Inspection of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service North Service Delivery Area

162. An effective fire and rescue service recruits, develops and maintains a workforce that is skilled, supported and reflects the diversity of its communities. Its managers promote a culture of fairness and respect. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s overall effectiveness within the North SDA is judged to be an Opportunity for Improvement.

Workforce Planning

163. The SFRS, as with any large organisation, will be subject to variations in its staffing levels which may be impacted by a number of factors such as retirement from service or by staff simply leaving their employment to seek new opportunities elsewhere. The Target Operating Model for WT staff is the ideal number of personnel who are required to allow the SFRS to effectively fulfil its operational functions, for the North SDA this is 538. At the point in time our data request was made to the Service the actual FTE in post number of staff was 543. The variance in FTE posts of five is equivalent to 0.93% of the TOM. In addition, the FDO and off station FTE staff for the NSDA is 109 posts, which is 95.75% of the TOM.

164. The On Call duty system has firefighters who align to either the Retained Duty System or the Volunteer Duty System. Each On Call station has a TOM that is predicated on the number of appliances that operate from that station, and this will normally be between 10 and 20 personnel. Each of these personnel can work up to a 100% contract that requires them to be available for operational calls, drill nights and other duties for up to 120 hours per week. It is common practice for On Call firefighter to have contracts of less than 100%, which decreases the weekly hours available commitment and potentially increases the firefighter numbers if the full contract quota is used up. The SFRS provided data that set its RDS FTE total as 1,933 personnel, with an actual number of 1,269 being in employment. The 1,269 personnel equate to 65.7% of the TOM. Data showed the Volunteer Duty System (VDS) FTE should be set at 100, but that actual number in post was 71 which equates to 71% of the desired TOM. Staffing vacancy levels for individual NSDA RDS stations ranged up to over 80%, with many commonly being over 40%. While there are fewer VDS stations, they too showed vacancy levels of up to 100% but more commonly they averaged at 27%.

165. Turnover of staff within the WT workforce is normally less frequent and more predictable than with staff on other duty systems. The actual NSDA staff turnover in the 12 months to 31st March 2024 was 4.3% for WT, 8.3% for On Call RDS and 5.6% for On Call VDS staff. Under normal circumstances, the Service is able to forecast staffing changes with a degree of accuracy and has more control over the need for recruitment. However, in the preceding two years the figure has been elevated beyond what would normally be the case, e.g. the East and West SDA reports found the figure to be 8.6% and 7.5% respectively. Recent changes made to the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, resulted in a sudden unpredictable spike in retirements of firefighters, which has had an impact on workforce planning numbers. The NSDA WT firefighter leaver numbers perhaps show a return to more recognised levels for the SFRS. What has been found in common with the inspections in the East and West SDAs is that there has been the loss of many skilled and experienced firefighters as well as Incident Commanders and Managers. We were provided with examples of concern from station personnel, managers and internal and external partners regarding high turnover of staff and the subsequent loss in experience and continuity. The impacts of the pension changes upon the SFRS retirement profile were somewhat inevitable and therefore predictable. With the level of predictability there is an expectation that the Service may have planned for and taken action to address any impact with increased leadership and management development for newly promoted supervisory managers, as well as the necessary training and supervision for the remaining, and sometimes less experienced, WT firefighter cadre.

166. Succession planning is an integral part of workforce planning, ensuring that there is a developed workforce able to replace others who are promoted and those that leave the SFRS. The SFRS has a centrally managed and established promotion, selection and development programme. The turnover of FDO staff across the NSDA was a noted concern for many personnel, who often commented that it was difficult to establish lasting working relationships or to deliver work outcomes due to frequency of change. To illustrate this point we were informed that one of the main islands in WIOS had seen 16 Station Commanders in post in the preceding six years. While often not as acute as this situation, there has been a turnover of FDOs driven quite rightly by the Service putting staff in place where they are needed. We asked what a remedy for this issue would be and were told local officers were the key to stability and longevity in posts locally based. It was therefore welcomed that the NSDA has recently run promotion processes with a focus on attracting local officers, or officers who were willing to commit to living within the SDA. The turnover of FDO staff was also commented upon widely by partners within Local Authorities who believed it to be an inhibitor to the continuation of the positive partnership work that they engage in with the Service.

Recruitment and Retention

167. The recruitment of WT and On Call personnel into the SFRS is managed centrally by the People Directorate. The Service provides prospective applicants with background information regarding working for the organisation and on what the recruitment process entails, e.g. details of the medical, fitness tests, psychometric test, practical examination and selection centre. Applying for vacancies is done online.

168. The recruitment and retention of personnel into the On Call duty system is cited as a concern for many officers within the NSDA. Within the NSDA the maintenance of fire appliance availability was considered to be “a massive issue” that has seen the introduction of a number of initiatives in an effort to support it, e.g. the use of bank hours for strategically placed personnel, dual mobilising between On Call stations to make up full crews to attend incidents and the establishment of the A9 roadway corridor that is predicated on appliances being available at all times at locations along it.

169. Across the NSDA there are a number of open vacancies for On Call firefighter personnel at any time. The majority of fire stations across the NSDA operate the On Call system of work. Recruitment to the On Call was a topic that was often referred to as a top priority and a concern for leaders and managers across the NSDA. The evidence of recruitment campaigns at stations was clear from the amount of posters and banners that we could view within stations, and we were often given details of ongoing efforts to recruit interested and suitable applicants. The WCs of On Call stations were generally very focused on attracting new trainees and could describe their current and ongoing efforts in this regard. The levels of ongoing vacancies within On Call stations has an inevitable impact upon the general availability of their appliances, and this is the case for many stations across the NSDA as demonstrated by data that was shared with the inspection team.

170. The SFRS introduced a Pre-Recruitment Engagement Programme (PREP) that allowed any prospective On Call firefighter trainee to gain an insight into life within the Service, to undergo initial suitability for the job checks and also to receive practical advice and support for their application. Practical support examples include in advising them on the achievement of the fitness standards that will be required to be attained, for many trainee candidates this has historically been a point of failure. PREP is also an opportunity for candidates to be advised of the steps and requirements that are contained within the recruitment process and to allow prospective candidates to consider if they will meet them e.g. eyesight standards. As we conducted interviews with On Call station staff as part of this inspection, we encountered several individuals who were actively engaged with the PREP process, and they could attest to its value. They also told us that the main frustration was the length of time it can take to go from application to entry to the Service. While we were advised by WCs and OCSWCs of a range of timescales for entry to Service, the most common answer to this question was circa 12 months. We were commonly told “we get people interested and then there are issues with medicals and processing of applications” during which time it was not uncommon for candidates to lose faith in the process and interest in the role and to remove themselves as a consequence. The examples of this offered to us were numerous. As On Call recruitment was cited as a consistent concern for personnel within the NSDA, it will form an In Focus topic for this report.

171. When an applicant completes the recruitment process and is offered a place as a trainee On Call firefighter, they must then attend an initial two week TTM course followed by a Breathing Apparatus (BA) course which takes a further two weeks to complete. These two initial courses require a significant commitment from trainees who are often required to take time away from their primary employment and to use periods of annual leave to do so. Where these courses have operated on a modular basis and been broken down to be accommodated over weekends, the change has been very welcomed by the trainees. We were given examples of a number of instances where essential training courses were cancelled at short and very short notice. When this has occurred it has a significant impact upon the trainees as they often have personal and workplace arrangements in place that then have to be undone. Those who had experienced this disruption suggested that when the Service informed them of any cancellation, and the need to reschedule courses, that it demonstrated a lack of understanding for those who have committed to the On Call role. While the Service told us that efforts are taken to ensure course cancellations are minimised, we were given numerous examples of this occurring and of the impact it has on applicants and their families.

172. To ensure that the administration and allocation of On Call courses is done effectively, the SFRS has introduced a Training Support Coordinator role within its training function. This role has been judged to be a success and has helped establish a single point of contact for course allocations and candidate and trainee queries. A number of Service personnel expressed a concern that the administrative capacity to deal with course allocations and management had been reduced in recent times. The introduction of the coordinator role may have gone some way to alleviating this. As we understand it, the training function is currently considering proposals to have the capacity of this, at present single role, augmented by the addition of another person into this small team.

Recommendation 29

The SFRS should review the reasons for On Call course cancellations and where possible put in place appropriate solutions to minimise such occurrences.

173. While the personal commitment to the required 120 hours per week On Call contract is highly commendable for those who can do so, there are many who have variations of this that allows them to commit to fewer hours but to add their capacity to maintaining station availability. Lifestyle, society and demographics have all changed in recent times, and the ask of On Call staff has changed also, and this often does not fit with the 100% contract. We found that the SFRS would only commit to a variation in contract to 75% of the 120 hours per week, i.e. 90 hours. There was frustration amongst local FDOs and WCs that 50% contract lengths could not be used as they often had local people who could commit to that, often during daytime working hours of 9 am to 5 pm which coincides with the most challenging period for appliance availability. During the course of our fieldwork for this inspection the SFRS consulted upon and introduced new contracts for On Call personnel which allows for a wider variance in contracts, this is welcome and should have a positive impact upon the Service’s ability to attract a wider range of trainees from local communities.

Good Practice 7

The introduction of the new On Call contract arrangements is positive and should offer greater degrees of flexibility for the existing personnel in the group, and for future firefighters that may be able to commit to the new terms.

174. The NSDA is unique in that it provides the services of the SFRS in some of Scotland’s most geographically isolated places, including a number of inhabited islands. In many of these places the recruitment and retention of On Call personnel faces unique demographic challenges. SFRS supplied data that shows that a number of stations in remote locations are consistently below the personnel levels to maintain appliance availability. A number of these stations may only have 50 to 60 viable members of the community who could be employed as On Call firefighters. Against this backdrop, a frustration for local recruitment managers and station WCs is the national standards that are applied for entry criteria, e.g. eyesight, levels of physical fitness, contract hours requirements etc. Clearly national standards being applied to a population of a city or town will in all likelihood enable suitable candidates to be identified, but this may not always be the case when dealing with a micro community on a small island.

In Focus: On Call Recruitment

175. The SFRS has a number of parties who play key roles in the recruitment process for On Call firefighters. The People Directorate has a small team that is dedicated to maintaining an IT Tracker System. This can be accessed by SC level local recruitment managers and OCSWCs, who play a key role in managing the onboarding to employment processes for new entrants. The Tracker shows the steps that are required to be completed by an individual before an offer of employment can be made by the SFRS, these include ideal PREP timescales, available dates for fitness testing, medicals, interviews, PVG clearance checks indicative timescales and TTM training course dates that are scheduled. All of the details included on the Tracker are decided before its publication and then included within an annual plan. As we understand it the finalisation of PREP is dependent upon the needs of individual candidates, but all other annual plan and Tracker details are discussed in detail with local SDA/LSO recruitment managers before it is finalised and goes live each year. The People team have “very good relationships with recruitment managers”, but require them to follow the details and the timings within the Tracker, and to update individual candidates progress regularly to ensure the system operates effectively and that TTM dates can be achieved.

176. A significant challenge in managing the Tracker system is in the capacity that is available to the dedicated People Directorate On Call recruitment team. We understand that this comprises one manager and two junior graded administration posts. Many officers within the NSDA who use the Tracker system informed us that the recruitment team previously had an additional four senior admin team members employed on temporary contracts, and that they added significant value to it. Interviewees told us that the current admin team “do a wonderful job”, but with 54 SFRS OCSWCs and a number of NSDA recruitment managers seeking updates and reports on their individual candidate’s progress, their capacity is very limited due to a challenging workload. The four individuals who were employed on temporary contracts, and “who knew and understood the recruitment processes very well”, were not retained on fulltime contracts as part of a Directorate rationalisation. The maintenance of these contracts and the personnel who filled them was an option for the SFRS, but their employment was ended, and the resource was allocated to different business areas within the Directorate. Following this process, it was felt by those personnel who were engaged across the NSDA in attempting to get new entrants into employment as On Call firefighters that “much of the support from the People Directorate was essentially gone”, this despite the ongoing best efforts of the Tracker team to facilitate their needs. Across our interviews for this In Focus topics, it was agreed that the required administration capacity for the management of the Tracker, set against what is now available, is a challenge.

Recommendation 30

The SFRS should review the administrative capacity that is available for the efficient and effective management of the On Call Tracker system. This review should include seeking the views of those who manage the Tracker within the People Directorate and those who act as recruitment managers in the SDAs. If necessary additional capacity should be made available for this small team.

177. Despite the challenges that On Call recruitment faces, the People Directorate Tracker team are working hard to bridge the gap between themselves and the LSO areas to meet the Service’s On Call recruitment needs. It was clear to us that there is some confusion around who has responsibility for overseeing some of the Tracker monitoring and updates, as well as for securing the dates and available slots that are clearly indicated within the annual plan each year for medicals, TTM courses etc. The Tracker team noted that “On Call recruitment is being tackled differently within different LSO areas, with varying degree of buy in” to the optimal process. In this regard there may be synergies to be gained through a renewed communications and engagement with local recruitment managers and the OCSWCs who are involved with the whole process. We have also commented elsewhere within this report about the capacity of the OCSWC cadre being used on areas of work that are most impactful for the Service. On Call recruitment is one such area, and that they may be sacrificing capacity to more time stealing and laborious tasks such as appliance movements.

Recommendation 31

The People Directorate should reengage with SDA personnel who have responsibility for local recruitment and user management of the Tracker system to fully set out its use for optimal outcomes.

178. It is a source of frustration that there appears to be a limited number of local medical tests available in the NSDA with candidates often travelling considerable distances from their homes in the NSDA to more urban areas of Scotland to access these. The People Directorate told us that they have previously tried to source local GP surgeries where the necessary medicals could be undertaken, but there was a very limited number who could perform the full range of tests, e.g. the hearing test, and those who could undertake them would only do so at significant cost. The Directorate felt that potential issues such as this could be more clearly identified to candidates during their PREP phase. There is also the issue of the time that may be necessary for candidates to access a medical far from their hometown; it will often mean a full day away from their primary employment at a financial cost to themselves. We were told that the final slot offered for medicals would be at 4pm during the working day and that no more ‘candidate friendly’ evening slots are offered. The medicals themselves take a limited amount of time which in effect means a full day has to be set aside for candidates to travel to and from, as well as undergo, the necessary tests which themselves will take under an hour. The medical (and fitness) requirements for entry to the On Call are predicated upon national standards. We have set out elsewhere within this report the geographic and demographic challenges that this brings relative to more populated areas of the UK when trying to attract suitable On Call candidates. Many NSDA officers and recruitment managers feel that this is a challenge, particularly when there is a limited potential workforce, and the standards being applied are inhibiting potential candidates from applying for open vacancies in the On Call within their community. The recent West SDA report recommended that called for “developing and implementing pragmatic and alternative solutions for local recruitment” into the On Call. This report findings concurs with that assessment following our inspection in the NSDA.

Recommendation 32

The Service should review the entry standards for personnel applying to join the On Call with a view to introducing a range of metrics that support the entry of candidates from smaller demographic pools.

179. We raised a series of concerns as described to us by NSDA personnel in relation to the order in which the elements of the Tracker system must be achieved in the management of each On Call trainee application. Much of this concerned the linear sequence for completion of application activities on the Tracker. The People Directorate team explained to us why the Tracker events must be carried out sequentially, and in effect cannot be fast tracked or undertaken concurrently. Several of these issues were subject to regulatory control, e.g. no pre employment checks for any prospective trainee can be undertaken before a formal offer of employment is made, in effect this is a legal issue. NSDA recruitment managers had felt that pre employment checks undertaken and conclude at an early stage would enable candidates to be allocated slots on upcoming TTM courses. The view of the Directorate team was that close adherence to the Tracker timetable, which is advised in the agreed annual plan, is key to managing recruitment efficiently and would alleviate the potential for candidates missing upcoming TTM courses. While we accept that the SFRS operates a “one service approach for consistency” and that the Tracker process cannot be truncated, there may be scope for additional administrative resource to be applied to its management that would allow earlier communication with concerned recruitment managers in an effort to resolve any issues. We have made a recommendation within this report to that effect. There was also a concern conveyed to us by the Directorate team that the turnover of local SDA recruitment managers through promotions and retirals may be having a detrimental impact upon the ongoing management of On Call recruitment activity.

180. The key objective of following the Tracker process is to ensure that new entrants to the On Call cadre can be on-boarded, placed into employment with the SFRS, and then undertake the necessary training for them to be an operational firefighter. The first key stage in the operational journey is to access a TTM course during which the basic training for an On Call firefighter can be undertaken. Following the TTM four modular courses are required to also be completed, the most urgent of these being BA training. Both the TTM and BA courses take two weeks each to complete. The TTM date can be forecast per the Tracker, and local recruitment managers should estimate the time to complete the individual elements of the Tracker and forecast when and where their trainee candidate can access their initial training course. As set out above, there is an SFRS requirement for recruitment managers to closely follow the Tracker; doing so will be the most efficient way of ensuring TTM course allocations in line with the candidates and their own expectations. The management of TTM course allocations was felt to have become somewhat less controlled locally for the NSDA following the recent reorganisation into the National Instructor Pool (NIP) which resulted in two SC posts and their capacity being reallocated elsewhere within the training function. Local SDA managers feel that much of the governance and management of TTM scheduling now has to be covered by them, where it would previously been done by the local training officers, and is therefore actually a drain on their capacity and is an unforeseen consequence of the NIP approach. HMFSI understands that an NSDA SC has now been required to effectively take over much of this administration, where it would have previously been carried out by training functional officers. We were advised by Training Safety and Assurance (TSA) that the securing and allocation of the four modular courses that trainees are required to undertake following completion of the TTM is the responsibility of the local SDA officers. From our interview discussion across the NSDA we do not believe that this is clearly understood. Many trainees expressed their frustration in relation to getting suitable dates at local venues for the additional training courses. The exception to this was for trainees who undertook their TTM at Portlethen training centre, these trainees were informed during the course where and when all of the four additional courses were to be delivered. Portlethen appears to be an outlier in this regard, and this is due to an initiative that was introduced by the management at that facility. Quite simply the FDO would forecast course dates and allocate them for TTM candidates who were scheduled to undertake it at his facility. This initiative has been a success and was very welcomed by the On Call trainees and their WCs. For others, caught in what can be a lengthy waiting game, it was clearly frustrating. As we understand it, this successful initiative has been put forward as best practice that would reduce inefficiency in course allocations, and can be repeated at other training locations, but to date it frustratingly has not been used elsewhere. The introduction of this approach, or a similar initiative across the NSDA and the wider SFRS, would ensure that On Call trainees could access all of the initial training courses that they require at the earliest possible date, thus allowing them to count towards station availability asap.

Good Practice 8

An initiative to allocate dates for training courses for On Call trainees following TTM has been a success in parts of the NSDA. The SFRS should consider and where possible replicate the initiative and its outcomes.

Recommendation 33

The Service should consider if the current administrative capacity for the allocation and management of TTM and follow on courses for On Call trainees is suitable and sufficient. If necessary, addition capacity should be introduced with a view to facilitating courses and making trainees available for operational deployment.

Training and Development

181. Training, Safety and Assurance Directorate (TSA) recently introduced a new Training Function Vision and Strategy 2023-28. The intention is to provide a Skills Maintenance Framework, Training Delivery Framework and Training Assets Framework to improve the performance of training throughout the Service. In order to achieve the outcomes of this strategy, it was felt that there was a need to increase training capacity and to alter the previous local training support structures into a single training function as part of the TSA. As a result, the previous NSDA local training functions merged into the NIP as part of a single SFRS Training Function, with the aim of ensuring training is centrally co-ordinated and locally delivered.

182. Some of the officers in the NSDA believe that the introduction of the Training Function approach has seen a loss of control in addressing local training needs as National Core Skills, Refresher and Specialist Skills courses take precedence. When we consider that the attainment of these National course outcomes will be for NSDA personnel, this assertion presents a juxtaposition which can perhaps be better understood by the allocation of significant levels of TSA capacity and resource to achieve the desired outcome of the BA Recovery Programme. The recovery plan is achieving positive results, but it has been extended for a second time and does continue to be a significant focus for the TSA which will inevitably lead to less capacity being available to apply in other areas. This is a view that was shared by NSDA officers and TSA staff. It is worthy of note that the recovery plan outcomes are widely reported within the SFRS and as such are very visible and subject to scrutiny across a number of Service fora.

183. The TSA team in the NSDA told us about the levels of engagement that they undertake with their service delivery colleagues in the NSDA. This is done on a quarterly basis and has a strong focus on the local Training Needs Analysis (TNA), particularly for dynamic or developing issues, to try to ensure that local needs can be addressed promptly. There was however a concern expressed to us that the needs identified by the TNA cannot be fully addressed within the existing instructor capacity that is available for TSA to deploy. Following the introduction of the TSA strategy, an impediment to this engagement has been the redeployment of a SC within the NSDA who would have had training as their function. The unintended consequence of this has been a loss of a dedicated role to consider SDA training issues that are identified and the administrative capacity to deal with them. As we understand it a service delivery SC now has responsibility for this role alongside their other duties. We were informed of this issue during several interviews. Linked to the fulfilment of the TNA needs through local training delivery are the current Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) of the TSA instructional staff within the NSDA. Currently the T&Cs do not align to the start and finish times of courses and the goodwill of the staff has to be relied upon in many instances to ensure training delivery. This goodwill often comes at the expense of time in lieu leave being accrued by instructional staff, which in turn can impact planning for training delivery.

184. As described above, the provision of training support in the NSDA is via the Training Function who are part of the national training team, which is part of the TSA Directorate. There are regional training sites located within the NSDA at Portlethen, Invergordon and Perth. The central function for TSA is based at the SFRS National Training Centre (NTC) at Cambuslang. The Training Function teams at the three training sites in the NSDA are responsible for delivering courses, such as Recruit training, BA Refresher, Compartment Fire Behaviour, Tactical Ventilation, Incident Command and Driver Training. The training staff support both technical and practical input in a range of core and specialist skills, such as Casualty Care, HazMat, Knots and Lines, RTC extrication, water awareness, SWAH, Incident Command and Trainee Phases. There are Local Training Plans developed and kept under review which consider the skills, including specialisms, and capabilities required to effectively respond to the risks identified in the NSDA. We were provided evidence that these plans are in place to ensure ongoing training and development for WT and On Call staff. Station WCs told us that the training centres offered good support to them and their trainees, particularly as they approached their end of phase training assessments.

185. WT trainees attend a three-month course at a SFRS training centre. Following graduation from this course trainees then go into development phases, Red, Amber and Green each of which culminates in a range of practical exercises and formal assessment. At the successful conclusion of the Green Phase assessment the trainees can then be designated as competent firefighters. As reported in the East and West SDA reports, we encountered trainees who had completed their development plans but had difficulty in having the sign off to competence process completed due to a lack of Assessors and Verifiers nationally to approve these plans. The Service has worked through many of these issues leading to this problem, but the impacts are still being felt by trainee firefighters and their watch officers who have responsibility for them.

186. Initial training for an On Call firefighter is to attend a two-week TTM course, followed by a further two weeks BA training. The initial training for On Call staff can be a barrier to entry to the Service, as it often impacts their primary employment or their leave entitlement from it. The Service is actively looking at improving the recruitment and initial training experience for On Call firefighters through its long running national On Call improvement programme. Within the NSDA, as elsewhere in the Service, we understand that some On Call training is delivered in modular format over weekends, thus taking pressure off of trainees in relation to their primary employment. Individuals who had accessed this weekend training found the experience very positive. The SFRS should maintain a focus on, and further enhance, this work where possible.

187. As mentioned within the East and West SDA reports, the Service made changes to its TFoC programme for its firefighters in 2022. Core skills modules are covered over a 12-month period with other advanced modules to be concluded over a 36-month period. This continuous learning is delivered via the Learning Content Management System (LCMS). The changes that were introduced have been widely welcomed by station based personnel. Watch based operational firefighters, and their WCs told us that the modules and their video content was significantly more user friendly, and the reduced number meant “less time in front of a computer” and allowed for more time to be spent engaged in practical training.

188. During our fieldwork for this inspection, we had the opportunity to view recently renovated fire stations in the NSDA. The personnel who operate from these stations were generally happy with their working environment, including the availability of computers and their supporting IT infrastructure. We viewed stations that had computer desks in common areas of the station as well as in the individual bedrooms of the watch personnel. While this could lead to firefighters completing training in isolation and possibly missing social engagement and interaction as they do so, it clearly solves a perennial issue that is raised by station personnel, i.e. the lack of access to computers to complete LCMS training and to markup individual records. Poor internet connection, and restricted access to computers, particularly in On Call fire stations was an issue that was raised in the East and West SDA reports, and continued to be during the interviews for the NSDA. For On Call personnel this lack of accessibility is a barrier to their effective learning which takes time and consideration to overcome. The On Call crews told us of many instances such as LCMS learning “done at my kitchen table as I can’t download the videos at the station”. Some On Call stations have resorted to accessing the LCMS system as individuals from their homes during select dates to ensure the learning can be accessed as a group.

189. The majority of on-station training delivery to firefighters comes via watch supervisory officers. Training at On Call stations is supported via the Training Function , with regular scheduled attendance by instructors who will assist with the delivery of what should be pre planned training activity. We found a mix of views regarding the regularity of these visits to On Call stations, and the value that they offer. Staff at some stations said they received consistent monthly or quarterly visits, while others told us it was many months since an instructor had last attended. From the views we gathered about the impact that the Training Function has had regarding training support to stations in the NSDA, it appears that an inconsistent approach may have been applied. While NSDA personnel view the introduction of the Training Function as not being wholly positive, TSA believes that the consolidation of the instructional staff has been beneficial as it has led to more efficient use of the instructional staff capacity. We were informed of a new initiative pilot that has been introduced in Quarter 1 of 2025 which will ensure that each On Call station will get at least one scheduled visit per quarter from a Training Function instructor as a minimum. The schedule of these visits can vary depending on the number of WT staff dual contracting at On Call stations. As such, it can reduce accordingly where less support is deemed to be required. TSA officers told us that there may have been a lack of structure to the visits in the past and that better planning is required to ensure the TFoC can be fully supported. As such Quarter 1 will be predominantly BA and RTC and the Training Function team will also consider targeted visits where clear development needs are identified. Quarter 2 will see confirmation multi-pump exercises organised by On Call WCs as clusters, which the Training Function will support and assist with facilitation. While this initiative appears to be sound in structure and approach, it is a concern that the TSA staff, who are introducing it, did not know if it would be replicated across the SFRS. Indeed, they told us that the Service wide approach for this support was somewhat disjointed, and that good practice is often not replicated elsewhere.

190. The TSA has also, in collaboration with the NSDA, recently introduced new training support CC roles for remote areas including on the islands of WIOS. These personnel will assist with core training work including preparation of trainee for phased assessments, BA refreshers, RTC refreshers etc. This innovative approach will mean a semi-permanent training instructor presence in some of the more difficult to reach areas of the SDA.

191. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines competence as “the ability to undertake responsibilities and perform activities to a recognised standard on a regular basis. It combines practical and thinking skills, knowledge and experience.” Once a firefighter has acquired a specific skill, maintenance of the skill is achieved using the TFoC modules mentioned earlier. Training standards define a further three-year cycle when skills are refreshed at a defined national training centre. Operational readiness within the SFRS is measured across competence in TFoC core skills, National Core Skills and National Specialist Skills. Nationally the Service sets a compliance performance target of 95% for the workforce. Performance in the NSDA for each of these areas is set out in the tables below.

Table 2: Core Skills TFoC 2024/25

Table 3: National Core Skills Refresher programme competence 2024/25

Table 4: National Specialist Skills Refresher programme competence 2024/25

192. We can observe from Table 2 that WT staff in the NSDA are generally maintaining core skills at an attainment level between 79% and 90%, which is below the 95% national standard on all counts. On Call RDS Staff are generally maintaining core skills attainment levels between 60% and 72%, which is significantly below the national standard that the SFRS aims to achieve. The On Call Volunteer group within the NSDA is numerically small, but they do serve some geographically isolated communities. The Volunteers fall well below the maintenance of skill percentages across all core skills with attainment ranging between 20% and 62%. Given their relative isolation in the event of operational incidents, this should be a concern for the NSDA.

Recommendation 34

We recommend that the NSDA reviews its delivery of Core Skill TFoC training with improvement in levels of attainment at On Call RDS and Volunteer stations considered a priority.

193. From Table 3 we can see that that WT and On Call RDS in the NSDA are generally having core skills refresher training delivered to a similar attainment level, and while this is below the 95% target level, it is on a positive upward trajectory. It is encouraging to note that the attainment levels for refresher training for both the On Call RDS and Volunteers, who are a much smaller group numerically, are significantly higher than that which was recorded in the West SDA report. This level of attainment aligns with our interview findings which suggest that significant levels capacity and resource have been directed by TSA towards this achievement. With this significant capacity application there is a concern that other areas of training suffer, “we manage BA recovery well, but TNA needs can’t be met within the (remaining) capacity we have”. Others commented that the refresher training programme was “visible from a scrutiny point of view, it is the top priority” and therefore attracts significant capacity to improve its performance reporting outcomes. Despite the relative success achieved in BA refresher training via the BA Recovery Programme, we received a significant level of comments from NSDA personnel that they would like to have more training time in live fire “hot wear” situations during this training. While HMFSI can appreciate this frustration, the TSA management team are required to balance several variables here including exposure of trainees and instructors to repeated high temperatures, exposure to fire contaminants and ensuring courses attendees and delivery staff can effectively decontaminate post wear and have access to clean PPE for the rest of their training session or duties that follow. The Volunteer group although below the SFRS target of 95% attainment, is favourable when compared to the data provided for HMFSI as contained in the West SDA report.

Good Practice 9

HMFSI note the increase in attainment levels for the Core Skills National Refresher training programme.

Recommendation 35

We recommend that the Service reviews the delivery of its Core Skills National Refresher programme and works toward achieving its stated levels of attainment. Attainment levels for On Call Volunteers should be treated as a priority.

194. TSA provided the data for Table 4, but were unable to separate the percentages for the WT and On Call RDS. Table 4 shows that personnel in the NSDA are generally having specialist skills refreshed at a National Training Centre to a varying standard with some notable successes in Water Rescue and Rope Rescue, with the competence levels for both at heightened levels for resilience purposes. However, there are lower levels of attainment for Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and Mass Decontamination refresher training. Our previous East and West SDA reports advised of difficulty in providing USAR refreshers, but we note a recent success in that the NSDA hosted local training for this competence. Data provided for HMFSI shows increases in the levels of specialist skills refresher training across the SFRS for 2024-25.

Recommendation 36

We recommend that the Service reviews the delivery model for its Specialist Skills National Refresher programme, and works toward achieving its stated levels of attainment for those areas that are currently deficient.

195. There is a concern that the fire appliance vehicles used for driver training within the NSDA are beyond their optimal life. Several of these vehicles are between 13 and 18 years old, and have suffered a range of faults that we are told has led to a number of driving course cancellations. The driver training section within the NSDA has begun to compile a consolidated list of these faults and the impacts that they can have on the delivery of driving courses. Another cause for concern with these aged vehicles is that they often do not incorporate technologies such as an Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) that are found in modern fire appliances. This has led to personnel undertaking LGV driving courses in vehicles that they will most likely never drive in an operational context, and will then return to their stations and have to drive fire appliances that do have ESP. When this is the case, an additional day’s familiarisation training must be organised in the station vehicle which in effect takes it off the run. We understand that the driver training section operates a paper-based portfolio system for trainees who are required to complete it, and that this does not interface with the Services PDR system.

196. Many of observations made in the previous paragraphs are supported by our NSDA survey. We asked the question ‘Do you feel confident that you are adequately trained for your role, how would you rate this?’ The mean average rating for this question was 7.63 in the NSDA compared to 7.11 in the West Service Delivery Area (WSDA) and 7.12 in the East Service Delivery Area (ESDA), so very similar. A lot of the positively rated responses were supported by narrative claiming they felt they were “adequately trained”. Of these, the more positive scorings refer to being adequately trained for the role, but an ask for more training time generally, and in particular for hands on practical training, which was clearly valued by the survey responders. While we had a significant number of responses that praised TFoC for offering a structured approach to training in stations, this was somewhat offset by responses that referred to too much reliance on it and LCMS theory self-led training. A number expressed concerns, which were also communicated to us during station interviews, about a perceived lack of practical ‘hot’ carbonaceous BA training outwith the National Skills Refresher programme.

197. Incident Command training is delivered to Service officers based on the level of incident that they may be expected to take command of in line with the ICS. Training for these operational command roles has traditionally been delivered via courses at dedicated sites equipped with mock incident command units, live participant role playing, and underpinned by an IT software based events scenario(s). During Covid it was not possible to bring the students for these courses together in confined classroom spaces, and remote virtual Incident Command Level (ICL) courses were introduced. We were told that the use of remote ICL courses has continued, but that in the opinion of some of the participants, they lose some significant part of their effectiveness through loss of personal interaction and peer to peer learning. The virtual approach, in the opinion of a number of our interviewees, “doesn’t reflect the job on the ground” and that some element of practical exercising would allow a deeper understanding of the ICS and the functional roles that officers may be expected to perform during operational incidents. The comments we received during interviews were reflected within the narrative responses to our survey. Another significant and consistent point that was raised in relation to ICL courses, was the amount of focus which was placed throughout the course on passing the assessment that follows. Many officers felt that the ICL course was more about passing the assessment than developing operational commanders and that this may take away some of the emphasis on the deeper learning that many students would have hoped for.

198. The availability of scrap cars for RTC training remains a regularly highlighted issue during our SDA inspections. At many stations personnel reported that they receive only one car per year. This vehicle has to be used over an extended period of time to practice key stabilisation and cutting techniques that would be used in an operational context. It is a concern for operational personnel that they often cannot engage in a full range of training activities in concentrated sessions, as would be the case at an operational incident.

Leadership and Management Development

199. We consider the preparation for promotion and then further development of operational officers throughout their careers to be a critical foundation for the success of the SFRS. Learning, teaching and development approaches within the fire service have changed since the days of the recent past when the National examination system, and residential courses at the Fire Service College serviced a great deal of the management and leadership needs of the officer cadre. However, the need is still there, and it has not diminished. We spoke to a wide range of NSDA supervisory, middle and strategic managers during the course of the fieldwork for this inspection.

200. Given the frequency of these comments and the triangulated nature of them across the management groups, it was considered necessary to give them a greater deal of consideration and to allow the SFRS to reply to the comments that we garnered and the observations we had made during our fieldwork. The comments that we received during fieldwork were supported by our survey which asked, ‘For any promoted role did you receive any induction, Leadership and/or Management training?’, 55% of our respondents said that they had not. Officer leadership, and management development and training, therefore forms one of our ‘In Focus’ topics for this report.

In Focus: SFRS Officer Leadership and Management training and Development

201. While we found that pockets of locally organised training and development relating to management, and to a lesser extent leadership, was ongoing, there was very little positive affirmation or experience of a centrally organised Service development. It would be unfair to suggest that no corporate development programmes are ongoing, as a Management Development Framework (MDF) pilot programme is currently running, and requests for training have allowed personnel to access an online Franklin Covey training package. Through our fieldwork we learned that the Service currently has 2,250 supervisory level managers who may require leadership and management training. This 2,250 total would increase when middle and strategic level managers are also considered. However, given that over two quarters of 2024 a total 160 candidates accessed the first of three days proposed training for the MDF, and two cohorts of 18 and 17 respectively accessed the Franklin Covey modules, then the SFRS has much ground to make up.

202.At the time of writing this report the MDF has been through two years of governance within the SFRS and has still not been fully signed off, with the request for funding agreed. Given the pressing need, and the lack of development pathways for managers within the SFRS at an organisational level, it is important that a coherent and joined-up approach is agreed. During our fieldwork we asked managers at all levels within the Service if they felt that they had been adequately prepared for their roles upon promotion and subsequently thereafter. Unfortunately, the answer to this was a near universal no, particularly for training and development from a corporate level i.e. there was a view that the SFRS puts little in place to prepare officers for their roles. There are local initiatives across the SDAs to prepare personnel, and the operational mentoring process was cited as valuable, but often the answer that we received was that preparation consisted of “an ICL course, a set of car keys and a San C Radio”. As has been noted within our recent report ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Support in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’, transition into promoted posts and a failure to prepare personnel for these changes can have a significant and adverse impact upon the mental health of individuals. In our inspection survey we asked if personnel had received induction or leadership and management training in preparation for their new roles, 55% answered that they had not. Aside from those who have participated in the MDF pilot and the limited online courses we have described, the majority told us that any leadership and management training that they have undertaken has either been self-directed private learning or was delivered via their legacy Service before the formation of the SFRS.

203. What is currently being proposed within the Service to bridge the gap in the provision of development for managers is for the MDF to deliver a number of (still to be agreed) modules over three training days and to address any individuals specifically identified needs via a Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) linked to appraisals. It is clear that the MDF is still in development, and that it may, given the period of time it has taken to get to the stage it is currently at, still be some time before a fully agreed and functioning format is delivering the necessary outputs and outcomes for the SFRS and individual managers. The LNA is considered to be a process that does deliver outcomes, but which also has its own limitations. A number of budget allocations are made each year via the LNA for identified training needs, but some of these have subsequently been returned at the end of the recent financial years due to training not being purchased. The outcome of this is that significant levels of LNA budget is not spent.

204. Through the ongoing work of the Inspectorate, it is clear that personnel across the SDAs are committed, and seek to deliver the best outcomes that they can. Staff are very actively engaged in a number of areas as they seek to produce positive outcomes for Scotland’s communities. However, we did receive comments that this work prioritisation can lead to pressures on capacity which impacts time being set aside for development work. Engagement and information sessions regarding the proposal for the MDF brought forward a number of comments that it may be difficult to release staff to participate in the proposed training days. We also received comments that there appears to be a deficit of interest in releasing staff for development, and that priority appears to be given to Community Safety work and a regular schedule of business meetings that it is felt must be attended. For any agreed future development pathway to be successful it will be necessary for the senior leadership staff across the Service to buy into the outputs and outcomes that are being sought and to actively advocate for participation from their teams.

205. The proposal for the MDF is for three training days, facilitated by the current Organisational Development (OD) Talent Development Team (TDT) , which would be supplemented by a planned group of local facilitators and subject matter experts (SME). There is however a concern that rather than creating capacity via the facilitators and SMEs that there would simply be a reduction in available capacity in other areas of the organisation. It is our view that capacity is not simply created, but rather redistributed with potential negative impacts elsewhere. The current governance proposal sets out a two track approach to delivery for the MDF. Track 1 would focus on newly promoted personnel with these expected to number circa 290 in 2025, and approximately 167 per year up to 2030. Track 2 would be a parallel process to deal with the existing 2,250 personnel in the supervisory management group who have been identified as having not received SFRS leadership/management training to the desired level. To achieve these numbers, it is envisaged that the SFRS will need to fully develop the MDF beyond pilot and concept stage, would need to make the necessary budgetary commitments, and also ensure that the required levels of capacity for facilitators and candidates is ring fenced. In maintaining this approach, It appears clear that the SFRS will find it difficult to ever catch up with the ongoing deficit of those personnel who require a consistent level of input for both managerial functional training and leadership theory and practice. This is applicable for the current managers and future leaders of the Service.

206. We understand that there has been a reluctance for some at strategic levels within the Service to commit to a ‘one size fits all’ to management and leadership development of their staff. However given the recent paucity in delivery of this important development training, HMFSI would suggest that the 2,250 staff group who are awaiting input, as well as an expected 1,125 promoted personnel in the coming years up to 2030, should be considered for placement into a preexisting pathway that will ensure a consistent foundational level of learning for this group. At this time the SFRS has placed a limited number of officers onto the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Middle Managers Leadership programme at a licence cost of circa £55 per candidate. The NFCC also has in place a Supervisory Leadership Development Pathway that would be accessible at a similar cost per candidate, and which would allow the current deficit to be addressed in a meaningful timescale. As we have noted earlier, there has in recent years been an annual underspend of budget for LNA identified training. In the last year this amounted to approximately £75,000. This budget underspend would go a considerable way to closing the supervisory and the middle manager development gap. It was reported to us that the NFCC pathways do not fully deliver all of the development needs that the SFRS would seek for their personnel, however it is our view that the limited resources of the OD TDT may be better suited to designing and delivering the supplementary training modules that the Service consider necessary for a range of management topics to be delivered.

Recommendation 37

The SFRS should consider the utilisation of current NFCC Supervisory and Middle Manager development pathways as a means to close the leadership and management training delivery deficit gap.

207. Having spoken to SFRS personnel within TSA and the OD TDT, we are of the opinion that positive outcomes could be achieved by a closer alignment or amalgamation of the elements of their work that are focused on training and development. Failing to have this alignment leaves too much opportunity to fully put in place a holistic training and development pathway for the Service’s current and future leaders and managers. Placing both of these groups together, both of which are seeking similar outcomes regarding the ongoing training and career long development of personnel, under a single source of guidance and direction of travel reduces the potential for essential elements of the work to slip between the corporate gaps that will exist between two bodies. The structural make up of TSA and OD should be considered to achieve the aims of the strategy for learning and development.

Recommendation 38

The SFRS should review the training and organisational development outcomes that it is seeking for developing existing leaders and managers, and then consider if the existing structures and separation between TSA and OD will allow these to be achieved. If necessary structural change should be considered to achieve strategy planned outcomes for OD.

208. We received a number of comments about a perceived opaqueness regarding the system that is in place for the allocation of development courses. Many staff believe that you simply have to be in the right place at the right time. Course allocations are linked via personal appraisals and the LNA process within the Service. In relation to appraisals, we found that staff, including those responsible for compiling and producing the required reports, were either very dismissive of the value of them or could state that they saw genuine value in them. We received many comments that appraisals “were a complete waste of time” but also that they were valuable and that they enabled staff to access training courses that they requested. Our survey asked, ‘Do you have access to the development (and career progression) opportunities you would like?’. Given the comments we received regarding access to development courses and to the appraisals system it is unsurprising that only 46% responded positively. Such is the importance of this particular topic that the Chief Inspector has elected to carry out an in-depth thematic inspection of training and operational development within the SFRS. This thematic inspection will commence in April 2025.

Managing Performance

209. During our fieldwork across the NSDA there was clear evidence that watches felt very supported within their stations and by their SCs. While the SC may not be a day-to-day presence on stations, particularly for the On Call and more remote stations, it was generally acknowledged that they were easily contactable and were quick to answer queries and offer support and intervention as required. There was a view that more senior officers within the LSO structures were less well known, but that their more occasional visits to stations were valued as it gave an insight into a more strategic appreciation of the ongoing work of the Service. It was felt that levels of contact with SFRS principal level managers and officers was very infrequent and that this made it difficult to relate to the corporate Service who felt very far removed from life at local stations and other SDA locations. As we have mentioned elsewhere within this report, the frequency of turnover of FDOs is a source of frustration for local operational crews in particular. Many stated that it takes time for effective working relationships to form, and that this is often curtailed as officers can move between posts or into retirement with regular ongoing frequency. This view was particularly strong amongst operational personnel who serve in island stations.

210. The issues observed during our fieldwork interviews and commented on in the previous paragraph are supported by our Survey. We asked the question ‘Do you feel valued and supported by your management team, how would you rate this?’ The mean average rating for this question was 7.36 in the NSDA, compared to 6.70 in the WSDA, and 6.87 in the ESDA. However, it is valuable to interrogate response levels for this survey question. If we aggregate the top three satisfaction scores, marked from 7 to 10, we have a total response of 71%. If we consider the bottom three satisfaction scores, marked 1 to 3, we have a total response of 9%. These survey responses confirmed the narrative answers that we received across the North, that personnel feel very supported and valued on their watch, and well supported by their designated SCs and wider LSO team. Many respondents commented that their managers had high and competing workloads and understood if the support they received was not always face to face, but any queries that they had were dealt with quickly via a range of communications methods. While local support was confirmed as being in place and valued, many respondents and interviewees told us that they felt much less supported by corporate level senior officers and managers who were viewed as being distant from local issues.

211. During the course of our fire station interviews in particular, we did not find a deep understanding or application of governance processes that linked the Services strategic plans all the way to individual firefighter’s appraisals by way of the classic golden thread. Where this approach was understood and used, it was as we have stated earlier, done to commendably high levels. We did find that appraisals for individuals across the NSDA were being completed, but for many the most common descriptor for them was as a “tick box exercise”. Appraisals were, judged via interview responses, seen as possibly enabling access to training if that was requested, but many considered these requests as likely to be part of the Service’s cyclical refresher programmes such as driver training and would have been granted as part of normal business. While there are many instances of training requests being made via appraisals for personal development purposes, our interviewees told us that these requests were often not followed up by training course placements despite multiple requests.

212. Administration support for the NSDA is provided via a group of individuals from the national admin support pool. We found this group for the NSDA to be proactive in their approach, and keen to engage with their work in supporting the SDA functions. It was a concern however to learn that as other functions within the SFRS reduce their in house admin teams to redistribute the realised capacity into other more senior or managerial posts, that the work that they would previously have undertaken now falls to the central administration team. While this clearly increases workload for the administration team, it also embeds them further in generalist roles. An unintended consequence of this is that many within this team cannot be moved up to higher grades within the SFRS job grading system with the consequential loss of potential future earnings. The removal of admin support was a cause for concern that was raised in many of our interviews in a number of different areas, some of which we have set out in this report earlier, i.e. for the On Call recruitment tracker system management, within Organisational Development and for course allocation management for TSA. While it is for every Directorate to shape its capacity and workforce to meet its own particular need, when any reorganisation is undertaken it should be done with a clear understanding of the impacts of the change not only for the group reorganising, but also for those other groups who may be impacted and who may need to pick up work that would previously been completed by those who were in roles that are removed.

213. Within the NSDA, and specifically considering HR related matters and support for officers and managers from experts in the field, there were concerns raised to us that a sufficient level of support from the People Directorate was not available. Following the restructure of People, as we have previously mentioned, we were told that there appears to be less business partners available and less functional support to assist with the SDA’s needs. While the NSDA understands that the People Directorate has challenges it must meet, there was a feeling relayed to our inspection team that the needs of the SDA were not being met. As we understand it, these concerns have been raised internally within the Service, but no feedback was forthcoming.

214.Within the NSDA we found a consistent approach to the management of business meetings from SDA level down. Agendas, action and issues logs are regularly produced to capture ongoing work. The adoption of a single sheet four box reporting system was found across the SDA down to and including some fire stations. This ‘quadrant’ approach has helped with the standardisation of governance across the SDA which in turn has helped ensure that the corporate messaging coming into the NSDA can be filtered down through all levels, including to fire stations.

Good Practice 10

The Quadrant reporting system has added to consistency of reporting and messaging of information across the NSDA.

Decision Making Governance Within the SFRS

215. It was a widely held view that decision making authority for the SFRS was too invested in the SLT and that the managerial decision-making capacity for SDA (and Directorate) officers was not properly utilised. A common theme that came up during interviews was the comparison in decision-making authority during the Covid pandemic period with that which operated before and after that time. Many noted that despite the very tough conditions that presented themselves during Covid, that agile and devolved decision making was made locally and much more quickly due to a more streamlined approach to governance. Following the Covid period there was a return to the regular governance and decision-making approaches used by the SFRS, and it was felt that this slowed decision making and stifled innovation. Officers told us that it was frustrating that they are “allowed to make critical decisions in my fire kit at operational incidents, but not in the office when dressed in my shirt”.

216. When setting up information gathering or decision making groups within the SFRS we believe that it is necessary to have relevant stakeholders, from both uniformed and support staff personnel, across a range of diverse duty patterns, in order to achieve an optimal level of representation from across the Service. These balanced groups should have the skills and knowledge relevant to the subject being considered, and thus will be more enabled to achieve agreed outcomes. It is a concern that there may be group polarisation caused by under representation of some staff, with decision makers coming from the same workforce population groups who may confirm their own decision-making biases, and that this may limit variety in decision making, which could stifle innovation. There is a concern that the Service is failing to fully use the management and leadership knowledge of the biggest group that is available to it i.e. its uniformed officer cadre below Principal officer level. It is also possible that this may lead to a lack of diversity in decision making due to them often being made by the same small groups within the Service. Officers in the NSDA felt that their ability to make impactful decisions was and is limited by reduced levels of autonomy granted by the corporate SFRS, and by a lack of meaningful budget to do so. Within the SDA many officers did inform us that they felt enabled to act locally to improve the services offered, but that a lack of budgetary control also affected this.

Local Governance, Communications and Engagement

Equality and Diversity

217. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Framework requires that the ‘SFRS should also seek to be an organisation that is more representative of the people and communities that it serves.’ As part of their continual training, firefighters complete a diversity training package. The SFRS has a mandatory Professional Behaviours and Equality online module which staff are required to complete on the LCMS platform. The module retains a three year currency for personnel. It highlights the expectations and legal requirements of employees, relating to fulfilling their obligations for equality and diversity, along with what employees can expect from the SFRS in how it meets its obligations. The module also explains to employees’ concepts of equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights and why these are relevant to their job.

218. 8.82% of the total number of NSDA staff, including support staff, identify themselves as female, while 91.18% identify as male. However, the breakdown varies across the different roles, duty systems and geographical areas. For example, for WT firefighters the split is 92.04% male and 7.96% female, for On Call RDS 92.18% are male and 7.82% female, for On Call Volunteers 87.14% are male with 12.86% female. For support staff it is 53.85% male and 46.15% female. Within the constituent LA areas that make up the NSDA, based on estimates from the National Records of Scotland, women make up an average of 51.03% of the local population while men make up the remaining 48.97%.

219. Since 2018-19 the SFRS has been publishing demographic statistics for new entrants and as part of its recruitment process the Service nationally is trying to improve the diversity of its workforce by trying to attract currently underrepresented groups. Nationally the Service aspires to have a workforce which is more representative of the people and communities of Scotland. The Service published a Positive Action Strategy in 2019, which is currently being refreshed, with the aim of promoting the SFRS as an Employer of Choice to Scotland’s diverse communities, to attract, recruit and retain people from underrepresented groups.

220.Whilst we accept this has proven to be a challenging area for the fire service to address, not only in Scotland, but across the world, the statistics above show that the SFRS has some way to go to deliver against its own aspirations. While this statistical information picture for the North is in keeping with what we found in both the West and East SDAs, we accept that control of this issue is largely a Service matter.

Wellbeing and Mental Health

221. Staff wellbeing is a priority of the SFRS and there is a range of support, for both physical and mental health available should it need to be accessed. During our inspection fieldwork across a range of site types, printed literature and information posters promoting the Service’s mental health services were visible on notice boards. Station operational staff we spoke to were positive and complimentary about the support that was available to them via their local LSO officers following operational incidents or from the mental health services provided by external partners. HMFSI published a thematic inspection report in 2023 that examined the mental health and wellbeing support available to all Service personnel. It was encouraging to note during our interviews that there appears to be an increased and growing knowledge and awareness of the Post Incident Support Process (PISP), which is central to the mental health support offer that is made by the SFRS to its operational staff.

222. Sickness absence levels within the NSDA has been reasonably static within most workforce duty groups per the tables below. There was a noticeable rise in absence rates in the 2021-22 year, which is consistent across the NSDA staff group figures and may be COVID related. It is noticeable that the WT absence percentage and days lost rose through the Covid period, but has remained consistently higher for a couple of years following that time. For the year 2022-23, the WT absence rate of 6.21% is roughly in line with the WSDA at 6.63% and the ESDA absence rate of 6.64%. The absence rate for NSDA FDOs at 3.57% sits between the higher WSDA figure which is 4.74% and the lower ESDA figure of 2.99%. For the year 2022-23, the absence rate for On Call RDS is 3.45% which is lower than both the WSDA at 5.27% and the ESDA at 4.14%. The absence rate for support staff at 2.31% in the NSDA is noticeably different for that in the WSDA at 5.36% and for the ESDA at 8.09%

Table 5: Wholetime

Table 6: Flexi Duty FDO

Table 7: On Call RDS

Table 8: On Call Volunteer

Table 9: Support Staff

223. As with the West and East SDA reports, the NSDA had wide variances in the levels of absences across its personnel groups and across its four LSO areas. Absence is a key performance indicator (KPI) for the Service and as such is closely monitored. Where staff absences do occur, the SFRS has long established policies and processes to deal with it and to assist personnel to return to the workplace. We asked managers about their experiences of dealing with these policies and processes and what support they have in doing so. It is clear from the answers that we received back that the level of support that individual managers receive varies quite widely. We had instances where WCs in fire stations would tell us that they received good support from partners in the People Directorate when dealing with absence issues, however the most common response was that they were left in the main to manage the process with little or limited support.

224. As stated previously within this report, the majority of the managers that we spoke to told us that they have not received significant managerial training in recent years, and this includes for the management of absence. Many have become self-taught through necessity, with a level of expertise built up over time. It would be inaccurate to say that no support has been in place for managers, but we believe that it is fair to state that the level of support is not to a consistent high standard across the SDA. Where support has been in place, it was valued by those managers who had received it. Many without support however have felt frustrated to the point that it has significantly and negatively impacted their overall work balance as managers. In previous years automated Managing Attendance Systems would have been available for managers to utilise when dealing with personnel absences, this is not the case at this time within the SFRS. Trigger points for absence have to be manually initiated, and managers across the Service utilise a variety of means for doing so e.g. keeping a hard copy journal, maintaining personal IT based spread sheets etc. What many appear to find daunting is the preparation and composition of the necessary administrative correspondence that periods of absence will generate between managers and those who are on sick or absence leave.

225. As we have set out earlier, the OD function of the Service has introduced pilots for a consistent approach to managerial training to be delivered to supervisory managers across the SFRS. While this move towards a consistent approach is welcomed, the pace at which it is being delivered is slow when set against the need that we have set out previously within this report. We were informed of SDA/LSO based managerial training that has been organised and delivered “as there is nothing coming from the People Directorate”. Those who had received such training were appreciative of it and gave positive endorsements for it. The criticism however is that it is not delivered in a consistent manner to all of the managers who may need it across the NSDA and the wider SFRS. Organisational Training and Development will be considered in more detail by us in a thematic inspection that launches in June 2025.

Recommendation 39

The Service should consider the training requirements for managers across the SDAs that would equip them with the necessary skills to perform their role. Support from People Directorate partners for this purpose should be redefined and agreed.

226. There are systems and processes in place for personnel to access support from occupational health professionals, through either self-referral or by being referred by Service managers or health and wellbeing professional staff. Across the NSDA for the twelve month period to the end of March 2024, there were 243 referral cases. The most common reason for referral were musculoskeletal injury (53%), work-related stress (23%), other miscellaneous reasons (21%) and for mental health related matters (3%). Whilst the percentage levels of referrals for the NSDA varies to those for the West and East SDAs, the reasons for them are in the same order of ranking.

Health and Safety

227. One of the Service’s core values is safety and is underpinned by a Safety and Assurance Strategy. The Service aims to promote a positive safety culture. There is national performance reporting and trend analysis for key indicators covering, for example, accident and near miss statistics. The view of staff we spoke to was that the new system, ‘Think Act Stay Safe’ (TASS), used for recording health and safety events and near misses was an improvement on the previous RIVO system. However, despite it being a better user experience, we were informed that the level of detail required remains onerous. As can be seen in Table 10, accident, injury and near miss numbers have increased over the last three reporting years, which is a reverse of the trend that was observed in the East and West SDA reports recently published by HMFSI. It is encouraging to note the significant rise in near miss reporting over the period. Near miss reporting can help prevent future accidents and injury, mitigate risk, raise awareness of workplace hazards and makes for a more informed workforce.

Table 10: NSDA Accident and Injury, Near Miss, Acts of Violence

228. Table 10 also shows a significant drop in reports of Acts of Violence (AOV) directed towards SFRS personnel in the NSDA over the three year reporting period. Over the reporting periods for the East and West SDA reports, notable increases in AOV were recorded. The 76% reduction has been achieved over three years, and coincides with concerted CSE youth focused activity in the NSDA over that period. While any AOV is one act too many, it is clear that the efforts undertaken by the CSE team and local station personnel who have engaged with local young people have been successful to date.