SWFRS Progress on Improvements for Culture, Strategy and Governance

Work is progressing to deliver the changes outlined in the Independent Culture Review and the self-assessment carried out in readiness for the results of the HMICFRS review that took place in the autumn.

Every six weeks senior leaders share updates on progress made and work delivered at a Service Improvement Board that is overseen by Commissioner, Carl Foulkes.

The recent Board was chaired by our Director of Strategic Change and Transformation, Dominic Mika, who said, “Over the last few months we have been setting out the strong foundations we need for robust portfolio, programme and project management that will support us to deliver the changes we need at pace and properly embed the work we are doing.

“A lot has already been achieved, and we are heading in the right direction. This journey is more than ticking off a check list, we are moving forward, involving and engaging colleagues and doing things properly so we have all contributed to the improvements for our future. It is all about doing the work in consultation and collaboration with our people and partner organisations, as well as learning from others and best practice.”

This work includes:

Strategy: The new strategy outlines the service priorities and brings together all the recommendations from recent reviews and reports, and aligns with our strategic approach to prevention, protection and response. It has over 60 distinct workstreams with timelines for delivery.

Governance: Strong foundations are being built to make sure we have processes and oversight in place to engage and listen, consult and collaborate and deliver things more quickly and respond in full to the recommendations in the Independent Culture Review.

This work includes new Governance Boards and Committees, a Culture and Connections Board with members of staff to share their voice and insight, and an Independent Advisory Group made up of external people who can support our journey of change.

Ethics Values and Behaviours: Our culture statement, published several months ago

reinforces that unacceptable behaviours will not be tolerated. We have piloted and are ready to launch a Taking Care of Behaviours programme to embed behaviour standards. The Senior Leadership Team have already completed it as part of their programme of learning and development, and it will now be rolled out to everyone.

Promotions Process: We have listened to feedback and are developing a new approach that is more transparent and gives a level of independence.

Changes to the selection and recruitment process for senior leaders: We have changed the process to recruit senior leadership roles. With the Core Code of Ethics at the heart of recruitment, we have introduced a wider range of selection methods that include a staff stakeholder session and independent external experts on the interview panel and oversight from the Commissioners.

Leadership and Personal Development Academy: We have launched a Leadership and Personal Development Academy, and following a recruitment and selection process, Firefighter Georgina Gilbert, and founder of the Fire Angel Foundation and Antarctic explorer, has been appointed as the strategic lead. The Academy is a key plank of the Strategy and will play a major role in culture transformation.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS): To get a benchmark for future improvement the Commissioners invited the HMICFRS to review the service and benchmark where we were in 2024, and outline a path for improvement. This benchmarking is an additional layer to the self-assessment completed by the Director of Strategic Change and Transformation last year.

The results of the self-assessment informed the development of the new service improvement plan, the new strategic plan and our strategy and transformation programme. Progress and delivery of each of these are monitored through the Service Improvement Board and the new Strategic Change and Transformation Culture Committee.

We have an action-plan in place to address the gaps, and this is aligned through our new strategy, our transformation program and strategic plan, which will be monitored and scrutinised through our existing board structure.