To consider Report CFO/041/20 of the Chief Fire Officer, concerning the draft Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Annual Report which contains an update on the progress made against the ED&I Action Plan2017-2020 andour ED&Iobjectives for2017-2020.

 

Members considered Report CFO/041/20 of the Chief Fire Officer, concerning the draft Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Annual Report, which contains an update on the progress made against the ED&I Action Plan 2017-20; and our ED&I objectives for 2017-2020.

 

Members were provided with an overview of the report, which demonstrates MFRA’s compliance with the Equality Act 2010 General Duty, and an update on the key outcomes delivered in the year, with regards to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

 

It was highlighted to Members that the Equality Act 2010 Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) (S.149) states that in the exercise of their functions, all public authorities must have due regard to the need to:

 

·         Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.

·         Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

·         Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

 

Members were also informed that in order for public authorities to demonstrate they are meeting the PSED, there are a number of specific duties which public bodies, including MF&RA, are required to carry out:

 

a)    Publish information to show their compliance with the Equality Duty, at least annually.

b)    Set and publish equality objectives, at least every 4 years.

 

Members attention was drawn to the ED&I Annual Report, attached at Appendix A.

 

They were advised that in supporting the discharge of that duty, the Diversity Networks have continued to be developed, which have now become an integral part of our work. Members were informed that the Diversity Networks are championed by a senior officer of the Service; and that the Networks are encouraged to comment on our policies and the way we conduct our business, which is directly fed back into the decisions that are made through the reporting process.

 

It was also highlighted to Members that during the last 12 month period, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (E,D&I) Training, has been developed, which has allowed the Authority to continue to ensure that our staff are aware of the duties placed on us; and ensure that we are meeting that statutory responsibility.

 

Members were informed that work has also continued around positive action in recruitment. They were informed that recruitment is continuing, particularly from a firefighter perspective, with around 60 individuals being recruited this year. It was stated to Members that the importance and significance of recruiting through positive action, is clear and apparent.

 

Another area highlighted to Members, was around further developing our work around knowing our communities. They were advised that this enables us to ensure that the activities we undertake as a FRS, on behalf of the Authority, are focused on tackling the inequalities that exist, particularly across Merseyside.  Members were also informed that those inequalities are being addressed, with some of the activities around home safety, really focusing in on the most socially deprived areas of Merseyside.

 

Reference was also made to Community Impact Funds, which provide firefighters with some additional funding to direct towards their community safety plans, enabling them to engage their communities locally based on the risk within .

 

Members were advised that the Equality Objectives remain unchanged for the forthcoming year, which are as follows:

 

·         Equality Objective 1: - Create a strong cohesive organisation that is positive to rising to the future challenges we face.

·         Equality Objective 2: - Ensure that people from diverse communities receive equitable services that meet their needs.

·         Equality Objective 3: - Reducing fires and other incidents amongst the vulnerable protected groups.

·         Equality Objective 4: - To ensure that staff are better equipped to deliver their roles whilst showing due regard to the need to:

-       Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act.

-       Advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t.

·         Equality Objective 5: - To continue to aspire to achieving excellence, or equivalent in a Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework.

 

With regards to Objective 1, it was highlighted to Members that in relation to the recruitment of female firefighters, the percentage of female firefighters in MFRA is now 10.9%, which is an increase from 9% in 2019. Members were advised that the average for the other comparable Metropolitan FRS’s, is 7.3%, whilst the average across all FRS’s in England is 6.8%.

 

It was highlighted to Members that MFRA are also performing well in relation to ethnicity. They were informed that for our operational and support staff, the percentage of BAME employees is 5.9%, which is above the Merseyside BAME population, which is 5.5%.

Members were informed that the chart on page 27, extracted from the Inspection Report, shows where MFRA sit in relation to the percentage point difference between service’s BAME residential population and its BAME firefighters. It was highlighted that MFRA are second only to the Isle of Scilly, which is somewhat of a misnomer.

It was highlighted to Members that again, this is a real positive with regards to our positive action, which has resulted in those outcomes.

 

Members attention was also drawn to the positives around flexible working arrangements put in place. They were informed that MFRA have robust policies in place, to ensure that we are meeting the demands placed on individuals, dependent on their circumstances.

It was highlighted to Members that there have been a total of 15 flexible working requests during the period, all of which have been accepted by the Flexible Working Panel. Out of those 15 requests, Members were advised that 10 were made by females, and 5 by males.

 

Information was highlighted to Members around the Gender Pay Gap. They were informed that the mean gender pay gap nationally for 2019 was 15.3%, whilst for MFRA, it was 11.4%, which is lower than it had been previously, at 11.7%.

It was also highlighted that the median gender pay gap for MFRA is 5.16%, against an average UK median of 8.9% during 2019.

In relation to Equality Objective 2, and Home Fire Safety approaches, Members were reminded of decisions made previously around addressing inequalities around age and around deprivation.

 

With regards to Equality Objective 3, Members were informed that we are continuing to target vulnerability factors, with examples provided within the report around our work with dementia teams and smoking cessation groups.

 

In relation to Equality Objective 4, Members were informed that staff are currently in the process of receiving E,D&I Refresher Training and training around unconscious bias, as referenced within the Inspectorate Report.

 

Members were also informed that in respect of Equality Objective 5, MFRA continue to strive to be the best FRS in relation to E,D&I.

 

A question was raised by Members in relation to flexible working and whether further changes may be required as a result of Covid-19.

Members were advised that flexible working has always been in place, but what is currently being developed, which will be brought back to Members shortly, is an Agile Working Policy, which is somewhat different to family friendly/ flexible working arrangements. Members were informed that lessons have been learnt from Covid-19, during which a number of staff worked from home; and officers have been looking at how more agile working could be facilitated in the future.

It was stressed to Members that agile working is not necessarily home working, and it is important to ensure that effectiveness and efficiency is maintained, whilst recognising that as an organisation, we can probably operate in a more agile way. 

A further question was raised by Members in relation to the Gender Pay Gap around women progressing into senior roles; and what the process is for promotion.

 

Members were advised that MFRA have been recruiting in large numbers recently, resulting in more female firefighters coming into the Service. However, it was explained that the newest recruits are on development rates of pay, which are set Nationally; whilst longstanding firefighters on competent rates of pay, are predominantly male. Members were assured that this will change over time, , as female firefighters progress from being in development to being competent. Members were informed that this development is linked to the Apprenticeship Standard, which is a 24-month Apprenticeship.

 

However, Members were advised that once a firefighter has completed the Apprenticeship Standard and are deemed competent in the firefighter role, progression from that point, is not predicated on any length of time.

It was highlighted to Members that some firefighters may feel that they need to have served a specific amount of time before they are ready to progress, whilst others are more comfortable to push forward and see how they perform. It was felt that males are often more self assured to push themselves, whilst female firefighters generally, seem to prefer to be absolutely sure that they are ready before they seek to progress; and it was acknowledged that there is some work to be done around this, organisationally.

Members were assured that the organisation has recruited a large number of female firefighters recently, and officers have every confidence that they are capable of senior roles within the organisation.

 

Members were also informed that some of the restrictions associated with the Gateway development process, have recently been removed, which mean that individuals can enter the Gateway when they feel ready to do so, rather than opening up the Gateway at a specific point on an annual basis. This means that individuals can enter when they feel ready, or when the organisation feels that they are ready to progress.

Members were also advised that a lot of work is being undertaken around accelerated progression, not just for females, but for anyone across the organisation that has the right skills and attributes to progress rapidly through the service. 

 

It was re-iterated to Members that there is no requirement to serve a specific length of time before an individual can progress. It was also highlighted that firefighters within MFRS, gain far more exposure to incidents than firefighters in other parts of the Country, which enables them to gain the necessary competencies at firefighter level quite easily, with progression from there being around gaining managerial competency.

 

Members were reassured that as an organisation, there is a significant amount of development and support in place for individuals who wish to progress.

 

It was also stated that should Members have any suggestions around how this could be progressed further, Officers would be more than happy to take on board those suggestions and build them into the relevant processes.

Members were also advised that they would be more than welcome to observe what is currently in place; and make any suggestions for further improvement.

 

A further question was raised by Members regarding HFSC ethnicity and equality data; and whether we have information around when individuals have refused a HFSC and if there are any patterns emerging.

 

Members were advised that previously, the Authority had a number of Bi-Lingual Advocates, to better represent the communities of Merseyside. As a result, a whole raft of barriers and obstacles were overcome to enable MFRS to gain access to those harder to reach communities.

Members were assured that officers would go back and review the current data, to see if there are any communities, with a new or emergent reluctance to allow our employees into their homes. Members were advised that this is caveated against a backdrop of Covid-19, as all communities are somewhat reticent to let us across the threshold at present, albeit it is anticipated that this will dissipate over time. However, it was confirmed that officers will re-visit this, to see if there is additional work required within a specific community; and if the opportunity avails itself, officers will look into having representation in some way, from any such community, to assist with gaining access.

 

The Authority’s Equality & Diversity Champion advised Members of an LGA event they had attended recently; and advised that they would prepare a presentation for Members around the relevant learning points.

 

Members were also informed that the Asian Fire Service has been asled to undertake a peer review of MFRS specifically in relation to the work being undertaken in relation to equality and diversity, they have been asked to look at what we are doing, how we are doing it; and what can be improved on.

 

Members Resolved that:

 

The report attached, be approved for publication on the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) website in order to demonstrate Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority’s (MFRA) commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and in order to meet its Public Sector Equality Duties.