Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has improved in some areas, but further progress is needed in prioritising fire prevention
The fire inspectorate has said that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has made improvements in some areas but needs to make prevention a higher priority.
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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas. It found the service was ‘good’ in three areas, ‘adequate’ in three areas and ‘requires improvement’ in five areas.
HMICFRS said the service is good at responding to emergencies, including major incidents, and has plans to deal with risks such as severe weather events, including flooding response and water rescue. Inspectors were pleased to find that the service has continued to consistently achieve high on-call firefighter availability.
The inspectorate also said that the service has sound financial management processes in place. There are regular reviews to consider all the service’s expenditure, including its non-pay costs, and this scrutiny helps makes sure the service gets value for money.
However, HMICFRS said that since the service’s last inspection, not enough progress has been made to make prevention a sufficiently high priority. The service should implement a robust and consistent method of prioritising its home safety visits to those most at risk.
Inspectors found that while the service has done considerable work to improve its culture, there is still more to do. For example, some staff said they don’t feel confident in challenging inappropriate behaviour. The service needs to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken so far and whether they are having the intended impact to improve its culture.
HMICFRS also found that the service hasn’t made enough progress to improve its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. Inspectors were disappointed to find that this team was understaffed, meaning staff have excessive workloads and some improvements have been delayed.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Roy Wilsher said:
“I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks. But the service needs to improve in some areas. In particular, it needs to do more to prevent fires and other risks.
“We recognise that the service has experienced some changes in senior leadership roles. And I don’t underestimate the challenges in changing the culture, performance and efficiency of a fire and rescue service. But we were disappointed to find that the service hasn’t made the progress we expected. For example, five areas for improvement that we highlighted during our previous inspections of the service still haven’t been addressed.
“Overall, there is a clear commitment from staff and senior leaders to improve. The service is aware of the many issues we found and had plans in place to make improvements. I will keep in close contact with the service to monitor its progress in addressing the remaining cause of concern and associated recommendations.”
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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
- 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 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 have expanded our previous four-tier system of judgements to five. These changes mean that it isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between grades awarded in this round of inspections with those from previous years.
- A reduction in grade, particularly from good to adequate, doesn’t necessarily mean that there has been a reduction in performance unless we say so in the report.
- Read more information about the 2023-25 assessment framework for fire and rescue service inspections.