A new report into Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue highlights bullying, harassment and the lack of diversity within the service.

The report was taken by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and found that 16 per cent of respondents felt bullied or harassed at work in the last 12 months.

The report notes that “the primary reason for not reporting the bullying or harassment was concerns it would make the situation worse.”

The Inspectorate found the service was ‘good’ in three areas, ‘adequate’ in three areas and ‘requires improvement’ in five areas.

Alex Smith, Fire Brigades Union brigade chair for Devon and Somerset, said: “When the bells go down, our firefighters are called to action and we respond. Meanwhile, the senior management of Devon and Somerset fire service are putting their fingers in their ears and ignoring the call to action.

“As the inspectorate’s report highlights, senior leaders continue to model poor behaviour while failing to support firefighters who have experienced harassment, discrimination or bullying at work.

“Instead of taking action to improve the service, management have focused their attention on attacking the terms and conditions of the workforce. This has come to their detriment.

“Rather than resource fire safety visits to improve public safety, as the report calls for, they are choosing to threaten to reduce retained firefighters’ pay and change the shift patterns of wholetime staff.

“Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service senior management must stop attacking the terms and conditions of their workforce and start actioning cultural change at the top.”

The inspectorate was also “disappointed” to find that the [service’s] equality, diversity and inclusion team didn’t have sufficient staff resources.

Fourteen per cent of respondents told the inspector they had felt discriminated against at work in the last 12 months

The primary reason for not reporting the discrimination was that they thought nothing would be done about it.

The report highlights that the service is doing well in responding to emergencies, understanding risks within communities, and responding to major incidents but a cause of concern has been raised around the Services prevention activities.

Gavin Ellis, Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, said: “We’re pleased that our work to improve culture across the organisation has been recognised and the cause of concern removed. We know we still have more to do to ensure our culture is consistent across the organisation and to better support our people to develop and thrive.

“Regrettably, the Inspectorate has issued a cause of concern about our prevention activities. Preventing emergencies is a huge focus for the organisation and our people are dedicated to keeping people safe. The recommendations made are process issues and we have already acted to ensure we are better at targeting our prevention work and evaluating its effectiveness.

“Overall, we have a great foundation to keep on improving. The Inspectorate recognised the Service’s self-awareness and commitment of our staff and senior leaders to improve.”