The service should make sure it puts effective measures in place to address the backlog of home fire safety visits.
Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service
Published 16 July 2025Fire & Rescue Inspection0 recommendations42 areas for improvement
Coverage
The organisations covered are not linked in this record. Check the original report for its scope and addressees.
Areas for improvement
The service should evaluate its prevention activity so it understands what is most effective.
The service needs to make sure HFSVs are completed in a timely and efficient manner
The service should make sure staff have a clear understanding of the intervention process.
The service should improve how it evaluates its prevention work
The service should make sure it completes all audits within the RBIP schedule.
The service should assure itself that all processes in place to support performance management are effective.
The service should make sure it effectively monitors, reviews and evaluates the benefits and outcomes of any collaboration activity.
The service should make sure it has appropriate business continuity arrangements in place.
The service should do more to improve productivity and how it monitors and manages performance
The service should improve its evaluations of collaborations with other services
The service should improve its business continuity arrangements for industrial action
The service needs to improve its monitoring of staff working hours
The service should have effective processes to monitor the working hours of its staff.
The service must make sure that all staff in operational roles have a current and valid fitness assessment.
The service should improve its management and monitoring of fitness testing
The service should make sure that all staff are aware of the well-being support it provides
The service needs to improve workforce planning
The service should make sure its workforce plan takes full account of the skills and capabilities it needs to implement its community risk management plan.
The service should assure itself that all staff are appropriately trained for their role.
The service should provide clear and appropriate development for all staff.
The service must make sure that it trains all staff appropriately for their roles
The service should review both the content and oversight of its e-learning modules.
The service should provide suitable development for all staff
The service must make sure that all staff receive appropriate and structured development, with learning opportunities consistently provided across the organisation.
The service should identify and overcome barriers to equal opportunity, so its workforce better represents its community.
The service should make sure it has robust processes in place to carry out equality impact assessments and review any actions agreed as a result.
The service should make improvements to the way it collects equality data to better understand its workforce demographic and needs.
The service needs to further improve diversity in its workforce
The service needs to do more to make sure its recruitment processes are accessible to applicants from a range of backgrounds.
The service needs to do more work to improve its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion
The service should make sure it is transparent and fair when recruiting, developing and promoting staff.
The service should address the high number of staff in temporary promotion positions.
The service should develop a system to identify and develop high-potential members of staff.
The service should make sure there is an effective induction process in place to support new recruits.
The service needs to improve how it develops leaders and identifies high-potential staff
The service needs to improve the way it manages the career pathways of staff, including those with specialist skills and those with potential for leadership roles.
The service needs to do more to effectively implement the December 2022 fire standards Leading the Service and Leading and Developing People.
The service should make sure performance reviews are consistent
The service should do more to encourage diversity in its leadership
The service needs to actively encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds for middle and senior-level positions.
The service needs to improve the induction process to support new recruits