Fire and Rescue National Framework 2012 Onwards

The Fire and Rescue National Framework sets the Welsh Government’s vision and priorities for Fire and Rescue Authorities in Wales.

Purpose

Under section 21 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) the Welsh Ministers must prepare and consult on a Fire and Rescue National Framework setting out priorities and objectives for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). This consultation provides a draft of the proposed Fire and Rescue National Framework for 2012 onwards (the draft Framework) (see Annex A). You are invited to comment on its content.

Background

The draft Framework sets out the Welsh Government’s vision and priorities for the FRAs in Wales. It describes what the Welsh Government expects of the FRAs and sets the FRAs’ role in the context of the wider public sector.

The Framework is divided into the following Chapters:

• Chapter 1 – Vision, Governance and Relations - sets out our vision for the FRAs, the relationships and how the FRAs’ engage with each other, other public bodies, the Welsh Government and the public and communities which the FRAs serve
• Chapter 2 – Planning and Performance – deals with improving the quality and availability of the FRA services and the need to deliver improved services and better  outcomes for the people of Wales with the same or less
• Chapter 3 – Service Delivery – This chapter sets out the core duties both statutory and the non statutory placed upon the FRAs to mitigate the effect of identified risks. This chapter focuses on ensuring a professional and effective response to a range of incidents and the work to prevent incidents occurring in the first place
• Chapter 4 - Resilience - describes the existing UK wide resilience structure and how the FRAs should work to respond to major threats.
• Chapter 5 - Resources – focuses on priorities for leadership and workforce planning, development and training and leadership to ensure that the FRAs provide the best possible service to citizens whilst protecting their own staff. It recognises the importance of equality and diversity and welsh language issues. It also covers issues relating to sharing facilities.