service evaluates its prevention activity effectively
The service uses evaluation tools to measure how effective its activity is and to make sure all sections of its communities can access the prevention services that meet their needs. It worked with the police and local council to implement a campaign to tackle antisocial behaviour and fire setting before bonfire night. It used incident data to measure the success of the campaign.
Prevention activities take account of feedback from the public, other organisations and other parts of the service. For example, it carries out customer satisfaction surveys following safe and well visits. The service uses feedback to inform its planning assumptions and change future activity, so it focuses on what the community needs and what works.
Requires improvement
Protecting the public through fire regulation
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is adequate at protecting the public through fire regulation.
All fire and rescue services should assess fire risks in certain buildings and, when necessary, require building owners to comply with fire safety legislation. Each service decides how many assessments it does each year. But it must have a locally determined, risk-based inspection programme for enforcing the legislation.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service’s protection strategy is linked to its CRMP
The service’s protection strategy is linked to the risks it has identified in its CRMP.
Staff across the service are involved in this activity, effectively exchanging information as needed. For example, when an inspection may be required, control staff share incident information with fire safety inspection officers.
The service uses information to adjust planning assumptions and direct activity between its protection, prevention and response functions. This means resources are properly aligned to risk. For example, an inspection showed that a building lacked fire safety measures. As a result, the service made a change to its pre-determined attendance (the minimum number of resources, including fire engines and fire officers, to be mobilised in the event of an incident).
The service’s auditing activity isn’t aligned with its risk-based inspection programme
During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted as an area for improvement that the service should assure itself that its risk-based inspection programme prioritises the highest risks and includes proportionate activity to reduce risk. Although progress has been made in this area, at the time of inspection, staff told us that audits are limited in scope. Although the service targets high-risk buildings, this is limited to hospitals, high-rise buildings and care homes. As a result, other high-risk buildings could be missed.
The service has plans to address this through the introduction of an updated risk‑based inspection programme from April 2024. We look forward to seeing the results during our next inspection.
Firefighters carry out inspections at low-risk commercial properties. If required, crews will provide basic fire safety advice, or a referral to specialist fire safety inspectors.
The audits we reviewed had been completed in the timescales the service has set itself. It told us that it is on track to achieve its annual target of 1,600 high-risk audits for 2023/24.
The service carried out 0.6 fire safety audits per 100 known premises during 2022/23. This is lower than the national rate of 2 for fire and rescue services in England. It carried out 463 fire safety audits during 2022/23. This is lower than the 1,006 fire safety audits it carried out during 2021/22.
The service carries out consistent, good-quality audits
We reviewed a range of audits that the service had carried out at different buildings across its area. These included audits carried out:
- as part of the service’s risk-based inspection programme;
- after fires at premises where fire safety legislation applies;
- after enforcement action had been taken; or
- at high-rise, high-risk buildings.
The audits we reviewed were completed to a high standard in a consistent, systematic way and in line with the service’s policies. The service makes relevant information from its audits available to operational teams and control room operators. Fire safety inspectors complete an operational liaison form if any concerns are identified during inspection. This information is shared with firefighters, control room staff and the service’s operation risk management team.
The service has an effective quality assurance policy in place
The service carries out proportionate quality assurance of its protection activity. It is carried out by sampling protection files and visual observation. File sampling is carried out four times every month for every fire safety inspector.
It has good evaluation tools in place to measure how effective its activity is and to make sure all sections of its communities can access the protection services that meet their needs.
Enforcement activities are proportionate to risk
The service consistently uses its full range of enforcement powers, and when appropriate, it prosecutes those who don’t comply with fire safety regulations. It works closely with the local councils and the Care Quality Commission to identify risk. The service uses an Enforcement Management Model to determine the appropriate level of enforcement action required.
In the year ending 31 March 2023, the service issued 0 alteration notices, 102 informal notifications, 82 enforcement notices and 54 prohibition notices and undertook 1 prosecution. It completed 13 prosecutions in the five years from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2023. This includes 11 prosecutions that were completed during 2018/19.
The service uploads all enforcement notices to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) website. Enforcement notices are also stored on the service’s enforcement register and shared with partner agencies.
The service should make sure it allocates enough resources to meet its protection strategy
The service doesn’t have enough qualified protection staff to support its audit and enforcement activity. But it is training staff to deal with future demand. It also plans to increase the number of inspection officers. The latest figures provided by the service had 21 competent protection staff and a further 17 in training as of 31 March 2023.
The service recognises that fully qualified inspection officers are being offered higher paid roles in the private sector. This is increasing staff turnover and affecting the number of level 4 diploma staff available to complete risk-based audits. It has introduced a market-rate pay supplement to increase inspection officers’ pay, with the aim of reducing staff turnover. The service is also training a group of business advisors to fill gaps.
The service has adapted well to new legislation
Since our last inspection, the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have been introduced to improve the regulation and management of tall buildings.
The service supports the introduction of the Building Safety Regulator. It has employed a fire engineer and supervisor to provide training and work with people who have responsibility for fire safety in tall buildings. It expects these arrangements to have a manageable impact on its other protection activity.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced a range of duties for the managers of tall buildings. These include a requirement to give the fire and rescue service floor plans and inform them of any substantial faults to essential firefighting equipment, such as firefighting lifts.
We found the service has good arrangements in place to receive this information. When it doesn’t receive the right information, it takes action. And it updates the risk information it gives its operational staff accordingly.
The service works well with other enforcement agencies
The service works closely with other enforcement agencies to regulate fire safety, including exchanging risk information with them. The service works closely with Leeds City Council regarding high-rise residential buildings with flammable cladding. It meets with Leeds City Council and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities each month to update on progress.
The service has worked with Trading Standards regarding firework storage, and shares care home information with the Care Quality Commission. The service works with the Safety Advisory Group to provide advice and support to partners.
The service regularly responds to building consultations on time
The service responds to most building consultations on time. This means it consistently meets its statutory responsibility to comment on fire safety arrangements at new and altered buildings. During 2021/22, the service responded to 100 percent of building consultations within the required timeframe.
The service could do more to promote fire safety with local businesses
The service could do more to work with local businesses and other organisations to promote compliance with fire safety legislation. It recently introduced a dedicated business engagement team to support local businesses. The team works with the West Yorkshire Fire Safety Group to discuss and address concerns across the county. The service supports those responsible for fire safety once safety issues have been highlighted. However, staff told us that it could be more proactive in its approach through business engagement workshops and seminars.
The service has a proactive approach to reduce the number of unwanted fire signals
An effective risk-based approach is in place to manage the number of unwanted fire signals. The service has decided that it will not send fire engines to an unconfirmed fire alarm actuation between the hours of 8am and 7pm from Mondays to Fridays. However, outside these hours the service will send one fire engine. This applies to all commercial properties apart from:
- sleeping premises (including hospitals, care homes and hotels);
- educational premises;
- COMAH sites;
- heritage sites; and
- specific risk premises, as authorised by the senior operations response manager.
The service also uses powers in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to charge properties that create persistent false alarms. The aim is to encourage an improvement in the management of automatic fire alarm systems.
The service gets fewer calls because of this work. This means fire engines are available to respond to a genuine incident rather than responding to a false one. It also reduces the risk to the public if fewer fire engines travel at high speed on the roads.
Adequate
Responding to fires and other emergencies
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at responding to fires and other emergencies.
Fire and rescue services must be able to respond to a range of incidents such as fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies in their areas.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service aligns its resources to the risks identified in its CRMP
The service’s response strategy is linked to the risks it has identified in its CRMP. Its fire engines, response staff and working patterns are designed and located to help the service respond flexibly to fires and other emergencies with the appropriate resources. For example, it uses societal risk data and historical incident data to identify risk. A survivability in fire study has been used to inform station locations and response times.
The service has also created risk profiles for water rescues, wildfires and rope rescues. It uses its fire cover review group to monitor performance and identify trends.
The service has a definitive response standard
There are no national response standards of performance for the public. But the service has set out its own response standards in its CRMP. They are based on three areas of risk: life risk, property risk and other risks.
The service consistently meets its standards. Home Office data show that in the year ending 31 March 2023, the service’s average response time to primary fires was 8 minutes and 50 seconds. However, this is slower than the average for predominantly urban services, which is 7 minutes and 48 seconds.
The service has good overall availability of fire engines
To support its response strategy, the service sets thresholds for the number of fire engines needed to meet its response standard. During 2022/23 it had 46 fire engines available on most occasions. We were told that the service can drop to 30 fire engines and achieve 80 percent of its risk-based planning assumptions. Overall annual availability for 2022/23 was 93.8 percent. This includes overall wholetime staffing availability of 100 percent and overall on-call staffing availability of 71.6 percent.
However, during the time of our inspection, we were told of several occasions where fire engines weren’t available due to staffing shortages.
Staff have a good understanding of how to command incidents safely
The service has trained incident commanders, who are assessed regularly and properly. During 2022/23, all 410 incident commanders were accredited. Level 1, 2 and 3 incident commanders are assessed every two years. Level 4 incident commanders complete multi-agency gold incident command training every year. This helps the service safely, assertively and effectively manage the whole range of incidents it could face, from small and routine ones to complex multi-agency incidents.
As part of our inspection, we interviewed incident commanders from across the service. They were familiar with risk assessing, decision-making and recording information at incidents in line with national best practice, as well as the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP).
Fire control staff have good involvement in training, exercising and debriefs
We were pleased to see the service’s control staff are integrated into its command, training, exercise, debrief and assurance activity. We were told that control staff are regularly involved in exercises and incident debriefs. These include incidents involving high-rise buildings, terrorist events and moorland fires. Staff told us that video calling has made debriefs more accessible.
The service has improved the risk information available to firefighters
We sampled a range of risk information available to staff, including the information in place for firefighters responding to incidents at high-risk, high-rise buildings and the information held by fire control.
During our 2021 inspection, we found that mobile data terminals used by firefighters to access risk information were unreliable. We highlighted an area for improvement that the service should make sure the data terminals are reliable so that firefighters can readily access up-to-date risk information. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed. It has started replacing its mobile data terminals as part of its fire engine replacement plans. In the meantime, it has put control measures in place to manually update mobile data terminals to make sure that up-to-date risk information is available to firefighters.
The information we reviewed was mostly up to date and detailed. Most staff could easily access and understand it. Encouragingly, it had been completed with input from the service’s prevention, protection and response functions when appropriate.
Firefighters carry out site-specific risk inspections to gather important operational information, including risk information. At the time of our inspection, the service had a backlog of inspections. However, it plans to clear the backlog by increasing fire station targets.
Operational performance is assured and aligned with national operational guidance
As part of the inspection, we reviewed a range of emergency incidents and training events. These include domestic and commercial incidents and exercises that included marauding terrorist attack and COMAH sites.
We were pleased to see the service routinely follows its policies to make sure that staff command incidents in line with operational guidance. It updates internal risk information with the information it receives. The service carries out a range of debriefs, including hot debriefs (which take place immediately after every incident), formal and multi-agency debriefs. It also carries out operational assurance at incidents and operational reality testing following smaller incidents to improve organisational learning. It exchanges this information with appropriate organisations, such as the police and ambulance service.
During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted as an area for improvement that the service should make sure it has an effective system for learning from operational incidents. During our last inspection, we found that debriefs weren’t always carried out within the timescales set out in its policy. Although the service has made progress in learning from incidents, we still found some debriefs weren’t carried out within the service’s set timescales.
For example, the service’s policy states that hot debriefs should be carried out after every incident, and full debriefs will usually take place after an incident involving six fire engines or more. We reviewed incident records for a range of incidents that should have resulted in full debriefs. We found that the service wasn’t always carrying out full debriefs in line with its policy. This was acknowledged by the service at the time of the last inspection. However, during this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed.
The service’s debrief policy clearly explains how learning is collated and learning outcomes are shared. The service uses a risk-rating system to make sure that learning outcomes are actioned and shared in the most appropriate way.
The service uses what it learns from incidents to improve its service for the public. For example, following a major wildfire incident, the service has invested in additional wildfire training and equipment.
Learning is shared with staff through operational policy information documents. The service is creating an app to further improve the sharing of operational learning.
We were encouraged to see the service contributes to, and acts on, learning from other fire and rescue services or operational learning gathered from emergency service partners. One person is responsible for receiving and sharing national operational learning with other fire services as well as receiving and sharing joint organisational learning with other emergency partners.
The service keeps the public informed about ongoing incidents
The service has good systems in place to inform the public about ongoing incidents and help keep them safe during and after incidents. This includes the use of social media and its website. The service has a media contact available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist with public communications. The service also works well with the West Yorkshire Resilience Forum to warn and inform the public of ongoing incidents.
Good
Responding to major and multi-agency incidents
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at responding to major and multi‑agency incidents.
All fire and rescue services must be able to respond effectively to multi-agency and cross-border incidents. This means working with other fire and rescue services (known as intraoperability) and emergency services (known as interoperability).
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service is prepared for major and multi-agency incidents
The service has effectively anticipated and considered the reasonably foreseeable risks and threats it may face. These risks are listed in both local and national risk registers as part of its community risk management planning. Identified risks include widescale flooding, wildfires and terrorist threats.
It is also familiar with the significant risks neighbouring fire and rescue services may face, and which it might be asked to respond to in an emergency. These include access to over-the-border risk information, up to 10km, in all neighbouring service areas. Over-the-border risk information is stored on Resilience Direct. However, the service recognises the difficulty in keeping this up to date. As a result, the service has an agreement in place with its neighbouring services to share risk information via email. This is then forwarded to the attending fire engines and officers.
The service has the ability to respond to major and multi-agency incidents
In our last inspection, we focused on how the service had collected risk information and responded to the Government’s building risk review programme for tall buildings. In this inspection, we have focused on how well-prepared the service is to respond to a major incident at a tall building, such as the tragedy at Grenfell Tower.
We found the service has well-developed policies and procedures in place for safely managing this type of incident. Staff at all levels understand them, and robust training and exercising has taken place to test them. During 2022/23, the service carried out 82 multi-agency training exercises, including several multi-agency high-rise building evacuation exercises. Firefighters complete ‘fires in tall buildings’ e-learning packages. Specialist evacuation support teams receive further training.
At this type of incident, a fire and rescue service would receive a high volume of simultaneous fire calls. We found that the systems in place in the service are robust enough to receive and manage this volume of calls. During this inspection, we tested the service’s systems for sharing fire survival guidance information and reviewed how the fire control room directly communicates with the incident commander.
We found that incident commanders and specialist evacuation support teams have a good understanding of the service’s procedures for the evacuation of tall buildings.
The service works effectively with other fire and rescue services
The service supports other fire and rescue services responding to emergency incidents. It has six neighbouring fire and rescue services: North Yorkshire, Humberside, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire. It is intraoperable with these services and can form part of a multi-agency response. It has mutual aid arrangements in place with all its neighbouring services.
The service has a cross-border training strategy in place to develop firefighters and work collaboratively. This includes breathing apparatus, road traffic collision and hazardous material training.
The service has successfully deployed to other services and has used national assets such as a high-volume pumps.
The service frequently carries out cross-border exercises
The service has a cross-border exercise plan with neighbouring fire and rescue services, helping them work together effectively to keep the public safe. The plan includes the risks of major events at which the service could foreseeably give support or ask for help from neighbouring services. Exercises have included train incidents and terrorist attacks.
During 2022/23, the service carried out 35 training exercises with neighbouring fire services. We were encouraged to see that the service uses feedback from these exercises to inform risk information and service plans. Examples include identifying risks caused by differences with neighbouring services’ breathing apparatus and building ventilation procedures.
Incident commanders have a good understanding of JESIP
The incident commanders we interviewed had been trained in and were familiar with JESIP.
The service could give us strong evidence that it consistently follows these principles. This includes incident commanders routinely using the joint decision model when liaising with other agencies. The service also has regional joint JESIP training plans with other agencies.
We sampled a range of debriefs the service had carried out after multi-agency incidents and/or exercises. We were encouraged to find that the service identifies any problems it has with applying JESIP and takes appropriate, prompt action with other emergency services.
The service is an active and valued member of the West Yorkshire Resilience Forum
The service has good arrangements in place to respond to emergencies with partners that make up the West Yorkshire Resilience Forum (WYRF). These arrangements include multi-agency site-specific response plans for several high-risk sites. These include all of the county’s COMAH sites. The WYRF also have a list of suitable Strategic Holding Areas and Rendezvous Points. This includes local mapping.
The service is a valued partner. The deputy chief fire officer co-chairs the WYRF with the assistant chief constable and chief executive of Bradford Council. The WYRF also has several strategic, tactical and operational sub-groups. All tactical sub-groups are chaired by the FRS.
The service takes part in regular training events with other members of the forum. All multi-agency exercises are followed by a debrief and a learning outcomes report that is shared with partner agencies. The service uses the outcomes to develop planning assumptions about responding to major and multi-agency incidents. The service leads on training and exercising.
The service shares and contributes to national learning
The service makes sure it knows about national operational updates from other fire and rescue services and joint organisational learning from other organisations, such as the police service and ambulance trusts. It uses this learning to inform planning assumptions that it makes with partner organisations.
One person is responsible for receiving and sharing national operational learning with other fire services, as well as the receiving and sharing of joint organisational learning with other emergency partners.
Good
Making best use of resources
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is adequate at making best use of its resources.
Fire and rescue services should manage their resources properly and appropriately, aligning them with their risks and statutory responsibilities. Services should make best possible use of resources to achieve the best results for the public.
The service’s revenue budget for 2023/24 is £104 million. This is a 9 percent increase from the previous financial year.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service needs to improve how it allocates resources to meet its objectives
The service’s financial plans continue to be consistent with the risks and priorities it has identified in its CRMP. However, it could improve how it allocates staff in prevention, protection and response to meet its objectives.
Staff shortages in its prevention department due to sickness and vacancies are affecting the service’s ability to implement its prevention strategy. We found that the safe and well visit backlog has increased from 839 in 2021/22 to 1,211 in 2022/23. The service is aware of this and has recorded the risk on its corporate risk register. Control measures include close monitoring through quarterly performance management meetings and reallocating staff between districts to tackle the backlog.
The service doesn’t have enough qualified protection staff to carry out its strategic plan. In particular, it doesn’t have enough level-4-qualified fire safety inspectors to carry out its risk-based inspection programme. The service is aware of this and has put plans in place to address staff training and qualifications. We look forward to seeing the results during our next inspection.
The service has evaluated its mix of crewing and duty systems. It has analysed its response cover and can show it deploys its fire engines and response staff to manage risk efficiently. The service uses three different firefighter duty systems, including wholetime (in the day), on-call (at night) and day crewed.
A lack of drivers in some locations is increasing the movement of firefighters between fire stations to provide cover, which is increasing overtime costs. The service is aware of this and is exploring options to increase driver availability.
Control staff told us that the control room is often staffed below its optimum level of seven. This is due to sickness and staff vacancies. On the day of our visit to the control room, we were told that staffing for the oncoming night shift was down to four people. The service is aware of this and is in the process of recruiting control room staff.
It builds its plans on sound scenarios. They help make sure the service is sustainable and underpinned by financial controls that reduce the risk of misusing public money. It has an established risk management system that is used to record financial risks. Each risk is prioritised based on severity and likelihood. This is reported quarterly to the risk management strategy group.
All revenue bids must demonstrate that they are aligned to the service’s strategic priorities in its CRMP. All bids are reviewed and prioritised by the management board.
The service is improving workforce productivity
During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted an area for improvement that the service should have effective measures, targets and processes in place to support performance management of its key business functions. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed.
We were pleased to see that the service’s arrangements for managing performance clearly link resource use to its CRMP and its strategic priorities. The service monitors performance against key performance indicators through its performance management system. The system allows live performance monitoring and reporting.
The service uses several indicators to monitor, manage and report strategic performance. Indicators include:
- fires
- false alarms
- non-fires
- fire-related fatalities
- fire-related injuries
- attacks on firefighters
- response times
- safe and well visits
- site-specific risk inspections.
Comparisons are made with the previous years, months and three-year average.
The service plans to increase its performance management to areas such as staff training and competence. We look forward to seeing the results during our next inspection.
The service understands how it uses its wholetime firefighters. It measures how they spend their time across day and night shifts. It also makes the most of its capacity. For example, it has carried out a time and motion study to better understand how firefighters use their time and identify areas to improve workplace productivity.
Watch managers complete monthly activity reports. This includes details of prevention activities, sickness, appraisals and performance improvement action plans.
The service is taking steps to make sure the workforce’s time is as productive as possible. It has produced a draft daily station routine that was due to go live in May 2024. As a result of the time and motion study, the service plans to move some day activities to the evening to improve productivity during the day. For example, the service plans to move some of the administration work and training to night shifts. We look forward to seeing the results during our next inspection.
The service collaborates effectively with others
We were pleased to see the service meets its statutory duty to collaborate. It routinely considers opportunities to collaborate with other emergency responders. It takes a practical approach to working with others and is exploring opportunities with other emergency services and partner agencies. It co-locates with the police, ambulance service, local councils and the Red Cross at several of its fire stations.
The service has been part of a tri-service collaboration board since 2017, although this hasn’t resulted in any significant projects to date.
Collaborative work is aligned to the priorities in the service’s CRMP. For example, the service works with the local councils and police to carry out prevention activity and keep people safe. It also has an agreement in place with the police and ambulance service to enter buildings where there is concern for the safety or welfare of a patient.
The service monitors, reviews and evaluates the benefits and results of its collaborations. Notable results include the collaboration with other UK fire services in the purchase of fire engines and specialist vehicles through the NFCC’s emergency response vehicle framework. Buying through NFCC frameworks has saved approximately £435,000.
The service could improve its continuity arrangements
The service has gaps in its continuity arrangements for areas in which it considers threats and risks to be high. For example, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service provide a fallback location for the service’s control room. This allows the service to effectively deal with emergency calls from a remote location should the service’s control room need to be evacuated.
We were told that the service hasn’t fully tested its fallback business continuity plan for over four years. The service would benefit from carrying out a full evacuation of its control room.
It has appropriate business continuity plans in place for industrial action. The plan is detailed, comprehensive and sets out its risk-based planning assumptions. These include where fire engines will be located, how training will be provided and the actions to be taken during industrial action. It has been tested, and learning has been used to update the plan.
It carries out annual, service-wide business continuity exercises. During 2023, the service exercised its plans to deal with an increase in the national threat level to critical.
The service’s risk management strategy group is provided with a business continuity performance report on a quarterly basis. The service also horizon scans (assesses for emerging threats) to identify risks and the need to review plans. However, business continuity testing schedules are unclear. We found that some business continuity plans don’t have set review dates.
The service has a degradation plan that is used when fire engines become unavailable. The plan covers a loss of fire engines from 46 down to 5. Control staff have the authority to reduce the number of available fire engines to 35, if needed. Senior managers can authorise a further preplanned reduction to 30 fire engines if necessary. The plan has been externally validated.
The service shows effective financial management
The service has regular reviews to consider all its expenditure, including its non‑pay costs. This scrutiny makes sure the service gets value for money. For example, expenditure is regularly reviewed through the West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s scrutiny arrangements. The service also has a budget and monitoring group which compares actual expenditure with forecast expenditure.
The service has made savings and efficiencies without negatively affecting its operational performance and the service it gives the public. This includes its command leadership and management programme. The programme removes watch managers from fire engines and places them in separate emergency service vehicles. This allows them to carry out duties, including prevention and protection work, in addition to those already being carried out by crews on fire engines.
The service is taking steps to make sure it achieves efficiency gains through sound financial management and best working practices. It is doing this in important areas such as estates, fleet and procurement.
The service has recently adopted industry standards to improve the way it implements its maintenance services. As a result, the service was able to bring maintenance work back in-house. This has reduced the need for consultancy and the associated costs. The service monitors the costs and timescales of maintenance work to measure efficiency.
Adequate
Making the FRS affordable now and in the future
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at making the service affordable now and in the future.
Fire and rescue services should continuously look for ways to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. This includes transforming how they work and improving their value for money. Services should have robust spending plans that reflect future financial challenges and efficiency opportunities, and they should invest in better services for the public.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service understands its future financial challenges
The service has a good understanding of future financial challenges. It plans to mitigate its significant financial risks. A balanced budget has been set in 2023/24. At the time of our inspection, the service was confident that a balanced budget would be set for 2024/25.
The service has a £2m medium-term funding impact reserve. It may need to use this reserve if its savings plan isn’t achieved or there are other unforeseen cost or funding pressures.
The underpinning assumptions are relatively robust, realistic and prudent. They take account of the wider external environment and some scenario planning for future spending reductions of 5 percent and 10 percent.
As part of its financial planning work, the service has produced an efficiency options report. This explores efficiency and investment options for every department. The report includes ways the service could make savings if it faces financial pressures in the future, along with the anticipated risks to and effects on the service.
We were pleased to see that the service has identified savings and investment opportunities to improve the service to the public or generate further savings. The service’s 2023/24 budget includes around £1.3m of identified savings. These savings include:
- removing the operational resources pool (dedicated groups of firefighters that fill staffing gaps on a daily basis);
- cheaper insurance premiums; and
- procurement savings made through buying items or services.
The service has a clear plan in place for the use of reserves
The service has a sensible and sustainable plan for using its reserves. This plan includes the use of reserves to support its capital programme and remove the need to borrow. The service told us that this approach has saved over £8.8m in loan interest payments over the last 12 years. On 1 April 2023, the service had general reserves of £5m, which is equivalent to around 5 percent of its annual budget requirement. It also has earmarked reserves of £36m.
The fleet and estate strategies are aligned with the CRMP
The service’s estate and fleet strategies have clear links to its CRMP. Both strategies exploit opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
The service is a member of the National Fire Estates Group, allowing ideas and solutions to be shared between services. It meets with police, local councils and the ambulance service to discuss the sharing of buildings. It also consults with partner agencies on new building plans.
The service has employed a third-party company to complete efficiency surveys on its buildings. This informs future refurbishment work of stations, including replacing windows, insulation and lighting to improve environmental efficiency. It plans to establish a new, carbon-neutral headquarters by the end of 2024.
The service uses vehicle tracking on fire engines and other service vehicles. This allows the service to monitor road risk and vehicle use. The service can then make informed decisions on where vehicles should be located, what type of vehicles are needed and the required number of vehicles in its fleet.
The service regularly reviews these strategies so that it can properly assess the effect that any changes in estate and fleet provision, or future innovation, have on risk.
The service invests in technology to support change and improve efficiency
The service actively considers how changes in technology and future innovation may affect risk. It also seeks to use changes in technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The service has a pool of electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure to support this. Operational officers use hybrid response vehicles. Funding has been allocated to increase electric vehicle charging points. Officers are now provided with SIM-enabled computers, which allows mobile working.
The service has put in place the capacity and capability it needs to achieve sustainable transformation. It also routinely seeks opportunities to work with others to improve efficiency and provide better services. The service collaborates with other fire and rescue services when buying fire engines and specialist vehicles through the NFCC’s emergency response vehicle framework. It also buys external protection training courses at a reduced price through collaboration with the regional protection group.
The service considers income generation opportunities
The service looks for and exploits opportunities for generating extra income. It has considered having a commercial trading company but felt that it wasn’t financially viable. However, the service does generate income through site rental, false alarms recovery charging, special service charges and youth intervention programmes.
Good
Promoting the right values and culture
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is adequate at promoting the right values and culture.
Fire and rescue services should have positive and inclusive cultures, modelled by the behaviours of their senior leaders. Services should promote health and safety effectively, and staff should have access to a range of well‑being support that can be tailored to their individual needs.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service prioritises culture, behaviours and values
The service has well-defined values, which staff understand. The service’s values are teamwork, integrity, learning, responsibility and communication. It has integrated the NFCC’s Core Code of Ethics in its own values. The service’s values statement, ‘Our Values’, is clear about expected and unacceptable behaviours. Our staff survey showed that 96 percent (305 out of 317) of respondents are aware of the service’s statement of values.
We found that staff at all levels of the service showed behaviours that reflect the service’s values. Our staff survey showed that 87 percent (266 out of 305) of respondents felt that their managers consistently model and maintain the service’s values. This increases to 89 percent (270 out of 305) when describing colleagues.
Most staff felt that senior leaders act as role models. For example, the people we spoke to during our inspection felt that senior leaders model the values of the service, and are approachable and visible on stations. But, of those that completed our survey, only 72 percent (221 out of 305) felt that senior leaders consistently model and maintain the service’s values. However, this is an increase from 66 percent (363 out of 546) since our last inspection.
However, there is still evidence of poor behaviours. We were told through our independent reporting line about several examples of poor behaviour, including by managers, that staff have experienced. But most staff we spoke to during our fieldwork hadn’t experienced poor behaviour.
There is a positive working culture throughout the service, with most staff feeling empowered and willing to challenge poor behaviours when they come across them. They have confidence that their concerns will be taken seriously, and that their concerns can be raised anonymously through ‘Say So’, an independent reporting line. But some staff still don’t feel confident to raise concerns or to challenge.
The service has good well-being provisions in place and prioritises both mental and physical health
The service has well-understood and effective well-being policies in place, which are available to staff. During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted as an area for improvement that the service should make sure that it has effective arrangements in place to support staff following a traumatic incident. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed.
A significant range of well-being support is available to support both physical and mental health. For example, it has an employee assistance programme, as well as access to occupational therapists, an occupational health unit and additional services through the Firefighter’s Charity. Following a review of its trauma support service, it has introduced a trauma risk management process (TRiM). Several staff members have been trained as TRiM practitioners to provide support to staff following a traumatic incident.
There are good provisions in place to promote staff well-being. The service has welfare officers to support those on sickness absence. Staff are trained in mental health awareness and in ‘having a difficult conversation’. Our staff survey showed that 89 percent (281 out of 317) of respondents feel that they can access services to support mental health.
Most staff reported they understand and have confidence in the well-being support processes available. Control staff told us that following a fire survival guidance call, the control operators involved are offered well-being support. But other than this, there are no triggers to offer support, such as following a fatal incident.
The service has a well-being co-ordinator who is employed for 30 hours per week to help people better understand what services are available and how to access support.
The service has appropriate health and safety provisions in place
The service has effective and well-understood health and safety policies and procedures in place. These policies and procedures are readily available, and the service promotes them effectively to all staff. Both staff and representative bodies have confidence in the service’s approach to health and safety.
During our 2021 inspection, we highlighted as an area for improvement that the service should make sure all staff are appropriately trained and up to date in relation to health and safety. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed. The service gives health and safety training to all staff and additional training for managers. Health and safety events are effectively recorded and actioned.
The service is introducing new clean cab fire engines that separate contaminated equipment and firefighters. This limits exposure to contaminants. Also, new build fire stations and some existing stations have contamination zones to limit firefighters’ exposure to contaminants. Crews are also encouraged to shower within the hour on return to station.
The service doesn’t monitor staff who have secondary employment or dual contracts to make sure they comply with the secondary employment policy and don’t work excessive hours. The service relies on individuals to declare any secondary employment and associated working hours. The working hours of those on dual contracts are monitored and recorded on two separate availability systems. The systems aren’t connected, making it difficult for managers to monitor combined working hours.
We found cases where control staff were working excessive hours that weren’t properly monitored. Staff told us that working excessive overtime shifts to cover staff shortages was affecting well-being.
The service needs to improve how it manages absence
We found there are clear processes in place to manage absences for all staff. There is clear guidance for managers. While some managers told us that they had completed absence management training, others told us that they didn’t feel trained to deal with absence effectively.
In 2022/23, the average number of days not worked per firefighter due to long-term sickness increased by 27 percent compared to 2021/22.
The service has recognised that the increased excessive absence levels is partly due to staff awaiting appointments receive operations on the NHS. To address this, it is looking into the possibility of contributing to private medical care.
The service is taking action to deal with staffing shortages due to sickness. This includes a comprehensive operational staffing project. The project assesses the current staffing situation and provides options to improve it. These include:
- increasing ‘Safe to Command’ firefighters to cover crew commander’s duties as required;
- carrying out an external recruitment campaign for firefighters from other FRSs who hold the emergency response driving qualification; and
- introducing short-term flexible contracts for recently retired or on-call firefighters to cover shortfalls.
Adequate
Getting the right people with the right skills
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at getting the right people with the right skills.
Fire and rescue services should have a workforce plan in place that is linked to their community risk management plans. It should set out their current and future skills requirements and address capability gaps. This should be supplemented by a culture of continuous improvement, including appropriate learning and development throughout the service.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service needs to improve its workforce planning
The service has workforce planning in place. This makes sure skills and capabilities align with what it needs to effectively carry out its CRMP. For example, the service’s establishment planning group meets quarterly to review and provide the strategic direction for workforce planning. It makes sure the service has the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time, to meet future demands. However, we found evidence of staffing gaps not being filled in good time. For example, we were told of staffing gaps in the service’s prevention, protection and response functions.
Regular meetings are held to discuss workforce and succession planning. The service holds regular establishment planning group meetings where staff retirement dates and any related impacts are reviewed through detailed trends analysis. It also provides financial incentives for staff to provide additional notice of their intention to retire. This provides the service with extra time to fill staffing gaps.
As of 31 March 2023, 44 members of staff were on temporary promotions, which is 3.1 percent of its workforce. Also as of 31 March 2023, the average length of time for a temporary promotion was 365 days. This is an increase from 256 days in 2022 and is higher than the average of 312 across all fire and rescue services in England. The longest time an individual has been on temporary promotion is 990 days. This is lower than the average of 1,391 across all fire and rescue services in England.
The service effectively monitors workforce skills and capabilities
Most staff told us that they could access the training they need to be effective in their role, including management skills. For example, of those that completed our survey, 86 percent (272 out of 317) said that they receive sufficient training to effectively do their job.
The service’s training plans make sure they can maintain competence and capability effectively. During our 2021 inspection, we identified as an area for improvement that the service should make sure it has an effective, accurate and accessible system for recording and monitoring all staff training, including e-learning. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed.
The service monitors staff competence through its competency dashboard, which provides a single view of qualifications, competencies and e-learning. The dashboard also records training needs and frequencies.
It regularly updates its understanding of staff skills and risk-critical safety capabilities by sampling staff training records. Detailed reports containing information of staff competencies are provided to the operational training and exercise group and the organisational development board. This approach means the service can identify gaps in workforce capabilities and resilience. It also means it can make sound decisions about current and future needs.
The service supports staff with learning and development
The service promotes a culture of continuous improvements throughout the organisation, and it encourages staff to learn and develop. For example, staff can request additional training through the appraisal process. But some staff told us that additional training requests made in this way are often not granted. Both operational and support staff members are given the opportunity to complete level 3 and level 5 leadership training as well as other soft skills training.
We were pleased to see that the service has a range of resources in place. These include e-learning modules, formal development and training courses, continuing professional development events, coaching and mentoring.
Most staff told us they can access a range of learning and development resources. Overall, 81 percent of staff who responded to our survey (258 out of 317) agree that they can access the right learning and development opportunities when they need to. This allows them to do their job effectively. But some on-call firefighters told us that training courses are only provided mid-week. This can make it difficult to get time off from their primary employer.
Good
Ensuring fairness and promoting diversity
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at ensuring fairness and promoting diversity.
Creating a more representative workforce gives fire and rescue services huge benefits. These include greater access to talent and different ways of thinking. It also helps them better understand and engage with local communities. Each service should make sure staff throughout the organisation firmly understand and show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). This includes successfully taking steps to remove inequality and making progress to improve fairness, diversity and inclusion at all levels of the service. It should proactively seek and respond to feedback from staff and make sure any action it takes is meaningful.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service and senior leaders seek feedback from staff
The service has developed several ways to work with staff on issues and decisions that affect them. This includes methods to build all-staff awareness of fairness and diversity, as well as targeted initiatives to identify matters that affect different staff groups. The service has five staff networks, including:
- gender inclusion;
- race, ethnicity and cultural heritage;
- disability and well-being;
- LGBT+U; and
- menopause action group.
The networks are consulted on new or reviewed procedures, policies and equality impact assessments.
During our 2021 inspection, we identified as an area for improvement that the service should assure itself that staff are confident using its feedback mechanisms. The service has introduced and promoted the independent reporting line Say So. This allows staff to raise concerns anonymously. However, many staff told us that they didn’t have the confidence to use Say So, as they were unsure how the process works and if it is confidential. Therefore, this area for improvement will remain. Further work is needed to assure staff that Say So is confidential and can be trusted. Some staff also told us that they would not be confident that concerns raised with managers would be treated confidentially.
The service has taken action to address matters staff have raised. This includes changes to policies and procedures. Staff have received these actions positively. However, some staff told us that senior leaders don’t always listen. A common example included a uniform staff survey. Many members of staff told us that their feedback wasn’t considered when purchasing the latest uniform.
Representative bodies and staff associations reported that the service communicates with them well. Representative bodies that responded to our survey agreed that the service has sufficient processes for senior leaders to seek feedback and challenge from the workforce. Senior leaders frequently carry out station visits and ‘Let’s Talk’ sessions, allowing staff to ask questions.
Most staff are confident in the service’s approach to dealing with bullying, harassment and discrimination
During our 2021 inspection, we identified as an area for improvement that the service should review how effective its policy on bullying, harassment and discrimination is in reducing unacceptable behaviour towards its staff. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed. Staff have a good understanding of what bullying, harassment and discrimination are, and their negative effects on colleagues and the organisation. The service’s dignity, respect and integrity policy signposts staff to a range of e-learning short courses in subjects such as:
- understanding race bias;
- understanding unconscious bias;
- effective interventions;
- gender matters;
- banter in the workplace;
- impact of micro-behaviours;
- trans and non-binary awareness;
- sexual orientation; and
- disabled adventures in work and recruitment.
In this inspection, 14 percent (45 out of 317) of staff responding to our survey told us they had been subject to harassment or bullying over the past 12 months. Of these staff, 44 percent (20 out of 45) didn’t report the bullying or harassment. The main reason for this was that they felt nothing would happen. Furthermore, 9 percent (30 out of 317) of respondents told us they had been subject to discrimination over the past 12 months.
But most staff we spoke with were confident in the service’s approach to tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination, grievances and disciplinary matters. Representative bodies that responded to our survey agreed that the service has appropriate processes in place to eliminate bullying, harassment and discrimination. The service has made sure all staff are trained and clear about what to do if they encounter inappropriate behaviour.
Staff told us that senior leaders have taken a ‘firmer’ approach to dealing with unacceptable behaviours. The service has a dedicated investigation officer within HR to investigate discipline cases. This improves the consistency of investigations and outcomes.
The service’s dignity, integrity and respect policy clearly explains the differences between clumsy, inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour and the different ways they can be dealt with. For example, clumsy behaviour may be able to be dealt with more informally than unacceptable behaviour. Staff told us that managers get training to deal with behavioural and performance issues.
The service needs to do more to improve disproportionality in recruitment
There is an open, fair and honest recruitment process for staff or those wishing to work for the fire and rescue service. The service has made considerable effort to develop its recruitment processes so that they are fair and potential applicants can understand them. For example, it has looked at data to understand where individuals from under-represented groups are failing the recruitment process. As a result, the service supports females with fitness development sessions and people from ethnic minority backgrounds to complete application forms.
The service has a positive action co-ordinator who is supported by the communications team to promote positive action during recruitment campaigns. However, this is currently limited to firefighter recruitment.
The service could further improve its system to understand and reduce the disproportionality in recruitment processes. For example, although the service collects diversity-related information during its recruitment campaigns, it is difficult to analyse this data due to restrictions with the system.
The service advertises recruitment opportunities both internally and externally through social media, the NFCC, job sites, places of worship and with local councils. However, the service could reach a more diverse range of applicants by advertising more widely, or example, through Women in the Fire Service and Asian Fire Service Association. This would encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, including into middle and senior management roles.
The service has implemented its Inspire programme, which ran in conjunction with the firefighter recruitment campaign. It is aimed at under-represented groups. During the programme, people get an insight into the role of a firefighter. The programme has been successful, with the majority of those involved going on to apply for the role of a firefighter, and two people making it to the final stage of the recruitment process.
The service has a training support volunteer scheme in place. This involves new firefighter recruits from under-represented groups being paired with experienced firefighters as mentors to provide support as needed.
The service has made some improvements to increasing staff diversity at all levels of the organisation. In 2022/23, 13 percent of new joiners self-declared as being from an ethnic minority background. The proportion of firefighters that are from an ethnic minority background has increased from 5.8 percent (58 people) in 2021/22, to 6.7 percent (67 people) in 2022/23. The proportion of firefighters who identified as a woman has increased from 6.5 percent (69 people) to 7.6 percent (82 people) over the same period.
For the whole workforce, in 2022/23, 7 percent were from an ethnic minority background compared to 27.4 percent in their local population and 8.5 percent throughout all FRSs. Additionally, 20.3 percent were women, compared to an average of 19.4 percent throughout all FRSs.
EDI are clear priorities for the service
The service has an effective approach to EDI. It makes sure it can offer the right services to its communities and can support staff with protected characteristics. For example, it supports staff with protected characteristics through its staff networks. It also has a good relationship with external EDI networks, such as the Asian Fire Service Association and Leeds LGBT Forum. The service’s EDI strategy links with the NFCC’s Core Code of Ethics and explains how EDI is understood by everyone in the service.
It provides a mandatory diversity for everyone course for all employees and additional training for equality impact assessments (EIAs). The service also gives training, campaigns and awareness sessions on subjects including carers, fertility, holocaust survivors, transgender and intersex issues.
It has an effective process in place to assess equality impact. EIA screening forms are monitored to make sure that EIAs are being carried out when they should be. All committee reports include a section ‘has an EIA been carried out’. Not all the EIAs we looked at had been reviewed by the diversity team for quality assurance. The EIA template considers all the protected characteristics, and considerations for part-time workers, carers, social and economic and direct and indirect discrimination.
Good
Managing performance and developing leaders
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at managing performance and developing leaders.
Fire and rescue services should have robust and meaningful performance management arrangements in place for their staff. All staff should be supported to meet their potential and there should be a focus on developing staff and improving diversity into leadership roles.
We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.
Main findings
The service has improved how it manages individuals’ performance
There is a good performance management system in place, which allows the service to effectively develop and assess the performance of all staff members. For example, staff should complete the service’s formal appraisal process at least once a year. During our 2021 inspection, we identified as an area for improvement that the service should improve all staff understanding and application of the performance (annual) review process. During this inspection, we found that there had been sufficient progress for this area for improvement to be closed. Staff told us that they have regular discussions with their managers. They also told us that they feel the appraisal process is meaningful and contributes to their development and performance. In our survey, 93 percent (296 of 317) of respondents told us that they have had a formal personal development review or appraisal in the last 12 months.
Each staff member has goals and objectives, and regular performance assessments. In our survey, 15 percent of respondents (49 of 317) told us that they discuss how well they are performing at work with their managers weekly, while 33 percent (105 of 317) discuss it monthly, 14 percent (45 of 317) quarterly and 32 percent (103 out of 317) annually. But 5 percent (15 of 317) of respondents told us that they have never discussed how well they are performing at work with their managers.
The service needs to do more to assure the workforce that promotion and progression processes are fair
The service has put effort into developing its promotion and progression processes so that they are fair and all staff can understand them. But, of those that completed our survey, only 53 percent (167 out of 317) felt that promotion processes are fair. The promotion and progression policies are comprehensive. They cover opportunities and guidance for all operational roles, but they contain limited guidance for support staff.
The service could improve its succession planning processes to allow it to effectively manage the career pathways of its staff, including roles needing specialist skills. Succession planning is largely based on the service’s retirement profile. We found skill shortages in some areas of the service. This included a shortage of drivers, trained fire safety inspectors and prevention staff.
The service uses temporary promotions to fill short-term resourcing gaps. As of 31 March 2023, there were 44 members of staff in temporary promotion positions.
It manages selection processes fairly. The service often advertises job vacancies externally as well as internally. It aims to have a mix of support staff, operational staff and HR staff on all interview panels. From the promotion and recruitment processes we looked at, we found this to be the case. Interview panel members receive unconscious bias training and complete moderation at the end of each day to create consistency.
The service’s development and promotion policy provides detailed information on:
- the promotion process;
- eligibility;
- examination requirements;
- general information;
- the criteria for selection;
- the process stages; and
- unsuccessful and successful applicants.
The service is making efforts to increase diversity in its leadership
The service knows it needs to go further to increase workforce diversity, especially in middle and senior management. It has put in place plans to address this. These include the service’s Aspire programme, aimed at under-represented groups within the service. The programme supports staff in their development, giving them the confidence to apply for more senior positions in the future. At the time of our inspection, this had resulted in three staff members recently progressing into new roles.
The service identifies and develops leadership and high-potential staff at all levels
The service has succession planning processes in place, which allow it to manage high-potential staff into leadership roles. There are talent management schemes to develop specific staff. All staff are required to complete a talent assessment as part of the annual review process. Those identified as potential leaders are offered Chartered Management Institute training.
The service has a coaching and mentoring scheme available for staff, which includes coaching by other emergency service partners.
Support staff are given training opportunities such as leadership training and other soft skills training. Staff can submit bids for support with external courses where appropriate.
Good