Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service's new chief fire officer has said he is confident he can lead the organisation to much-needed improvements after a critical report from the inspectorate. The inspection, published in the summer, warned there were concerns about the service's performance in keeping residents "safe and secure".
Inspection findings
A damning inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) rated NFRS as "inadequate" across five of ten inspection areas and requires improvement in a further three. That came after a difficult year which saw huge change at the top of the organisation.
Speaking at Monday's meeting of Northumberland County Council's Communities and Place Scrutiny Committee, chief fire officer Keith Carruthers - who took up his post in April after the inspector's visit - said necessary action was being taken.
Chief's response
He said: "The council were very open and transparent so I had an idea of where the service was. There was already green shots of improvement where progress had stared but maybe not progressed enough to be looked at more positively in the report. I would be lying if I said I knew everything in the report, but I had a good overview and I was comfortable that I could make the service better. We have an action plan in place."
"The report doesn't mean that the service is unsafe. We continue to work with the county council to provide all statutory responsibilities. It is disappointing, but it provides me as chief fire officer with a really clear road map for improvement. There have been substantial changes already."
Areas of concern
The chief inspector felt Northumberland had not done enough to improve: how it gathers and records site-specific risk information; communication with its staff; its system for recording staff competency, training and skills; equality, diversity and inclusion; and its strategic direction with consistent and confident leadership, and effective accountability.
Three of the five Causes of Concern arise from areas that were identified as Areas for Improvement in the 2023 HMICFRS inspection and where the Service was found not to have made sufficient progress during the intervening period to address the issues identified.
Leadership changes and oversight
More than 20 managers have been appointed to key roles, marking a significant leadership change. The fire service has also established a "Service Priority Board" to provide strategic oversight and governance of the improvement programme.
Coun Anne Dale said: "The report did raise concerns within the county. Looking back, there's various things in the original five areas of concern that were identified in 2023 - it's sad that no progress was made on that. Will we have more assurance that the risks mentioned will be addressed? It's a significant programme."
It was agreed that the matter would return to the scrutiny committee on a six-monthly basis until the issues were addressed.
