Fire service governance ‘needs to change’ according to MS

The Welsh Government needs to come up with an alternative way to run fire services in Wales, according to the MS who chairs the committee tasked with scrutinising the culture of fire and rescue services.

Jenny Rathbone MS said the governance “needs to change” ahead of two troubled Welsh fire services publishing the findings of a review into their culture.

Today (5 February), two damning reports were published revealing the extent of bullying, harassment and sexism in North and Mid and West Wales fire and rescue services.

Mid and West Wales service has been described as a ‘boys club’, with nearly half (47%) of survey respondents reporting personal experiences with bullying and harassment in the service since June 2021.

Firefighters reported that senior management presided over a ‘culture of fear and mistrust’.

Bullying and harassment remains “widespread” in North Wales fire service, with over two-fifths (42%) of survey respondents reporting personal experiences since June 2021.

Nepotism was found to be rife in the service, with respondents reporting intimidation and abuses of power from senior leaders.

Jenny Rathbone MS told ITV1’s Sharp End: “The Government has to come up with alternative plans for governance of the fire service, of our emergency services, and that’s something that we’ll all need to be putting to our electorates because these are going to be significant changes.

“We shouldn’t rush them, we need to get them right.”

Investigation

An investigation by ITV Wales saw more than 35 whistleblowers raising serious concerns about behaviour in the North Wales and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services.

The Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee previously recommended that the Welsh government make clear that fire service staff coming forward with complaints will be adequately supported and treated fairly, alongside urgently exploring options for “more radical reform” in the long term.

Following an investigation into the controversial appointment of Stuart Millington as Interim Chief Fire Officer for South Wales, the report, published in June last year, found a lack of clarity and “troubling” responses from respondents in senior positions.

Equality and Social Justice Committee chair, Jenny Rathbone, told ITV1’s Sharp End programme that governance isn’t just a Welsh problem.

She said: “The people who were on the fire authorities simply weren’t asking enough of the right questions and were being dismissed as unable to be properly managing the governance of the organisation because it was all too technical.”

The committee found that the roles were given as “consolation prizes” to councillors who didn’t get chairs of committees.

She added: “You can’t have that, that’s not what happens if you want to be a member of a health board. You’ve got to pass some pretty significant tests before you get appointed and it’s a really important job.

“Clearly it’s a very dangerous job being a member of a fire crew and you need to be working as a team – which is why all these accusations, and indeed evidence of racism, sexism, misogyny and just general bullying, are so damaging.”

The final reports of a jointly commissioned Independent Culture Review of the North Wales and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services is due to be published at 11am on Wednesday, 5 February.

“Significant milestone”

According to the Services, the review will mark a “significant milestone in the ongoing commitment of both Fire and Rescue Services to fostering a supportive, inclusive and progressive workplace culture.”

Workplace culture at the Welsh fire services has been under the spotlight for some time.

ITV Wales revealed allegations of a toxic culture at both North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service earlier last year.

Meanwhile, a damning culture review at South Wales’ service was published in January 2024 and was sparked by an ITV News investigation into claims of abuse and harassment of female staff by male firefighters.

“Systemic failures”

Commenting on the report, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Equalities and Social Justice, Dr. Altaf Hussain, said: “The extent of bullying, harassment and discrimination within the fire service identified within the report is shocking.

“This behaviour is wholly unacceptable and the courageous individuals who came forward must be commended, these brave individuals who serve our communities deserve respect, fairness, and support—not a toxic workplace.

“The Welsh Labour Government has a duty to ensure those who dedicate their lives to protecting others are safeguarded from inappropriate behaviour.”

Sioned Williams, the Plaid Cymru spokesperson on Social Justice said: “Plaid Cymru called for this inquiry, and it seems that we were right to do so. It’s devastating to see the same toxic culture rooted in these fire services, as was with the other service we heard from last year.

“A key issue here is the inaction of the Welsh Government over many years to reform the governance of fire and rescue services.

“What we’re seeing in the culture reviews are the damning consequences of Labour’s failure to deliver the reform and the detrimental affect that’s had on staff.

“Action must be taken to ensure that the individuals working in our fire services can provide the crucial service they do in a safe environment, free from this toxic behaviour that has taken root.”

The full episode of Sharp End is available to watch here.