FOI 1710 - Firefighter Staff

I am enquiring about the following questions: 

 What is the total establishment of firefighters in your F&RS? 

680 (88 of these are dual role whole-time and on-call) 

What percentage of your firefighters are men? 

90.7% 

What percentage of your firefighters are women? 

9.2% 

What percentage of your firefighters are White men? 

85.7% 

What percentage of your firefighters are White women? 

8.5% 

What percentage of your firefighters are Black men? 

0.004% 

What percentage of your firefighters are Black women? 

0% 

What percentage of your firefighters are Asian men?

0.004% 

What percentage of your firefighters are Asian women? 

0% 

What percentage of your firefighters are Mixed men? 

0.005% 

What percentage of your firefighters are Mixed women? 

0.001% 

How many firefighters are you aiming to recruit in your F&RS in the next 3 years (2022, 2023, 2024) 

2021/22 – 24;   2023/24 -  24;   2024/25 – 24 

Please provide any details of positive action initiatives your F&RS may currently have in place.   

As a Service, we use a range of approaches which fall under the definition of positive action. We have an active Race Equality and Cultural Heritage Network (REACH) which provide role model to attend community and recruitment events. We use various forms of media to specifically target groups of people that are currently underrepresented in our workforce. This includes working with our community partners to promote careers (and volunteering) to ensure we widen access for all people to see us an employer of choice. 

Has your F&RS made any commitment to recruiting certain numbers from ethnic minority communities in the next 3 years (2022, 2023, 2024)?  

Ethnic diversity is a key priority for our positive action work in 2022/23. We are committed to ensuring our workforce at the very least is proportionately representative of the Cheshire sub-region’s diverse communities.

Recruitment and Promotion   

• What firefighter recruitment processes have the F&RS scheduled for 2022? Please provide dates if applicable. 

The 2021/22 campaign ended in December 2021. 

• What staff recruitment processes have the F&RS scheduled for 2022? Please provide dates if applicable.  

A draft timetable for recruitment processes has been devised, yet to be ratified.

•  What firefighter promotion processes are scheduled for 2022 (of all ranks)? Please provide dates if applicable. 

The Services run annual promotion boards in the Autumn (the dates have yet to be agreed for 2022) annually for watch and crew managers. Promotion boards for the roles of Station Manager and above are based on the establishment forecast. 

• How many new firefighter recruits is your F&RS aiming to recruit in 2022? 

24

• How many individuals are the F&RS expecting to apply to each promotion scheme in 2022? 

 This is unknown until the roles are advertised and applications received.