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

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5th July 2024

Inspection of local service delivery within the West Service Delivery Area (WSDA)

Very good use of the TAP and engagement with partners to develop and deliver initiatives for prevention and protection. Provided good evidence of initiatives, including the salt sticks project, bonfire discussion groups and fire reach project.
There were good examples of Station Plans linked to primary plans, which were visible on station and staff were aware of them.

The loss of the CO fund was an issue identified in the area, with staff raising concern that they were restricted with purchasing and delivering deaf alerters, fire retardant bedding and secure letterboxes to the most vulnerable.
Maintaining the composition and skill level of FSEO and AO teams had been a challenge, which was exacerbated by the long term issues surrounding abatement and job evaluation.

Good example of the development of a local training and exercising schedule to ensure a programme is delivered over an extended period.
There is good support to On-Call staff from On-Call Support Watch Commanders. There were said to be a lot of positives coming from the role regarding recruitment and maintaining availability, it is thought to be well received by On-Call staff.
Proactive management of On-Call availability and examples of innovative local staffing solutions, which made the system more user friendly. Continually monitoring the availability levels and were working hard, within the constraints of Finance and Conditions of Service, with the local crews to maintain and improve availability using innovative solutions.

RAAC panel roofing issues are present at Cumbernauld fire station. This has been an issue for the staff at this station for a significant amount of time.
Staff from non wildfire designated station reported on numerous occasions concern regarding the lack of appropriate Wildfire PPE. There were occasions that staff had purchased their own equipment and medication to make attendance at these types of incidents more tolerable.
The provision and maintenance of BA skills and equipment in remote rural locations can be very challenging and there were instances in remote rural stations where it was clearly problematic to maintain safe delivery.

Relationships within the CPP and Scrutiny process were very healthy, and we observed a good level of engagement and communication with partners.

Aware of routine recruitment campaign initiatives as well as locally developed and innovative marketing and recruitment to increase public awareness. Some highlights were the development of modular courses; the development of social media promotional material; the development of more flexible availability systems; the involvement of On-Call Support WCs; the development of station curtilage banners and increased use of dual contracts. We found the local management teams and station crews to generally be very engaged with On-Call recruitment and would commend them for their efforts.
There has been some improvement in the On-Call recruitment process with the introduction of the PREP and PREP2 systems. These were generally well received and had made the recruitment process easier.
The introduction and delivery of modular BA and TTM courses for On-Call Staff was given good feedback. As was the delivery of local courses for remote rural communities.
There was a decrease of WT absence, year on year, within the area assisting with maintaining availability.
There was an increase in use, year on year, of dual contracts within the area assisting with maintaining availability.
The local delivery of supervisory and middle manager development course was good and provided important training for staff within the area. These sessions were well received by the staff and funded by the area.

That said, availability at some stations continues to be a challenge for the Service with recruitment and retention being two of the main factors.
There is a degree of frustration around On-Call recruitment with a desire for more local involvement and control. Medical and fitness requirements for On-Call is said to be a challenge, particularly when there is a limited potential workforce and the standards being applied are inhibiting potential candidates from applying.
The training commitment for On-Call staff is still considered to be an inhibitor to recruitment.
Delivery of scrap cars for RTC training was said to be a challenge with crews reporting significant gaps between periods of practical training.
The provision of ICT equipment and infrastructure to some stations was reported as being limited and of poor quality. This was significant for completion of TFoC and was particularly relevant where some of the modules need to be completed individually, such as cyber security.
Some gaps in core and specialist refresher training for both WT and On-Call staff.
Some gaps in TFoC training for On-Call staff.
On-Call availability was significantly below average compared to the WSDA average.