THE fire inspectorate has said that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has made improvements in some areas but needs to make prevention a higher priority.

In it latest report, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas.

It found the service was ‘good’ in three areas, ‘adequate’ in three areas and ‘requires improvement’ in five areas.

HMICFRS said the service is good at responding to emergencies, including major incidents, and has plans to deal with risks such as severe weather events, including flooding response and water rescue.

Inspectors were pleased to find that the service has continued to consistently achieve high on-call firefighter availability.

The inspectorate also said that the service has sound financial management processes in place.

There are regular reviews to consider all the service’s expenditure, including its non-pay costs, and this scrutiny helps makes sure the service gets value for money.

However, HMICFRS said that since the service’s last inspection, not enough progress has been made to make prevention a sufficiently high priority. The service should implement a robust and consistent method of prioritising its home safety visits to those most at risk.

Inspectors found that while the service has done considerable work to improve its culture, there is still more to do.

For example, some staff said they don’t feel confident in challenging inappropriate behaviour.

The service needs to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken so far and whether they are having the intended impact to improve its culture.

HMICFRS also found that the service hasn’t made enough progress to improve its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Inspectors were disappointed to find that this team was understaffed, meaning staff have excessive workloads and some improvements have been delayed.

Gavin Ellis, Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, said: ‘We welcome the Inspectorate’s report, which is an important check-in against our improvement plans. It’s great to see our emergency response praised. It’s important for us that when people call 999, they get a good Service.

‘Operational colleagues across the Service work hard every day to maintain cover and competency so that they’re ready should anyone in our communities need them.

‘We’re pleased that our work to improve culture across the organisation has been recognised and the cause of concern removed.

‘We know we still have more to do to ensure our culture is consistent across the organisation and to better support our people to develop and thrive.

‘Regrettably, the Inspectorate has issued a cause of concern about our prevention activities.

‘Preventing emergencies is a huge focus for the organisation and our people are dedicated to keeping people safe.

‘The recommendations made are process issues and we have already acted to ensure we are better at targeting our prevention work and evaluating its effectiveness.

‘Our latest analysis shows that 85% of the referrals we receive from partners are from people who are either high or very high risk.

‘Overall, we have a great foundation to keep on improving.

‘The Inspectorate recognised the Service’s self-awareness and commitment of our staff and senior leaders to improve.’