Northamptonshire Fire Service must improve diversity policies, report says

Chief fire officer Darren Dovey said he would be challenging everyone to "improve the culture of the organisation"

A chief fire officer said he will be challenging all staff to "improve the culture" of the service after inspectors voiced concerns.

The fire service watchdog found Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service had made "significant progress" since 2018.

But the service "requires improvement" in "looking after its people".

Darren Dovey, chief fire officer, said he wanted the service to be a "supportive place to work".

The latest report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said the service had "made significant progress in how effectively and efficiently it keeps people safe and secure from fires and other risks".

It said a previous concern about not having adequate resources to respond effectively to emergencies had been addressed and the service now "consistently makes sure enough fire engines are available".

But inspectors added that there was more work to do in the area of "promoting the right values, ensuring fairness, and encouraging diversity".

'Areas for improvement'

Inspector Roy Wilsher said that although the service's leadership team showed "clear strategic intent" to promote these values, he was "concerned to find that in many areas this is not translating into effective actions that people throughout the organisation understand and support".

"Overall, I commend the service on the changes it has made and expect it to continue working to resolve the further areas for improvement we have identified," he said.

Mr Dovey said he was "pleased that the fantastic efforts" of his staff had had an impact and resulted in an improvement to services that keep the public safe.

"Our performance has come a long way, but now I will be challenging everyone to put the same energy into improving the culture of our organisation to make Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service the most supportive place to work, where everyone can be themselves and give their best," he said.

The county's police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold, who has taken over the governance of the service since the last inspection, said he was pleased that it was providing "a much-improved service" but was "disappointed" by the comments about values and inclusion.