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INTRODUCTION

Annual Report of Jeff Ord CBE, OStJ, QFSM, GIFireE, JP

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services

To: Kenny MacAskill MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Justice

Sir

I have the honour to present my Annual Report of the eight Fire and Rescue Services in Scotland for the financial year 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

1. I am pleased to report that during this period there is once again sustained evidence that the new risk-based approach utilised by the Fire and Rescue Services is assisting in making the public and FRS staff safer. The emphasis created through recent legislative changes has been to reduce fire deaths and property fires. It is pleasing to report that for this, the second year of Integrated Risk Management Planning ( IRMP), the number of fire deaths have fallen. Fire deaths stand at 45 compared to 61 in the previous year a drop of 26% and whilst this is still an appalling waste of human life it is nevertheless the lowest figure on record. Primary fires (property) are also at their lowest figure ever - 14753 this year compared to 15216 the previous year a drop of 3% showing a continuing downward trend.

2. The Service continues to embrace the ethos and culture of prevention being at least equal to intervention and staff throughout the Service are to be congratulated for their achievements, and whilst there is still room for significant improvements in many areas to make our communities safer places in which to live and visit, the Service is in no way complacent to the need for further change.

3. The Service continues to under perform in terms of attracting diverse groups to compete and enter the Service. Despite all stakeholders considerable efforts the results remain disappointing and cannot compare with other blue light services, or indeed with other local Government departments. The Scottish Government, in conjunction with the Services, is considering a range of good practice initiatives in which to improve this situation and any evident progress will be reported upon in next year's report.

4. Finally a major challenge for the Services will be matching available funding to resources once the Government's Spending Review 2007 is announced. All the signs to date have indicated the need for Best Value and Value for Money to be at the forefront of all the Fire and Rescue Service Authorities' objectives when assessing how best to protect the public and their staff. I remain confident that through working together we will continue to identify the right solutions to ensure that resources are in the right place at the right time, thus balancing resources to risk and available budget.

LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CHANGES

5. In October 2006 the Scottish Government enacted Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. This legislation relates to Fire Safety and has brought this area into line with other European Safety legislation i.e. Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 etc. Part 3 places the responsibility for fire safety in all premises upon the owner/occupier or senior responsible person for the premises in ALL cases except private dwellings. The responsibility for enforcement of the legislation is with individual Fire and Rescue Authorities, and in the case of Crown Premises, the Inspectorate. Anyone with any concerns or interest in these new responsibilities should visit the Scottish Government website for further information www.infoscotland.com/firelaw.

EFFICIENT PUBLIC SERVICES

6. The new arrangements and structures for providing advice to Ministers and engaging all Fire and Rescue Services' stakeholders upon which I reported last year have continued to mature and the two forums, the Service Delivery Advisory Forum and the Strategic Advisory Forum, which meet on a regular basis, are now providing advice and views on all issues other than Pay and Conditions of Service.

7. The staff Cultural Audit referred to in last year's report has now been considered by both forums and each individual Fire and Rescue Authority. This has resulted in an Equality and Diversity Project Board being established to take forward an agreed action plan to address the findings of the cultural audit. This group is due to report progress and make further recommendations to both forums during 2007.

8. During the year the Scottish Government considered the findings of a further review of the Retained Duty System and the people who work the scheme. This has resulted in funding being made available to appoint an assistant inspector with dedicated duties to work with all stakeholders to improve the integration of this vital element of the Service. This will be the first time in the UK such an appointment has been made.

INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS

9. This is the second full year of IRMP which is a risk-based system that provides Fire and Rescue Authorities and their Chief Officers greater flexibility in deploying resources and staff to both prevent and respond to emergencies. It is pleasing to report that in this second year, fire deaths across Scotland have again fallen to the lowest level on record; 45 people died during this year compared to 61 in the previous year. Whilst the loss of 45 people is without doubt a tragedy, all staff are to be congratulated on once again driving home the fire safety message which has brought about this outstanding reduction.

10. Whilst it should be noted that Fire Fatalities are a volatile indicator, it is nevertheless important that all Services look to each other's performance in this area to see if further fire deaths can be avoided.

11. Enormous effort and initiatives have gone into reducing secondary fires e.g. small rubbish fires etc. The Fire and Rescue Services have committed staff to partnership working, engaged in extensive youth engagement schemes and 'across the board' educational schemes. Yet, despite these worthy efforts, the trend remains upwards (Appendix 4) and is consuming valuable resources. This year saw 32505 incidents compared to 31481 the previous year, an increase of 3%. Whilst this rise may appear at first glance insignificant, it has to be viewed against a backdrop of year on year increases. Whilst it is essential that Services continue to engage youth and educational programmes etc, it is equally essential that we look to good practice to reduce this upward and wasteful trend. For example, in Merseyside the creation of a Small Fires Units to respond to such incidents has led to more effective use of resources, reduction in the number of fires, and reductions in the number of attacks on fire crews at this type of incident. Services in Scotland should consider this and other good practice elsewhere.

12. Whilst it is pleasing to report another drop in the number of false alarms caused by defective detectors or systems, it is still a major drain on vital resources. This year saw 30300 such wasteful alarms which is almost 25% of all emergency activity. The Scottish Government and other service stakeholders have considered for several years as to whether the premises who allow such false alarms to be generated should be charged a fee (as they were in the early '90s); debate about this wasteful area should become a priority.

13. There has been an unusual rise in the number of false alarm good intent calls (Appendix 4). These calls are where someone genuinely believes a fire is occurring which on investigation by the Fire and Rescue Service turns out to be a false alarm. This year saw 20215 such alarms compared to 16079 in the previous year, an increase of 25%. This volume of false alarms represents almost 20% of all emergency activity and clearly requires further consideration by Fire and Rescue Authorities, as the balance has to be found between encouraging people to report what they think is a fire and how the Service responds.

14. Overall Fire and Rescue Authorities and their Services have made good progress under IRMP and as we enter the third year of this risk-based approach, it will be timely having gathered 3 years of evidence to consider whether all resources are best placed and utilised to serve the communities of Scotland in the most effective manner.

CHIEF FIRE OFFICERS FOR SCOTLAND

15. During the reporting period the following Chief Fire Officers were in Post:

16. I wish to record my thanks to the Chief Officers and their staff for the co-operation and assistance given to members of Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate during their visits and for the valuable contributions to the many discussions held throughout the year.

HONOURS AND AWARDS

17. The following persons received awards in the Queen's Honours Lists in the year under review:

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

18. The Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was awarded to 202 members of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2007

19. I offer my sincere congratulations to all whose work within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been so justly recognised.

FIRE AUTHORITIES

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