The best example of public service reform?

Andrew Haldenby, Director, Reform

Time out this week from my series of blogs on David Cameron's policy legacy. I’m interrupting following a meeting with the Home Office last week which reminded me what a brilliant example of public service reform the fire service in England represents.

The meeting, attended by Ministers and fire chiefs, followed the transfer of fire policy from DCLG to the Home Office in January this year. Reform was invited because we have been the only think tank to my knowledge (happy to be proved wrong) which has researched this service. (Examples of our work available here and here.)

What can we learn from fire?

First, it is an example of success. Numbers of fires and fire deaths have been falling consistently for a decade and for three decades respectively.

(Update: On the day after I posted this blog, the latest figures showed a 21 per cent rise in fire deaths in 2015, up to 294.  The Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities warned of the impact of budget cuts.  It is not clear whether this annual result represents a new trend.)


Second, it is a genuine example of transformation i.e. a public service rethinking itself in order to deliver better outcomes. Fire services have redefined their purpose from responding to fires to responding and preventing them. They have employed their staff in new ways in order to fit smoke alarms and take the fire safety message into communities. It is the best example I have found of the prevention and reduction in demand to which other public services now aspire.

Third, it is an example of value for money. The numbers of firefighters have fallen alongside the fall in numbers of fires. This is seen in pioneering forces such as Merseyside for over a decade, and in the national figures since 2007. Fire chiefs have needed fewer traditional fire fighters and have introduced a greater mix of job roles. The service has become more diverse.


Fourth, services have paved the way in joint working. The Home Office is promoting cooperation between police and fire, and there are strong examples of that in Northants and elsewhere. Greater Manchester fire and ambulance services have joined up so that firefighters can carry home safety checks and respond to non-emergency calls (with a good video below, with Natasha Kaplinsky no less). That kind of co-operation was marked by an agreement between NHS England and the Chief Fire Officers' Association late last year, the latter led by Paul Hancock, also chief of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.


Many services "co-respond" i.e. enable firefighters to provide immediate health support if they are first to the scene. Lastly some forces, including those in Surrey and Sussex, co-operate across police, fire and ambulance. Greater Manchester has one station that serves both police, fire and ambulance, as shown by Steve McGuirk, former Chief Fire Office of Greater Manchester, at Reform's annual conference last year. Figures like Steve stand comparison with any reforming public service leader.

In the latest Surrey Draft Fire and Rescue Service Plan, now out for consultation, Chief Fire Officer Russell Pearson writes:

"The Government has announced legislation to improve collaboration between the emergency services. In parallel with our co-designed workforce reform, we are already exploring closer working arrangements with other fire services as well as the Police and Ambulance services. Managing in this way would be a lot more complex as each service has a different structure, governance and culture; however collaboration would open up new opportunities to significantly reduce cost through combining resources whilst ensuring interoperability. Such collaboration should unlock further savings without reducing frontline delivery and performance standards. It may even enhance resident experience by reducing overlaps in service provision and enable better targeted prevention and protection activities."

There is more to do. Like other public services, pay and conditions could be further liberalised. The superstructure of local authority governance now looks top heavy in a world of leaner fire services. I hope the fire service remains committed to change that will genuinely deliver greater outcomes to the citizens that they serve.

More blogs are available at www.reform.uk