Fire Service gets an ‘Outstanding’ for how it manages resources

18/08/2023

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been assessed as Outstanding in one of eleven categories inspected earlier this year by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). They also received six Goods, three Adequates and one Requires Improvement.

The inspection team, who visited the Service in April, gave the highest score possible for how CFRS manages its resources, highlighting innovative practice for its ‘comprehensive financial and resourcing plans’ in its report published today (August 18).

The inspectorate scored the Service Good for promoting the right values and culture, ensuring fairness and promoting diversity, preventing fires and other risks, protecting the public through fire regulation, future affordability and understanding fires and other risks. Innovative and promising practice was also identified with its sustainability strategy, involvement of external assessors in recruitment of wholetime firefighters, its fitness equipment for firefighters and menopause and maternity provisions. It was also highlighted for being a neurodiversity friendly employer and having a ‘positive working culture where staff feel valued and listened to’.

Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland said: “I’m really pleased with our inspection outcome as it reflects the hard work and dedication that everyone who works for our fire service puts in day in, day out to help us deliver the best service we can with the resources we have. I was particularly delighted with the Outstanding we received for how we manage our resources. We are a very lean fire service and over the years have had to invest much time and effort into coming up with innovative ways to save money to either meet budget cuts or to reinvest to continually improve, so it is great to see this recognised.

“I am also particularly proud of the Good we were awarded for our values and culture. It has been our focus for a number of years now, promoting expected behaviours at work and supporting employee wellbeing. This particular success is testament to everyone who works here, who ensures we are a welcoming fire and rescue service that values diversity and encourages inclusion.”

Chris continued: “As expected with any inspection process, there were areas highlighted where the Inspectorate believes we can make further improvement. We take this feedback into account when we undertake our planning and some of these were already in motion but not completed when the inspectorate visited.”

Chair of the Fire Authority, Councillor Edna Murphy, commented: “We think the Service should be very proud of this inspection report and I’d like to thank everyone at CFRS for their continued hard work and commitment to providing the best service they can to our communities. To receive an Outstanding in one of the categories is not easy to achieve so credit must be given for this as well as for the reams of other good work identified in the report.

“As a smaller rural fire service with a tight budget it is always a juggling act to prioritise areas for improvement as usually something else has to then take a back seat, but as a Service awarded Outstanding for how it uses its resources I am confident the right balance is found and we can look forward to demonstrating further improvement next time the inspection team visits, as we have done this time round.”

The full inspection report for CFRS can be found on the HMICFRS website.