Agenda item

Fire and Rescue Service inspection report

Councillor Nick Raine asked the following question of the Council’s Lead Councillor on the Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority:

Following the recent report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, what steps will Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service take to build on this success and share best practices nationally?

Councillor Audra Wynter replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord-Mayor, and thank you Councillor Raine for your question. In this service’s latest report, published on the 18^th September 2024, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has made significant strides in its improvement journey, achieving a rating of good in 10 out of the 11 areas of judgement. This represents a remarkable decline from the 24 areas that required improvement in 2019. Despite facing some of the most severe funding cuts in the sector since 2010, the service has shown progress across every area of assessment, establishing it as one of the best performing fire and rescue services in England. While this positive outcome highlights exceptional work and management and the dedication of our personnel, both the authority and the service are committed to continued improvement. We employ our proven approach to address the many areas that need enhancement, specifically relating to the assurance of our risk-based inspection program for assessing non-domestic premises. The combined fire authority will maintain rigorous oversight in the areas we are pursuing our ambition to plan to achieve that statutory status by 2032. The exploration is central to our new community risk management plan which is currently in consultation and will guide our services to choose a direction from 2025 to 2028. I strongly encourage all members in this chamber to participate in this consultation to ensure that their communities are informed about both the proposals and the challenging context we are operating in. The service maintains strong connections with the national Fire Chiefs Council, and this information supports the team’s vast improvements across the sector. We are actively sharing successful practices through the National Positive Practice Portal, while also learning from others. Our dedicated service improvement teams support the teams and address the officers’ efficiency targets. However, it is important to note after 14 years of austerity there is little efficiency left behind other than to think about impacts on local services. Despite facing real-time reductions and challenges relating to funding and sustainability, the service is committed to continuous improvement. Lord-Mayor, core spending power reduced by 19.4% in real terms since 2010. The achievements recognised over the past 5 years should demonstrate the ambitions and drive of our teams. However, this ongoing improvement depends on appropriate, sustainable funding to meet our community’s needs. Currently the service is facing an unprecedented projected deficit of £1.9 million for the 2025-26 financial year which will grow to a nearly £4.5 million in 2027-28. Councillor Khan talked about the Labour party who obviously did now come into power. I believe in what you said, and clearly it’s good that we’ve got additional money for adults, children, and housing, but what I also need to do is have additional money for the Fire and Rescue Service for Nottingham people. We all take pride in our fire service’s performance and the assurances provided by the inspectors that our community receives good levels of service. The current financial report has made the case that we may want to consider cuts to our services in the coming years. I hope that all members in this chamber will join me and the fire officers and representatives to call on the government to ensure that the fire service receives the necessary funding. This report is crucial, not only to maintain our current performance levels, but also to continue our improvement journey and meet the needs of our diverse community in Nottingham. Thank you, Lord-Mayor.