His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services has
moved London Fire Brigade (LFB) into an enhanced level of
monitoring.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue
Services (HMICFRS) continuously monitors the performance of all
fire and rescue services in England.
The monitoring process consists of two stages: Scan and Engage.
All fire and rescue services are in the Scan phase by default,
but may be escalated to Engage where there is a cause of concern.
HMICFRS said LFB has been moved into the Engage phase because
there is cumulative evidence from its last inspection and
afterwards of unacceptable behaviour within the brigade,
including discrimination and bullying. This was reported as a
cause of concern by the inspectorate in July this year.
The inspectorate also said the values and behaviours the brigade
aspires to are not always demonstrated by senior leaders, and the
brigade needs to do more to demonstrate progress in improving its
culture.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Matt
Parr said:
“We should recognise that London Fire Brigade’s recent cultural
review was commissioned by the brigade, whose leadership has
accepted its findings without reservation.
“However, it is clear that the behavioural problems we
highlighted earlier this year are deep seated and have not
improved. The Engage process provides additional scrutiny of the
brigade’s plans, and support for them from across the fire
sector.
“We will now examine London Fire Brigade’s improvement plans more
frequently and more intrusively, and work closely with the
brigade to monitor its progress.”
