Monday 28 January
Avon Fire & Rescue Service provides highly
professional, first class, emergency response and fire prevention
services to our local communities. As the Leaders of the Fire
Authority, we are extremely proud of every single member of the
service who put public service first, and often put their lives on
the line to do it. Consider recent firefighter deaths in
Hertfordshire, Warwickshire and Scotland and you will understand
why we feel the way we do.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service is currently comprised of
97% white men. Fact. No one is suggesting for one
minute that there is anything wrong with that, nor that there is
anything wrong with being a white man. As we have said, we
are proud of every one of them.
Recent media reports, comments and criticism of the Chief Fire
Officer and our approach to recruitment have been inaccurate,
misleading and deliberately provocative.
We would like to set the record straight. Throughout the
recruitment process we have carried out over the last couple of
weeks, there were no barriers to white men applying for
appointment. The open days we held, where application forms
could be picked up, were exactly that - open to all.
Alongside the open days, we also held 'Have a go' days which were
targeted at specific groups that are currently under-represented in
the Service. We also ran these days for all to
attend. This approach, far from being 'positive
discrimination' is actually only about trying to encourage
applicants from those groups. It is a lawful and sensible
approach for any employer to take if they want to ensure they are
getting the best possible applicants from across the broader
spectrum of the community for the jobs that are available.
That is what the Chief Fire Officer and his team are
doing. Far from being criticised, he should be commended for
making every effort to ensure we continue to provide the best
possible services to all of those we serve. He has our full
support in doing this, along with that of the democratically
Elected Members of the Fire Authority.
If anyone remains in any doubt about the openness and
accessibility of our recruitment process, consider this fact: Over
the past few weeks we have handed out over 1,300 application forms.
From the monitoring we have carried out, we know that 79% of these
were given to white men. When we receive the completed
applications, every one will be treated exactly the same, and
anyone securing employment will have done so on merit. We have not
and will not unfairly discriminate against anyone.
We all want to see the best possible fire and rescue service in
our area, and the best possible firefighters being employed.
Let the Chief Fire Officer get on with making sure that happens and
avoid the media sideshow that starts when anyone mentions
'political correctness'.
We would also urge anyone who feels that they have been treated
unfairly in our recruitment process to pursue their complaints
through the proper channels rather than in the press.
Terry Walker
Chair
Labour
Sheila Cook
Vice Chair/Group
Leader
Conservative
Gerry
Curran
Vice Chair/Group Leader
Liberal Democrats