To consider the report relating to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report and Equality Analysis Workforces and Employment Data reports for 2024/25 (CFO/25/2526).

Chief Fire Officer, Nick Searle, highlighted the equality diversity and inclusion annual report which detailed the five equality objectives on pages 63 – 73. He noted that objective 1 showed that the Authority had 84 female firefighters which represented 13.8% of total firefighters, with the national percentage being 9.3%. Nationally, firefighters from an ethnic minority background equated to 5.4% and Merseyside showed 7.9% of the operational workplace being from an ethnic minority background.

Equality objective 3 showed that 51,242 home fire safety checks took place last year which was a huge amount and youth engagement activities and engaging with the young diverse population showed continuing success. It was explained that in terms of the work of the Kings Trust engaging with young people from 16-25 who were not in employment or education, 58.3% of those were male, 19.8% were from an LGBTQ+ background and 77.1% considered themselves to have a disability.

The Chief Fire Officer highlighted the progression with objective 5 where MFRS was awarded the Fair Employment Charter, White Ribbon Accreditation work that was ongoing with North West Protection Governance Structure and the ASFA Award winners. He drew Members’ attention to the workforce data and analysis starting on page 77 which showed that females in Fire Control was 87% with males being only 13% which showed that there was further work to be done in that area.

Councillor Jeanie Bell thanked the Chief for the amount of work that had gone into the report. She commented on the information about the Fire Cadets Programme on page 67 highlighting that the majority of attendees were white British which showed a lack of diversity. She asked what the Authority was doing to be proactive in recruiting in diverse communities for fire cadets going forwards. Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Ged Sheridan, advised Members that the Authority currently had a dedicated team in the prevention team who visited schools in Merseyside and next year there would be more involvement with wholetime firefighters on stations visiting schools. He noted the importance of young people seeing the diversity of firefighters when school visits take place and the Authority hope to see the benefits in the longer term.

Councillor Les Byrom highlighted the importance of fire cadets and the need for volunteers to come forward to continue this process. He also commented on the need to find people to grow a cadet community and give young people an opportunity to work with the Fire Service.

On page 63, Councillor Jeanie Bell highlighted the pay gap for support staff and wondered if this was within the Authority’s control and whether it was something that could be improved going forwards. The Chief Fire Officer acknowledged that he was aware of this small difference with non-uniformed staff and it was being looked at. He explained that there had been a lot more flexibility in roles since the new management team changed and there was fluctuation between grey and green book roles. The Authority had been transitioning roles that were historically classified as grey book positions into areas such as Prevention and Protection to promote greater fluidity within the organisation. This restructuring provided green book staff with opportunities to progress into more senior roles. It was confirmed that further changes were expected between now and next year. This shift had been driven, in part, by the recognition that non-uniformed staff previously perceived limited opportunities for advancement due to a number of senior posts being labelled as uniformed positions.

Councillor Jan Grace queried whether female firefighters were being actively encouraged to aspire to senior management level roles and this was confirmed as true. The Chief Fire Officer commented that previously the Service did not introduce direct entry into senior roles, instead focussed on recruiting firefighters with the aim of career progression into senior management roles in time, which was why it had taken a while for female senior officers to come through the ranks. The Chief Fire Officer also noted, following the time period the report refers to, the Service had now also recruited a female Station Manager and Group Manager. He added that when females saw females in those higher roles, they aspired to do the same and knew it was possible and he explained that there were now six female Station Managers and one Group Manager.

Councillor Chris Page praised the reference to the home fire safety checks in the vulnerable community as he saw an advantage of these when he attended older persons day and was very impressed with the teams’ work. He mentioned that fire control statistics stood out to him on the report as there were not many leavers or new employees in that team, however, this team lacked diversity more than other areas. The Chief Fire Officer acknowledged that fire control were seen as separate in the past, however, over the last few years it had been made more inclusive as they now worked in the same building and more expenditure had gone into fire control, with the team growing. He added that the number of males in fire control had also grown, meaning that diversity was improving. It was noted that there did not used to be a lot of progression in fire control, however, that was no longer the case as there was more fluidity in the Service, with employees moving across departments whilst ensuring that the right person got the job.

Concerns were raised by Councillor Sam Gorst around the data table on page 89 and he asked if there were any specific BAME management programmes or opportunities at management level for firefighters or staff. It was advised that there were no specific BAME management programmes as it was the same for all members of staff, however, there had been an increase in senior officers recently, with the last two Group Managers being promoted were from BAME backgrounds. He added that whilst there was a positive improvement in that area, there was still work to be done.

Councillor Les Byrom commented that the Authority wanted the population of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority to look like the population of Merseyside and if there were any artificial barriers in the way, then Members should look to change this. He added that it was important for Members to have the key figures and statistics given in the report to see how the Authority was performing.

Councillor Chris Page stated that this was not a tick box exercise and the Authority wanted to give everyone the best opportunity so that they ended up with the best Fire and Rescue Service possible and recruited the best people. He added that there was a huge benefit from making all sorts of adjustments across the organisation for everybody. Councillor Les Byrom agreed and noted that the Authority’s aim was to keep the public safe and have high regards to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 

Councillor Dave Hanratty praised the organisation on their policies, procedures, working groups and everything behind the scenes that ensured that employees were respected, appreciated and valued and had an organisation and culture that represented the community. He added that people wanted to work for the Authority and when attending staff engagement days, staff always made comments that they loved working for the Authority which was a testament to the senior management.

It was acknowledged that the report stated dates from 2024-2027, however, Councillor Dave Hanratty asked to have that extended for a further five years to ensure that this could not be undermined regardless of what happened in the future. He stressed the importance of protecting all staff from now and in the future so that they felt secure in work and the roles they undertook.

The Chief Fire Officer advised that this was an annual report and so would be done annually and the objectives were from 2024-2027 which was tied in with the CRMP. He reassured Members that the planning for the new CRMP would begin in the new year, along with looking at whether the objectives were still fit for purpose moving forwards..

RESOLVED that:

a)    the contents of the report be noted;

b)    the publication of the ED&I Annual Report (1^st April 2024 to 31^st March 2025) on the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) website be approved;

c)    the publication of the Equality Analysis – Workforce and Employment Data Report (1^st April 2024 to 31^st March 2025) on MFRS website be approved; and

d)     the publication of these reports demonstrating the Authority’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and demonstrates compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty be noted.

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Date of next meeting will be 26^th February 2026.