www.glosfire.gov.uk

Statement of Assurance 2016 - 17

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Foreword by Councillor Nigel Moor 5

Introduction by the Chief Fire Officer Stewart Edgar 7

The communities we serve 9

Our purpose 10

Service overview 11

Financial performance 18

Fire and Rescue Service Annual Business Plan 15

Our challenges and priorities during 2016/17 19

Our performance 20

Our collaborative arrangements 23

Mutual aid and assistance 24

How we secure business continuity 24

Audit and assurance 25

Our future challenges 27

How you can become involved 27

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Foreword by the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service

Councillor Nigel Moor

I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the annual Statement of Assurance for 2016-17 for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

As the Fire and Rescue Authority, Gloucestershire County Council has a legal duty to ensure that a highly effective Fire and Rescue Service is available to all our communities at all times.

It is my considered opinion based on publicly available facts that GFRS remains one of the highest performing and lowest cost per head Services in the country. Through effective leadership and efficient delivery, the contribution made to the safety of people in Gloucestershire can only be described as significant and long may that continue.

The Service continues to be presented with new challenges in terms of governance models, cost reduction and increasing efficiency which must be offset against an ever evolving risk and response profile. Demonstrable success by the Service in delivery of the Prevention agenda has seen a continued decline in the requirement for emergency response to incidents, enabling the Service to utilise existing equipment and skills in unique ways that provide support to the County Council and other organisations delivering true ‘social value’ to the communities of Gloucestershire.

I hope this Statement of Assurance instils in people the confidence in all that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue does in terms of prevention to ensure their safety and gives them the comfort of knowing that come what may the Service is always ready to respond should the need arise.

Signed on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council:

Councillor Nigel Moor Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service

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Introduction by Chief Fire Officer Stewart Edgar QFSM

As Chief Fire Officer for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, I would like to present to you Gloucestershire County Council Fire Authority’s fifth Annual Statement of Assurance covering 2016-17.

This statement is produced to demonstrate to the communities of Gloucestershire how your Fire and Rescue Service, on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Authority (Gloucestershire County Council), has in the last twelve months met and will continue to deliver on our mission:

‘Working together for a safer Gloucestershire’.

It is our duty to provide an annual Statement of Assurance that covers governance, financial and operational matters. The statement demonstrates how the Fire and Rescue Authority meets its legal obligations and how as a Service, we are delivering against our stated objectives in our current Integrated

Risk Management Plan covering the 2015-18 period.

In the last twelve months our staff have continued to work extremely hard to ensure that we continue to offer the highest standards of community safety and emergency response services to all those who live, work or visit our county. The following information clearly shows the positive impact our efforts and prevention activities deliver to make our communities safer:

7,146 Safe and Well visits carried out to domestic properties last year alone

54% reduction in incidents over the last 10 years

30% reduction in dwelling fires over the last 10 years

8% fewer fires than in the previous year

32% fewer casualties as a result of fire than in the previous year

24% fewer road traffic incidents than in the previous year

I am proud of the way in which our staff continuously demonstrate a professional and ethical approach to their duties and the drive and commitment shown when rising to the challenges laid before them.

In common with all public services we continually strive to improve the way we operate and deliver real value for money to the communities of Gloucestershire.

In conclusion, I am confident that the arrangements in place for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service remain ‘fit for purpose’ and meet the needs of the communities we serve.

Signed on behalf of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service:

Stewart Edgar QFSM Chief Fire Officer and Operations Director

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The Communities We Serve

Gloucestershire is a diverse county covering 1,024 square miles and has a population of approximately 623,100. It is an extremely attractive place to live and work with most people living in areas surrounded by countryside. To the West the county is bordered by South Wales, to the North and North West Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Warwickshire to the North East, Oxfordshire to the East, Wiltshire to the South and Avon to the South West. The county is divided into six districts, City of Gloucester, Cheltenham, Forest of Dean, Tewkesbury, Cotswolds and Stroud with the main urban centres being Gloucester and Cheltenham where half the county’s population live.

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Our purpose

The Service maintains a clear sense of purpose which is laid down within our Mission Statement:

‘Working together we will provide the highest standard of community safety and emergency response services to the communities of Gloucestershire’.

This statement is supported by four very clear strategic aims:

We manage risk in Gloucestershire by focussing on our strategic aims; everything we do builds towards achieving these aims. Our stated priorities are to:

Reduce risk in our communities

Provide a committed, skilled and safe workforce

Respond promptly and effectively to emergencies and;

Make the best use of resources and provide an efficient Service.

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Service Overview

Statute and the Fire Framework

The primary legislation governing the Fire and Rescue Service is covered by the following:

Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004

Policing and Crime Act 2017

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Fire and Rescue Service (Emergencies)(England) Order 2007

Localism Act 2011

The main legislative provisions which determine the functions of the Fire and Rescue Authority include the following:

Promoting fire safety

Extinguishing fires and protecting life and property

Rescuing people from road traffic accidents (and a large range of other risks determined through the Emergencies Order)

Responding to other types of emergencies

Enter into ‘reinforcement’ schemes with other fire authorities for mutual assistance

Assess the risk of emergencies occurring and use this to inform contingency planning

Cooperate with other local responders to reduce crime, disorder and re-offending (including anti-social and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment) and;

A new duty on police, fire and rescue and emergency ambulance services to collaborate where it is in the interests of their efficiency or effectiveness.

The Police and Crime Act 2017 also enables Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on responsibility for the governance of fire and rescue services, where a local business case is made.

Gloucestershire County Council fulfils the role of the Fire and Rescue Authority for the county and are responsible for the provision of fire and rescue services throughout Gloucestershire.

The County Council has 53 elected members and is structured around a ‘Cabinet’ of 8 councillors, each with a specific portfolio. The Fire and Rescue Service comes under the ‘Fire, Planning and Infrastructure’ portfolio which is held by Councillor Nigel Moor. Councillor Moor’s

role is to oversee the work of your fire and rescue service, making key decisions about policies and services that matter to local people. The performance of the fire and rescue service is overseen by the Environment and Communities Scrutiny and Corporate Audit and Governance Committees.

Details of how you can attend meetings and access agendas and reports can be found at the following link:

Gloucestershire County Council - Meetings

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The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 places a duty on all ‘Category 1’ responders to maintain plans for responding, reducing, controlling or mitigating the effects of emergencies.

Gloucestershire County Council Civil Protection Team are an integral component of GFRS, promoting effective multi agency work amongst all services and agencies through Gloucestershire Local Resilience Forum; this ensures that local communities are cared for both during an emergency and afterwards when returning to normality.

The full document can be found at the following link:

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

Fire and Rescue National Framework for England 2012

The Government outlines expectations of English Fire and Rescue Services through the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England. The Framework sets out the Government’s priorities and objectives for Fire and Rescue Authorities in England; these are high level expectations and it does not prescribe operational matters which it says are best determined at the local level.

Key priorities in the Framework include:

Identifying and assessing the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue related risks including those of a cross border, multi-authority and/or national nature

Making provision for prevention and protection activities and responding to incidents within Gloucestershire appropriately

Working in partnership with the communities of

Gloucestershire and a wide range of partners both locally and

nationally to deliver a fire and rescue service; and

Being accountable to the communities of Gloucestershire for

the service we provide through an annual ‘Statement of

Assurance’.

The full document can be found at the following link:

Fire and Rescue National Framework for England

Integrated Risk Management Plan

The Framework requires the formulation of an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) that captures and publishes the Fire and Rescue Authorities plans to meet those priorities.

The Framework provides that the Fire and Rescue Authority must hold their Chief Fire Officer to account for delivery of the fire and rescue service, also that arrangements must be

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in place to ensure decisions regarding service provision and delivery are open to scrutiny. The Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) is Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s analysis of the county’s community risk profile, together with our strategic approach to effectively managing that risk over the period.

The IRMP identifies and assesses all foreseeable fire and rescue related risks that could affect the communities, including those of a cross border, multi authority and/or national nature. The full document can be found at the following link:

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service – IRMP 2015-18

Governance Arrangements

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) is responsible for putting in place proper arrangements for the governance of its affairs, facilitating the effective exercise of its functions, which include arrangements for the management of risk, details of which can be found at:

Gloucestershire County Council – Code of Corporate Governance

To supplement GCC arrangements, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service have in place an internal Corporate Governance Framework to enable us to monitor the achievement of our strategic objectives and consider whether those objectives ultimately lead to the delivery of appropriate services and value for money.

This framework can be found at the following link:

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue – Corporate Governance Framework

GCC are also responsible for ensuring that public affairs are conducted in accordance with the law and that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently and effectively.

A ‘Statement of Accounts’ is produced and published annually on the Council’s website which contains headline financial information for the Communities and Infrastructure portfolio.

The full document can be found at the following link:

Gloucestershire County Council -Statement of Accounts Furthermore in depth information regarding funding and expenditure can be found later under the section headed Financial Performance (Statement of Accounts).

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Structure and Business Model

Strategic direction for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service is set by the Fire and Rescue Authority whose statutory duty under the Fire and Rescues Services Act 2004 is to provide a fire and rescue service. Leadership and governance for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service is provided by the Strategic Leadership Team led by the Chief Fire Officer – Stewart Edgar.

The Service is divided into four ‘functional’ areas with integral elements for each listed below:

Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)

Prevention work that focuses on those who are most vulnerable and at risk

A network of 21 Fire Stations across the county that give access to community safety advice, education and provide the response to emergencies

Enforcement of fire safety law (protection)

Civil Protection (planning, emergency response and recovery)

Development of operational policy and procedures.

Learning and Development, Operational Assurance, Health and Safety and GCC Centralised functions

Training – initial and ongoing maintenance of skills

Health and safety – advice, monitoring and reporting

Legal Services – advice, support and representation

Human Resources – advice, support and administration

Occupational Health – medical advice, support and health monitoring

Business Planning, Strategy, Risk Management and Performance

Business planning, strategy and performance to include development and production of:

o Internal governance analysis and action plans

o Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP)

o Annual Statement of Assurance

o Financial planning, budget setting and monitoring

o Contract management and monitoring

o Performance management information and statistical reports

o Communications, publications, branding and media

Fire Control who receive and resource emergency calls

Logistic administrative support.

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Technical Services

Fleet management, maintenance and repair

Equipment (research and replacement programmes)

Premises management and maintenance

Centralised purchasing and stores

Information, Communications and Technology -

provision, management and maintenance for all

telephony and computer based systems.

Our Resources

Service Headquarters is administered from the Tri-Service site in Quedgeley; this co-locates Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service with Gloucestershire Constabulary.

The site hosts administrative, fleet management and stores along with Fire and Police Control functions.

In 2016/17 Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service operated from twenty one community fire stations.

These stations are the base for our cadre of highly skilled fire-fighters and our fleet of 33 front-line fire engines plus a number of specialist ‘support’ vehicles designed to address the ever increasing variety of incidents we are called to.

Our specialist vehicles include:

Hydraulic platforms for performing rescues at height

Specialist Incident Support Unit for road, rail, air incidents, animal and water rescue

Foam and Water Carrier

Environmental Protection Unit (provided in partnership with the Environment Agency)

Rescue Boats (provided in partnership with DEFRA and SARA) and;

Mobile Incident Command Vehicle.

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Our People

None of the things we do would be possible

without our professional, highly skilled,

motivated and well developed workforce whose

composition is reflective of our diverse

community.

As a predominantly rural fire and rescue service

we make good use of Retained (On-call)

firefighters in areas where population levels and

risks are low and the cost of full time cover

would be prohibitive.

Of the 21 stations across Gloucestershire, 16 of these are staffed entirely by ‘Retained’

firefighters with three further stations having a mix of both full time and Retained compliments.

We utilise Retained firefighters in a variety of ways to help make the most of our resources:

Community safety advice and education and emergency response in their local area

Primary crewing for our specialist appliances which our Retained firefighters have been

trained to use

Should unforeseen staff shortages occur, they are called in to ride alongside full time

colleagues maximising the emergency cover we provide in all areas

Co-responding whereby they utilise existing training and skills to when mobilised to

specified types of medical emergency in support of our Ambulance colleagues, often

stabilising those in need before the arrival of an ambulance and optimising survival rates

for critical care patients

To ensure we reach as many people as possible with our prevention work, we use

Retained firefighters to support our Community Safety Advisors when demand is high

carrying out a significant number of Safe and Well visits to those most in need; and

Support to other community focussed safety initiatives, for example giving input or

delivering campaigns alongside partners such as the county’s Road Safety Team.

On the remaining five stations which are located in the primary centres of population we utilise

full time firefighters. The immediate response is designed to cover higher call levels where

physical and life risks are known to be much greater and wider ranging.

Our Fire Control staff are based at the Tri-Service site and are the first point of contact for the

public when an emergency occurs. They are well equipped and trained for emergency call

handling providing calm reassurance and gathering vital information to support an emergency

response. All of this helps ensure that we maintain the right resources, in the right place, when

they are needed most.

Our support staff provide the core functions of planning, administration, fleet maintenance and

management, centralised purchasing and stores ensuring that the organisation as a whole can

function on a day to day basis. When significant or large scale incidents occur they often go

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‘above and beyond’ to make sure the public receive the highest standards of emergency

response under difficult conditions.

Overall Staffing Composition As an organisation we employ a total of 484 people in the various roles required to deliver a modern and forward thinking fire and rescue service. The graph below outlines the breakdown of staff into the four key roles:

Retained Firefighters - 240

Full Time Firefighters – 175 (including 24 officers)

Fire Control Staff - 19

Support Staff – 50 (including 3 civil protection officers)

Overall Staffing Composition (as at 31/03/17)

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Financial Performance (Statement of Accounts)

Our Budget for 2016/17

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service continues to deliver excellent value for money to our communities. The net revenue expenditure for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service for 2016/17 was £19,705,252.08 which equates to a cost of approximately 8½p per day for each resident of Gloucestershire. The net revenue expenditure figure takes into account income of £5,221,585.78 made up of specific grants for Fire and Rescue from HM Government and other income received by the Service for activities where a charge has been made e.g. pre arranged attendance for a non emergency function. Expenditure overview The diagram below shows how our budget was spent in order to provide your fire and rescue service. Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service are an integral part of GCC who provide and publish annually the overall Statement of Accounts and Audit for the County Council. The published Statement of Accounts 2016-17 can be viewed by following the link below.

Gloucestershire County Council -Statement of Accounts

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Fire and Rescue Service: Annual Business Plan The Annual Business Plan covering the Fire and Rescue Service is updated annually. The plan sets out our objectives and outcomes for the forthcoming year and clearly shows the targets we have set against which we will measure our performance for that year.

The Annual Business Plan can be viewed by following this link:

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue – Annual

Business Plan

Challenges and Priorities

The Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service IRMP 2015-2018 was developed and approved

by Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet on 15th April 2015. The IRMP clearly laid out the

objectives for us to focus on over the forthcoming three years. The Year 2 Objectives were to:

Implement the outcomes of the comprehensive review of operational response

Develop a more risk based response

Research and implement new technological solutions and;

Make greater use of retained and community firefighters to build resilience.

Following on from the fundamental review of operational response undertaken last year, two

options were selected for implementation; these were to change the way in which we provided

staff at Cirencester (moving from a non-viable full time option to a more community focussed

on-call system) and a change the way we provided emergency response cover to Painswick.

Both of these changes have been implemented and the expected benefits realised.

The Service has challenged the traditional approach to risk management concentrating the

focus of its activities on actual risk to people. In particular, we focus on life risk factors

experienced for dwelling fires targeting our prevention work at those identified as most at risk.

Our response standards have been reviewed and now reflect this approach.

We have made a number of significant changes to our Service through the application of new

technology:

Fire Control has been updated with ‘state of the art’ mobilising and communications

equipment reducing time taken to establish incident details and helping to locate

incidents quickly.

Emergency vehicles have been fitted with Advanced Vehicle Location Systems (AVLS),

which allows selection of the nearest available fire engines to an incident allowing us to

significantly reduce response times.

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New Breathing Apparatus sets now give our crews clearer speech communication

between teams which will improve search and rescue times and safety for both

firefighters and the public alike

We have commenced a process to upgrade our rescue equipment used at road traffic

collisions (RTC’s). Smaller, lighter but more powerful RTC equipment utilising

rechargeable battery technology has created more stowage space to carry other

specialist rescue equipment. This will allow us to upgrade all of our fire engines across

the county for immediate response to RTC’s improving the overall response time in all

areas of the County thereby ensuring an equitable service to all road users.

We have reviewed the way in which we use our Retained (on-call) firefighters and now make

greater use of their availability and time to deliver prevention programmes and support to full

time staffing whenever necessary. (For more information regarding this see page 12).

All of these changes improve the standard of service we are able to provide to the communities of Gloucestershire.

Our Performance

Prevention and Protection Activity Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service continues to perform to exacting standards and the results of a positive focus on prevention and protection initiatives in recent years is demonstrated by the diagram below:

In terms of incidents, the table below shows the total number over the past 5 years that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service have attended across Gloucestershire and in neighbouring counties.

This shows a steady decline in the overall number of incidents. More detail on specific incident types can be found in the next section.

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Incident Type 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 This shows a 30.9% reduction over the last 5 years which is strongly linked to an increase in

our prevention work

Total Incidents 5490 5153 4822 4081 3793

Our Performance - 2016/17

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s key performance indicators and targets against which the Service is measured can be found in Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service Annual Business Plan and our performance is detailed below.

Prevention and Protection

Outcome Measure Actual 12/13

Actual 13/14

Actual 14/15

Actual 15/16

Actual 16/17

The number of casualties (deaths and injuries) caused by fire

30 22 17 34 23

Total number of accidental dwelling fires 295 308 289 323 299

Total number of deliberate dwelling fires 22 24 24 17 17

Total number of primary[1]

fires 743 864 777 806 793

Total number of secondary[2]

fires 400 510 411 563 468

Total incidents of arson 354 327 333 153 446[3]

Total number of Road Traffic Collisions attended 392 396 347 290 220

The number of commercial fires attended 135 139 110 92 96

Total number of co-responder incidents 1124 1207 1323 1162 564[4]

Total number of Safe and Well visits carried out in the home

2945 3084 4145 6165 7146

% of fires attended where a smoke alarm is fitted

84% 82% 86% 92% 90%

The % of commercial premises at which we attended fires, that were visited by a fire safety officer within 14 days of the fire

81% 87% 92% 90% 83%

The % of risk re-inspections completed within the due date

89% 87% 70% 48% 10%[5]

The number of operational and training injuries 33 50 48 27 35

Notes:

[1] Primary fires generally involve property and include buildings, caravans, motor vehicles and plant and machinery.

[2] Secondary fires are often minor and include the burning of rubbish, grass and derelict properties.

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[3] The rise in arson figures (small deliberate fires) mirrors a national trend; prevention advice and a collaborative approach with the Police has been applied to address this.

[4] The number of Co-responder incidents GFRS is called upon to attend has fallen due to a change in the way the ambulance service categorise and request support to this type of call.

[5] Risk re-inspection completion dates were missed at the final stage of recording due to technical issues with the computerised recording system. These issues were addressed and completion rates are now dramatically improved.

Response and Resilience

Outcome Measure Actual 12/13

Actual 13/14

Actual 14/15

Actual 15/16

Actual 16/17

% of incidents of dwelling fires attended within 8 minutes - Risk Category 1

64% 66% 70% 89% 86%

% of incidents of dwelling fires attended within 14 minutes - Risk Category 2

- - - 100% 100%

% of incidents of dwelling fires attended within 14 minutes - Risk Category 3

- - - 95% 90%

Retained Station availability 89% 88% 98% 98% 97%

Sickness absence expressed in days per FTE 8 8.9 9.49 8.47 7.9

Note:

Risk Categories

To identify risk we look at the occurrence of dwelling fires and the casualties involved, fire incidents that occur in non-domestic buildings and reflecting our knowledge of factors that contribute to the likelihood of fires and other emergencies data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

This approach gives a comprehensive assessment of risk in any given area in the county and supports targeted prevention activities designed to improve the safety of those most vulnerable and deemed to be most at risk from fire related incidents.

In simple terms, Risk Category 1 areas are identified as having the high levels of risk and shows us where we need to concentrate our efforts and resources; Categories 2 and 3 are areas with significantly lower levels of risk where instances of fire are much less likely to occur.

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Our Collaborative Arrangements

We continue to build on the collaborative approach introduced last year to ensure all of our communities get the best possible service available in an efficient, effective and economic manner.

The purpose, conditions and limitations of each partnership are agreed, captured and monitored to ensure the stated purpose is fulfilled.

Agreements exist between Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and a variety of agencies and organisations which include amongst others:

Highways England

Gloucestershire Constabulary

Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group

South West Ambulance Service Trust

Gloucestershire Rural Community Council

Severn Area Rescue Association

Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group

British Red Cross and;

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service continues to pursue further partnerships to bring increased benefits and social value to the communities of Gloucestershire.

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Mutual Aid and Assistance Under Sections 13 and 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service have a legal duty to enter into ‘reinforcement’ schemes (local mutual aid and support) with neighbouring fire and rescue authorities.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has reinforcement schemes in place for securing mutual assistance with Avon, Dorset and Wiltshire, Hereford and Worcester, Oxfordshire, South Wales and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Authorities to provide and utilise resources such as fire engines.

National mutual aid arrangements and response plans are also in place across England and Wales to help secure a resilient emergency response on a national scale for major or catastrophic incidents. These arrangements which Gloucestershire are signed up to mean we can access a range of specialist appliances and crews from across the country to assist with:

Mass Decontamination and Hazardous Chemical Analysis

Urban Search and Rescue

High Volume Pumping and Water Rescue and;

Command and Control

How We Secure Business Continuity

Business Continuity Management is governed by a series of plans which identify risk and develop Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s resilience, to ensure that adverse events cause minimal disruption to the services provided to the community and that critical services are maintained.

Business Continuity Management plans have been developed in the following areas and are regularly reviewed and updated.

BCM Plan Title Team

Staffing resilience for extended periods (Industrial action, epidemics etc.)

Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)

Death of service personnel on duty Response

Loss of, or disruption to a fire station(s) Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)

Loss of or disruption to Fire Control Room Business Planning, Strategy, Risk Management and Performance

Loss of Computer network/system Technical Services

Loss of, or disruption to HQ building Technical Services

Deployment of staff and, or equipment out of county or overseas

Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)

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Audit and Assurance

Benchmarking

We make use of national benchmarking reports and tools in order to facilitate benchmarking

against fire and rescue services of a similar size and demographics and to promote best

practice. We are part of a Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) family group for this purpose.

The government publish annual statistics from all Fire and Rescue Services across the country

and we use this to establish our position nationally. The latest statistics covering 2015/16 can

be found here:

Government Statistics – Fire statistics monitor

The introduction of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 has seen the suspension of the current

process of LGA peer reviews. The expectation at this time is that a collaborative approach will

be taken towards performance and standards assessment for each Service; therefore work is

taking place that will likely see Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Policing take on this function for

fire and rescue services as well at some time during 2017/18.

County Council Audit

Gloucestershire County Council routinely undertakes an internal audit of functions and services

that are carried out on their behalf. The GCC Internal Audit Plan for 2016/17 approved by the

Audit and Governance Committee listed the following area of audit for GFRS:

Control Refresh Project

Furthermore, GCC indicated that Internal Audit Certification would be carried out covering

grants received from the Department for Communities and Local Government to provide

assurance that, in all significant respects, the conditions of the Specific Grant Determination(s)

had been complied with.

Prevention Team Resilience Community Safety (Prevention, Protection, Response and Resilience)

Loss of, or disruption to the Service fleet Technical Services

Loss of, or disruption to the Stores/Equipment building Technical Services

Major equipment failure (Fleet, BA etc.) Technical Services

Service Fuel continuity plan Technical Services

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Auditors findings

Following audit, the Service was given a ‘clean bill of health’ with auditors reporting compliance

with requirements and processes.

The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2011 require local authorities, including fire and

rescue authorities, to prepare an annual governance statement in support of the annual

statement of accounts. Information regarding Gloucestershire County Council’s Annual Audit

and Inspection programme and the ‘Statement of Accounts’ can be found on the link below:

Gloucestershire County Council

Customer Service Excellence

The Government wants public services for all that are efficient, effective, excellent, equitable and empowering, with the citizen always and everywhere at the heart of service provision.

Each year we commission independent research into the degree of customer satisfaction we achieve and receive an annual report on our performance; service users are asked about three groups of performance indicators:

Initial contact with the FRS

Service provided at the scene

Information and advice

In addition to the three groups of indicators, people are asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with the service they receive overall.

The headline outcomes are:

Domestic Fires:

97% of respondents were satisfied with the service they received at scene

98% of respondents felt that firefighters were efficient

98% of respondents felt they were kept informed of what was happening during the incident

96% of respondents felt firefighters were sensitive whilst at scene

95% of respondents felt firefighters were polite and helpful whilst at scene

88% of respondents felt general safety advice offered at scene was ‘useful’

51% of respondents took up the offer of a free Safe and Well check

Note: We were ranked 1st nationally (alongside two other Services) for ‘Effect of the incident

kept to a minimum’.

Non Domestic Fires:

100% of respondents were satisfied with the service they received at scene

100% of respondents felt firefighters were polite and helpful whilst at scene

100% of respondents felt that firefighters were efficient

100% of respondents felt they were kept informed of what was happening during the incident

94% of respondents felt firefighters were sensitive whilst at scene

94% of respondents felt firefighters kept effects to a minimum

100% of respondents felt general safety advice offered at scene was ‘useful’

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Our Future Challenges We regularly analyse the county’s community risk profile and set out our strategic aims towards

effective management of identified risks. This is detailed in our Integrated Risk Management

Plan 2015 to 2018, which can be found on the link below. The Government requires us, by law,

to regularly produce and review our plan – the next plan will be developed during 2017/18 and

brought into action in early 2018.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service – IRMP 2015-18 The Integrated Risk Management Action Plan 2015/18 details the specific projects we will start

in 2017 and the Year Three action plan sets out our commitment to:

Continue to implement outcomes of comprehensive review.

The implementation of many of the projects in years 1 & 2 will extend into next year due to their

size and significance. As a consequence by the end of year 3, we anticipate bringing the

Service into a position in which outcomes from these major projects are embedded as core

business.

How You Can Become Involved

If you are concerned about your fire safety and would like to know more, please visit our

website using the link below to book a free Safe and Well check:

http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/your_safety.html

Should you wish to make a comment about our customer service please do not hesitate to

contact us using the following contact details:

Chief Fire Officer

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service

Fire Service HQ

Waterwells Drive

Quedgeley

Gloucester GL2 2AX

Telephone: 01452 888777 Email: fire@glosfire.gov.uk

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Waterwells Drive

Quedgeley

Gloucestershire

GL2 2AX

T: 01452 888777 E: fire@glosfire.gov.uk