North Yorkshire fire chiefs say “enormous progress” has been made on staffing issues following criticism from inspectors.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) raised concerns about North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in a report published in January 2023.
Workforce planning was one of the areas criticised following the inspection, with ineffective systems and processes identified.
The issues within the service meant 42 per cent of leadership positions and 45 firefighter posts were held by temporary post holders at their peak.
Inspectors revisited later that year and said progress had been made, with the issues around staffing no longer a cause of concern.
Service chiefs say the improvements have continued since then, with a wholetime firefighter recruitment campaign in 2023/24 resulting in 18 firefighters joining the 13-week training course in April 2024 and an additional 17 on-call firefighters moving into a wholetime role.
In total, the service received 808 applications.
Of these, 11 per cent were from women and 9.4 per cent were from an ethnic minority.
A new on-call station manager role has been created, while improvements on on-call recruitment have also been made.
These include analysis of catchment areas for on-call stations to aid recruitment, targeted leaflet drops and ‘have a go’ days.
Jo Coles, North Yorkshire deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, said:
“Back in 2023, fire and rescue services inspectors raised concerns about North Yorkshire workforce planning.
“Since then, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have made enormous progress and as a result of recent recruitment campaigns and promotion panels, the number of temporary contracts in operational roles has been reduced significantly. This is really welcome progress.
“Recruitment and retention in a rural fire service area like North Yorkshire will always be challenging because of our reliance on on-call firefighters but Mayor David Skaith and I are determined to do all we can to keep our region safe, including providing the best possible incentives to those working for our fire service, whether it’s in a full time role, on-call or as a volunteer.”
It is hoped the service will benefit from new nationally agreed contracts for on-call firefighters, which came into effect in January.
A report said previous on-call contracts were very rigid and required “incredible levels of commitment”.
In the last year, 52 new on-call firefighters had joined the service while 45 had left.
The public will be given an update on recruitment and retention within the service at a public meeting on Thursday, April 14 at 2.30pm.
Visit www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk for more details.
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