Members have a key role to play in building a more inclusive fire service
Fire and rescue services do an incredible job and I am proud of my role on a fire and rescue authority and as Chair of the Fire Services Management Committee.
As we near the end of our political year at the LGA, it gives us an opportunity to look back and reflect on the challenges the sector has faced, and where we hope to go in the future.
Culture in the fire and rescue service has been a particular challenge over the past year.
Media stories, inspections, independent reviews and inquiries have all highlighted examples of poor behaviour, bullying and harassment. This is not something that any of us wishes to see.
While changing culture takes time, it is something that we all have a role in tackling and improving.
Members and officers can bring their own skills, experiences and knowledge to challenging those behaviours that we do not want to see, with members holding officers to account for progress.
Everyone benefits from a more inclusive service, with a positive culture where everyone can flourish in their careers.
To support this, we have continued to work with our Diversity and Inclusion Champions Network, with sessions on independent reviews and with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), as well as discussions around the role of members.
“We want to ensure services are inclusive, open and safe places to work, and that the public has trust in the sector”
The network brings together elected representatives responsible for diversity and inclusion issues in their fire and rescue authorities, to develop the skills needed to challenge their services to improve in this area.
We will be looking to build on the work of the champions to ensure the network is meeting their needs.
The LGA also provides training for leading members through our Fire Leadership Essentials programme (see below), including around their role in leading improvement and equality, diversity and inclusion.
At the LGA’s annual fire services conference earlier this year, we also held sessions on culture issues, including tackling sexual harassment within the service, covering the law, services’ duties and potential remedies. In addition, we held a session on mental health support and the impact this has on staff within the sector.
We will continue to work closely with our colleagues on the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (NJC), who have set out the complexities of the NJC agenda this year (see ‘Improving our conversation’).
They have also been working hard on their Inclusive Fire Service Group, which includes employer and employee representation, including the LGA and Welsh LGA, and has revised its improvement strategies.
The high importance we place on culture has seen us working with our partners, the NFCC and the National Employers (England), to update our joint publication ‘Fit for the Future’.
This sets out our shared ambitions for the future of the service, and we are working to ensure that it reflects the current position and challenges in the sector, particularly on culture.
We want to ensure that all services are inclusive, open and safe places to work, and that the public has trust and confidence in the sector.
In its manifesto, the new Labour Government made a commitment to working with the sector on standards and policy. We look forward to working with the new fire minister to represent the views of the sector on these issues, as well as others to drive improvement for the sector.
- Find out more about the LGA’s support for fire and rescue authorities. The next Fire Leadership Essentials programmes take place on 29-30 October 2024 and 4-5 February 2025, in Coventry, and are fully subsidised. Email [email protected] to find out more and book your place