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

How effective is the Service in the WSDA at managing and supporting its workforce?

125. 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 equality, diversity and inclusiveness. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s overall effectiveness within the WSDA is judged to be an Opportunity for Improvement.

Workforce Planning

126. Service provided statistics demonstrated staffing levels for WT at 93% FTE of the TOM year ending the 31 March 2023, equating to about 100 firefighters. That said, latterly in our fieldwork, due to the operational changes brought about by SSRP, HRA Strategy and the rationalisation of Water Rescue in September 2023 we found that Wholetime Operational crews were generally established to the TOM.

127. For On-Call staffing levels, the SFRS normally has a TOM of between 10 to 20 firefighters (or 1000% to 2000%) depending on the size of the station, the number of appliance and any specialism etc. The percentage system allows management to employ more people on a reduced contract with the expectation that this will increase availability. Service provided statistic demonstrated staffing levels of between 67% and 83% for RDS and 66% and 70% for VDS, depending on the LSO area. An outlier to these figures was the low staffing levels (29%) at Leadhills Fire Station in South Lanarkshire, which was ultimately subject to closure following a public consultation process.

128. Turnover of staff within the WT workforce is normally less frequent and more predictable than with staff on other duty systems. The projected staff turnover in the 12 months to March 2024 was 7.5% for WT, 8.0% for On-Call RDS and 9.6% 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, the figure for the WT may not be that accurate. The recent change made to the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS), resulted in a sudden unpredictable spike in retirements of ‘in scope’ firefighters, which has had an impact on workforce planning numbers. Consequentially, 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. It is understood that these issues may have been inevitable, given the high staff attrition, but there is an expectation that the impact would be mitigated somewhat with increased development, training and supervision for those remaining.

Developing Leaders and Managers

129. Succession planning is an integral part of workforce planning, ensuring that there is a developed workforce able to succeed others who are promoted and those that leave or retire. The SFRS has a centrally managed and established promotion, selection and development programme. We understand that the Service commenced a pilot project of a non-mandatory development pathway for officers and staff in December 2022. The project was to focus on enhancing the leadership and management skills of participants at a supervisory and middle management level.

130. We spoke to numerous members of staff fulfilling Supervisory, Middle and Strategic roles regarding personal development in anticipation of promotion or within their current posting. We explored their participation in and access to formal theoretical learning and development as well as practical exercising of the theory. We found very limited evidence of Service directed development, outwith the Training for Competence (TFoC) and refresher process. This position was reinforced by observation and feedback regarding; poor knowledge and application of policy, process and procedure; lack of confidence in the application of operational assurance process; lack of confidence in the risk assessment process, limited understanding of planning and performance process; limited knowledge of strategic values and mission and poor level of instructor knowledge. This was further aggravated by the high turnover of staff and consequential issues detailed previously.

131. These issues were further exacerbated by the lack of confidence in the Appraisal process to produce any tangible results from development requested and the subsequent scepticism of worth in the process. In addition, we also noted that the use of mentoring was very limited as it was not formally promoted and many staff found high turnover in their line manager or that their line manager or colleague had been in post for a shorter period than them. That said, many staff in the WSDA were carrying out their role to a good standard and we found a predominance of self directed learning, which should be commended.

Recommendation 20: We recommend that the Service should conduct a review of its leadership and management development processes to provide a national standard and syllabus for delivery at all levels.

132. Many of the issues observed in the previous paragraphs were supported by our Survey. We asked the question ‘Do you have access to the development opportunities you would like?’ 45% of respondents said they had access to development opportunities compared to 48% in the ESDA survey, so very similar. However, this indicated that 55% felt they didn’t have access or were unsure. There was a suggestion in a number of responses that development courses and opportunities are not available for the majority. Staff reported that there are limited opportunities for development to prepare individuals for a promoted role despite being recognised as ready to progress within appraisal and those opportunities that are available are dependent on being successful at a promotional process. There appears to be, from a number of responses given, a lack of transparency on how development courses are allocated, often being offered at very short notice. Some believe that you have to be at the right place at the right time to be offered courses or promotional opportunities. Some respondents believe budgets are impacting on what is made available to them. Absence of further education was highlighted by some respondents, including a lack of opportunities to be supported to a degree level. There is a common trend about a lack of development pathway and support available for those looking to progress their career. There is a perceived lack of development and training for those who are promoted to the next role. A number of FDOs commented on the lack of induction development (examples provided included Leadership training, attendance management, conflict resolution, discipline and health and safety).

133. We are aware and observed that in the WSDA there are supported Supervisory Manager development sessions for On-Call and WT in EWDAB and ENSA. The syllabuses of these sessions were comprehensive and well structured, which led to a high degree of engagement from the management teams and participants. It was pleasing to see a good level of communication and listening whilst also imparting both theoretical and practical knowledge. It was also very pleasing to observe a high level of feedback being provided to staff on previous questions raised. It is understood that the WSDA intends to increase and develop these sessions across the whole area and we would encourage that this should be supported.

Good Practice 7: We were very pleased to observe that areas in the WSDA had funded and delivered development session for Supervisory and Middle managers, which had been very well received. We believe it would be worth developing these sessions further across all areas, in support of a national syllabus and program being developed.

Recruitment and Retention

134. Wholetime and On-Call recruitment is generally managed centrally by the national HR team. The Service provides prospective applicants with background information on what the process entails, such as details of the medical, fitness tests, psychometric test, practical test and selection centre.

135. As detailed earlier, there are continuing vacancies at On-Call stations and consequently there are continuous open recruitment campaigns running where necessary. We were made 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. That said, availability at some stations continues to be a challenge for the Service with recruitment and retention being two of the main factors.

136. For applicants interested in becoming On-Call firefighters there is now a Pre-Recruitment Engagement Programme (PREP) and a second iteration (PREP2). Once an application has been registered, personnel from the relevant local station as well as the On-Call support WC’s will support the applicant in preparations to undertake the fitness and practical selection tests. We heard first hand from new employees of the On-Call who were participants in PREP and who felt the process had been of benefit. There are some continuing issues around the length of time taken to complete the initial recruitment process for On-Call. The Service reports that the average time for the On-Call recruitment process was three months. We were told of some areas where there had been a significant improvement, we were also told of occasions where it had taken up to a year, leading to some applicants losing interest and withdrawing.

137. We interviewed management teams as well as local station based personnel and major sources of frustration with recruitment are national recruitment standards, training course commitment as well as the contract of employment. The standard Task and Task Management (TTM) and BA course are both two week duration and represent a significant commitment for prospective candidates to be away from home and their primary employment. It is understood that the WSDA has supported and delivered innovative alterations to these courses, which has allowed a much more flexible and a modular approach.

138. Many staff found the ability to only offer a 100% (120 hr/p/wk) or 75% (90 hr/p/wk) contract to be far too inflexible and not representative of modern societal expectations and behaviours. Many staff thought that being able to offer 50% contracts to potential recruits would also be appealing and could potentially attract stay at home parents/workers who could cover that difficult day time. As detailed previously, staff turnover in the On-Call RDS and VDS can be significant. We were commonly told that the renumeration for the time committed was a potential factor for people leaving the Service, which was being exacerbated by the drop in income brought about by the introduction of the UFAS policy.

139. We were commonly told of the frustrations surrounding the national recruitment standards and in particular eyesight tests. There were instances where prospective candidates had progressed through the process, only to be told latterly that they couldn’t be employed due to the standard of their eyesight. We understand that the recruitment process has been altered and the PREP system is designed to inform candidates earlier about this issue. That said, we are aware of a few acute issues where management teams have tried to recruit prospective staff in remote rural locations for eyesight to be the only inhibitor. The Service recognise this as a problem in remote rural areas, confirmed that they are currently aligned to the UK national recruitment standards and candidates are sifted on that basis.

140. It is understood that the Service is working within national terms and conditions, which restricts its ability to deviate from agreed employment guidance. However, there would seem to be lack of innovation, flexibility and pragmatism in this approach that is discounting prospective employees within isolated communities and discouraging existing employees from remaining in the Service. It is understood that the frustrations felt by On-Call staff surrounding terms and conditions is one shared by the SLT. The current nationally agreed UK FRS conditions of service and subsequent representative body position would make any deviations difficult to achieve. That said, it is understood that advanced negotiations are ongoing between the parties, which will improve this position in the near future and should be a positive development.

Recommendation 21: We recommend that the Service should review the national recruitment standards and T&Cs with a view to exploring, developing and implementing pragmatic and alternative solutions for local recruitment.

141. We are aware that there is an On-Call improvement project, which has assessed many of these issues over an extended period of time and it is hoped that these are identified objectives to be addressed. Staff expressed their frustration at this project and the perceived lack of tangible outcomes to radically improve performance.

Managing Performance

142. In our discussions with personnel across the WSDA they generally reported a feeling of being supported by their immediate managers and LSO management teams. We were very aware that the LSO management teams were very proactive with middle managers frequently attending stations and the need to improve engagement at a strategic level. An issue raised at many stations and with partners was the frequent turnover of flexi- duty officers and that consistency was very hard to achieve with differing approaches and priorities on a regular basis. This was a source of frustration as personnel felt that projects or issues concerning staff and stations were rarely seen through to a conclusion. Engagement with more senior managers was understandably less frequent, but this was not always viewed as a problem. That said, staff generally felt the visibility and engagement of management outwith the local team was very poor.

Recommendation 22: We recommend that the Service review its engagement strategy with a view to improving the visibility of Strategic Management at local level.

143. Many of the issues observed in the previous paragraph were 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 6.70 in the WSDA, compared to 6.87 in the ESDA, so very similar. From the responses provided there is confirmation that individuals generally feel valued by their line management, particularly at station level. Beyond this, respondents advised they felt valued by LSO management, but some less so. However, there is a clear consensus that there is less support from more senior managers. Some positive ratings included comments around how individuals can contact and get hold of managers. However, some responses indicated there is a lack of visibility of their managers. There was also an acknowledgement amongst a number of responses that their managers have high workloads and a number of competing priorities which can impact on the support they receive. At either end of the scale there is some extremely positive and extremely negative narrative provided. For example, some reported feeling “extremely well supported”. There are, however, some very negative responses and a small number of these (0.8%) related to bullying, compared to no comments reflecting this perception in the ESDA survey.

144. The SFRS has a procedure to manage performance through an annual appraisal process for all staff. In our experience we found that the genuine use of the system was sporadic with it being used more commonly within the Wholetime than the On-Call staff. There was a general feeling of apathy towards the system, and it was seen by some as a ‘tick box’ exercise. Many staff did not see the benefit of the appraisal system, that good versus bad performance was rarely recognised and requests for development rarely materialised. There was also a very poor understanding of the system’s part in good governance, which was detailed earlier in the report.

145. We got the impression that staff within the WSDA were very engaged with improving performance and delivering a good service to the community. However, many of the staff in the WSDA we spoke to were frustrated with the Service’s structure and governance. Staff thought that they were not empowered enough and lacked autonomy to really improve the organisation. This was normally connected with the concern that the Service seemed to be too centralised now, the perception was that Functions generally worked in silos to their own agenda and that everything was a priority within the Service. Managers reported that they felt they had poor credibility in stations as they could not really affect change or make decisions that were not entirely aligned to functional process. Lastly, staff reported that they were disappointed that the Service had lost the agility developed during the response to COVID and that they had reverted to a reliance on previous process.

Recommendation 23: We recommend that the Service review its management and governance structure with a view to identifying improvements, which would give staff more local responsibility, autonomy and flexibility.

Equality and Diversity

146. 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 Learning Content Management System (LCMS) platform. 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’ the concepts of equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights and why these are relevant to their job.

147. Data supplied by the SFRS details that 7.2% of WSDA staff, including support staff, identify themselves as female. However, the breakdown varies across the different roles and duty systems. For example, for Wholetime firefighters the split is 95% male 5% female, for On-Call RDS it is 94.4% male and 5.6% female, for On-Call VDS it is 84.5% male 15.5% female but for support staff it is 50% male and female 50%. Within the constituent local authority areas that make up the WSDA, as at the 2011 census, females make up an average of 51.9% of the local population.

148. An issue frequently raised or observed at stations was the lack of or limitation of dignified facilities. This was predominantly observed at On-Call stations as they tended to be smaller and more compact. It is understood that this issue forms part of the analysis of stations and their suitability as detailed previously in the SAMPP. Staff in the WSDA were in the main very pragmatic and accepting of their workplace limitations and it was difficult to assess any hidden impact on recruitment and retention. This approach by staff was very commendable but nonetheless it remains a very live management issue.

149. Data supplied by the SFRS details that 0.7% of WSDA staff identify themselves as ethnic minority. Again, within the constituent local authorities, those from an ethnic minority background make up an average of 2.85% of the local population. Identifying how ethnically representative the workforce is of the local community is difficult, as recording of ethnicity is not mandatory and 46.2% of WSDA staff haven’t recorded their ethnic background or prefer not to say.

150. 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 under-represented groups. Nationally the Service aspires to have a workforce which is representative of the people and communities of Scotland. The Service has a published Positive Action Strategy 19-22, which we were informed was being refreshed during the previous ESDA inspection. Its aim is to promote the SFRS as an Employer of Choice to Scotland’s diverse communities, to attract, recruit and retain people from under-represented groups. We understand that the strategy is still due to be reviewed and republished but that this will happen as part of a planned review of recruitment and selection processes.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

151. The SFRS’ Mental Health Strategy 20-23⁽⁸⁾ gives a commitment to support its staff and to provide a positive and inclusive culture for staff to operate within as well as access appropriate information and professional assistance to maintain good mental health. Staff wellbeing is a priority of the SFRS and there is a range of support, for both physical and mental health available.

152. HMFSI published a Thematic Inspection report in December 2023 entitled ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Support in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’⁽⁹⁾. This was an inspection specifically focused on Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHW) and contained 20 recommendations for improvement across the whole SFRS. As such, it is not the intention to revisit these themes.

153. Particular to the WSDA, we observed that posters promoting the Service’s mental health campaign were very visible at the stations we visited. Most staff we spoke to were complimentary about the MHW support, particularly to that offered by command officers immediately following traumatic incidents. There seemed to be a very positive culture developing in the WSDA about being proactive in this regard, which should be commended. There also seemed to be a growing awareness and use of the Post Incident Support Process (PISP), which was also a very positive aspect.

154. Sickness absence within the WSDA has been reasonably static within most workforce duty groups as per Table 2 below. There is a noticeable rise in absence rates in the 2021- 22 year, which is consistent with the ESDA figures and may be related to COVID. For the year 2022-23 the Wholetime absence rate of 6.63% for the WSDA is consistent with the ESDA absence rate of 6.64%. The absence rate for WSDA FDO’s and On-Call staff is 4.74% and 5.27% respectfully. These are both slightly higher than those of the ESDA which are 2.99% and 4.14% respectively. The WSDA support staff absence rate is 5.36%, which is considerably lower that the ESDA, which was 8.09%.

155. It should be noted that there are considerable variations across the six WSDA LSO areas with absence rates both significantly above and below the averages. Absence is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) within the WSDA and we are aware that it is monitored and reported on frequently to ensure proactive management.

Wholetime	Year	Average Days Lost Per Person	Absence %
	2019-2020	6.13	5.55
	2020-2021	6.89	4.99
	2021-2022	11.08	8.77
	2022-2023	8.64	6.63

 

Flexi	Year	Average Days Lost Per Person	Absence %
	2019-2020	3.69	6.12
	2020-2021	5.72	3.20
	2021-2022	6.24	4.41
	2022-2023	5.79	4.74

 

On-Call	Year	Average Days Lost Per Person	Absence %
	2019-2020	15.53	5.47
	2020-2021	11.70	3.62
	2021-2022	19.77	6.16
	2022-2023	17.28	5.27

 

Support	Year	Average Days Lost Per Person	Absence %
	2019-2020	9.54	5.07
	2020-2021	4.87	2.40
	2021-2022	12.46	8.00
	2022-2023	9.80	5.36

^{Table 2 - WSDA Absence Rates}

156. There are national policies for the management of absence and helping to support staff in a Return to Work (RtW). We were provided strong evidence to suggest that absence within workplaces is managed as per the Policy and Procedures. However, we found evidence to suggest that the quality of this management could be improved by the development of supervisory managers, which is ongoing as detailed previously. In addition, staff reported that systems for monitoring trigger levels were not automatic and required manual intervention and analysis. This seemed to be an inhibitor to efficient and effective use of the processes for station personnel.

157. 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 the SFRS. Across the WSDA for the twelve month period to March 2023, there were 1,252 referral cases. The most common reason for the referral was musculoskeletal injury (38%), with work related stress (28%) being the next most common.

Health and Safety

158. 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. As can be seen in Table 3, accident, injury and near miss numbers have declined over the last three reporting years, which was also a trend in the ESDA. The number reported for the WSDA is about 20% higher than a similar three year reporting period for the ESDA, which is 314. There is an expectation that this would be higher, given the differences in the metrics of the two areas and as such, we have no concern.

	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Total
Accident/Injury	191	102	95	388
Acts of Violence	25	29	31	85

^{Table 3 - WSDA H&S occurrences}

159. The SFRS has a national system used for recording health and safety events and near misses. The general view of WSDA staff we spoke to was that the new system, ‘Think Act Stay Safe’ (TASS), was an improvement on the previous one, RIVO, but there were still times that the level of detail required was onerous and that the functionality was not always available.

160. We found strong evidence to suggest that Station Health and Safety Audits are in the main being conducted throughout the WSDA and that issues identified, and areas of improvement recorded. However, we did find, that although all conducted recently, there were many versions of the proforma in use with examples of v1.0 to v6.0 being used, which was not ideal.

161. Regrettably, acts of violence against personnel have been increasing over the last three reporting years as per Table 3 above. The number reported for the WSDA is about 26% higher than a similar three year reporting period for the ESDA, which is 63. There is an expectation that this would be higher, given the differences in the metrics of the two areas and as such, we have no concern in comparison. The Service reported that community engagement work continues with a targeted approach and that many of these events are generally concluded safely with no injuries to personnel. The Service has done a lot of work to ensure personnel, when faced with these types of incidents, know how to react to stay safe and then report these incidents. However, the increasing trend is of concern, 31 instances in a year is 31 too many and it is concerning that SFRS staff continue to be abused whilst at work.

Training and Development

162. The provision of training support is split between Local training teams, who are part of the LSO’s staff and a national training team, which is part of the Training, Safety and Assurance Directorate and for the WSDA is based at the SFRS National Training Centre (NTC) at Cambuslang. The National training team at Cambuslang is responsible for delivering certain courses, such as Recruit training, BA Refresher, Compartment Fire Behaviour, Tactical Ventilation, Incident Command and Driver Training. Local training staff support both technical and practical input in a range of core and specialist skills, such as BA, Casualty Care, HazMat, Knots and Lines, RTC extrication, Water awareness, SWaH, Incident Command, Driving 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 local areas. We were provided evidence that these plans are in place to ensure ongoing training and development for Wholetime and On-Call staff.

163. It is an SFRS expectation that, in the WSDA, training in the main is driven by on station Supervisory managers supported by Local training staff who are scheduled to attend regularly. This training is also supported at On-Call stations with the On-Call Support WC’s. Staff routinely praised local training staff and standards, they were very supportive and engaged with training delivered locally. In contrast, many staff were very critical of training delivered at the NTC. This feedback tended to be focused on frustration and disappointment regarding access to courses, reduced access to the facility, perceived underuse of the facility and standard of training when there. That said, the Service reported that those staff who have attended the NTC for training and courses returned very high satisfaction ratings and that they are currently developing a Framework to ensure stations have access to all training facilities they require to maintain the skills.

164. There were also some concerns raised about the continuing use of Training Officers to assist Fleet with the logistics of appliance and equipment movement. Although commendable, staff and management reported that this had an impact on their capacity to fulfil their primary role. Staff also reported they felt there was an over reliance on digital learning with not enough delivery of practical training. However, the Service believes that a more holistic ‘blended learning’ approach to knowledge and skills maintenance is key to ensuring firefighter safety within a modern fire and rescue service. This blended approach to learning is being delivered through their TFoC and practical consolidation delivered locally. It is understood that the Service is developing the blended learning experience, but staff generally felt that the balance wasn’t correct yet.

165. For new entrants, Wholetime personnel attend a three month training course at a SFRS training centre. Following graduation from this course, trainees then go into a development phase, where they are given three further assessments, Red, Amber and Green. Due to recent increased intakes of trainees, there are challenges in supporting and assessing their development phase which is proving resource intensive in some areas. We encountered trainees who had completed their development plans but finding it difficult to be signed off as being competent firefighters, due to a lack of SVQ Assessors and Verifiers nationally to approve these plans. HMI Education recently conducted a audit with regards to the Modern Apprenticeship and SVQ Process, with a subsequent number of recommendations that the People Directorate are working through.

166. There was also consistent feedback from supervisory managers that trainees arriving on station didn’t exhibit a level of competence in skills that they considered the most important. Examples given, were lack of consistency from instructors, too much emphasis on community safety and not enough emphasis on basic skills such as casualty care, RTC and BA. The Service has reported that the Trainee Foundation course was historically reviewed with a reduction in CS input in favour of core operational training. In addition, the course is constantly debriefed, with feedback taken forward as learning and actioned to ensure continuous improvement. The course through this process has recently been increased by one week based on feedback from Trainees to enhance training for BA and Casualty Care. That said, there would seem to be a disconnect between the expectation of trainee development when joining station and what the Service believes it is delivering.

167. Initial training for an On-Call firefighter is to attend a two-week Task and TTM course, followed by a further two weeks at a later date. The initial training for On-Call staff can be a barrier as detailed earlier in the report. The Service is actively looking at improving the recruitment and initial training experience for On-Call firefighters through its national On-Call improvement programme. We encountered some good examples of this training being modularised to alleviate these issues, making the training package more accessible to the trainee and soften primary employment issues. The SFRS should maintain a focus on, and further enhance, this work.

168. The SFRS made a substantial change to its ongoing or TFoC, training programme for firefighters in April 2022. These included the core skills to be covered over a 12 month period and standard and advanced modules to be covered over 36 months. Continuous training is delivered using an e-learning system known as the LCMS, which uses videos as well as online questions and answers to support and assess staff competencies. We have previously commented in several reports that staff reported the training packages were not entirely conducive to learning. Consequently, changes were made to ongoing training, some of the former modules have been combined to create a single topic, reducing the number of standard and advanced down from 36 modules to 24. The content of the modules has also been improved, with more of a focus on ‘need to know’ information for maintenance phase staff, rather than ‘nice to know’. The changes implemented have been widely welcomed by staff.

169. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) define 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. As detailed, there is also nationally delivered refresher training to ensure competence is maintained. Operational readiness within the SFRS is measured across competence in TFoC, Core Skills and Specialist Skills. Nationally the Service sets a compliance performance target of 95% for the workforce. Performance in the WSDA is set out in Tables 4 to 6.

Core Skill - TFoC 22/23	% Competence (WT)	% Competence (RDS)	% Competence (VOL)
Breathing Apparatus	93	84	20
Casualty Care	91	83	16
Incident Command	92	80	15
Knots and Lines	93	86	21
RTC and Extrication	90	81	25
Hazardous Material	89	76	17
SWaH	91	70	7
Water Awareness	92	84	14
Driving	94	91	8

Core Skill - National Refresher 22/23	% Competence (WT)	% Competence (RDS)	% Competence (Vol)
Breathing Apparatus Refresher	82	75	29
Compartment Fire Behaviour Refresher	61	5	18
Tactical Ventilation Refresher	4	24	3
Incident Command Level 1 Refresher	91	93	55
Emergency Response Driving Refresher	70	96	72

Specialist Skills - National Refresher 22/23	% Competence (WT)	% Competence (RDS)	% Competence (Vol)
Heavy Rescue	72	N/A	N/A
Urban Search and Rescue	67	N/A	N/A
Water Rescue	117*	250	N/A
Rope Rescue	88	N/A	N/A
Mass Decontamination	118*	N/A	N/A

170. We can observe from Table 4 that WT staff in the WSDA are generally maintaining core skills at or around the 90% mark, albeit they are generally below the 95% national standard. On-Call RDS Staff are generally maintaining core skills between 80% and 90%. However, there are significant dips in this number for HazMat and SWaH and all core skills are significantly below the 95% national standard apart from Driving. The VDS On-Call fall well below the maintenance of skill percentages across all core skills with the highest attained being 25%, which is concerning.

Recommendation 24: We recommend that the WSDA reviews its delivery of Core Skill TFoC training with improvement in completion at VDS stations deemed a priority.

171. We can observe from Table 5 that WT and RDS On-Call Staff in the WSDA are generally having core skills refreshed at a National Training Centre to a varying standard. The percentage of staff who have had refresher training in Compartment Fire and Tactical Ventilation are well below the national standard. This is consistent with feedback from staff who expressed disappointment and frustration regarding the lack of ‘hot wear’ BA training, which is concerning. The tactical ventilation figure for WT of 4% is extremely low and was subject to clarification from the Service. It is understood that this issue forms part of a BA recovery plan with a different delivery strategy for BA, compartment fire and tactical ventilation refreshers. The VDS On-Call fall well below the refresher of core skill percentages across all core skills with the highest attained being 72%, which is concerning.

Recommendation 25: We recommend that the Service review its delivery of core skill refresher training with improvement in WSDA BA Compartment Fire and Tactical Ventilation courses and all skills at VDS stations deemed a priority.

172. We can observe from Table 6 that that WT and RDS On-Call Staff in the WSDA are generally having specialist skills refreshed at a National Training Centre to a varying standard with some notable successes in Water Rescue and Mass Decontamination. However, there are significant dips in this number for Heavy Rescue and USAR refresher training. We have been advised of continuing national difficulties relating to training in USAR, borne out in the statistics above and our previous report of the ESDA.

Recommendation 26: We recommend that the Service review its delivery of specialist skill refresher training with improvement in WSDA Heavy Rescue and USAR required.

173. In previous reports we have highlighted that there is a shortage of appliance drivers in a number of areas, this is a continuing problem. A review by the driver training team in 2020 highlighted that, across the Service, there was a shortage of 270 drivers at that time. Our experience within the WSDA demonstrated that there was still a shortage of drivers and that many drivers were spending extended periods on that one skill. As detailed previously, some drivers noted that they had rarely worked in a non-driving role for months and years on end.

174. Notwithstanding the improvement in the LCMS packages, issues, also raised by us in earlier inspections, are poor internet connection, and restricted access to and perceived poor quality of computers, particularly in On-Call fire stations. These are of particular relevance given the blended approach and emphasis on digital learning. Staff also provided feedback that it was particularly difficult accessing training equipment and that the ability to be placed on Training/Strategic reserve had almost disappeared.

175. We were made aware that there are three stations in the WSDA, which were traditionally designated Ship Firefighting stations. We believe these stations were historically Ardrossan, Greenock and Govan and were identified due to their proximity to local risks such as docks, harbours and shipyards. Concern was raised by staff regarding the fact that there was no new course in the skill, they had not been trained on this skill in a number of years and competence had probably lapsed. However, there was still an expectation the Service would attend incidents on ships if they were alongside. This issue was confirmed by management and reinforced by a Local Training Plan indicating that the Service did not provide a Tactical Ship Firefighting (TSFF) course. This is of particular concern as it seems anomalous with routine Fire Service skill acquisition and maintenance protocols. It was also unclear whether the Service continued to develop TSFF Tactical Advisors at FDO level.

Recommendation 27: We recommend that the Service review the provision of TSFF training and explore the delivery of WSDA acquisition and refresher courses in the future.

176. Firefighters in development commented on being disadvantage by the change in SVQ/ Apprenticeship guidance, instigated by the awarding body, part way through their 3-year development period, resulting in having to “start again” as well as adding undue stress to them and their colleagues. It was reported that this drop in completion rates continued to affect the ability to reach competence and the consequential negative financial impact. As detailed previously the People Directorate are working through recommendations made by the Education Inspector. There was reference to the lack of continued practical training for their role beyond local organised training. Opinions were expressed around the lack of structured CPD for Tactical Advisor (TacAd) roles. The Service acknowledged these concerns and stated that a number of ongoing work streams such as a BA Instructor revalidation process, Methods of Instruction training and the development of a Skills Maintenance Framework would help alleviate these issues.

177. Many of the issues observed in the previous paragraphs were supported by our 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 7.11 in the WSDA, compared to 7.12 in the ESDA, so very similar. A lot of the positively rated responses were supported by narrative claiming they felt they were “adequately trained”. A high volume of the narrative in support of both negative and positive ratings referred to the majority of training being self-led. Of these, the more positive scorings refer to on the job experience largely supplementing self-led training. However, there are a high number of respondents who refer to there being too much reliance on TFOC and theory self-led training. A number expressed their concerns around the lack of BA Training (practical hot fire/carbonaceous training) and RTC training. Some comments from the survey suggested that some trainees generally do not feel confident starting at station following their initial training. Comments relate to too much focus on less relevant elements and they feel they have a lack of exposure to carbonaceous BA and Trauma training.

178. The national contract issues and supply of scrap cars for RTC training was a continual issue highlighted by personnel. In our fieldwork many stations reported extended periods of years since having a car to practice extrication, although this was not confirmed.

179. The Training Safety and Assurance Function have been developing a new Training Function Vision and Strategy 23-28⁽¹⁰⁾. Their vision is to provide ‘clarity and resources to ensure we work safely, collaboratively and progressively to deliver excellence in operational training’. The intention is to provide a Skills Maintenance Framework, Training Delivery Framework and Training Assets Framework to reset and improve the performance of training throughout the SFRS. In order to achieve this vision, there was a need to alter the current structure of training into a single Training Function. Consequently, there has been a decision to merge all WSDA local training staff and the National Instructor Pool (NIP) into the single SFRS Training Function, which will hopefully ensure training is centrally co-ordinated and locally delivered. The movement of staff was partially done in October 2023 with the remainder transferred in April 2024. It is envisaged that these changes should provide improvement in many of the areas detailed in the previous paragraphs.

180. There is a degree of concern in the WSDA regarding the loss of local control of training staff, given their positive influence. Staff are sceptical the changes will realise local performance improvement, and many see this as a continued move to centralisation and subsequent loss of local control. In addition, there was also concern regarding the lack of detail regarding remaining workload and responsibility, which hadn’t been clarified. That said, the Strategy is a clear and innovative attempt from the Training Function to start to address many of the historic training issues and they should be commended for its development. It should also be noted that the introduction of the Strategy and Vision has been ongoing throughout the inspection and that many of the concerns raised regarding changes may be a timing issue.

Recommendation 28: We recommend that the Service implement and resource the new Training Vision and Strategy in its entirety, in order that both historic and contemporary areas of improvement be upgraded and that evaluation of this be completed.

Assurance

181. The SFRS has an Operational Assurance (OA) Policy that details it is a safety management system, underpinned by the key ‘Safe Person Principles’, which aims to support the delivery of a safe, effective and efficient operational response using planned and systematic processes to minimise organisational risk. The application of robust OA processes, such as pre-incident audits, during incident monitoring and post-incident reviews, supports the concept and ethos of good operational preparedness as well as a learning organisation focused on continuous improvement. Staff were generally aware of the Operational Assurance Recording and Reporting System (OARRS), with many reporting that they had used the system for Station Audits, Incident reviews or Incident/ Event debriefs.

182. We found strong evidence to suggest that pre incident Station Audits are in the main being conducted throughout the WSDA and that areas of improvement and good practice are being recorded. On some occasions we found that staff were unaware of their Station Audit outcome and that the information wasn’t being routinely shared or debriefed. This was a bit disappointing, given the fact that they had been completed and the opportunity to improve was being missed. We found no evidence during incident monitoring but felt that this was mainly due to the national nature of the Incident Command System (ICS) as opposed to it being a local management issue.

183. With regard to post incident reviews, we found a very mixed picture of performance. Staff were very conversant with the Hot Debrief process and gave a lot of good evidence surrounding the positive use and learning from them being conducted at Level 1 incidents. The predominance at Level 1 incidents seemed to be Hot Debrief with little structured debriefing thereafter. There were, however, many instances of the hot debrief process being developed further to include discussion around MHW. Staff were also very comfortable with then reviewing an incident on return to the fire station if the nature of the incident required it. We found some evidence of involvement with Level 4 and above, structured incident debriefs as well as for thematic events such as severe weather. These were generally very memorable to staff and included examples such as the Glasgow School of Art, Albert Drive, Lancefield Quay and various recent storms. Due to the size and therefore infrequency of these types of incident/events there was limited instances recounted of feedback and learning outcomes.

184. For Level 2 and Level 3 structured debrief the OA policy allows commanders to opt for a face to face process or to issue an electronic OA13 information gathering process on the OARRS. It is understood that both systems have their merits and there is an expectation that both should be used in a blended approach to ensure good Organisational Learning (OL). We found limited evidence of commanders conducting any face to face debriefs and almost universally, the predominance was to use the OA13 electronic system. It is not clear why this is the case, but some reasons given by staff were, the convenience of the electronic system, the capacity needed to conduct a face to face process and a lack of development and resulting confidence in debrief skills. Staff reported that involvement with an OA13 process rarely produced tangible learning.

185. In general, we found a degree of apathy and disappointment towards the OA system with many staff reporting that they almost never got any feedback from being part of a process and when learning did get communicated it had taken far too long to be disseminated. We are aware, from observing the TSAB, that OA forms an important part of OL with the topic and outcome scheduled into discussion and reporting. In addition, staff did report receiving learning in the form of altered SOPs and ‘Front Line’ updates. However, it is concerning that the face to face debrief process and subsequent positive learning aspects, seem to be diminishing within the WSDA.

Recommendation 29: We recommend that the Service review the implementation of OA policy and practice within the WSDA in order that improvement and development of local and organisation learning be realised.