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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service

11 February 2025 Fire & Rescue Inspection 2 causes for concern 35 areas for improvement
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National — applies to all forces

Causes for concern

2
Concern Open The service should develop an action plan to make sure: • its internal governance arrangements are effective; • its values and behaviours are demonstrated by staff at all levels of the organisation; • senior leaders act as role models and show they are committed to the service’s values through their behaviour; • it improves communications between staff and senior leaders, so questions and feedback receive prompt and appropriate responses; and • staff are confident in raising issues and concerns.
Concern Open The service should proactively monitor working hours (including overtime) to improve staff well-being.

Areas for improvement

35
AFI The service should make sure it has effective strategic oversight arrangements in place to manage foreseeable and known risks.
AFI The service needs to improve its arrangements for keeping the public informed
AFI The service should make sure it has an effective method of sharing fire survival guidance information with multiple callers and that it has a dedicated communication link in place.
AFI The service should make sure that it is well prepared to form part of a multi-agency response to major incidents.
AFI The service needs to make sure its policies are up to date to effectively form part of a multi-agency response to a terrorist incident
AFI The service should make sure that its electronic method of handling multiple fire survival guidance calls is effective
AFI The service should make sure there are appropriate strategic oversight arrangements in place to manage day-to-day operations, and that the internal governance structure is clear to staff.
AFI The service should make sure it has effective internal processes for staff to report on health and safety, occupational health, and risks and improvement, and that prompt action is taken where appropriate.
AFI The service should make sure it has access to accurate data and analysis to support effective performance management.
AFI The service should make sure it has robust processes for reviewing its policies and procedures.
AFI The service needs to make sure that there are effective processes in place for staff to report issues relating to health and safety, occupational health, and risks and improvement, and that these concerns are addressed promptly.
AFI The service should make sure its firefighters have access to relevant and up-to-date risk information.
AFI The service needs to make sure its policies and procedures are up to date, and accurate data is used to manage performance effectively
AFI The service should make sure that it has robust processes for reviewing its policies and procedures, that its policies and procedures go through an equality impact assessment, and that staff have access to accurate data.
AFI The service should make sure that its IT systems are resilient, reliable, accurate and accessible.
AFI The service should make sure it has the right skills and capacity to successfully manage change across the organisation.
AFI The service should make sure it has effective oversight, governance and training in place to proactively monitor and manage absence, particularly absence related to stress.
AFI The service needs to do more to improve communications between staff and senior leaders, and increase staff confidence in providing feedback and challenging management
AFI The service should make sure it has an effective, accurate and accessible system to record and monitor the training and skills of its operational staff.
AFI The service should make sure that its records for risk-critical competencies, such as operating breathing apparatus, driving fire engines and incident command, are accurate and up to date.
AFI The service should make sure it has an effective information management system in place to support information reporting at different levels across its functions.
AFI The service should make sure it provides the strategic commitment, direction and monitoring needed to fully integrate equality, diversity and inclusion policies throughout the organisation.
AFI 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.
AFI The service needs to do more to improve the diversity of its workforce
AFI The service needs to do more to increase staff diversity.
AFI The service should make sure that staff see promotion processes as transparent and fair.
AFI The service should put in place open and fair processes to identify and support high-potential staff and aspiring leaders.
AFI The service needs to do more to improve staff confidence in the fairness of promotion and progression processes
AFI The service needs to do more to identify and support high-potential staff and improve the opportunities available to them
AFI The service needs to do more to make sure its firefighters have access to relevant and up-to-date risk information
AFI The service should make sure it has an effective quality assurance process so that staff can carry out audits to an appropriate standard.
AFI The service should make sure its mobile data terminals are reliable so firefighters can easily access up-to-date risk information.
AFI The service should make sure it has an effective system to learn from operational incidents.
AFI The service should make sure it gives relevant information to the public about ongoing incidents to help keep the public safe during and after incidents.
AFI The service needs to improve how it shares learning from operational incidents