Agenda item

Purpose of report:

To update the committee on the outcomes of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services 2021 Inspection Report and the service’s response.

Witnesses:

Kevin Deanus, Cabinet Member for Community Protection

Dan Quin, Deputy Chief Fire Officer

Bernadette Beckett, Chief of Staff

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.         The Chairman acknowledged the progress made and appreciated that the Service was on a continued journey of improvement. The Chairman said the Report (page 56) noted that response times up to March 2020 were slower than the average for services, like Surrey, that cover both urban and rural areas’ and queried if response times have improved since and asked whether the ten-minute target set was unambitious. An Officer confirmed that current figures were resting at an average of seven minutes and 12 seconds. Benchmarking takes place among Fire and Rescue services and was a helpful in many ways, albeit it causes challenges in terms of how rural and urban services were differentiated. Surrey was reflected as predominantly urban only at borough and districts level, however if the benchmarking were more exact, Surrey would be reflected as predominantly rural. As part of the Making Surrey Safer plan, the Service aimed to keep the target whilst demonstrating that changes being applied were not having a detrimental effect on services or a negative impact on the ability to perform against that commitment. Reviews of the response standard were continual with the balance of meeting targets whilst ensuring safe and appropriate responses to calls.

2.         A Member asked if there were plans to conclude the ongoing issues concerning relationships with staff and the dispute with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) observing that the media battle between the FBU and the Fire Service had been direct and at times harmful to the reputation of the Service. An Officer confirmed that the trade dispute had continued for a number of years. Work was continuing with colleagues in the FBU and with that agreement on one item had been removed from ongoing discussions recently. Although the Service was meeting the FBU frequently, it was becoming evident that it would be impossible to resolve all matters in the trade disputes and it was time for honest discussions with trade union partners. A Joint Committee for Consultation and Negotiation had been set up to include all locally recognised trade unions, resulting in a significant improvement in engagement between the trade unions. This committee, in addition to ACAS training and conversations, had agreed the implementation of open letters by the Chief Fire Officer and were confident that this would culminate in a final agreed policy on how to work together. 

3.         A member noted the new initiatives to encourage better relationships with staff and the continuing dispute with the trade unions and asked how they reflected on each other.  An officer explained that the Service was actively encouraging an honest dialogue with staff to seek their views, irrespective of representation. Engagement was being expanded by supporting and empowering staff. Station visits were being conducted to encourage face to face conversations although this had been more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. A newsletter including feedback, key themes and changes undertaken was being distributed to reinforce communication in addition to middle managers monthly meetings, providing an opportunity for managers from across the Service to share current information and encouragement to express their views.

4.         A Member, in considering ‘Understanding fires and multi-agency incidents’ asked if the decline from ‘Good’ in 2018 to ‘Requires Improvement’ most recently, had been expected by the Service. An Officer said that inspection exposed inaccuracies with the processes used to gather operational risk information. These issues had since been resolved in agreement with the inspectorate. As prior self-assessments had recorded that the Service would maintain ‘good’ within that area, the situation was seen as an opportunity to revisit how self-assessments were undertaken. This highlighted that within the ‘understanding risk’ it was beneficial to differentiate into two parts, the Making Surrey Safer Plan and the understanding of risk and how we deliver services.

5.         A Member, in referring to page 56 of the report, noted that control staff were not regularly involved in operational learning and development and asked how this was being addressed. An Officer explained that work undertaken as a result of a joint exercise following lessons learnt from the Grenfell Tower Enquiry had not been included in the report due to its timing. The foundations of widening learning and development to include teams that had been overlooked were present at the time of the inspection and the work to embed this is being accelerated.

6.         A Member, in referring to page 71 of the report, asked if an update could be provided with regard to bullying and harassment within the Service. An Officer explained the Service continued with a zero-tolerance approach. Any reports of bullying or harassment were thoroughly investigated and necessary actions taken. Training for all managers was being developed with a launch due imminently. Membership to the Fairness and Respect Network spans across all teams with themes from this group being developed to take forward and improve the culture within the Service.

7.         A Member was concerned that negative media and reputational issues due to the dispute with the FBU could risk misinformation and fear amongst the community.  An Officer confirmed that the Service had taken advice on its responses to reports in the media and on social media.  There has been an increase in communications resources to improve our communications to residents and counteract any misinformation.

8.         A Member recognised that recent reorganisation appears to have resulted in positive developments and asked if the Service was doing enough to communicate key messages and improvements. An Officer said that a wider use of social media had begun to reach all demographics. Measurements of the use and responses to these were key with positive interaction having increased during recent months.

9.         A Member noted that the report and the Service response both referred to the concerns of staff and the measures to address these and asked how will the Service measure the success or otherwise of its various initiatives. An Officer explained that a cultural baseline survey had been carried out last year by an independent organisation to understand the culture of the Service. Some of the key feedback related to lack of engagement about changes being implemented and openness and transparency. A roadmap had been developed since to include a series of actions that sit across the whole organisation to be delivered. Evaluations would continue on a regular basis to monitor and adapt these developments going forward. The Chairman asked if measuring improvements for staff in the form of a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) could be considered and if the Service could share information with the committee on a periodic basis to confirm that staff morale and relationships were improving. An Officer agreed to share the outcomes of the baseline survey with subsequent updates relating to outcomes and improvements that take place.

10.       A Member asked if the Service had access to the necessary specialist human resources expertise to address workforce and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training. An Officer confirmed that the Service had access to two levels of human resources advice and guidance across the organisation. One being at County Council level and a People and Organisational Development Team within the Fire Service that specialist knowledge of the Fire Service.

11.       A Member asked about opportunities to generate income. An officer explained that the inspectorate had been clear in their advice that to generate income the service should look to research grant funding to improve fleet, land or property related to the green agenda. In addition, the service was also engaging with teams at Surrey County Council to consider how the fleet should improve over next 15-20 years to incorporate such.

12.       A Member asked if further work had taken place in relation to partnership building to learn and share the best practice. An Officer confirmed that best practice in relation to all aspects of the organisation was being shared between services and included a County Council Chief Fire Officers Group. There was a commitment to learning from each other and Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) had been in contact with Fire and Rescue Services recommended identified by the inspectorate as having good practice.

13.       A Member queried the lower than average performance of pump availability and asked when these figures would increase. An officer responded by explaining that the 68 per cent pump availability noted in the report was not reflective of the crewing model in SFRS. The report calculated consistent cover day and night, in practice the SFRS model was to have a requirement of 20 fire engines during the day (7am – 7pm) and 16 at night (7pm – 7am). This part of the report did reference that availability was being consistently achieved and real time figures supported this.

14.       A Member queried the lower than average performance of the number of home fire safety checks and asked when these figures would increase. An officer said that resources had been invested following changes to the prevention and protection aspects of the resourcing model and both areas would take time to reach full operating model. In addition, COVID-19 had impacted the ability to deliver Safe & Well visits locally. This time had been taken to ensure staff were appropriately trained and have been upskilled in terms of awareness of safeguarding. Resources were directed to the most vulnerable residents highlighted through risk ratings and the formation of local management hubs was planned to include safeguarding and safety officers. The Service was confident that improvements in quantity and quality would be evident going forward.

15.       A Member said that in terms of a wider prevention strategy and auditing, upskilling was particularly relevant and asked if it was being considered. An Officer confirmed that upskilling was considered a priority within SFRS. The National Fire Chiefs Council had created a skills competency framework which allows the Service to differentiate between roles within the differing areas of Business Safety. This framework had been followed since the Making Surrey Safer Plan began and the majority of staff were qualified to the competency framework. The Service continued to revisit operations and to investment in the upskilling of staff in addition to establishing Safe & Well Visit champions at local level.

16.       The Chairman asked, in relation to the Inspection and Improvement plan, what were the components and strategy likely to be and could the Service provide a periodic update to ensure it was on track. An Officer said that all elements of the report were being included on an improvement plan which would incorporate the outcome from the State of Fire report which provides outcomes from the first tranche of inspections.  This will aid continuous improvement. Monitoring at six months would be timely, allowing traction to have taken place.

17.       The Cabinet Member for Community Protection reiterated that evaluation and monitoring would be continual and conveyed his thanks to the team who had gone through a difficult inspection and were producing excellent work consistently.

Resolved:

The Select Committee:

1.         Welcomes the notable improvements in the Service's performance as reflected in the Inspectorate's Report and expresses its expectation that progress should accelerate and intensify such that it improves on its performance from the 2021 report at the next inspection.

2.         Asks to be informed at regular intervals (bi-annually or sooner if possible) about the timings and components of the Updated Improvement Plan, with the Plan included in the future update to the Select Committee.

3.         Urges the Service to address where the ratings declined from good to require improvement.

4.         Recommends the Service to have a major focus on further improving and addressing staff concerns and aspirations, and for credible mechanisms to measure success of its initiatives.

5.         Recommends the Service to continue to explore more effective ways to communicate (including the use of appropriate social media channels) in order to highlight its improvements, achievements, prevention messaging as well as challenges.