Planning and Preparedness for Commonwealth Games 2026

SFRS Ongoing Planning and Preparation Work

78. SFRS has demonstrated strong leadership, professionalism and organisational maturity in preparing for CG 2026 under a challenging and non-traditional delivery model. At the time of writing this report the planning and preparation work being undertaken by the SFRS was ongoing. Several areas remain active and will necessitate HMFSI seeking assurance closer to Games time that all arrangements are in place and that the Service is satisfied as to their robustness:

• The SFRS is expected to confirm its preparations for the Games are complete in July 2026. It is expected that the ongoing preparations will be confirmed as complete by the CG Planning Team via the Games TAG. The Inspectorate will seek formal confirmation of this at that time which may necessitate a short addendum to this report or a standalone statement of assurance to that effect.

• The C3 staffing availability that will supplement the BAU personnel during the Games was still to be collated and finalised. With the reduced levels of C3 and the emphasis on BAU for incident response to Games venues, we do not envisage staff availability for this purpose to be a significant issue; nevertheless it does require ongoing vigilance and final confirmation.

• The SFRS Communication and Engagement Strategy was nearing completion but was in draft format at the time of writing this report. The Service had committed to providing a finalised version to our inspection team when the drafting work is completed.

• The SFRS maintains an ongoing focus on contractual arrangements with the GOC regarding cost recovery for the Games.