Knight Review of the Fire and Rescue authorities in England

Written evidence from Skills for Fire and Rescue (FRR 15)

Terms of Reference

‘to review the ways in which fire and rescue authorities may deliver further efficiencies and operational improvements without reducing the quality of front-line services to the public [and to] examine options for savings both within and beyond the current Spending Review period.’

1 JSSC is the umbrella organisation that incorporates Skills for Justice and Financial Skills Partnership. Our joint licence as a sector skills council (SSC) covers around 3.5 million working people, the equivalent of 13% of the overall UK workforce. They work in police forces and law enforcement agencies; courts, tribunal & prosecution services; forensic science services; custodial care; fire and rescue services (FRS); armed forces; local and central government; the voluntary and community sector; legal and financial services and the accountancy sector. These sectors provide critical public functions within UK society, including providing the safe environment required for business, individuals and communities to thrive. According to Gross Value Added data (GVA), the accountancy, financial and legal services sectors, referred to as professional services, contribute £11bn to the UK economy (9% of the overall economy), and are growing by 140% compared to a UK average of 56%. Our sector comprises of the spectrum of private, public and voluntary sector organisations and includes large, medium and small scale employers – including freelancers.

2 Workforce skills are the key to delivering against a range of social and economic priorities. We exist to help organisations and individuals deliver benefit to society by being significantly better skilled, and to influence policy makers to ensure that they take full account of workforce development needs in the sector. The findings of the Knight Report have the potential to significantly affect the current service and therefore, we are pleased to have the opportunity to advise on the potential impact on the skills of the workforce delivering these essential services. We are eager to work with the Department for Community and Local Government (DCLG) to support a fire and rescue service that has a workforce that is highly skilled and fit for purpose. Critical to this will be a service that is equipped to manage future challenges in an ever-changing environment.

3 Sector Skills Councils have a unique relationship with employers, and a keen insight into their needs. Skills for Fire and Rescue is a new and developing brand, undertaking research on behalf of the sector and routinely bringing together UK Fire services, practitioners and key stakeholders, who work collectively together to address common skills issues. An example of this is our programme of work with the FRS to develop and maintain National Occupational Standards (NOS) and safety critical vocational qualifications.

4 NOS have been a key component of health and safety management in the UK Fire and Rescue Sector. UK FRS personnel routinely work in hazardous environments and are able to do so by using the ‘safe person concept’. This work provides an opportunity to look at best current practice and anticipated future requirements and helps identify skills gaps. They provide a national benchmark based on standards of competence which makes them a valuable and reassuring constant during a turbulent time. Any reforms to the FRS will be far more effective where the relevant NOS are of high quality and supported by employers, as is currently the case.

5 NOS are linked to the National Joint Council (NJC) agreed Role Maps and are referenced in the NJC Grey Book & Circulars. We would welcome a major review by the NJC of the Role Maps and suggest that they be refreshed and updated to empower and develop all individuals in their roles. We support the notion that this would increase leaders’ ability to introduce change where change is deemed appropriate. Moreover, we have found that linking NOS directly to conditions of service is unhelpful as any changes become subject to negotiation, the consequence of which has been that it can be challenging to ensure that FRS NOS reflects current best practice. NOS are a valuable tool for sharing best practice because they are a national standard and therefore it is crucial that their relevance is not constrained by external factors.

6 The excellent work in prevention that the FRS has delivered over the past ten years has significantly reduced the number of fire incidents. This has led to a change in the nature of the work carried out by the FRS; it also provides opportunities for innovation and complementary service expansion. Concentrated efforts and activities in community safety and prevention, and their increased engagement with young people, vulnerable groups and hard to reach communities are proving successful. Nevertheless, demands placed upon the service continue to grow and shift in emphasis. In order to meet these demands, it is critical that the service has a professional, highly skilled workforce, capable of delivering a variety of services covering prevention, response and resilience. Frontline firefighters and commanders need to be appropriately trained and competent if they are to continue the trend of successful fire reduction. For example, the significant reduction in emergency calls has led to a greater emphasis on realistic training to ensure that crews are able to resolve complex incidents that happen less frequently.

7 We are working closely with the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) to customise and develop a ‘Fire Professional Framework’ (competence framework). The development of the Fire Professional Framework supports operational competence and future extensions will be phased in to enable new additions to be released. This will ensure that the framework has the flexibility to adapt to future changes, providing long-term value and sustainability.

8 Any move towards an increased reliance on ‘on-call’ firefighters may have skills and training implications. If government were to take forward this recommendation we would advise that adequate resource is provided to allow for the sharing of good practice, knowledge and understanding. If implemented, our bi-annual Employer Skills Survey could be a useful mechanism for evaluating this policy in terms of establishing a baseline to determine any changes to skills needs.

9 The report outlines a number of potential options to prompt radical reform and to achieve potential cost savings of £200 million. At the heart of this are recommendations for greater collaboration, and potential mergers, with a view to exploring the creation of a single national service. Whilst there is no specific reference in the report to skills and training, they are important factors in driving efficiency and bringing about transformational change. The FRS is working tirelessly and creatively to increase effectiveness and improve service delivery against a background of unprecedented funding reductions. Evidence of the efficiency savings being realised through shared service arrangements, collaborative working and flexible employment practices are encouraging. We are supporting this approach through the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) and have initiated a workforce survey to identify the skills needed to work more effectively across blue light services. The project relates to England and Wales with the potential for a UK-wide approach, demonstrating that large-scale collaboration, reaching beyond local boundaries, is happening.

10 We also carry out work across the devolved Nations. For instance, collaborative work is taking shape with the FRS, Police and Prison Services in Northern Ireland, in support of the opening of the Desertcreat College. The college aims to introduce a new integrated training and learning environment for Police, Fire and Prison Services. A new electronic tool is currently in development based upon functional analysis to identify opportunities for collaborative learning. These are important examples of work that is already being undertaken to benefit from collaboration. There is undoubtedly justification to explore this further, however, caution should be exercised about the extent to which this can realistically be expanded upon in the short-term. Furthermore, we are currently working on a project called ‘Collaborate’ which aims to identify and share best practice in relation to leadership and multi-agency working. The project is cross-sector and therefore, although it is not specifically targeted at the Fire and Rescue Service, it would be applicable. We would be happy to provide further information about the project on request.

11 Knight’s rationale is clearly articulated but in seeking counsel, the paradox of a national service that plans and delivers services based on local priorities, using an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP), may be problematic. The challenge should not be underestimated. We would suggest that this consultation process is careful to give adequate weighting to responses from FRSs that clearly reflect the views of the communities they represent. This will help to identify potential discrepancies that would need to be addressed before a national service could be introduced.

12 Skills for Fire and Rescue recognise that the role of the Fire and Rescue Service has changed and will continue to do so. The Service has been highly effective in making communities safer and reducing demand. This work must continue. Demand for emergency response has reduced but the hazards remain and in many cases are becoming more complex. The FRS must always be ready to respond to foreseeable emergencies and to do this they must have sufficient resources available. This may lead to excess capacity in some circumstances but this should be used for other functions such as income generation community safety work and supporting the Ambulance Service.

13 Skills for Fire and Rescue has a key role to play in supporting FRS staff to learn new skills and maintain those they already have. We would be happy to discuss further how we support the FRS and explore any opportunities to advise government on the skills implications of the recommendations made in the report.

14 This statement has been endorsed by Richard Hannigan (Chief Fire Officer of Humberside FRS), Chair of the Skills for Fire and Rescue Occupational Committee.

June 2013