Cumbria 2021/22
Read more about CumbriaThis is HMICFRS’s third assessment of fire and rescue services. This assessment examines the service’s effectiveness, efficiency and how well it looks after its people. It is designed to give the public information about how their local fire and rescue service is performing in several important areas, in a way that is comparable with other services across England.
The extent to which the service is effective at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks requires improvement.
The extent to which the service is efficient at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks is inadequate.
The extent to which the service looks after its people requires improvement.
Matt Parr, HM Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services
HM Inspector's summary
It was a pleasure to revisit Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, and I am grateful for the positive and constructive way that the service engaged with our inspection.
I must immediately address the grade of inadequate we have given to the service for efficiency. The first thing to say is that this is not a failing of the service. At the time of inspection, the service was facing a near unprecedented uncertainty about its future governance. Local government reorganisation means new, and untested, local governance arrangements will come into force on 1 April 2023. When we inspected, over summer 2022, it was far from clear what these arrangements would be. At that stage, we could not guarantee there would be no risk to the public as a consequence of the changes.
It has obviously been impossible for the service to do the sort of financial planning we would normally expect. I made a specific further visit to the service in November 2022 for an update. The service has carried out significant work since our inspection, but there remains a risk that the transfer to new arrangements will not go as smoothly as the service expects. I will accordingly look again in March 2023 and – assuming plans are on track – close the cause of concern we have identified and effectively rescind the inadequate grade. In the meantime, I urge all parties to concentrate their efforts to finalise plans so that the transfer to new arrangements present no risks to the service Cumbria receives.
Looking elsewhere, I have concerns about the service’s performance in keeping people safe and secure from fires and other risks. And I have serious concerns about how the service gets the right people with the right skills, and about the future affordability of the service. In view of these findings, I have been in regular contact with the chief fire officer as I do not underestimate how much improvement is needed.
My principal findings from our assessments of the service over the past year are as follows:
- We judged it to be good at understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies.
- The service’s efficiency requires improvement, particularly in making best use of resources and in making the service affordable.
- It requires improvement in the way it looks after its people. It is inadequate at getting the right people with the right skills. It requires improvement in the way it ensures fairness and promotes diversity, and in the way it manages performance and develops leaders.
Overall, while there are some good aspects to the performance of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, there are several areas in which performance has declined since the 2019 inspection. I expect to see the service make progress in these areas. We will continue to monitor progress through our usual monitoring arrangements.