« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
THE INSPECTORATE TEAM AND THEIR ROLE
 | Jeff Ord
Chief Inspector of Fire Services
Inspectorate |
 | Brendan McCaffrey
Assistant Inspector |
 | Graham Goodall
Assistant Inspector
Crown Premises |
 | John Milligan
Assistant Inspector
Crown Premises |
 | Brian McKenzie
Assistant Inspector
Fire Safety |
 | Angela Webb
Assistant Inspector
Diversity and Culture |
 | Keith MacGillivray
Assistant Inspector
Review of the Preparedness of Scotland's Emergency Services |
 | Trudi Packman
Office Manager |
 | Dorothy Edwardson
Personal Secretary to Chief Inspector |
 | Lynn Murray
Administrative Assistant |
NEW DIMENSION PROJECT TEAM
 | Andrew Harrison
Assistant Inspector
New Dimensions |
 | Tony Waters
Assistant Inspector
New Dimensions |
FIRELINK PROJECT TEAM
 | Ian Stocks
Assistant Inspector
Firelink Project |
 | Glyn French
Assistant Inspector
Firelink Project |
 | Paul Sharp
Assistant Inspector
Firelink Project |
OVERVIEW OF INSPECTIONS
20. During 2006 the Accounts Commission determined that Audit Scotland should undertake a "Review of Service Reform in Scottish Fire and Rescue Authorities". Following this announcement, discussions took place between Audit Scotland and the Inspectorate in terms of the most effective methodology of undertaking this review. It was agreed that two members of the Inspectorate would be seconded to Audit Scotland to assist with the review which, it was anticipated, would take a considerable amount of time, involving site visits to all eight Services and the subsequent individual Service reports and an overall Scottish-wide report.
21. The overall findings of the report stated that good progress was being made in many areas in terms of progressing the reform agenda. However, it also concluded that in several areas there was room for further improvement. Several of the areas for improvement were those which had been previously highlighted in Inspection reports e.g. the lack of diversity in the workforce, a need for better integration of Retained Duty System personnel and the need to improve Information technology systems.
22. Audit Scotland also found other areas of the Service which required attention. These included:-
a. Elected Members need to be more involved in the scrutiny, monitoring and strategic direction setting for the Service;
b. A need to better utilise performance management information across the Service;
c. A need to continue efforts to improve efficiency;
d. A need to link staff appraisals and performance to organisational objectives and priorities.
23. Against the backdrop of long periods of industrial action and major reforms in the Service the Audit Scotland report, in the opinion of the Chief Inspector, should be viewed as a positive indicator of progress. There are many areas where achievement of all staff and Authorities have been recognised as contributors to improving public safety. All Services have now embarked upon agreed action plans to address the recommendations in the report. Progress will be monitored by both Audit Scotland and the Inspectorate within the overall Inspection programme scheduled to commence in 2008.
24. The full Audit Scotland report can be viewed at: http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/utilities/search_report.php?id=3
25. During this reporting year the Inspectorate team undertook forward planning for scheduled inspections in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. This was at the request of their Governing departments and will follow the same principals and methodology as the Principal Inspection process here in Scotland. It is anticipated that valuable lessons may be learned from both of these Services which could be incorporated into good practice across Scotland's Fire and Rescue Services. In particular, Community Safety Initiatives, flexible working, crewing arrangements and, in the case of Northern Ireland, progress on Equality issues are all considered to be existing areas of good practice.
26. During the year members of the Inspectorate team have worked closely with the Operational Audit team in England with a view to adopting the best elements of the process into a Scottish Operational Assessment system. This has proved to be a valuable source of information and is now being considered, along with the assistance of the Chief Fire Officers' Association in Scotland ( CFOA(S), with a view to piloting one Service in Scotland during 2007/08, then refining the model to role out across all eight Services in 2008/09. The aim is to create a comprehensive self-assessment model with follow-up audits being undertaken in collaboration between the Inspectorate and CFOA(S).
27. Once again members of the Inspectorate team have continued to provide assistance to the Services in several vital areas including equality and diversity legislation, contingency planning and communications.
28. The team have also been committed to working alongside the Scottish Government Fire and Civil Contingencies Directorate to ensure that the suite of Guides which are required to compliment Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 are available to all stakeholders during 2007. These guides will be essential to owners, occupiers and senior responsible people who have responsibility for fire safety in premises.
29. During the course of the year, the Minister responsible for Fire and Rescue (Cathy Jamieson MSP) announced that a "Review of Scotland's Preparedness To Deal With Simultaneous Major Emergencies" should be undertaken and that this review would be led by the Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services. It was to be a wide-ranging consultative review looking across the emergency services and other stakeholders i.e. Civil Contingencies etc. The findings of the review were sent to Ministers in July 2007 for their consideration.
30. In conclusion, as in previous years, the Inspectorate has continued to add value to the Services, and working in partnership, has assisted in improving both public and staff safety. The Inspectorate remains committed to working in a collaborative manner wherever possible, whilst always being mindful of the need to be an independent body.
CROWN PREMISES
31. Activity during the year has focussed largely on preparing for and responding to the changes introduced by the commencement of Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Where the Crown are subject to duties under this new fire safety legislation the enforcing authority is HM Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities rather than the local fire and rescue authority. An exception is made for property used for the purposes of the armed forces of the Crown where the enforcing authority is generally the Defence Fire and Rescue Service.
32. There are more than 1,000 Crown premises in Scotland and two Assistant Inspectors act as enforcement officers to undertake this work. In addition to the traditional range of government offices the portfolio includes a diverse range of other types of building including prisons, courts, vehicle test stations, driving test centres, research facilities, coastguard buildings and ancient monuments.
33. Despite the aforementioned legislative changes routine work continued during the year with 158 programmed inspections, initial inspection of 54 new premises, 55 follow up inspections, 110 plan examinations and 122 consultations on specific issues.
34. For the first time, Part 3 of the 2005 Act gave Crown enforcement officers statutory powers of inspection and the power to issue alterations, enforcement and prohibition notices where appropriate. No such statutory notices were issued during the first six months of the new regime, i.e. from 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2007. However, prior to this and in conjunction with the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, an informal notice procedure was developed under which, between 1 January 2000 and 30 September 2006, a total of 39 notices were issued in respect of Crown premises.
35. Enforcement powers are used within the framework of the Inspectorate's enforcement policy. This document has been revised to reflect the new legislation. The new version was published in November 2006 and is available through the Inspectorate's website www.scotland.gov.uk/fire
SCOTLAND'S FIRE SERVICE PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE ARRANGEMENTS
36. In October 2001 a programme entitled New Dimension ( ND) was established to ensure Scotland was provided with an efficient and effective response to major emergencies caused by natural or terrorist led events. The programme by necessity developed beyond its original concept of operations due primarily to meet an increasing and widening risk, from not only potential terrorist acts, but also to address the impact of climatic change on our communities and infrastructure. The Fire and Rescue Services ( FRS's) role has also evolved with the introduction of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and, in particular, the Additional Functions Order which underpinned the Fire and Rescue Service role in a number of new areas of operational response which had formed part of the original ND programme.
37. This increasing role for the FRS's is, of course, inextricably linked to that of our key emergency service partners and other agencies that all have an important role to play in the development of, and implementation of, robust and validated plans that will underpin the operational response to any such events.
38. Consequently the current programme has by necessity undertaken a wider multi-agency review which has been set against the Home Office model response planning assumptions, an aspirational plan which sets out a number of specific operational response requirements against validated and measured timelines.
39. It is therefore critical to sustaining the capability and resilience programme, that we identify any gaps in our existing and planned provision of resources that are critical to support and underpin the Scottish FRS's role in delivering the key capabilities of mass decontamination, detection, identification and monitoring, urban search and rescue and major flooding against the Home Office model response planning assumptions.
40. However, whilst the development of a UK wide set of robust and measured planning assumptions provides new challenges, it is important to stress that due to the investment made by Scottish Ministers and the support and collaboration of all the Scottish FRS's and other key stakeholders, many of these capabilities such as mass decontamination, urban search and rescue, major transport accidents and flooding, are already in place or are currently being developed through the ND programme.
41. The ongoing work of the programme through the Scottish ND Forum and the national CBRN programme does, however, recognise that further work still needs to be done to complete the roll out of all the necessary resources and capabilities as well as establishing a long term sustainability plan that will continue to support the Scottish FRS's to deliver and sustain these capabilities in accordance with the developing multi-agency planning assumptions.
42. During the reporting year the roll out of the resources continued to support the existing capabilities and these are covered in more detail in the following sections.
Mass Decontamination
43. New Demountable Mass Decontamination ( MD) Modules that will form part of a flexible deployment arrangement utilising the MAN prime mover vehicles were delivered during the year to both Dumfries and Galloway and Highlands and Islands FRS's. Following the completion of training within the FRS's, these MD units will form part of the overall Scottish MD capability.
44. As reported last year, following extensive evaluation and testing through the UK Mass Decontamination Group, an enhanced respiratory protection system has been developed for warm zone operations. These new Powered Respirator Chemical Protection ( PRCP) suits will substantially improve working conditions and increase the capability of the FRS's personnel operating in the decontamination warm zone compared to the currently available PPE utilising Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus.
45. The new suits were delivered during the year to those Scottish FRS's who will provide MD capability and following the completion of the necessary training for personnel, these suits will become the standard personal protective equipment for FRS staff operating in the MD warm zone in line with the wider UK mass decontamination capability.
46. A refurbishment programme will be undertaken to refresh the Mass Decontamination Units in late 2007, as many of the units have been in existence for more than 4 years and have been extensively used during training and exercising.
47. Work is also taking place at UK level to establish an appropriate system of work for the Recovery, Identification and Decontamination of CBRN fatalities. This work is Home Office led, and clearly has an impact on the FRS Mass Decontamination and Detection, Identification and Monitoring ( DIM) capabilities in the provision of support to our partner agencies in the recovery phase of such CBRN events.
Demountable MD Unit
Detection, Identification and Monitoring ( DIM)
48. The provision of a robust and sustainable DIM capability has long been identified as being critical to the early provision of a safe system of work to support operations at any CBRN event, not only for FRS staff but also for those other emergency service partners and agencies that may have to operate in a potential CBRN and/or hazardous materials environment. To support this capability a number of dedicated DIM vehicles, similar to those which have been rolled out across the rest of the UK have been planned into the programme and these DIM vehicles are planned for delivery in the forthcoming financial year 2007/08 and 2008/09.
49. Additional DIM equipment continues to be provided through the programme in accordance with the requirements identified in the scenario planning requirements that are set in the model response planning assumptions, and as with other Scottish capabilities, due to the diversity of our geography and population in relation to identified risk, to enable us to deliver the appropriate level of capability and resilience these resources will be strategically located around Scotland where they will be able to provide support at a wide variety of incidents such as those involving chemicals and other hazardous materials.
50. Key to the provision of a robust and validated safe system of work in a CBRN or other hazardous material event is the provision of suitably robust scientific advice that will be able to provide on site interpretation and analysis of any potential hazardous substance and consequently advise the responding services and agencies on the likely hazards present at an incident.
51. The FRS's who will deploy the DIM capability have, or are currently working to formalise, the necessary robust scientific advisor arrangements that are required to support a multi-agency response to a variety of hazardous substance type incidents. These arrangements also complement the work undertaken through CFOA(S) to develop a Scottish scientific advice arrangement to provide a common approach to all hazmat incidents across the 8 FRS areas in Scotland.
Detection Investigation and Monitoring ( DIM) Vehicle
Specialist Urban Search and Rescue
52. In the previous review undertaken of Scottish Urban Search and Rescue ( USAR) capabilities identified the need to develop additional deployment capacity across all 8 FRS's so that we could deliver a more robust and resilient Scottish USAR and Specialist Rescue capability that would build on and enhance our existing capacity which was initially provided by the Major Incidents Units.
53. The provision of the MAN 6x4 hook lift vehicles that are designed to deliver a variety of demountable modules were delivered to the host FRS's during December 2006 and January 2007 and these will now be able to provide a flexible and interoperable method for deployment of a variety of capabilities.
54. The construction of 3 USAR/Heavy Rescue demountable modules that will form part of an enhanced Scotland wide resource, was delayed due to some important design changes to meet our specific equipment requirements, however these modules are not due for delivery until the end of September 2007.
55. As previously reported, these USAR/Heavy Rescue modules will provide a common standard deployment capability by providing a full range of standardised equipment that has been designed to support both USAR and other types of specialist rescue operations across Scotland and as part of a wider UK capability.
56. The Research and Development group which works in support of the ND Forum continues to develop and carry out important work on areas such as identifying and testing a variety of specialist equipment. They are also involved in developing operational procedures, risk assessments and supporting training and development of personnel across the Service to support the introduction of new equipment into operational use.
57. Work has continued during the reporting year on the development of a common specification working rig that can be used for a variety of non-structural firefighting operational activities as well as USAR type incidents. Due to some technical difficulties the procurement arrangements were unable to be progressed as planned, however it is anticipated that this will now take place in late 2007.
58. Within the overall programme plan, it is anticipated that on an equipment front other than upgrading and renewal of existing equipment, the USAR capability is now well established and the delivery of the new USAR modules will provide a comprehensive level of resilience to support operations at collapsed structures and/or major transport incidents in Scotland and as part of a wider UK resilience arrangement.
59. Future work envisaged for this particular capability will be to carry out a review of our current USAR/Heavy Rescue deployment arrangements to ensure that it fully supports the developing model response planning assumptions.
Major Flooding & Wild land Fires
60. The funding provided through the programme supported the purchase of 4 High Volume Pump ( HVP) units and 4 additional 2 kilometre double Hose Box modules. These units were delivered to the respective Scottish FRS in January 2007, following completion of specialist instructor training of a number of FRS personnel that enables them to deliver this training to operators in each of the FRS's.
61. The 4 HVP and 4 Hose Box modules have been purchased to the same specifications as those currently forming part of the UKFRS capability, and as previously reported, each HVP can pump 8000 litres of water every minute and is capable of lifting it from a depth of 60 metres which is far in excess of existing FRS pump capacities.
62. These initial 4 HVP units will provide an enhanced operational capability to support operations involving major flooding and to provide an improved firefighting capacity at a variety of incidents such as serious wildland fires and at major industrial complexes. The actual number of HVP and Hose Modules is being reviewed against current planning assumptions and it is anticipated that additional HVP capacity will be necessary and this has been identified in future programme budget requirements.
63. To support the additional functions set out in the 2005 Order, that requires FRS's to respond to and provide a capability for dealing with major flooding, a strategy has been developed through the programme and with the financial support of Scottish Ministers, this will provide the necessary equipment, training and procedures that will enable our FRS's to respond to such events in a co-ordinated and structured manner with a standard inventory of personal safety equipment, rescue equipment and rescue boats, all of which will be backed up with certificated training to nationally accepted standards for FRS personnel.
Prime Mover and High Volume Pump
Environmental Protection
64. In support of the potential impact of fires, chemical spillages and road traffic collisions on the wider environment, a business case was made through the ND programme by CFOA to support an environmental protection capability to mitigate FRS operations on the environment.
65. This was supported by Ministers and funding was provided within the ND programme to provide a dedicated Environmental Protection Unit ( EPU) in each of the 8 FRS's in Scotland. This capability has been built around the provision of demountable EPU modules which are interoperable with the dedicated prime mover vehicles and these modules were delivered to all Scottish FRS's during the reporting year.
66. A range of specialist environmental protection equipment, such as absorbents, drain blockers and inflatable pollution control booms has also been supplied to provide a common inventory in the EPUs. CFOA(S) has developed a Memo of Understanding (MoU) with Scottish Environmental Protection Agency ( SEPA) to support joint operations in preventing damage and pollution to our environment.
Environment Module
Command and Control
67. The requirement to provide an enhanced logistical command and control function to co-ordinate and support resources at a major CBRN or similar event has been identified within the ND programme. Work on this capability is being progressed through the ND Forum and CFOA(S) to establish an agreed strategy and robust business case that will capture the technical requirements and subsequent physical resources necessary to provide a sustainable and practicable level of capability to undertake these functions in support of a FRS dealing with a catastrophic event.
68. The work on the development of a Scottish resources system, led by Strathclyde FRS that can dynamically record and update all of our vehicles, equipment and specialist personnel is currently being tested and it is anticipated that it will become fully operational later in 2007.
Training
69. As in previous years, training and development continues to be at the forefront of the programme in supporting the introduction of new equipment and procedures into the Fire and Rescue Service.
70. The provision of longer term continuation training and development across the range of ND capabilities is presently being considered through the CFOA Learning and Development Group and the Scottish Fire Service Policy Division who currently fund core training for the FRS.
71. A developing training need has been identified to provide sufficient skilled and competent personnel to support the roll-out of the Scottish FRS, DIM Capability. This is a key function and will also include the need for the provision of scientific advisors to support the various multi agency protocols and areas of operations that are presently being developed as part of the wider CBRN programme.
INTEGRATED PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM ( IPDS)
The Scottish Fire Services College
72. The Scottish Fire Services College ( SFSC) continues to act in a central supporting role to the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, not only in terms of the delivery of development programmes, but also in an advisory capacity for the development of materials and quality assurance of content and supporting systems. Working closely with the Scottish Qualifications Authority ( SQA) and external consultants, the Learning & Development Team based at the College has secured an agreed Learning & Development Strategy and a Leadership & Management Development Pathway with the Chief Fire Officers' Association (Scotland) ( CFOA(S). The document can be downloaded by clicking on the following link: http://www.scottish-fireservicescollege.org/SFSCFront/pdf/ScottishLearningDevelopmentStrategy.pdf
The Leadership & Management Pathway is a recognised accredited route map based on the levelling within the Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework ( SCQF). From Trainee Firefighter through to Principal Officer a model for core development in management and leadership, including those relating to the management of emergency incidents has started to emerge. In direct partnership with CFOA(S), the SFSC is securing either bespoke delivery solutions or access to existing programmes within the Scottish Further and Higher Education sectors.
The Firefighter Foundation Programme
73. The Foundation Programme consists of eight (8) modules delivered over a period of twelve weeks. Levelled at 3 on the SCQF, this programme is a prerequisite for all who enter the SFSRS in the role of Wholetime Firefighter and is accessible to all Retained Firefighters on a modular basis as requested by their particular Service. All Wholetime Firefighters are enrolled at the SFSC for the UK nationally recognised SNVQ - 'Operations in the Community'. On graduating from the SFSC, Trainees return to their Service with an electronic portfolio on the Scottish Personal Development Record System ( SPDRS). Evidence of their development is accrued in the workplace over an average period of between 2.5 to 3 years before they secure the final SNVQ award. To date a total of 197 Firefighters have secured the SNVQ with 552 currently working towards this outcome.
Supervisory Manager Programme
74. A comprehensive review of this programme which is aimed at developing people in the role of Crew and Watch Manager was undertaken and completed in September 2006, in time for a further intake of students in August 2006 and February 2007. In these two intakes, 191 students were enrolled for the Personal Development Award ( PDA - Crew Manager) and 21 for the Higher National Certificate ( HNC - Watch Manager). To date a total of 150 students have secured the PDA and 45 have graduated with an HNC.
75. An outcome of the review was the creation of a Managing Incidents Module which is now delivered at the SFSC in partnership with SFRS. Consisting of elements of development and assessment of the skills associated with the safe and competent management of incidents, using a total of fourteen realistic scenarios, the resources and incident ground simulations at the SFSC have proved to be invaluable. The Learning & Development Manager at the SFSC is currently working with the SQA on the integration of this module into a recognised Unit of both the PDA and HNC, the outcome of which will be to secure third party quality assurance for the delivery and assessment processes.
Fire Safety Programmes
76. Fire Safety Development Programmes provide training for fire and rescue personnel aspiring to be legislative fire safety practitioners within their respective organisations. The programme consists of three x 3 week modules and has recently been amended as a response to the changes in fire safety legislation. The programme has two start dates in the year to meet the demand from of the Fire and Rescue Services.
77. The modules are designed to provide students with the necessary understanding of fire safety legislation and enforcement, the supporting sector specific guidance documents, the principles and methodology of fire risk assessment and the Scottish Building Standards. The programme continues to be supported by subject experts from various organisations, including the Fire Service College, Historic Scotland, the Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Building Standards Agency.
Community Planning and Safety Partnership Working Programme
78. The Community Planning Community Safety ( CPCS) Partnership Working programme was first delivered in February 2006. Since then there have been a further two programmes run at the SFSC in Oct/Nov 2006 and February 2007. Funding for the programme is provided via the Community Safety & Antisocial Behaviour Branch of the Scottish Government Justice and Communities Directorate.
79. The one week course was designed for SFRS Group Managers, newly appointed SFRS Area Managers as well as Strategic Managers from partner organisations and their staff directly involved in CPCS partnerships. Initially designed as a one week programme, content delivery had proved too intense and a revised period of two weeks was applied in October/November 2006. However this proved to be too resource intensive and a third programme reverted to a one week delivery period in February 2007.
80. With a community safety skills review now being undertaken in order to identify all of the skills required to perform community safety duties across all roles in the SFRS, the CPCS programme has been recognised as an important element of this and its content and duration will now be considered as part of this review.
Scottish Fire Services College Web-site
81. Over recent years the SFSC has placed a particular emphasis on the development of electronic based initiatives for the delivery and recording of learning and development for the SFRS. The creation of a Learning Content Management System ( LCMS) supports the hosting of e-learning modules and the Firefighter Development Programme ( FDP) which are accessible to all within the SFRS.
82. A redesign of this centrally hosted facility was undertaken in 2006 along with the creation of a College Management System ( CMS) for the allocation of development programmes and associated resources. A target date of April 2007 has been set for these to be made available to the SFRS.
Personal Development Records
83. Unique to the whole of SFRS is the provision of a centrally supported personal development record system ( PDRS). The system continued to be rolled out to personnel by each of the eight Services during 2006/07. On average, a total of 700 users are currently accessing the system on a daily basis.
84. The system continues to evolve with the intention that all personnel will become registered users. However, a decision to hold the system at an application point for Firefighter, Crew Manager and Watch Manager was taken in order to assess the implications of the CFOA(S) Career & Contribution paper which had received COSLA endorsement. With assistance from CFOA(S) Subject Matter Advisors, the SFSC Learning & Development Manager will now oversee the next phase of the system's development in 2007/08.
Quality Assurance of the Career and Contribution Framework
85. An outcome of the CFOA(S) Career & Contribution paper was a request to the Director of Fire Service Training for the development and application of a quality assurance framework for Assessment & Development Centres ( ADCs) and Workplace Appraisal.
86. The Learning and Development Manager at the SFSC undertook these tasks, through the appointment of expert consultancy. For the purposes of developing and implementing the ADC quality assurance framework, occupational psychology services have been procured through a variance to the Scottish Government's existing contract for professional occupational psychology services. The first draft of the quality assurance framework has been produced in consultation with the SFRS and will be piloted throughout 2007. Through this same arrangement, Services are also receiving feedback on planned ADCs, based on the draft framework, and can access professional advice and guidance on the acquisition and application of ADC tools. Staff within Strathclyde's Assessment Unit have been extremely supportive to the rest of the Scottish Services and in their working relationship with the SFSC.
87. The Learning and Development Manager at the SFSC has also procured expert consultancy support to carry out the quality assurance of workplace appraisal. The processes for quality assuring workplace appraisal have been drafted and, in principle, agreement from CFOA(S) secured. Piloting of these processes and full roll-out is expected to take place during late 2007 and early 2008, once workplace appraisal has been put into place by Services.
« Previous | Contents | Next »