Written Statement: Governance of Fire and Rescue Services

Members will be familiar with the cultural issues affecting our Fire and Rescue Services in recent years. The most serious failings existed in the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, which led us to appoint Commissioners to take it over in February 2024. They are making good progress, which should allow the Service to return to local control next year. However, the sector as a whole suffers from governance arrangements which do not provide effective leadership or clear accountability. Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs), as currently constituted, are poorly equipped to provide strategic direction, or to hold senior officers to account for service delivery and improvement. That has undoubtedly contributed to the problems we have seen, and their persistence.

This summer I consulted on options for reform of Fire & Rescue Service governance in Wales. Following that consultation I have considered the responses carefully. I am pleased that there was widespread support in principle for change, including from local authorities, unions, members of the public and the FRAs themselves. However, views differed on the details of what a reformed model would look like. I have therefore settled on proposals which appear most likely to yield effective governance for the Service, within the subordinate legislative powers available to me. Those proposals are as follows:

Firstly, there will be a significant reduction in the number of FRA members. FRAs are executive bodies, not deliberative or representative ones – they are charged with overseeing delivery of a single public service. While I am grateful for the considerable efforts FRA members have made, the current membership levels of between 24 and 28 nominated councillors are far too high to allow for efficient and effective decision-making in an executive role. Those numbers will be reduced to one nominee from each of the FRA’s constituent local authorities. To generate stronger accountability to and within local authorities, those members must also be members of their council’s executive or cabinet. 

These local authority members will be supplemented by independently appointed members who will be selected for their particular expertise in issues facing the Service. Those members will comprise one third of the total membership. They will be appointed by the Welsh Ministers on the basis of fair and open competition, and with the full involvement of local authorities, FRAs and unions in the selection process. There will be the same collaborative approach to the appointment of chairs and vice-chairs – appointments will be made by the FRAs, engaging with their constituent authorities and the Welsh Government, and with the workforce in a full spirit of social partnership. Overall, that means South Wales FRA will have 15 members, and North Wales and Mid and West Wales FRAs will have nine each. To embed and sustain these changes, we will continue to work closely with the WLGA and the FRAs to strengthen member support, training and development.

I believe these arrangements will yield the robust governance the Service so badly needs.  They will take over from the Commissioners in South Wales in mid-2026, and immediately after the 2027 local elections elsewhere. 

Secondly, the process of FRA budget-setting will become fairer and more transparent. Currently, FRAs fund nearly all their expenditure by levying contributions on their constituent local authorities, at rates they alone determine. While in practice FRAs usually engage with local authorities about the size of the levy, there is nothing requiring them to do so, or to take into account any representations that local authorities make. There will therefore be a duty on FRAs to consult their constituent local authorities on their draft budgets, with a view to reaching agreement with them. As part of that, FRAs will have to justify the proposed levy in the context of likely local demand for fire and rescue services.

Finally, I propose to enhance the inspection regime for the Service. The role of the Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor and Inspector will formally change to focus on inspection work, and the post will be retitled accordingly – a move that the current postholder fully supports.  Additional inspection resources will also be made available, working in partnership with the other UK inspectorates. 

The changes to membership and budget-setting will require amendments to the FRAs’ combination schemes, and I intend to make the necessary subordinate legislation in the New Year. Enhancing the inspection regime does not require legislation.

It was clear from the consultation that there is some support for more fundamental change, such as FRAs with a wholly appointed expert membership, operational independence for chief fire officers, funding by means of a council tax precept or a single all-Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Such changes would, though, need primary legislation and will therefore be a matter for the next Senedd.