Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2025–2027: Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service — HMICFRS

National — applies to all forces

Causes for concern

3

Concern Open The service needs to address significant shortcomings in its discipline processes

Concern Open The service needs to do more to make sure its leaders consistently demonstrate behaviours that reflect its values

Concern Open The service should provide an action plan detailing how it intends to: • introduce robust strategic oversight and scrutiny to monitor leadership behaviours, cultural improvements and the effectiveness of actions taken; • provide appropriate processes and consistent support to staff who raise workforce concerns or give feedback to leaders; • assure itself that all leaders act as role models and show commitment to service values through their behaviour; • develop and maintain inclusive and respectful environments, with leaders equipped to promote, and held accountable for promoting, ethical conduct and psychological safety; and • establish a culture in which behaviours that don’t align with service values are routinely challenged, making sure all staff are trained and supported to identify and challenge these behaviours.

Areas for improvement

20

AFI The service needs to do more to make sure all leaders consistently demonstrate behaviours that reflect its values.

AFI The service should provide an action plan detailing how it intends to: • make sure discipline and grievance procedures consistently apply principles of fairness, timeliness and transparent decision-making; • assure itself that its governance, oversight and monitoring arrangements are sufficient to make sure procedures are applied consistently and fairly; • provide safe and confidential processes for staff to raise concerns without fear of victimisation, supported by visible protections; • make sure staff fully understand all procedures and policies, and provide timely, transparent communication throughout every case; • implement a case management system that tracks outcomes, timescales and disproportionality, and use this data to identify trends and share lessons learned; • make sure all staff and managers receive ongoing training in disciplinary and grievance procedures, equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to carry out their responsibilities effectively; and • give assurance that well-being support for staff involved in discipline and grievance cases is sufficient, and consistently available to all.

AFI The service should proactively monitor working hours (including overtime) to improve staff well-being.

AFI The service should assure itself that its arrangements for managing health and safety are proactive, with effective safe working practices.

AFI The service should improve how it monitors working hours

AFI The service should make sure it has effective succession planning arrangements in place to manage shortfalls in staffing across all functions and to reduce reliance on temporary positions.

AFI 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.

AFI The service should make sure it has a robust central function to gather organisational learning and provide strategic oversight and governance.

AFI The service should have a comprehensive workforce and succession planning strategy that addresses future skills and capability needs

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 should make sure it has a clear and robust methodology for assessing operational risk and supports this with resilient systems and resources and an appropriate oversight and quality assurance process.

AFI The service should make sure it addresses barriers to progressing and retaining staff with protected characteristics or from under-represented groups to establish a more diverse workforce.

AFI The service needs to do more to make sure its promotion appointment decisions are fair, transparent and aligned to its retention and succession plans.

AFI The service should ensure it has arrangements in place to identify, develop and support all high-potential staff across the organisation.

AFI The service should collect feedback from staff to evaluate whether communication from senior leaders is effective and make improvements where necessary.

AFI The service should do more to align with national operational guidance to improve a co-ordinated response to the most high-risk incidents.

AFI The service should make sure it has the right skills and structure to successfully manage change across the organisation, so that transformation plans provide value for money and achieve the desired outcomes.

AFI The service should make sure its fleet and estates management programmes are linked to its community risk management plan, and that it understands the impact any future changes to those programmes may have on its service to the public.

AFI The service should have effective measures in place to assure itself that its workforce is productive and that its time is used as efficiently and effectively as possible to meet the priorities in the community risk management plan.

AFI The service needs to do more to monitor and understand its staff productivity