The Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Committee met on Friday 13 March 2026 to discuss the HMICFRS State of Fire and Rescue Report, an update on the GFRS training facility, and engagement with children and young people. The committee also reviewed the GFRS budget, the cost of false alarms, and performance data for Quarter 3 of 2025/26.

HMICFRS State of Fire and Rescue Report

Mark Bostock, GFRS Area Manager, presented the HMICFRS State of Fire and Rescue 2024-25 Report, a statutory assessment of fire and rescue services across England. The report evaluates effectiveness, efficiency, and leadership and culture within each service. While acknowledging that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) has made progress in areas such as culture and responding to emerging demands, the committee heard that challenges remain, particularly concerning the recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters and the need to resource proportionately to emerging risks within a constrained fiscal landscape. The report's findings on national reform, including the role of firefighters, pay negotiation machinery, and operational independence for chief fire officers, were also discussed. The Cabinet Member for Public Health, Communities and Fire noted that the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) could impact GFRS, with further discussion planned for the next meeting.

GFRS Training Facility

Chief Fire Officer Mark Preece provided an update on the development of a new GFRS training facility at Coombe Hill and the enhancement of five satellite sites. This initiative is crucial to ensure GFRS maintains a modern, in-county training capability following the end of the Severn Park PFI contract in March 2028. The new facility aims to meet future operational needs, statutory training requirements, and workforce expectations, enhancing firefighter safety and organisational effectiveness. A public consultation event for the Coombe Hill development was held, addressing concerns about environmental impacts and operational noise, and was generally well-received. The committee was assured that plans were in place to mitigate timescale risks, including reciprocal agreements with neighbouring fire services and the Fire Service College for interim training provision. Upgrades to satellite sites, such as Chipping Campden, will focus on enhancing training facilities for on-call firefighters without involving live fire burn training. Environmental considerations, including the potential use of solar photovoltaic panels, are being reviewed.

GFRS Engagement with Children and Young People

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Nathaniel Hooton presented an update on GFRS's engagement with children and young people, highlighting the SkillZONE facility. SkillZONE is a purpose-built, immersive education centre designed to help young people make safer choices and reduce risk-taking behaviours. Since April 2025, over 7,000 children have participated in school-based workshops and outreach programmes, with an additional 5,671 experiencing the immersive education at SkillZONE. The committee recognised the positive impact of SkillZONE's initiatives, particularly in personal safety education and knife crime messaging, and noted its numerous awards. The committee expressed strong support for the introduction of a fire cadet training programme, recognising its potential benefits for young people, especially the most vulnerable. They recommended that officers investigate the requirements and funding needed for such a programme, with a report to be presented at the July meeting.

GFRS Budget

Chief Fire Officer Mark Preece presented the Community Safety Directorate's revenue budget for 2025/26. The net revenue budget for GFRS totals £25.185M, with a forecast outturn showing a slight overspend of £137k, considered within acceptable limits. Staffing forecasts have reduced due to lower on-call costs, but an overspend of £268k remains due to operational overtime. The report detailed investment proposals for 2026/27, including additional operational day-crewing capacity in the Forest of Dean and funding for operational overtime. The Chief Fire Officer highlighted that staffing and premises costs represent the most significant elements of the service's operational budget, meaning workforce restructuring is the primary method for achieving savings. The Cabinet Member noted that a funding increase for GFRS was positive and confirmed there would be no redundancies or fire station closures in Gloucestershire.

Cost of False Alarms

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Nathaniel Hooton presented a report on the cost of false alarms, detailing call statistics and the financial impact of Automatic Fire Alarm Activations (AFA). The committee was informed about ongoing efforts to reduce unnecessary responses through call challenge processes and strengthened verification before appliance mobilisation, aligned with the National Fire Chiefs Council's Code of Practice. The report highlighted that a significant proportion of attended calls involved sleeping risk premises, where life safety considerations necessitated a response. GFRS works closely with businesses, particularly those with multiple calls over a short period, to ensure they understand their fire safety responsibilities. The service aims for a proportionate and risk-based response, moving away from blanket attendance at AFAs unless high-risk premises are involved.

Community Safety Performance Data Quarter 3 2025/26

The committee received a report providing a strategic overview of GFRS performance data for Quarter 3 2025/26 (October to December 2025). The Chief Fire Officer noted that the service's self-awareness had improved significantly with the introduction of a new strategic performance dashboard. While improvements were underway, the report indicated that progress was not consistent across all areas, with some underperformance against targets. Specifically, the average response time to dwelling fires was 10.12 minutes, missing the 9-minute target, which the Chief Fire Officer explained would require reallocating resources to high-need areas. The Cabinet Member acknowledged these inconsistencies.

Improvement Board Progress Update

Chief Fire Officer Mark Preece provided an update on the GFRS Improvement Board's activities during Quarter 3. The committee was informed that some activities related to identified causes of concern and areas for improvement had been signed off as complete, while others required deadline extensions due to their complexity. The Chief Fire Officer emphasised that progress must be balanced against potential adverse impacts on staff. The committee acknowledged the strong challenge provided by the Improvement Board to officers regarding the progress being made.

Work Plan

The committee agreed to add several items to its work plan, including an update on the outcome of the HMICFRS Inspection for the November meeting and an update on the development of the GFRS Training Facility for the September meeting. The Chief Fire Officer also explained that a report on GFRS's improvement proposals would be presented to Cabinet in May 2026, and Democratic Services would be notified when the consultation results were ready for the committee. The Cabinet Member agreed to explore ways to ensure items due for Cabinet consideration were shared with the committee for input in advance. Members were encouraged to submit suggestions for future work plan items.