Fire and rescue services inspection programme and framework commencing January 2023

Published on: 23 December 2022

Publication types: Business Plans and Inspection programmes

Fire and Rescue Services: Relevant to fire and rescue services

This document provides details of our inspection programme and framework for all 44 fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England, commencing January 2023.

In our inspections, we focus on the operational service the FRS provides to the public. We carry out a rounded assessment of every FRS and cover its effectiveness and efficiency and how it looks after its people. We also assess:

the operational service provided to the public (including prevention, protection and response);
the efficiency of the service (how well it provides value for money, allocates resources to match risk and collaborates with other emergency services); and
how well the service looks after its people (how well it promotes its values and culture, trains its staff and ensures they have the necessary skills, ensures fairness and diversity for the workforce, and develops leadership and service capability).

Our assessments are designed to allow the public to see how each FRS is performing, including changes over time and in relation to the performance of other services. The resulting assessments include graded judgments of performance.