Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is providing a good service to the public, but there is room for further improvement
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has made progress since its previous inspection but needs to make improvements in some areas, the fire inspectorate has said.
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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas. It found the service was ‘good’ in eight areas and ‘adequate’ in three areas.
HMICFRS said that the service continues to provide an effective prevention, protection and response service to the public, working well with other fire and rescue services and organisations such as the police, local authorities and health providers. But inspectors said that the service needs to show a clear rationale for the resources allocated between these different activities. This should reflect, and be consistent with, the risks and priorities set out in its community risk management plan.
HMICFRS said the service is working hard to transform its estate and technology and make sure staff are productive at work. This is supporting it to improve its ways of working and provide a more efficient service to the public.
Inspectors also found that there is a positive working culture throughout the service, with staff empowered and willing to challenge poor behaviours when they come across them. Some staff have completed active bystander training, which has increased their confidence in knowing how to challenge inappropriate behaviours.
However, HMICFRS also said that the service should put in place an open and fair process to identify, develop and support high-potential staff and aspiring leaders.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Roy Wilsher said:
“I am pleased with the performance of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks. It is providing a good service to the public, and it is particularly effective in preventing fires and responding to incidents.
“It is positive to see that the service has addressed many of the areas for improvement we identified in our previous inspection. This includes recommendations relating to unwanted fire signals, and gathering and recording risk information.
“But it needs to improve in some areas to provide a consistently good service. For example, it needs to review whether it is allocating the right resources to its prevention, protection and response functions to provide the best service to the public.
”The service is aware of the areas where it can make improvements. We look forward to returning to the service for its next inspection.”
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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Royal Berkshire 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.