More ambition can further strengthen London Fire Brigade’s culture

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has made significant efforts to strengthen its culture following a damning review in 2022, but more ambition is needed to ensure trust is built up in the service.

In a report – Action and Ambition: London Fire Brigade’s culture – published today, the London Assembly Fire Committee commended LFB for making progress on the issues identified in 2022 and praised the outgoing London Fire Commissioner, Andy Roe, for making culture change a “key pillar” of his leadership.

But the Committee also found that LFB’s Professional Standards Unit (PSU) – set up to handle complaints of misconduct, and the first of its kind in the Fire and Rescue sector – has not been able to handle the volume of complaints it receives in a timely fashion and lacks sufficient independence.

LFB has told the Committee that the cost of suspensions in the first year of the PSU is close to £900,000, not including costs of any investigations being undertaken by the PSU.

The report also identifies areas in which strong messages about challenging misconduct and building a workforce which is representative of the communities the LFB serves could be supported by further ambition and action to deliver.

Key recommendations in the report include:

• London Fire Brigade should assure the independence of the complaints and investigations element of the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) by creating a new independent Standards Commissioner responsible for oversight of the PSU.
• As part of LFB’s commitment to transparency and openness it should continue to survey its workforce at least annually, and publish the findings of the surveys.
• LFB should publish a new strategy for attracting and retaining more diverse candidates into the service.

By the end of this Parliamentary term, the Government should establish a College of Fire and Rescue. The College of Fire and Rescue should be tasked with developing and managing a national barred list for staff who have been dismissed for gross misconduct.