Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue have been told the service needs to get better at dealing with bullying, harassment and discrimination
Their latest report saw inspectors concluding it did well in responding to fires and other emergencies.
A new report says Lincolnshire fire and rescue needs to take action to stamp out bullying, harassment, discrimination and misogyny in the service.
Inspectors praised their response to fires and other emergencies.
But it did raise concerns of staff experiencing issues like bullying and particularly inappropriate comments towards females.
His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, Roy Wilsher tells us more:
"Well, we are carrying over a cause of concern in equality, diversity, and inclusion, which involves, you know, positive action, recruiting a representative workforce and making sure that staff not only understand that the values, but they demonstrate those values.
"I'm pleased to say that they have made some improvement here, but it sometimes takes a long time to change culture. So the course of concern is enduring. They had met some recommendations, but there's still more to do."
He added that the process of inspecting the service is important:
"Well, I think inspecting is a very important part. For policing, we've been inspecting for the last 165 years, so it's well established, and for Fire and Rescue services we've been involved since 2017, so this is our third round of inspections of fire services.
"I would say that it really is helping the fire service improve. Having an independent inspection and we're very independent of anyone - not the government or anyone else - having an independent inspection to point out what they're doing well and what they need to improve just helps the service to serve the public."
Further, in today’s (Wednesday 29 November) report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, there's notes of the progress the service has made since its last inspection, and no areas of the service have been judged as inadequate.
Lincolnshire County Council's Lindsey Cawrey, the Executive Councillor for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said:
“I’m really pleased that the positive direction of travel and in particular the service’s response to fires, emergencies and major incidents, has received recognition. These areas have been noted as ‘good’ by the Inspectorate which is what the people of Lincolnshire rightly deserve and expect.
“There is still work to be done to improve areas that support the successful running of the fire service, but the progress noted in the report is testament to the hard work and commitment of our teams who deliver day in, day out to keep our communities safer.”
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services has highlighted areas of further improvement which mainly relate to supporting staff and an additional focus on increasing the equality and diversity of the workforce.
The inspectorate also identified two areas of promising practice - the effectiveness of the co-responding service, where fire crews provide lifesaving, trauma care across Lincolnshire; and the ‘assured level of risk’ model, that continually reviews where the highest risk areas are and the actions needed to prevent and respond to them.
Chief Fire Officer for Lincolnshire, Mark Baxter, said:
“Our partnership work in Lincolnshire is really effective, both in preventing incidents and responding to them. It’s great that this has been recognised by the Inspectorate.
“Since our last inspection in 2021 and since the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services' visit in June, we have been addressing several areas that need work, with clear plans for continual improvement. Our hard work and strengths have been recognised, but we fully accept that there’s more we need to do, including ensuring that our staff feel supported and have fully inclusive work environments.
“I’m assured that the Inspectorate didn’t find any new areas of concern that we’re not already working to address and reported they were pleased with the progress we have made.”
The report can be found on His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services website.