State of Fire and Rescue – The Annual Assessment of Fire and Rescue Services in England 2021

Summary

This is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services’ report to the Secretary of State under section 28B of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. It contains his assessment of the sector in England, based on the inspections we carried out during 2021.

This report draws on findings from inspections of fire and rescue services in England, to provide an overall view of the state of the fire and rescue sector.

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Single page standard format

This is the best format to use if you want to read this on a small screen or print the report and read it.

State of Fire and Rescue – The Annual Assessment of Fire and Rescue Services in England 2021 (PDF document)

Double page format

This format is best if you’re viewing the report on a larger screen, because it’s easier to read the graphics and tables which are spread over two pages.

State of Fire and Rescue – The Annual Assessment of Fire and Rescue Services in England 2021 (PDF document)

Large font format

This format has larger text and a simpler layout than the standard format. It has text and lists instead of graphics and tables.

State of Fire and Rescue – The Annual Assessment of Fire and Rescue Services in England 2021 – Large font version (PDF document)

Report chapters

We have broken the report down into chapters below, so the files are smaller and quicker for you to download.

Foreword

This section contains the background and reason for the report. It highlights unique considerations for this year’s report and explains how the report was compiled and created.

State of Fire and Rescue – Foreword: online version (HTML)

State of Fire and Rescue – Foreword (PDF document)

Part 1: Overview

This section contains Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services’ assessment of the state of fire and rescue services in England. It draws on the inspections we carried out between February and August 2021, as well as the findings and reports of other organisations, and other information and analysis available to him.

State of Fire and Rescue – Part 1: Overview – online version (HTML)

State of Fire and Rescue – Part 1: Overview (PDF document)

Part 2: Our inspections

This part gives an overview of the findings of the inspections we carried out between February and August 2021.

State of Fire and Rescue – Part 2: Our inspections (PDF document)

Part 3: Our reports

This sets out the full list of our inspections and other work. The results of our individual inspections enable an assessment of the performance of individual fire and rescue services, or a more general assessment of performance in specific aspects of fire and rescue work.

State of Fire and Rescue – Part 3: Our reports (PDF document)

Annexes

State of Fire and Rescue – Annexes (PDF document)

Get the press release

Chief Inspector: Fire and Rescue Services are improving, but more change is urgently required