South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) has been told there is still more work to do after a follow-up inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
Background of the inspection
In January 2024, a damning report into the culture at the service found staggering levels of abuse and behaviour. The Welsh Government subsequently removed elected members from their governance roles and appointed four commissioners. In July 2024, a full inspection was requested.
HMICFRS inspected the service between October and December 2024, publishing a report in May 2025 that made 12 recommendations and identified three causes of concern:
- An up-to-date risk assessment and profile to inform its strategic plan was needed.
- An effective system and process to gather and record relevant and up-to-date risk information to protect firefighters, the public and property during emergencies was required.
- A prioritised risk-based inspection programme to ensure it identifies the highest-risk premises in its area should be developed.
Follow-up review results
The service responded with an action plan, and a follow-up review was carried out between October 2025 and March 2026. Of the 12 recommendations, three were found to have been met, but nine recommendations and all three causes of concern remain open.
One area highlighted was audits of high-risk properties. The service said it would complete 250 high-risk audits between October 1 and December 31, 2025, but only completed 97. Inspectors noted that while a framework is being introduced to monitor performance, “it is unclear how it will achieve the volumes required”.
The protection department is divided into teams dealing with audits, fire safety compliance, training, and healthcare properties, and there is a high-rise working group for remediation and safety. At the time of the assessment, there were 32 fire safety officers competent to carry out high-risk audits, but not all routinely do so and staff are in temporary roles.
The review stated: “We found that the service hadn’t made enough progress in this area and issues with capacity and carrying out high-risk audits continued.”
Progress on Grenfell recommendations and governance
As of December 2025, the service was actively working on 71 recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, with 30 being actively worked on and 26 completed and awaiting sign-off. In terms of introducing new software or issuing tablets to staff to improve efficiency, the review said there is “still work to do”.
Governance meetings have been introduced and are being monitored against performance indicators. An office dedicated to managing the action plan has been established after previous concerns that “some updates lacked detail, some time frames were inaccurate and action owners had completed some objectives without recording suitable supporting evidence”. New software for on-call availability, recruitment, skills, and resource deployment has been invested in.
Regarding protection of the highest risks, the inspectorate said: “There is some evidence that prevention, protection and response activities are targeting the highest risks. But, at the time of our assessment, it was too soon to understand how effective the strategies were in improving the service to the public. We found that the service wasn’t meeting the targets it had set itself for the number of high-risk audits and home safety checks it carried out. We also found that not all staff were fully aware of the new strategies and how they were contributing to them.”
Remaining concerns and conclusion
A previous requirement to identify all premises needing site-specific risk visits remains open. While a list has been identified, it will take time to complete, with a completion date of early 2028 cited. Work is still needed on the risk management system, and a concern remains about quality assurance processes.
In its conclusion, the inspectorate said: “We were pleased to see the significant steps the service had taken in response to the causes of concern we issued. The service has built some sound foundations on which it can continue to develop and improve. Despite the progress the service has made with cause of concern recommendations, there is still more work to do. The service recognises this and has set deadlines for completing all tasks in its action plan that extend beyond the time of our assessment. The action plan is comprehensive and directs activity to address the recommendations. The governance structure, introduction of the performance management framework and establishment of a project management office will support the service on its journey to improve. The majority of the actions the service is taking in response to the recommendations are substantial and will take time to complete. Additionally, most of the changes made so far are relatively new. The service will need to evaluate the changes and make sure they are accepted and understood by everyone, and that they are sustained in the longer term.”
Service response
In its response, SWFRS said the letter recognises the significant progress made. Chief fire officer Fin Monahan stated: “The overall message is encouraging. HMICFRS recognises that colleagues all over the Service are making positive progress and we have established strong foundations with a comprehensive action plan that addresses the recommendations. Our plan will give us sustainable progress over the coming years. This is embedded into the strategy that we developed last year and this letter demonstrates that the strategy is on track. However, as the inspection team point out, most of the recommendations will take time, so there is still work to do, and maintaining momentum will be important as we continue our improvement journey. We remain fully committed to building on these green shoots of change and delivering our improvement programme, and ensuring the communities we serve receive the highest standards of service.”
He added that while most of the recommendations remain open, the letter also recognises that many changes are still relatively new and will take time to embed fully.
