Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: Cause of concern – progress letter

From:
Andy Cooke QPM DL
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services

To:
Dave Russel, Chief Fire Officer
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Sent on:
14 December 2021

Background

We inspected Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service during April and May 2021. During the inspection we identified an area of concern. We shared the cause of concern with you and made recommendations as follows:

Greater Manchester FRS should have its own marauding terrorist attack (MTA) response that is both resilient, timely and cost effective.

The service should ensure it is properly prepared as part of a multi-agency response to terrorist incidents. This includes the provision of a timely response to ensure public safety. Response procedures must be understood by all staff and properly exercised and tested. This should not come at the cost of wider fire cover for the public.

By the end of October 2021, the service should have a sustainable plan to maintain its response to MTA incidents. This should include meaningful training and exercising for all staff who would be expected to respond to a MTA incident.

Update

2. As a result of these concerns, we asked you to provide, by 31 October 2021, an action plan setting out how you intend to address the problems we identified.

3. We haven’t yet had an action plan from you, but you have provided a comprehensive business case. It details how the service intends to improve the capacity and capability of Greater Manchester FRS’s response to a terrorist incident, and how much it will cost to do so. In the business case you describe how all Greater Manchester FRS staff will be trained, equipped and supported to undertake agreed MTA activities as outlined in the MTA joint operating principles. We understand the business case awaits political approval and that the proposal will then need collective agreement.

4. As well as the business case, we acknowledge that you have developed a detailed MTA implementation plan and associated governance, which you have recently passed to us.

5. We note that you will continue to maintain the MTA specialist response capability by way of agreement with the Fire Brigades Union. Our concerns remain about the resilience of this provision while you implement your new plans.

6. The service has clearly shown a strong commitment and willingness to address this cause of concern. But, until the business case is approved, and we have reviewed the governance arrangements and implementation plan, we can’t determine how effectively these plans provide a resilient, fast and cost-effective MTA response.

7. We will continue to monitor the progress made and will revisit the service in spring 2022 to make sure the cause of concern has been addressed and the service provided to the public of Greater Manchester has improved.

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Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: Cause of concern – progress letter