Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland

Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate (HMFSI) in Scotland or HM Fire Service Inspectorate is an autonomous agency of the Scottish Government which functions to provide independent, risk based and proportionate professional inspection of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Its purpose is to give assurance to the Scottish public and Scottish Ministers that the SFRS is working in an efficient and effective way, and to promote improvement in the SFRS. It also provides independent, professional advice to Scottish Ministers and has functions in relation to non-domestic fire safety. The inspectorate is not a firefighting body. The statutory basis of the Inspectorate is set out in sections 43A to 43G of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Its role was substantially amended by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 that came into effect on 1 April 2013. The inspectorate is based in St Andrews House, Edinburgh.

Context

The SFRS is the UK’s largest fire and rescue service and one of the largest of its kind in the world. The Service was formed on 1 April 2013 when the eight legacy services that had existed in Scotland since 1975 were amalgamated. The legislation that led to this change, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, also provided for reinvigoration of the scrutiny role of HMFSI to provide independent, risk-based and proportionate professional inspection of the SFRS.

Remit

HMFSI carries out a programme of inspections of SFRS local service delivery across the 32 local authority areas of Scotland. This programme of local inspections reflects the clear intent of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Framework that there should be strengthened connection between the SFRS and communities, which itself underpinned by principles contained within the Christie Commission report on the Future Delivery of Public Services in Scotland.

By undertaking inspections of SFRS service delivery within local authority areas, HMFSI seek to: provide assurance to Scottish Ministers and the public that the SFRS is making adequate provision for local service delivery; take a detailed look at the nature and quality of service provision, including working with partner organisations, within local areas; co-operate with other scrutiny bodies to provide collaborative, place-based scrutiny; maintain a good level of awareness of the Service’s functions; and gather intelligence that may inform more strategic, thematic inspections of the SFRS.

The HMFSI inspections of local service delivery are managed in consultation with the SFRS Local Senior Officer (LSO) for the local authority area under review.

Following the inspection and the publication of the Report, together with any recommendations, HMFSI carry out a programme of 6 monthly follow-up reviews. The purpose of this is to establish that suitable progress is being made by SFRS on the recommendations within the inspection report. HMFSI Scotland also undertakes, at the discretion of the Chief Inspector, risk based Thematic Inspections and offer advice to Ministers with regard to SFRS transformation plans.

Thematic Reviews relate to a more comprehensive inspection focusing on specific themes across the whole of Scotland. They identify areas for development and provide a mechanism for addressing such areas, support and enhance the Service’s learning experience and make recommendations on areas of improvement and good practice. These Reports are laid before Parliament. A structured follow up approach, similar to the LAIs reviews, is also undertaken for this type of Inspection. The timescale will vary and be influenced by the complexity of a report’s recommendations. Inspection reports are published on their website.

Chief Inspector

HM Chief Inspector is appointed by an Order in Council and operates independently of Scottish Ministers and the SFRS. Assistant Inspectors are appointed under Ministerial powers derived from the Act, and are equally expected to act independently. Three other staff members make up the Inspectorate team. In addition to this core team, HMFSI offers opportunities, from time to time, for members of SFRS staff to join us on secondment and to assist with specific inspection themes. Whilst on secondment these individuals report to the Chief Inspector, not the Service, with the Chief Inspector taking responsibility for all of their work.

The current HMFSI Chief Inspector is Simon Routh-Jones. It is general practice for Chief Inspectors to have previously served as Firemaster or Chief Fire Officer (CFO). Simon Routh-Jones is a former CFO of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and was instrumental in the merger of the two Fire & Rescue Services of Dorset and Wiltshire into a single Service. He is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE Order of the British Empire and holds the Queen's Fire Service Medal.

List of Chief Inspectors:

  • Angus D Wilson 1948 – 1966
  • James D McNicol OBE 1967 – 1968
  • John Jackson OBE MIFireE 1968 – 1978
  • Paddy Watters QFSM 1979 - 1983
  • Richard Knowleton CBE QFSM FIFireE 1984 – 1989
  • Alex Winton CBE QFSM MIFireE 1989 – 1993
  • Neil Morrison QFSM FIFireE 1993 – 1999
  • Dennis Davis CBE OStJ QFSM FIFireE (Life) 1999 – 2003
  • Jeff Ord CBE QFSM OStJ GIFireE 2004 – 2007
  • Keith MacGillivray MBE 2008 (Interim)
  • Brian Fraser QFSM 2008 – 2010
  • Steven Torrie CBE QFSM 2010 – 2016
  • Martin Emmerson QFSM 2017 – 2018
  • Simon Routh-Jones CBE QFSM FIFireE FCMI 2018 – present

See also

References
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