Impact Assessments
In 2015, Deputy Sam Mezec raised the question: “What impact assessment, if any, has been carried out on the cuts to the States of Jersey Fire Service, specifically with regard to the impact on safety and fire prevention?”
The reply by the Home Affairs Minister was suitably bland and full of management speak:
“An impact assessment on a range of savings scenarios was undertaken by the Chief Fire Officer in February this year. Public and firefighter safety were prioritised and the impact assessment was used to identify the posts that would be designated for vacancy management in 2015 and 2016 to enable the Fire and Rescue Service to deliver its savings targets."
Recent fires showed Jersey’s firefighters “stretched to the limit” in responding to incidents, not for the first time in recent years, and part of the reason is the way in which the Department’s budget has been reduced by the simple expedient of having less firefighters. This is incredibly shortsighted.
This is the real “impact assessment”, which is out in the field, not numbers on a piece of paper to be manipulated to suit budgets!
Dangerous Cutbacks
JEP report: this year:
THE Fire and Rescue Service’s ability to respond to incidents safely could be thrown into jeopardy if a staffing crisis is allowed to continue, a union which represents firefighters has said. According to a representative of the union, who did not want to be identified, there are now 20 per cent fewer firefighters compared to 2003 – with numbers having fallen from 75 to 62.
Each of the four watches (shifts) are at least one firefighter short, with part-time or on-call firefighters being used every day. Around £240,000 has already been spent on overtime this year, which exceeds the service’s annual overtime budget by around £100,000.
In 2018, the service had lost its chief fire officer, two other members of senior management, two station officers from technical fire safety, and five firefighters.
A 2016 Freedom of Information request showed there were 74 whole time firefighters, civil servants and manual workers, and 38 retained firefighters. So most of the main reduction comes down to cost cutting measures from the last Council of Ministers, and in particular during Kristina Moore’s watch at Home Affairs.
Missing Reports
What is more alarming is that reports are missing after 2014.
The Jersey Fire and Rescue Service Annual Review for 2014 was published in 2015. On 16 June 2016, a FOI request asked
“I am emailing concerning some details I would like to know about Jersey Fire and Rescue Service. I have tried to find the most recent Annual Report or Financial Statement online, without success. Could you please either point me in the right direction of finding the details, or send me the information for the following:”
But the report was not available online, and I have myself been struggling to find any report after 2014.
The website shows none after 2015!
https://www.gov.je/Government/Departments/HomeAffairs/Departments/FireService/Pages/StatesReports.aspx
In 2015, Deputy Sam Mezec raised the question: “What impact assessment, if any, has been carried out on the cuts to the States of Jersey Fire Service, specifically with regard to the impact on safety and fire prevention?”
The reply by the Home Affairs Minister was suitably bland and full of management speak:
“An impact assessment on a range of savings scenarios was undertaken by the Chief Fire Officer in February this year. Public and firefighter safety were prioritised and the impact assessment was used to identify the posts that would be designated for vacancy management in 2015 and 2016 to enable the Fire and Rescue Service to deliver its savings targets."
Recent fires showed Jersey’s firefighters “stretched to the limit” in responding to incidents, not for the first time in recent years, and part of the reason is the way in which the Department’s budget has been reduced by the simple expedient of having less firefighters. This is incredibly shortsighted.
This is the real “impact assessment”, which is out in the field, not numbers on a piece of paper to be manipulated to suit budgets!
Dangerous Cutbacks
JEP report: this year:
THE Fire and Rescue Service’s ability to respond to incidents safely could be thrown into jeopardy if a staffing crisis is allowed to continue, a union which represents firefighters has said. According to a representative of the union, who did not want to be identified, there are now 20 per cent fewer firefighters compared to 2003 – with numbers having fallen from 75 to 62.
Each of the four watches (shifts) are at least one firefighter short, with part-time or on-call firefighters being used every day. Around £240,000 has already been spent on overtime this year, which exceeds the service’s annual overtime budget by around £100,000.
In 2018, the service had lost its chief fire officer, two other members of senior management, two station officers from technical fire safety, and five firefighters.
A 2016 Freedom of Information request showed there were 74 whole time firefighters, civil servants and manual workers, and 38 retained firefighters. So most of the main reduction comes down to cost cutting measures from the last Council of Ministers, and in particular during Kristina Moore’s watch at Home Affairs.
Missing Reports
What is more alarming is that reports are missing after 2014.
The Jersey Fire and Rescue Service Annual Review for 2014 was published in 2015. On 16 June 2016, a FOI request asked
“I am emailing concerning some details I would like to know about Jersey Fire and Rescue Service. I have tried to find the most recent Annual Report or Financial Statement online, without success. Could you please either point me in the right direction of finding the details, or send me the information for the following:”
But the report was not available online, and I have myself been struggling to find any report after 2014.
The website shows none after 2015!
https://www.gov.je/Government/Departments/HomeAffairs/Departments/FireService/Pages/StatesReports.aspx
Where are the missing reports?? Why did the Minister not present any to the States after 2014 (which in fact was presented by an Assistant Minister) It is difficult to assess just what challenges the Fire Services faces and how much they are stretched without the comprehensiveness of a report.
Perhaps Len Norman could address this.
Perhaps Len Norman could address this.
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