Inspectors will be taking another look at West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service this month to see if 'significant concerns' raised last year are being addressed. The service was rated 'requires improvement' overall with two areas – protecting the public through fire regulation and ensuring fairness and promoting diversity – judged 'inadequate'. The visit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) will not be a full inspection and even if all the areas of concern are now up to scratch, the 'requires improvement' rating will remain. A progress report from chief fire officer Dr Sabrina Cohen Hatton will be presented to a county council scrutiny committee meeting on Monday January 13. Looking at accusations of bullying which were raised by inspectors, Dr Cohen Hatton said: "The HMICFRS identified two causes of concern in relation to people; the first was that staff sometimes act in ways that go against the core values which was leading to bullying in the workplace. "Following the publication of the inspection report, workshops have been facilitated across the service which have focused on raising awareness of the values and the underpinning behaviours. "Values and behaviours are now an integral part of new job descriptions and training on values-based interviewing is scheduled to be rolled out to officers in January and February." A backlog of 833 fire safety audit was also highlighted by inspectors. Dr Cohen Hatton said these had been cleared 'as a priority' and the service was now up-to-date. Issues surrounding the use of resources, the recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters, and the availability of fire engines were also highlighted by the inspectors. The scrutiny committee will be updated on the progress made in these areas. The meeting will be held at County Hall, Chichester, on Monday January 13 at 10.30am. It will be webcast via westsussex.public-i.tv. (By Karen Dunn - Local Democracy Reporter) More Radio is continuously dedicated to providing a quality news service on-air and online, reporting local stories that matter across Sussex. If you enjoyed reading this story, then check out our home page at moreradio.online where you can find the latest from the county, along with features and competitions from our presenters, as well as listening to the station live. You can also sign up to our news alerts to receive updates on new stories. Simply click on the bell at the bottom right of the home page. This will then allow a pop-up which will ask if you would like to receive alerts. Press ‘allow’ and you’re all signed up! You can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.
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