Organisational risks
We define organisational risks as those that can potentially affect our service internally. These prevent us from conducting our business effectively, for example, mobilising fire appliances to incidents.
We assess and review these risks continuously. This is informed by several national and local factors and is linked to our corporate risk register.
Our organisational risks are recorded on our corporate risk register. We have identified the following significant risks for the period 2024 to 2028:
Loss of a considerable proportion of staff through illness, industrial action or severe weather
The availability of our appliances and our ability to supply other services may be affected should a large number of our staff be unavailable for work.
This risk was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic and has arisen again through the threat of industrial action within the fire sector and in other organisations.
Severe weather that closes roads or creates excess demand can also affect service delivery.
To mitigate this, we keep business continuity plans and conduct tabletop exercises covering various scenarios. We have also reviewed our plans to support delivery through industrial action, working with others in the sector on a peer-review basis.
Change in the legislative or financial landscape
Over the last two decades, periods of financial shocks and instability have directly affected the funding of Fire and Rescue Services.
These continue to happen (e.g. COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine), and we must be prepared to manage the impact of such events.
There are a number of potential legislative changes coming in the next four years, with further reform of fire safety and building regulations, as well as more responsibilities coming from an updated Civil Contingencies Act and implantation of proposals in the May 2022 Fire and Rescue Service white paper.
Failure to recruit and retain skilled staff
Our staff are at the centre of all we do, and we want to ensure they have the right conditions to flourish and deliver the best service possible to the communities in Lincolnshire. This requires us to refine our recruitment processes to attract the best people, offering opportunities across our communities to work for us in operational and non-operational roles.
There are problems we face in keeping staff too, with demand from other services and the private sector for the skills that our staff have.
The service relies on On-Call firefighters to provide fire cover across the county, and this duty system has its own barriers to recruitment and retention.
We recognise the dedication of these On-Call firefighters needs to be recognised, and we are constantly working to increase the attractiveness of the role by improving our offer to On-Call firefighters, their families and primary employers.
Adverse effects on the service due to climate change
In recent years, we have seen an increase in demand caused by spate conditions, including increased calls for service for incidents involving flooding, wildfires, and fires in the open.
It is predicted that these spells of heavy rain and prolonged elevated temperatures will become more frequent, and we must plan to meet these peaks in demand.
We are already seeing Government policies aimed at slowing the rate of change, such as demands for energy efficiency, generation of renewable energy and the phasing out of vehicles that use fossil fuels. We are addressing this through our estate and fleet strategies.