Introduction

Every fire and rescue service has statutory duties and responsibilities that are set out in legislation. The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 details our duties to:

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 details our responsibility, as a Category One responder, to work with other agencies and emergency services to assess risks and work together to plan and prepare for a range of emergencies.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRO) 2005 details our role in promoting, educating and enforcing fire safety regulations in premises such as offices, factories, shops, hospitals, care homes, public and tall buildings.

The Fire and Rescue Service National Framework for England (2018) sets out the priorities for fire and rescue authorities, which are to:

• Identify and assess the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue related risks within their areas
• Make appropriate provision for fire prevention and protection activities and response to fire and rescue related incidents
• Develop and maintain a workforce that is professional, resilient, skilled, flexible and diverse
• Collaborate with emergency services and other local and national partners to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the service they provide
• Be accountable to communities for the service they provide

The Framework also requires us to produce an Integrated Risk Management Plan that sets out our assessment of risk and explains how we will use our resources to reduce risk and respond to emergencies. We are required to make this plan accessible and publicly available, and to consult with the public and other stakeholders in its development. In line with the latest sector guidance, we have adopted the title of a Community Risk Management Plan that focuses on our commitment to serving our local communities.

We meet this requirement of the Framework through the publication of this draft Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), which is the subject of a formal public consultation.

The CRMP document is supported by other documents which are available on our website.

In addition to the legislative framework, the Fire Standards Board continue to develop a range of professional standards for fire and rescue services. We are committed to adopting these standards into our ways of working. They include a Community Risk Management Planning fire standard. We have developed this plan in accordance with that standard. Through benchmarking against these standards we can ensure a level of assurance across all aspects of our business.