Witnesses:
Denise Turner-Stewart, Cabinet
Member for Communities
Steve Owen-Hughes, Chief Fire
Officer and Head of Surrey Community Protection Group
Sarah Kershaw, Chief of Staff
and Deputy Head of Community Protection
Group
Key
points raised during the discussion:
- The Cabinet Member
stated that detailed work had been undertaken since the March
meeting of the Select Committee. Phase one making surrey safer plan
had been successfully implemented despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual statement of assurance had been published and refreshed
in an engaging format to fully inform the public. Performance of
the service had consistently improved since implementation of phase
one. The service was awaiting the outcome of the Brunel University
external validation assurance later this month.
- A Member thanked
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service for its hard work during the Chobam
wildfires and asked what welfare provision was provided for
firefighters working in harsh conditions such as those at Cobham.
The Chief Fire Officer stated that there was good welfare provision
in place; a contract ensured that rapid relief were in place at
major incidents. Welfare, including water and provisions, was
provided on every fire engine and all firefighters carried a credit
card to purchase additional supplies if desired. SFRS had received
feedback from other fire and rescue services stating that the
provision of welfare for their firefighters when working for SFRS
had been very good.
- A Member questioned
whether firefighter welfare was reviewed on a regular basis,
especially for future major incidents. The Chief Fire Officer
stated that a welfare review was under way and processes were being
checked. The Chief Fire Officer assured the Committee that all
concerns voiced by firefighters were listened to. The Cabinet
Member gave assurance that welfare was prioritised in the
service.
- A Vice chairman
expressed concern about emergency response time and asked how
COVID-19 had impacted this negatively. The Chief Fire Officer
stated that although the start of lockdown traffic was
significantly reduced, road traffic collisions that did occur
during this period were more impactful and required a greater level
of intervention. Lockdown had caused different incidents requiring
different responses.
- A Member asked how
the Service performed on recruitment and retention of staff and
asked how many current vacancies there were in the Service. The
Chief Fire Officer stated that of 664 posts, there were 59
vacancies which included 17 whole time firefighter vacancies.
Across the whole service, there were 67 new members of staff
recently employed. The recruiting cycle was ongoing however had
stalled during the COVID-19 period. The Service was now able to
recruit and train at all levels in the service. Internal promotions
were encouraged as were pursuing different career paths within the
service. Exit interviews were conducted with staff and the Chief
Fire Officer informed the Committee that the most common reasons
for staff leaving the service were personal issues, new external
opportunities and taking retirement. A Member requested that the
Chief Fire Officer provide a breakdown of the number of serving
firefighters and support staff.
- The Member also
referred to the proportionately high level of retirements and
questioned whether this would be an issue in the future. The Chief
Fire Officer stated that reemployment and pensions rules did mean
that some firefighters had to retire when they did not wish to; the
Chief Fire Officer assured the Committee that the Service was good
at promoting experienced staff from within and therefore loss of
experience with retiring officers was not a problem.
- With regards to the
Service’s retirement protocol, a Member asked whether there
was scope for firefighters who had not been passed medically fit
for active service, but who did not wish to retire from the
service, to use their experience in a different field within the
Service. The Chief Fire Officer confirmed that firefighters must
achieve a fitness standard and pass medical tests to remain
operational however the Service was exploring alternative avenues
of work in non-operational roles for firefighters at retirement age
who could not meet the standards required for frontline duty. In
response to this, the Chairman asked how many firefighters had
recently left the service and for what reasons. The Chief Fire
Officer stated that he would circulate these figures after the
meeting.
- The Chairman asked
what the demographic of the SFRS workforce was. The Chief Fire
Officer stated presently SFRS was unrepresentative of the community
it served and that the culture needed to change to make SFRS an
employer of choice for people of all backgrounds. The recruitment
process was being altered in order to eliminate bias and actively
diversify the workforce. Unconscious bias training would be key;
policy and procedures were being analysed and departments being
challenged on this issue.
- The Chief Fire
Officer stated that the Service had learned a lot from engagement
work, particularly that many operational staff were displeased
about the change in shift patterns. A staff focus group would be
convened to discuss these issues and other specific concerns;
restrictions on shift patterns are defined in the Grey Book
(national terms and conditions) and do not allow much room locally
for deviation, however. The Chief Fire
Officer assured that all comments from staff were gathered by
senior leadership teams and discussed in leadership meetings to
inform actions.
- A Member questioned
how effective the new ways of working had been in relation to
performance data. The Chief Fire Officer explained that, since the
new ways of working had been introduced, the performance data
stated that the target for response times for critical emergencies
was being exceeded by, on average, three minutes, whilst
firefighters were getting to emergency locations faster by one
minute, in comparison to the previous year, and in less time than
the modelling data in the Making Surrey Safer Plan had predicted.
These response times had been improved largely by the introduction
of new technology and ways of working.
- A Member asked for
assurance that response timing issues had improved. The Chief Fire
Officer informed the Committee that the service measured risk
growth minute-by-minute before an incident occurred, this enabled
the service to move resources dynamically when required and based
on the likelihood of that incident occurring. The Member requested
that average figures for all fires were shared with the Committee
in order to ascertain whether average response times had differed
before and after the COVID-19 period. The Committee wanted
assurance that changes were not having an adverse impact on
communities. The Member requested a supplementary written
answer.
- A Member asked the
Chief Fire Officer asked whether the results of the independent
assurance review by Brunel University would be published and
whether the Select Committee would have an opportunity to address
any issues risen. The Chief Fire Officer stated that the integrated
risk management plan had not required independent validation
however, due to the previous HMI report and rating, the
implications would be significant, and the service wanted academic
assurance that the service was improving. As the first service to
undertake work in this way, HMI had hailed it an exemplary way of
working. Phase two assurance by Brunel University would not be
completed until the end of September; the changes advised would be
published alongside the Service’s response to the plan and
the adjustments and recommendations that would be taken on
board.
- A Member asked that a
Member Reference Group convene prior to the implementation of phase
two. This was to be agreed after the Terms of Reference had been
established.
Actions/further information to be provided:
i.
For the Chief Fire Officer to provide
figures of the number of firefighters that had either retired or
left the service.
ii.
For the Chief Fire Officer to share
operational details of the dynamic coverage tool with the Select
Committee.
iii.
For the Chief Fire Officer to provide
assurance that any changes to the Service were not having an
adverse impact (average figures for all fires to ascertain whether
average response times had changed).
iv.
For the Chief Fire Officer to provide the
ratio of serving firefighters and support staff to the Select
Committee.
Recommendations:
I.
Committee to convene a reference group
for the duration of the Making Surrey Safer Plan to meet frequently
with the Cabinet Member and Chief Fire Officer to review progress
against the key metrics of improvement for Phase 2 as outlined in
the plan.
Saj Hussain (Chairman), Fiona White, Mike Goodman,
Jonathan Essex, John O’Reilly (ex-officio).
II.
The Reference Group to report back to
this Committee with its findings on a regular basis (e.g. every
other public meeting).
III.
The Committee to schedule public scrutiny
of the improvement work prior to inspection in 2021 to its forward
work programme.