The Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to consider a range of important operational and strategic matters. Key discussions were expected to focus on the national state of fire and rescue services, proposals for a new training facility, and engagement with young people. The committee was also set to review the service's budget, performance data, and progress on improvement plans.

HMICFRS State of Fire and Rescue Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the HMICFRS State of Fire and Rescue 2024-2025 Report. This national report provides an assessment of fire and rescue services across England, highlighting key themes, challenges, and systemic issues. The report indicated that while services are showing incremental improvements, progress is uneven, and many still have substantial work to do to meet expected standards. Areas of concern included people-related issues, workforce capability, and the consistency of prevention work. The report also noted persistent challenges in leadership and culture, with unacceptably high levels of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in some services. Workforce planning, the declining availability of the on-call duty system, and the increasing complexity of incidents due to climate change were also identified as significant issues. The report also stressed the importance of dedicated change teams to drive improvement and highlighted outstanding national reform recommendations, including clarifying the role of the firefighter, reforming pay negotiation machinery, and establishing operational independence for chief fire officers. The committee was recommended to note the content of this report, which is intended to inform the development of the Community Risk Management Plan 2026-2030.

GFRS Training Facility

An update was scheduled regarding proposals for a new Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) training facility at Coombe Hill, along with planned improvements to five strategic satellite sites across the county. This initiative is a key element of a wider Gloucestershire County Council development and is considered essential for GFRS to maintain a modern, resilient, in-county training capability following the end of the current Severn Park PFI contract in April 2028. The report outlined the strategic, statutory, cultural, and financial rationale for the development, noting its importance in addressing emerging risks such as electric vehicle fires and the impacts of climate change. The new facility aims to create a consistent, accessible, and professional learning environment, enhancing firefighter safety and organisational effectiveness. The report detailed the planned enhancements for the Coombe Hill site, including a live fire training building, cold smoke building, and a road traffic collision training area. Upgrades to five existing sites – Gloucester South, Cheltenham West, Chipping Campden, Cirencester, and Coleford – were also outlined, focusing on improved cold smoke structures and enhanced core operational skills areas. The programme timeline indicated a target go-live date of 1 April 2028, aligned with the termination of the Severn Park PFI contract. Key risks identified included the fixed deadline for the PFI contract and potential delays to construction or planning approval.

GFRS Engagement with Children and Young People

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on how GFRS engages with children and young people, with a particular focus on the SkillZONE offer. SkillZONE is a purpose-built facility designed to educate young people on making safer choices and reducing risk-taking behaviours. The service adopts a graduated approach, offering universal access to schools and a targeted intervention for those identified as being at increased risk of harm or exploitation. This includes engagement on serious violence, anti-social behaviour, online safety, and fire safety. The report highlighted the StreetWIZE Project, an evidence-led early intervention programme. Since April 2025, over seven thousand children have participated in school-based workshops and community outreach, with a further 5,671 experiencing the immersive education at SkillZONE. The report noted that 40% of participants were from identified priority or at-risk cohorts. Evaluation findings indicated improved awareness of risks and consequences related to serious violence, increased confidence in making safer choices, and a greater understanding of exploitation. Funding and collaboration were identified as essential for sustaining and expanding SkillZONE's reach.

GFRS Budget

The committee was scheduled to note the GFRS Budget, broken down by department of expenditure, covering staffing, contracts, and other key factors. The report indicated that the net revenue budget for the Community Safety Directorate (CSD) for 2025/26 was £27.860m, with a forecast outturn showing a slight overspend. For GFRS specifically, the net revenue budget was £25.185m, with a projected overspend of £137k. This included significant drawdowns from reserves for PFI equalisation, the Integrated Command Control System, and operational training. The report detailed improvements from the previous month's forecast, largely due to the deferral of a Cirencester pension remedy cost. However, it also highlighted an ongoing overspend in staffing due to operational overtime, which was partially mitigated by a growth item in the proposed 2026/27 budget. The report also outlined the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) proposals for 2026/27, which included investment in areas such as additional operational day-crewing capacity in the Forest of Dean, establishment of a budget for operational overtime, and upgrades to response systems. Capital funding proposals for 2026/27 were also detailed, including investment in front-line pumping appliances, alterations to Cinderford fire station, fire training facilities, and an incident command unit.

Cost of False Alarms

A briefing note on the costs of false alarms was scheduled to be presented. Unwanted Fire Signals (UwFS), often referred to as false alarms, continue to represent a significant avoidable demand on fire and rescue services nationally. The report indicated that GFRS receives an average of 2,749 Automatic Fire Alarm (AFA) calls per year, with a substantial proportion being successfully challenged and not attended. However, an average of 1,031 AFA calls still require attendance annually. The report detailed the resource and financial impact of these attendances, including the cost of on-call and wholetime crews and appliance costs. It was noted that a significant proportion of attended incidents involved sleeping risk premises, where life safety considerations necessitated a response. The report also referenced National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) guidance, which supports a shift towards a proportionate and risk-based response, prioritising risk-critical premises and empowering services to withdraw or reduce attendance at persistently poor-performing premises.

Community Safety Performance Data - Quarter 3 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to receive and scrutinise the Community Safety performance data for the third quarter of the financial year 2025/26 (October to December 2025). The report detailed a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across response, prevention, and protection. In terms of response, average response times to dwelling fires showed a slight improvement but remained worse than previous years and above target. While wholetime crews met their response time targets, on-call crews were off target, with significant variations in appliance availability across different stations, particularly during daytime hours. In prevention, the rate of Safe and Well visits undertaken per 1,000 population was better than target, with a steady improvement over the year. The proportion of these visits to vulnerable individuals also met the target. However, the completion rate for Site-Specific Risk Information (SSRI) visits was behind target, requiring a significant number of visits to be completed in the final quarter. The protection section indicated that 83.5% of the Risk Based Inspection Programme (RBIP) had been delivered by the end of Quarter 3, against a target of 88.3%, with a need to complete a higher number of audits in the next quarter. The report also included a Strategic Risk Monitoring Report, highlighting the risk of Delivery of Fire Service Improvements as moderate, with good progress being made on existing Causes of Concern and Areas for Improvement identified by HMICFRS.

Improvement Board Progress Update

An update was scheduled on the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service Improvement Board. The Board's role is to support, advise, and hold the GFRS Strategic Leadership Team accountable for delivering transformation within the organisation. The report detailed progress on addressing Causes of Concern (CoCs) and Areas for Improvement (AFIs) identified by His Majesty's Inspectorate of the Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). Three causes of concern had been dismissed following revisits from HMICFRS. Several AFIs were presented with all activity complete and approved for sign-off by the Board. Some CoCs and AFIs required deadline extensions, with Board members scrutinising timelines and suggesting elements could be brought forward. The report also referenced an independent review commissioned by GFRS to explore racism and bullying between 1991 and 2018, with key findings relating to past institutional racism and organisational failings. Progress on recommendations aligned with existing CoCs and AFIs was being managed within the Transformation Programme.

Work Plan

The committee was scheduled to review the Committee work plan and suggest items for consideration at future meetings. The plan outlined scheduled scrutiny items for upcoming meetings, including updates on the implementation of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals, the Coroner's Service and Trading Standards, firefighter shift changes, and GFRS audit arrangements. Information items included the Community Safety Performance Data for Quarter 4 2025/26 and the Improvement Board Progress Update. Future items for consideration included an update on progress against the HMICFRS Inspection action plan, an overview of prevention and protection activities, and an overview of the on-call national research study.