Reports of Suffolk fire service staff belittled, dismissed and bullied, Government inspectors find

Fire service staff have reported being belittled, dismissed and bullied, an inspector's report has found.

Inspectors from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) have published their report on Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

The report said although the service's work on preventing fire and risk and ensuring public safety through fire regulation was good across its 35 stations and 43 fire engines, it had not made enough progress since the previous inspection.

The inspectors outlined serious concerns about the culture within the service, with members of staff reportedly belittled and dismissed by senior members of staff who displayed behaviours perceived as hostile and toxic and did not act as role models.

Lee Freeman, an inspector, said several areas of the service had deteriorated, particularly in relation to efficiency and how it looked after its people.

He said: "In particular, I have serious concerns that staff have reported that there isn’t a consistently positive and inclusive culture in the service.

“Senior leaders are also not providing effective strategic oversight of day-to-day operations, too many policies are out of date, and the service isn’t responding promptly to issues raised by managers and the wider workforce."

According to the report, which surveyed 151 staff out of the service's total of around 750, senior leaders reportedly did not listen to feedback and did not acknowledge or escalate concerns raised by staff.

Some staff said they were taking on more work for fear of being seen as dispensable and, in some instances, some were told to 'shut up' after talking about being busy.

On a wider level, inspectors were told of times when derogatory comments were made by wholetime staff about on-call staff.

At least 21 staff members said they had been subject to bullying or discrimination in the past year.

Jon Lacey, Suffolk's chief fire officer, said he owned up to the report and stressed any reports of bad behaviours were not 'brushed under the carpet' and dealt with 'head on'.

Sanctions as a result of investigations went from informal verbal warnings to dismissals.

He stressed despite the report, and with only around 20 per cent of the workforce being surveyed, instances were confined to smaller pockets of staff and were not widespread or systemic.

Mr Lacey added: "We've still got an awful lot of good leaders in our organisation at every level and we will work on developing those as well as picking up on the poor behaviours mentioned in our report."

"We've got more work to do with our staff but it's developing quickly because we get an inspection in two years and this is so important to me that we need to drive it forward at pace."

The chief fire officer said problems were being exacerbated by external factors, such as high inflation and growing demand, which resulted in cuts, more workload, and increased stress.

According to the report, the number of days or shifts lost to sickness absence increased from 3,988 in the year leading up to March 31, 2022, to 6,517 by March 2024 — of these, the number of days or shifts lost due to stress, depression and anxiety went from 579 to 1,034 in the same period.

Addressing this, Cllr Steve Wiles, the county council's lead on public protection, announced he would be seeking an extra £1.6 million to invest into the SFRS, the majority of which would go on hiring new staff to reduce pressures.

He said: “We acknowledge and accept the findings within the report. It will be reassuring for residents to know we are already tackling areas that have been highlighted for improvement.

"Our additional £1.6 million investment proposal will mean the service
can push on with its action plan.

“I will work closely with the chief fire officer and his team to ensure the improvement plan is clear and deliverable - ensuring necessary changes are made swiftly and effectively."

The action plan will be published in March.

If approved by cabinet members in March, a smaller portion of the money would be used to improve its IT systems, which the report stated were failing staff and holding the service back.

The service has recently undergone a significant changeover after it split from the control room it shared with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in Huntingdon since 2011.

Mr Lacey said: “We recognise there is much work to be done, which is why we are already developing an action plan to drive improvements across all service areas – taking into account the challenges we’ve experienced over the past 12 months, I am putting the inspection outcomes front and centre as our driver for change.

“Keeping Suffolk’s residents safe and responding to emergencies remains our top priority – this will continue to be our key focus, whilst building on our core values and cultivating a positive and collaborative working environment for all. I welcome the investment as pressures on fire services increase.”

Cllr Simon Harley, the Green, Lib Dem and Independent Group lead for public health, said although he was grateful for the fire service's work, the report was worrying.

He added: "It is frightening to think that council mismanagement could be threatening this vital service that we all depend on and making valued employees of the fire service unhappy.

"There’s a lot in this report that is deeply concerning: that the behaviour of leaders isn’t good enough and that staff morale is poor, with a particularly low grading on culture and values."

Cllr Harley said it was 'deeply worrying' the council did not spot the decline until the report 'landed on their laps' and pointed to failures in children's social care and special educational needs and disabilities services.