Review to be carried out into culture and values at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

An independent review is to examine culture and values within the county’s fire service after a damning national report highlighted widespread concerns over discrimination, bullying and harassment across the sector.

While no major issues were identified within Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, bosses say they want to take the opportunity to identify any areas of improvement.

The report into values and culture in fire and rescue services was published earlier this year by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), following a series of high-profile allegations against a number of services.

The report set out 20 recommendations for every brigade to take action on, as well as 15 for other agencies.

Station manager Luke Grant told a meeting of Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority that all recommendations had either been met or were on course to be completed within the required timescales.

He said: “We are working really hard to complete not just these recommendations, as in to rubber-stamp them, but to ensure there is compliance with what is effectively the spirit of the recommendations themselves.

“We are in a really good place to develop our values and culture within Shropshire.”

Chief fire officer Simon Hardiman said he wanted to ensure more learning comes off the back of the process.

He said: “It would be really easy for us as an organisation to just comply with the recommendations and say, ‘we’ve done it’.

“Actually embedding the recommendations through improved culture is something different.

“It’s a long journey we are going to be on.”

Mr Hardiman confirmed the service would commission an independent cultural review.

He said: “I believe Shropshire [Fire and Rescue Service] has got a really good culture and I am really confident saying that.

“But we don’t know what we don’t know.

“I would rather commission an independent review now than wait to find out something terrible has happened to a member of staff and we were totally unaware, and we have to knee-jerk.”

Assistant chief fire officer Guy Williams added: “We carried out a women’s safety survey last year which gave us an opportunity in some areas to get ahead of the curve.”

HMICFRS last inspected the service last year and judged that staff were treated well. The resulting report said: “The chief fire officer and other senior officers in the service have a strong purpose and have shown leadership in prioritising the values and culture in the organisation.

“This is evident from the effective measures the service has put in place to look after its people.

“The service has created a positive working environment where staff feel valued and listened to.

“Standards of behaviour the service has set through the workplace charter are well understood and demonstrated.”