False claims and worsening response times

More false claims from Cabinet Member

Duncan Crow entertaining his Conservative colleagues

At Friday's full council meeting, Cabinet Member Duncan Crow again misled his fellow County Councillors several times. Sadly, he seemed more interested in getting a laugh from his Conservative colleagues than he was with accuracy. Here are some disturbing examples:

West Sussex residents deserve better

Especially if we have to put up with these County Councillors for seven years instead of four!

The consultation to lower West Sussex County Council's emergency response standards is still underway. Current standards allow lengthy response times, yet this proposal will allow even longer response times. However, more disturbing information has recently come to light.

Emergency Response Standard

failures no longer investigated

Whenever County Councillors have asked about failures to meet the response standards, they have always been assured that every such incident is investigated. However, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Matt Cook has now said that they no longer investigate every failure. 

It appears that this significant change in policy has been done in secret, with even the council's Fire & Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee kept in the dark. It is not known if Cabinet Member Duncan Crow knows about this change, if he approved it, or if he instructed the service to stop investigating these serious failures.

The only excuse offered for not investigating these failures is the claim that most result from reasons “beyond our control (such as heavy traffic, and long travel distance).” A nonsense excuse, as many fire & rescue services have used data on delays caused by heavy traffic and long travel distances to support the relocation of fire stations, or the provision of additional fire stations. 

Even West Sussex used data on failures to meet response standards to support the case for improvements. Wholetime crewing during the day was extended from five to seven days a week at Burgess Hill, East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Shoreham just two years ago. 

Responsible fire authorities investigate all response standard failures

West Sussex County Council is not being responsible

Council failure, not firefighter failure

It is important to note that firefighters continue to do their utmost to get to emergencies quickly. Responsibility for these failures rests with the County Council, which has stripped the service of sufficient resources to meet the response standards. Frontline resources have been cut by a quarter and they are failing to ensure that the remainder are always available. That is why they cannot provide a speedy and effective response to every emergency.

Only the County Council's leadership has something to gain

from lowering standards and not investigating failures

Bizarre internal review response

The new information from DCFO Matt Cook emerged from his internal review response about their refusal to provide information about failures to meet the response standards. The same information was requested in 2018 and 2021 and was provided, but the request for the same information for the twelve months to the end of October last year was refused. 

He begins by supporting the dubious grounds for refusing to disclose the information that they confirmed they held. Ludicrously, he then concludes by claiming that they do not hold the information.

It would be quite irresponsible if the service did not have information on each incident that meets, and those that do not meet, the County Council's response standards. Without that information, they would be unable to provide key performance information to the Cabinet, and the Fire & Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee. Yet both received response standard information as recently as December 2024.

There is no justification for this refusal

A complaint has been submitted to the Information Commissioner

More evidence of the damaging effect of Council cuts

An examination of the latest figures shows that West Sussex assists the neighbouring fire & rescue services (East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey) less often. Yet, they are calling on them for assistance much more often. Compared to five years ago, West Sussex has cut help to other fire & rescue services by a third, whilst assistance from them has had to increase by over 37%.

Clear evidence that West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is under resourced

Don't help the County Council

cut emergency response standards

Reject the proposed changes

Reminder - The consultation closes on 27 February 2025.

West Sussex County Council cut standards to cover up deteriorating response times

Misleading consultation

Existing 8 to 14 minute response targets being 

replaced with a single 16 minute response target

It is very disappointing, but sadly not surprising, that this latest West Sussex consultation is misleading. Once again, the Conservative run County Council is attempting to deceive the public.

They refer to ‘current response standards’ but fail to show the times for response to critical fires. As those times are omitted, and it does not clearly explain that the 13 minute response standard for critical incidents does not apply to critical fires, the public may well be misled.

Average times will cover up response time failures

The change to average times is to help the County Council disguise the extent of response time failures. Nearly 80% of incidents occur in areas that have immediate response firefighters (i.e. on duty at the fire station), and they can attend incidents quickly. Using average figures helps conceal the worsening response times for the 20% of incidents in other, mostly rural, areas.

A significant increase in the response time criteria is a worrying lowering of standards

Cabinet Member Duncan Crow is attempting to renege on the County Council's existing response commitment. It already permits longer response times than in many other areas, and this will allow even longer response times. 

Many response times, which were previously graded as failures, will now be claimed as meeting the target. 

There were 486 response time failures in 2019/20 (WSCC has refused to provide more recent figures) and all were investigated. Had the proposed standards been applied to the actual response times in 2019/20, then there would have been a nearly two thirds reduction in those deemed to be failures. 

Not only is this covering up deteriorating performance, it will mean that no investigations will be carried out into most failures. Deterioration that is not the fault of firefighters, but the failure of the County Council to ensure enough fire appliances are always available. 

The consultation also incorrectly says: ‘You can also read more about national Emergency Response Standards on the Office For National Statistics’ website.(External link).’ 

There are no national Emergency Response Standards, and the website just shows performance data. Secondly, the website is not an ONS one, it is a Home Office website. 

This is not about 'greater transparency' 

It is about covering up excessive response times that put lives at risk