The Combined Fire Authority for County Durham and Darlington was scheduled to meet on Tuesday 21 October 2025 at the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters to discuss correspondence, performance, and risk management. Councillors were also expected to review the HMICFRS action plan, the annual report, and the risk-based inspection programme. In addition, the agenda included an update on the Integrated Fire Control Collaboration.

Annual Report

The Combined Fire Authority was scheduled to review the 2024-25 annual report, which included a summary of the annual accounts, a review of service activities, and an overview of the coming year. The annual report included welcomes from Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps, and detailed key investments from the Combined Fire Authority, including investment in electric vehicle infrastructure and building upgrades to fire stations such as High Handenhold Fire Station, Consett Fire Station and Seaham Fire Station.

The report also summarised the Community Risk Management Plan, and detailed the work of councillors Dawn Bellingham, David Freeman, James Stephenson, Jan Blakey, Paul Sexton, Robert Potts, Eric Marvin, Jasmine Fox, Gary Hutchinson, Adrian Schulman, Ian Catchpole, Joe Quinn, Kate Rowland, Christine Blatchford, Jackie Teasdale, Kathryn Rooney, Louise Taylor, Scott Woodhouse, David Ray, Richard Bell, Stephen Gray, Gerald Lee, Rob Crute, Andrew Anderson, and Matthew Snedker.

The annual report also included details of the Service's prevention work, including home fire safety visits, the Developing Resilience Programme, and Operation Trailblazer. It also highlighted the Service's protection work, including inspections of commercial premises and continuous professional development. The report further detailed the Service's responses to incidents such as a waste recycling centre fire on Whessoe Road in Darlington, and a fire at PM Racing Team motorbike shop on Church Street in Shildon.

The report also mentioned training exercises, including Exercise Cerberus at St James' Park, and a chemical spill exercise in Newton Aycliffe.

The annual report also celebrated the achievements of staff, including Fire Control Operator Chloe Diver, and the recipients of Long Service Awards.

Community Risk Management

The Combined Fire Authority was scheduled to receive a report from the Community Risk Management Member Champion, providing an overview of the work delivered through the Community Risk Management Directorate. The report offered assurance of progress across key areas, including:

• Community Safety and Arson Reduction
• Business Fire Safety
• Continuous Improvement and Assurance
• Fleet and Equipment

The role of the Member Champion involves providing visible advocacy and strategic support for the directorates, championing initiatives aligned with the Service's vision, and offering scrutiny to ensure programmes are effectively delivered and aligned with the Community Risk Management Plan.

The Community Safety and Arson Reduction team's responsibilities include Home Fire Safety Visits, engaging with schools and community groups, and reducing deliberate fires through targeted interventions. The Service aimed to deliver 18,000 HFSVs, with a focus on targeting vulnerable individuals. The 'Eyes Wide Open' programme encourages partner agencies to identify and refer individuals at increased risk of fire.

The Business Fire Safety team ensures compliance with fire safety legislation and reduces fire risks in non-domestic premises. The service has a Risk Based Inspection Programme that directs the delivery of fire safety audits. During 2024/25, the Service audited 2,075 premises, with 987 audits deemed unsatisfactory.

The Continuous Improvement team conducted process mapping exercises, developed an evaluation framework, and supported service-wide projects. The team also played a role in preparing for the HMICFRS inspection.

The report also detailed fleet and equipment updates, including the ordering of new fire appliances and water rescue vehicles.

People and Organisational Development

The Combined Fire Authority was scheduled to receive a report providing an overview of the work delivered through the People Directorate. The People and Organisational Development (POD) and Training teams deliver work aligned to the Service's six strategic priorities, guided by the People Strategy 2023–2026.

The report detailed the Service's leadership development programme, strategic people-related projects, recruitment and selection processes, and legislative compliance. It also covered employee relations, staff engagement, operational training, workforce planning, apprenticeships, and health and wellbeing initiatives.

The People team leads strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening organisational culture, enhancing staff wellbeing, and improving the onboarding experience. A key development is the Culture Dashboard, which will provide a data-informed view of cultural indicators across the Service.

The report also noted that the Service had received three 'Good' gradings and one 'Adequate' across the people pillar from HMICFRS.

HMICFRS Action Plan

The Combined Fire Authority was scheduled to be updated on the action plan resulting from the inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The inspection assessed the effectiveness and efficiency of CDDFRS in preventing, protecting the public against, and responding to fires and other emergencies, as well as how well it looks after its staff.

The report noted that there were two areas for improvement within the People pillar, and no actions identified for Effectiveness and Efficiency.

One area for improvement was that:

The service should ensure it has robust processes in place to carry out equality impact assessments (EIAs) and review any actions agreed as a result.

The planned action to address this was to:

Implement a process mapping exercise to assess the current EIA process and ensure alignment with the EIA procedure to support and inform any necessary adjustments to the process. Present the findings of EIAs to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group who will monitor any actions and decide if any further communication of the findings is required. Utilise case studies, where appropriate, to demonstrate where changes have been made following the EIA.

The other area for improvement was that:

The service should make sure all staff understand the benefits of equality, diversity and inclusion and their role in promoting these values

The planned action to address this was to:

Incorporate the benefits of equality, diversity and inclusion into the onboarding process. Utilise POD business partners to engage with staff to gauge understanding around equality, diversity and inclusion. Further integrate equality, diversity and inclusion into leadership development programmes. Utilise e-learning to enhance understanding of specific topics relating to equality, diversity and inclusion. Engage with other Service's in the region to share best practice.

Review of the Risk Based Inspection Programme

The Combined Fire Authority was scheduled to receive a report on the review of the Risk Based Inspection Programme (RBIP), which was an action in the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025–2028. The RBIP is a strategic approach to fire safety inspections that prioritises resources based on the level of risk posed by different premises.

The review was completed in 2023/24, and a new RBIP was implemented on 1 April 2024. The outcome was the production of a two-tier RBIP aligned to the Competency Framework for Fire Safety Regulators:

• Highest Risk Occupancy (HRO) premises, which are hospitals, care homes, specialised housing, and hotels. Individual High Risk (IHR) premises characterised by complex evacuation needs, building size or complexity. Residential premises four storeys and above.
• All other premises are classed as simple, medium and low-risk premises.

The report included data on the delivery and outcomes of the fire safety audits conducted in 2024/25 and quarters 1 and 2 of 2025/26. It also noted that the Service currently has two prosecutions in progress, one relating to Ridgemount House and one relating to the Three Tuns.

The report concluded that the current RBIP reflects the most up-to-date guidance, and that the current level of delivery is well above the current average. It also noted that the Service has been graded as 'outstanding' for protection by HMICFRS.

Integrated Fire Control Collaboration Update

The Combined Fire Authority was scheduled to receive an update on the progress of the Integrated Fire Control Collaboration (IFCC) project. County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) is jointly procuring a new hosted control room system with Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS), Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), and Cleveland Fire Brigade (CFB).

A seven-year collaboration agreement between the four FRSs was signed on 13 December 2023, followed by the signing of the initial IFCC contract for the new solution on 14 December 2023. The most economically advantageous bid came from Motorola Solutions Inc, offering a consortium price of £7.559 million over three years.

The report noted that efforts have been made to harmonise various datasets, and that Factory Acceptance Testing for the new solution took place in February 2025. Site Acceptance Testing for the new solution is expected to take place in the coming months, with the anticipated go-live date of August 2026.