IRMP

A Message from Matt Wrack  – General Secretary

“So far, integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMP) have, in practice, not delivered measurable improvements in service delivery. Not ones you can prove, not ones you can point to.

They are not integrated. Most are more budget-management than risk management. With some you would be hard-pressed to see the plan. Instead, with some exceptions, IRMP means CUTS.

Many IRMPs just contain vague promises of service improvement that are not quantified and often not delivered. Where there are improvements in service delivery these are often credited to the IRMP process whether it has played a role or not.

Despite this, the FBU supports the principle of IRMP.

The English and Scottish Governments and the Welsh Assembly have all written short guidance documents describing the IRMP process (Risk Reduction Plans – RRP in Wales – the Welsh Assembly made clear they wanted to reduce risk, not just manage it).

All these documents say that IRMPs/RRPs should be tools that balance the wishes and the needs of a wide range of stakeholders to deliver transparent management of a public service. True IRMP is therefore a process that, if done properly, leads to risk assessed, performance driven, cost effective improvement in fire and rescue service provision delivered by a safe, motivated workforce.

It is this principle that the FBU supports and wants to encourage.

Sadly, other than the brief notes provided by governments, there has been a lamentable lack of guidance on what integrated risk management planning is, and how it should be carried out. The FBU feels strongly that this is damaging the UK fire and rescue service.

Since no other stakeholder has been willing to step forward to fill this knowledge gap, as the UK’s leading organisation for fire and rescue practitioners, the FBU felt obliged to step forward. The FBU has dedicated a considerable amount of resource into researching all aspects of IRMP that has culminated in the publication of the the IRMP Framework Document.

This full version document is aimed primarily at FRS managers who are responsible for writing IRMPs/RRPs. It should also be read by members of fire authorities and fire boards who are responsible for the content of IRMPs/RRPs and thereby the performance of their fire and rescue services.

The FBU looks forward to a genuine dialogue within the service around this Document and around the development of IRMP and a Fire and rescue service for the future.”

Matt Wrack
General Secretary
Fire Brigades Union