Addressing the Local Government Association’s Fire
Commission yesterday, the Minister for Policing and the
Fire Service, , announced a new approach
to improve professional standards for fire and rescue
services across England.
While some professional standards currently exist for fire
and rescue services, they are inconsistently applied and
the government believes they can be expanded. A Fire
Standards Board will be created to ensure standards are
nationally coordinated to a high level across the sector.
The proposal was developed in conjunction with the National
Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Local Government Association
and other partners. This new board will be independent from
government and supported by the NFCC’s central programme
office which will produce the standards, drawing on
external expertise as required.
It will be for the board to determine its workplan but
initial issues the Board could consider include:
- workforce issues like leadership and development
- the identification and mitigation of risks
- fire prevention and the approach to protecting the
public from other emergencies
The board will also be responsible for agreeing priorities
in response to the recently published Hackitt review, the
Grenfell Tower inquiry, and other emerging issues facing
fire and rescue services.
The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service said:
We all recognise the bravery and dedication of our
firefighters who work tirelessly every day to protect the
communities they serve.
Creating a new Independent Board to oversee professional
standards across England will support the continuous
improvement of fire and rescue services and support them
to become more professional than ever before.
This move is a key element of the government’s ambitious
fire reform programme which aims to improve the
professionalism, effectiveness and accountability of fire
and rescue services by:
- establishing an independent inspection regime – Her
Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire &
Rescue Services (HMICFRS) - for fire and rescue
- encouraging employers to drive workforce reform,
including increasing the diversity of the workforce
- bringing greater accountability to the work of local
fire and rescue services by enabling Police and Crime
Commissioners (PCCs) to take on responsibility for fire and
rescue services where a strong local case is made
- supporting services to transform commercially with more
efficient procurement and collaboration
- increasing the transparency of services with the
publication of further information to allow the public to
hold their service to account and the creation of a new
national website in the summer
