The Scottish Government

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STRATEGIC ISSUES FOR THE FIRE SERVICE

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Services Reform Strategy

75. Last years report noted that the Reform of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services would be achieved through a series of incremental changes, evaluated at every stage and that they must contribute towards the target of SAFER COMMUNITIES, SAFER STAFF and COMPLIANCE with BEST VALUE. I am pleased to report that these incremental changes are now beginning to take place as all Fire Authorities introduce Integrated Risk Management Plans at the end of March 2005.

76. In addition to the above, the Scottish Executive removed the long standing Recommended Standards of Fire Cover concurrently with the introduction of IRMPs. These recommended standards were originally introduced in 1936, with only minor reviews being conducted over the intervening years. The recommended standards had become very prescriptive and did not allow Fire Authorities or their senior managers to use their resources in a flexible and more effective manner.

77. During this reporting period the Scottish Executive undertook to release Fire Authorities from the prescriptive Appointment and Promotion Regulations which, whilst having met a need over the past years, had become incompatible to the flexibility which Fire Authorities were seeking in order to increase the diversity of the workforce whilst still maintaining a competent standard of service delivery. The early results of moving to a role based set of criteria to enter the Service and gain promotion within it, is already yielding positive results, not only in terms of diversity but also the competency of those people taking up posts.

78. In last year's report I made reference to the forthcoming Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Subject to achieving Royal Assent the Act is expected to commence in July/August 2005. This new Act coupled with the incremental changes previously referred to in this section will create a move towards much greater flexibility of working and lead to much more efficient and effective use of resources. The Act, for the first time, places a Statutory Duty upon Fire Authorities to respond to Road Traffic Accidents and undertake Fire Investigation and Community Fire Safety in addition to the traditional role of fire fighting.

79. One less obvious, but nevertheless major change, will be the abolition of the Fire Service Discipline Regulations and replacing these with the Arbitration and Conciliation Advisory Service ( ACAS) guide on employment and discipline practices. This will allow for all Fire Service staff to be included in one single suite of good practice guidance.

80. During the reporting period the National Framework Document (referred to in last year's report) has now gone through extensive stakeholder consultation and is due for publication in August/September 2005. This document is effectively a contract between the Scottish Executive and Fire Authorities in terms of service expectations on behalf of the Scottish Executive and the resources they will provide the Fire Authorities to meet those expectations.

81. I am pleased to report that through working in partnership with all stakeholders the Scottish Fire and Rescue Authorities and their Services remain on course to achieve the milestones set by the Scottish Executive in terms of achieving SAFER COMMUNITIES, SAFER STAFF and COMPLIANCE with BEST VALUE

Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003

82. In last year's report it was noted that this Act would have an impact upon Fire Authorities, particularly in the areas of Best Value, Community Planning and Community Well Being. I am pleased to report that in all three areas good progress is being made. Fire Services and their staff at all levels are beginning to make a major contribution to Community Planning Groups across the Local Authorities in Scotland. This new duty, coupled with the emphasis that the Scottish Executive and Fire Authorities have placed upon Community Fire Safety in the home, has allowed Fire Service staff to become even closer to the communities they serve. It is also beginning to demonstrate real benefits in the area of youth engagement initiatives to which all Fire Services are committed.

Attacks on Fire Service Personnel

83. The Inspectorate has engaged Space Unlimited to conduct research into why young people attack firefighters. Space Unlimited is a branch of Scottish Enterprise and is about to become independent in the near future. Space Unlimited work with Scotland's young people in finding creative solutions to problems. They have previously worked with other organisations such as BBC Scotland.The young people engaged on a Space Unlimited project are responsible for engaging experts and deciding how resources are used. Although Space Unlimited offers support in these areas, they do not take over responsibility.

84. It is intended that the project will run for one school term and begin in August 2005. Strathclyde Fire Service will pilot the project and, dependant on the outcomes, it may roll out across Scotland.

85. In an effort to deter attacks on their personnel, a number of Fire Services throughout Scotland have introduced the use of CCTV cameras on appliances. These cameras record instances of attacks and have been used to both identify individuals and as evidence during subsequent court proceedings.

86. Strathclyde Fire Service have used this technology in six areas.

87. In the near future the Service intend to install digital cameras and recording equipment in all new fire appliances. This will allow for continuous recording.

88. Lothian and Borders Fire Service have installed similar systems at some fire station locations where there have been incidents of vandalism. These installations have been highly successful in reducing such incidents

89. The Service are planning to install cameras within appliances that cover areas where there is deemed to be a high risk of attacks on crews.

Attacks on Fire Service Personnel: 2004-05

Total Attacks on Fire Service Personnel 2004-05

Fairness, Diversity, Equality And Cultural Position Of The Fire Service

90. In November 2004 Angela Webb, Diversity Manager, Strathclyde Fire Service, was appointed on secondment to the Fire Inspectorate in order to place Diversity, Equality and Workplace Culture issues firmly on the agenda for the Service. This appointment also enabled her to take forward some of the work accomplished in her previous part time secondment to the Inspectorate on diversity & equality issues.

91. In addition to inspecting Fire Services for their progress on diversity and equality issues, Ms Webb will be assisting with individual projects relevant to their performance in this field.

92. Following initial inspections in early 2005, it was found that, whilst there is no doubt of a strong commitment to this agenda, further work needs to be undertaken in regard to a number of areas.

93. There have been challenging pieces of new legislation in equality that Fire and Rescue Services have had to take account of.

94. 2003 saw the introduction of The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations and Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations. These pieces of legislation provide protection from discrimination, harassment or victimisation on the grounds of sexual orientation and religion or belief system for employees. This has given new challenges to the Service in finding ways to both monitor and eradicate discrimination.

95. In October 2004 the Fire and Rescue Services came under the auspices of legislation relating to disability for the first time. Ms Webb, along with Equality Practitioners from other Fire Services, was part of a Chief Fire Officers Association ( CFOA), and The Disability Rights Commission ( DRC) 'Task and Finish' group to produce guidance for the Service in this field. The Guidance was issued to the Service in January 2005 and a number of seminars took place in Scotland with Michelle Valentine form the DRC. However, the Service was already doing much good work in the field of disability.

96. The duty to promote equality is currently the preferred way of working and is being written into equality legislation. The Sex Discrimination Act will shortly provide for a Duty to Promote Gender and the Service currently have a Duty to Promote Race and Disability. Therefore, with the oncoming new single equality legislation and single equality regulatory body, this duty to promote is likely to apply to all strands of equality. The Service has been proactive in their promotion of all equality strands and when the new legislation is in force, they will already be in a strong position to comply.

97. At the end of 2004, the Fire Service Appointments & Promotions Regulations were revoked. This has opened up many opportunities for the Service to look to the wider field to fill vacancies. This is slowly increasing the diversity of the Service personnel, particularly in the higher management levels. However, there is still some work to be done in the attraction and appointment of personnel from underrepresented groups, i.e. women and minority ethnic groups, to all levels of the Service.

98. In regard to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and its subsequent duties, there is still some work to be undertaken. All Scottish Fire Services have a Race Equality Scheme and subsequent action plans. Training provision has been one of the challenges to the Service. The Inspectorate will enter into partnership with The Scottish Fire Service College to provide some of the required training for this area of work. The Inspectorate will also enter into partnership with the Commission for Race Equality ( CRE) to assist the Service with developing best practice.

99. Leadership regarding fairness, diversity, equality and cultural shift within Scotland's Fire Services is provided at a strategic level by a multi-agency group referred to as the Scottish Fire Services Fairness and Diversity Forum. Regrettably, this group has not met recently. Ms Webb will undertake to reform this group with a meaningful agenda taking forward best practice for the new challenges ahead.

100. 2006 will see the introduction of new legislation on Age Discrimination. Ms Webb will begin to work with the Service in Early 2006, to prepare for the duties of this Act and work in Partnership with the CFOA Equality and Diversity Business Stream group to produce guidance and policies.

101. It is hoped that 2006 will also see the introduction to the Service of the Local Government Equality Standard which will allow the Service to mainstream equality. The introduction of this Standard will also allow Scottish Fire Services to benchmark and compare themselves with their Family Groups in England and Wales as this is the standard used in these locations.

102. The Inspectorate is committed to furthering best practice and performance in the diversity and equality field and will continue to support the Scottish Fire Services in its' development.

Breakdown of Scottish Fire Services Employment Profiles

103. The Inspectorate monitor diversity and representation within the fire service through the annual statistical returns submitted by Brigades and during routine inspections.

104. The number of applications from women and ethnic minorities to join the fire service again increased during this reporting period, reflecting the efforts of brigades to attract larger numbers of recruits from these groups. The Fire and Rescue Services are on a road of continuous improvement in diversity issues and this reporting period has also seen challenges in the recruitment of people who are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act. This is not reflected in the current reporting period but the system will be altered next year to reflect this.

Diversity Profile of Scottish Fire Services, All Sectors, 2000-01 to 2004-05

Diversity Profile of Scottish Fire Services by Sector, 2004-05

Health and Safety Trends

105. Health and safety trends in Scottish Fire and Rescue Services remain broadly encouraging. The accident figures for 2002-03 are not directly comparable to those in other years, as service delivery was withdrawn through industrial action for part of this year. Setting aside the 2002-03 figures for this reason, it can be seen that a gradual decline in the numbers of accidents has continued during this reporting period.

106. Significant improvements in the reporting of near misses have taken place over the past few years; in the past, such incidents were often not reported. The effective reporting of near misses provides valuable information which can be used to further reduce accident rates. A slight reduction in reported near misses since 2003-04 is to be expected, reflecting the improvements in health and safety which have brought about additional reduction of the accident rate. Conversely, the number of reported near misses remains high by historical standards, which is consistent with continued good practice in reporting of these incidents.

Accident Statistics in Scottish Fire Services 2000-01 to 2004-05

The figures for 2002-03 are not directly comparable to the others, as service was withdrawn through industrial action for parts of this period.

Sickness Absence

107. The mean rates of sickness absence for wholetime operational and control room employees in each Fire and Rescue Service, together with the overall rates of absence for Scotland, are given in the accompanying table. As noted in previous years, there are significant variations between Services in levels of sickness absence. Without a detailed study of the reasons for these variations, it would be unwise to draw any general conclusions; conducting such a study remains a desirable objective for the future. Analysis of trends in sickness absence may allow examples of good practice in personnel management to be identified and shared, as well as finding areas in which there may be room for improvement.

Average Sickness Absence per Employee 2004-05

Scottish Wild Land Fire Forum

108. Following a successful conference on wild land fires held in December 2004, the Scottish Executive agreed to support a Scottish Wild Land Fire Forum. This is a multi-agency forum whose principal aim is to prevent wild land fires and, wherever possible, collaborate on good practice and resource sharing in the event of such fires occurring.

109. The forum is chaired by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services Jeff Ord. During the reporting period the forum made some excellent progress by bringing together all interested parties to consider the impact that climatic change may have in Scotland and the impact upon the risk and number of occurrences of wild land fires.

110. Future developments of the forum include:

• Attempting to produce and promulgate a fire risk prediction tool.
• Disseminating good collaborative practices across all stakeholders in Scotland.
• Producing good practice documents for training, protection and equipment relating to these types of fires.
• Ensuring Scotland has a voice across the international field in terms of wild land fires and their prevention.
• For more information visit the website www.scotland.gov.uk/hmifs

Radio Replacement

111. Firelink is the radio replacement procurement project for Britain established and overseen by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ( ODPM). The Project Board is chaired by the Director of Civil Resilience and includes representatives from the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly, the Fire Service Inspectorate, the Chief Fire Officers' Association, the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and the Fire Brigades Union. The project is subject to independent project assurance and also the government Gateway Review process.

112. On a day-to-day basis, the project is managed by a dedicated Firelink team including officials from the ODPM, Civil Resilience Directorate and the Scottish Executive. The team also includes seconded operational and control room officers supported by contracted consultant engineers. Britain has been divided into project areas, one of which is Scotland. Each project area has a dedicated Brigade Delivery Team ( BDT) comprising an Assistant Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services seconded from a Fire Service and an Assistant Project Manager (a consultant). The team's principal role is to liaise with Fire Services, identifying and managing local issues and roles and managing the implementation of the national system in conjunction with individual Services. In addition to its liaison role, the Scottish BDT also shares a responsibility for operational continuity and interoperability, and provides support to the Scottish Managerial Team.

113. A Firelink sub-group has been established, comprising representatives from all eight Scottish Fire Services. The sub-group will be responsible for enforcing collaborative working and applying, where possible, common protocols and standards to achieve satisfactory implementation of Firelink throughout Scotland.

114. The project has progressed from a short list of three to two potential suppliers. Both potential suppliers have been engaged with the project in negotiations over the preceding year. A request for their Best and Final Offers ( BAFO) will be called for in March 2005, with subsequent evaluation commending in April 2005.

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