Our strategies, plans and reports
On this page you'll find:
- Our vision
- Our mission
- Our values
- Our Fire and Rescue Plan
- Our Annual Reports
- Strategic Assessment of Risk
- Community Risk Management Plan
- Our Core Code of Ethics
Our vision: Safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build success and wellbeing for all.
Our mission: Making Essex safer together
We value:
- Professionalism
- Inclusion
- Teamwork
- Courage
- High performance
The Fire and Rescue Plan
The Fire and Rescue Plan sets out the priorities for fire and rescue services in Essex and a series of strong, tangible commitments to how we will help keep our communities safe.
The plan brings together the Service, partners and the public to build safe and secure communities and offer efficient and effective prevention, protection and response activity
The activities in this plan set out a clear direction for development of the Service and how, by working closer together with other emergency services and wider partners, we can deliver a better service while being closer to the communities we serve.
Community Risk Management Plan
Our Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) outlines our current and future risks and what we will do to keep our communities safe. It also reflects what our people, public and partners have told us is important.
Through our CRMP development we have looked at things like the range of the incidents we attend, our changing population, an evolving environment (such as hot weather and flooding), and new technology. We assess current, emerging and future risks, and review how we can support our communities and make them more resilient against these risks. Our CRMP will also deliver against the priorities of the Fire and Rescue Plan 2024. The Fire and Rescue Plan is the strategic plan set out by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. It provides the focus and direction for our Service, with key priorities and objectives that have been developed in consultation with Essex public and key partners.
Our CRMP will:
• Enhance our ability to manage sustained high demand while making sure we’re still engaging with our communities. • Improve our response times to those critical life-risk incidents and improve availability.
• Prevent the impact and risks posed from a changing society. Including an aging population, and increased deprivation levels.
• Protect the built environment, making sure public safety is prioritised in the building, refurbishment and maintenance of premises and sites that fall under the Fire Safety Order 2005.
• Respond to the challenge and needs a changing workforce may bring. Including attraction, development and retention.
• Improve productivity, drive efficiency, and work with our partners to share data to prevent, protect and respond.
Find out more about our full consultation process, analysis and CRMP here.
Read our Service Delivery Plan here.
Previous CRMPs (previously called Integrated Risk Management Plans - IRMPs)
Our Safeguarding, Prevention, Protection and Response Strategy
Our safeguarding, prevention, protection and response strategies set out how we will deliver against our mission to make Essex safer together, reduce risk and harm in our communities, and deliver against our statutory duties.
Read our Safeguarding, Prevention, Protection and Response Strategy here.
Core code of Ethics
In May 2021, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Local Government Association (LGA) and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) published the Core Code of Ethics for Fire and Rescue Services. The Core Code is designed to help employees of the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) act in the best way towards each other and while serving the public.
Everyone in every FRS in England is expected to follow the Core Code, including those working with or on behalf of FRSs. We have a mandatory training course on this to make sure all of our people understand them.
They are:
- Putting our communities first – we put the interest of the public, the community and service users first.
- Integrity – we act with integrity including being open, honest and consistent in everything we do.
- Dignity and respect - making decisions objectively based on evidence, without discrimination or bias.
- Leadership – we are all positive role models, always demonstrating flexibility and resilient leadership. We are all accountable for everything we do and challenge all behaviour that falls short of the highest standards.
- Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) – We continually recognise and promote the value of EDI both within the FRSs and the wider communities in which we serve. We stand against all forms of discrimination, create equal opportunities, promote equality, foster good relations, and celebrate difference.
Strategic Assessment of Risk
The Fire and Rescue National Framework identifies challenges that we have to deal with such as the continued threat of terrorism, the impacts of climate change, impacts of an ageing population and the need to cut the national deficit.
To address these challenges, we will carry out an annual assessment of risk. Where we identify risks, we need to respond. This may be to actively mitigate the risk or simply monitor it. The detail of this is recorded in our Strategic Assessment of Risk (SAOR).
The SAOR informs and supports our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) by ensuring that risk management drives decision-making to achieve our vision.
Our annual reports
Our annual report includes highlights of the year, how we spent your money, performance against our targets and how we are working to improve our service to you, the people of Essex.
