Chief Fire Officer Nikki Watson has thanked Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) for their report, published today (Wednesday 18 September), which praised the “clear commitment of staff and leaders to improve” – but said that the Service needs to push on with planned improvements more quickly.
Nikki said that she was pleased with the progress Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has made, both in the way it keeps people safe and in the way it supports firefighters and staff. She said that plans are in place to tackle the areas highlighted by HMICFRS that need to be better.
The HMICFRS inspection took place between March and April this year. The Inspectors said that “there are some good foundations in place and sound financial planning” – and that it is important that NFRS now moves ahead with those plans.
The Inspectors found that NFRS is good at protecting people through fire regulations, using the full range of enforcement powers and working with businesses to protect the public.
The Service was praised for the way it responds to major and multi-agency incidents and works with partners. The Inspectors singled out the work of the Joint Operations Team, a unique collaboration between Fire and Police to ensure both services can operate effectively together to keep the public safe.
Financial and business planning were also very highly rated, with the Inspectors highlighting the ‘notable practice’ in how the joint Procurement Team is delivering efficiencies, and how the joint Digital team is working to support future change, as areas of best practice for other Services to follow.
However, the Inspectors said that there is still work needed to ensure firefighters and staff across the Service do more to prevent fires and other risks. They also said that improvements are still needed in people and culture, making sure that leaders and staff do all they can to promote the right values and to improve diversity.
Chief Fire Officer Nikki Watson said: “One of my absolute priorities since I joined Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service is to ensure our staff feel safe, valued, respected and equal. I am disappointed that we haven’t made enough progress in creating an inclusive culture.
“HMICFRS acknowledges we have a great programme, called Serving with Pride, which is making a difference to our culture. We have put training in place for managers at all levels to strengthen their skills, so they play their part in making this Service a better place to work. We have independent, confidential lines to report inappropriate behaviour and we are more transparent in the way we deal with misconduct, to give staff confidence to come forward.
“Cultural change is a long journey, and I will provide the leadership this Service needs to carry on with our improvement plans.”
Nikki said that she was pleased that Inspectors recognised the work done to keep the people of Northamptonshire safe.
She added: “This report recognises our commitment to public safety. Our response times are better now than they have been at any time in the last three years, and good financial management and planning mean more firefighters and appliances are available to help when they are needed. We continually monitor and review our attendance times. For example, in the last quarter, we reached highest risk incidents involving a fire in nine minutes and 30 seconds on average.
“Our workforce plan means we know when we need to recruit full-time firefighters, so we are always able to crew our fire engines. Like every Service in the country, we focus on the availability of our on-call firefighters every day and we always need more, so I encourage anyone who lives close to their local station to consider joining us.
“I want to thank all our firefighters and staff for what they do. I know they will work hard to make the improvements needed to become a truly outstanding Fire and Rescue Service.”
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone added: “The commitment of Northamptonshire’s firefighters and staff has endlessly impressed me: they keep the county safe from a full range of risks and I am pleased the HMICFRS have recognised the excellent work they do.
“I expect to see even more emphasis on work to create a better culture – everyone must feel safe and included.
“I will support the Chief Fire Officer and her leadership team to give the Service the stability it needs to push on with the improvements that I expect to see as I put together my first public safety plan for Northamptonshire. The skills of our firefighters and staff will be at the heart of that plan to make the public feel safer in their communities and help protect them from risk.
“I will also keep on fighting for better funding for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service to support us as we work towards providing an even better service to the public.”
The full report can be downloaded here.
