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07
Feb 2023
Commissioner 'confident' over North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue improvement
North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has said the county’s fire brigade has undergone “significant improvements and progress” after being heavily criticised by inspectors.
Conservative commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has issued an upbeat and optimistic response to the criticism by the watchdog that monitors her performance, saying she was confident that, together with the force’s “inspirational” new senior leadership team, about guiding the service into “a strong and sustainable future”.
Her comments to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel come three weeks after His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services released a mixed report, which concluded the brigade required “urgent improvements”.
Inspectors praised its prevention work, but said it required improvement at effectively keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.
They also rated it ‘inadequate’ at efficiently keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks and ‘inadequate’ at looking after its people.
Despite increasing collaboration, such as sharing buildings, between the county’s fire and police services being trumpeted by successive commissioners as being of significant benefit, inspectors said there was “little evidence to show its benefits to the service”.
City of York Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden told a meeting of the panel at County Hall in Northallerton that the inspection report did not make happy reading when compared to those for other brigades around the country.
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He said many of the issues facing the service had been known for several years and asked for an explanation as to how the brigade had been allowed to deteriorate.
Reform 'has not been fast enough'
Jonathan Dyson, chief fire officer, said reform of the service had not been fast or deep enough in North Yorkshire, where in other forces numerous fire stations had been closed, freeing up resources for efficiencies.
He said the situation the brigade was in was a reflection of the organisation’s leadership and the service had stood still over how it applied resources to risks.
Panel member Cllr Tim Grogan said while the issues had developed at the brigade before the commissioner or chief fire officer were in post, the service appeared to be on “a downward spiral”.
Referring to the report’s ratings the Conservative said:
Mr Dyson responded saying government inspectors themselves had recently advised that fire services should not look at the grades they were given, but “the narrative behind” instead and that the inspections had become tougher over time.
He said:
Mr Dyson said the service was under no illusion that there was significant work to do to bring it up to standard.
Mrs Metcalfe said every penny of the public’s money was being spent wisely, and that she would continue to “make the case for fairer funding” to the government.
She said:
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