North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has made significant progress since its previous inspection, with improvements made in most areas, the fire inspectorate has said.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas. It found the service was ‘good’ in six areas and ‘adequate’ in five areas.
HMICFRS was encouraged by improvements the service has made in how it reviews and allocates resources to risk. For example, the introduction of the workforce planning board has allowed the service to understand its future resource needs. The service is also improving workforce productivity and ways of working. It is now using data and newly developed dashboards to understand workforce activity. And it is taking steps to make sure the workforce’s time is as productive as possible.
The inspectorate also said that the service has regular reviews to consider its expenditure, which helps to makes sure it gets value for money. As a result, it has made savings and efficiencies which haven’t affected its operational performance and the service it provides to the public.
HMICFRS said that the service is improving culture and behaviours and aims to make further progress through a subsidised collaboration with the University of Huddersfield. The aim is to develop a framework for cultural change and behavioural improvement. The inspectorate looks forward to seeing what impact the toolkit for change will have on the service.
However, inspectors said that the service needs to improve its preparedness for major and multi-agency incidents. Staff at most levels of the organisation said they wouldn’t feel confident when responding to incidents such as marauding terrorist attacks. The service needs to assure itself staff have the knowledge and understanding of this type of incident. And it needs to provide operational training in high-rise buildings so it can respond effectively.
The service has introduced and established its leadership programmes, helping to equip staff with the skills and knowledge they need to progress in the organisation. However, the service needs to improve how it monitors the working hours of staff who work dual contracts, so they are rested and prepared for duty.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Michelle Skeer said:
I am pleased with the performance of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks. The service is a mainly rural service, covering the largest county in England.
The service has embraced change and made significant progress since our last inspection in 2022. For example, it is making improvements to modernise and update processes and procedures across the organisation. To achieve this, it has made organisational change with minimal financial impact, using a ‘save to invest’ approach.
I would like to commend the strategic leadership team and all staff across the service for their willingness to change and their continued commitment to improvement.
I encourage the service to continue to improve in the areas we have highlighted and look forward to seeing how this benefits the public and the organisation in future.
Chief Fire Officer Jonathan Dyson welcomed the findings, saying:
I am delighted that HMICFRS has recognised the significant efforts made by our Service and I thank Michelle Skeer for her comments. These results are a testament to the hard work, professionalism and dedication of our staff across the Service.
The improvements, made since our previous inspection in 2022, reflect our ambition to continually improve and the efforts of our teams; particularly as we’ve delivered these results within a very challenging financial environment.
The investment we received in April this year (from council tax), after the Inspection, will enable us to continue to build on our achievements and drive sustainable progress with investment in support services, estates, equipment, firefighter safety and training.
We’re already making headway on improvements in the areas where we have received ‘Adequate’ gradings to further ensure we are a high quality and community focused service protecting those most at risk and vulnerable within our communities.
