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The Welsh Government has confirmed that the Commissioners appointed to oversee South Wales Fire and Rescue Service will remain in post until May 2027 although one of the four is standing down from the role.
Four Commissioners were appointed in February 2024 after the Welsh Government abolished the fire and rescue authority and the former Chief Fire Officer retired early. This came after a damning culture review by Fenella Morris KC that described the workplace in the service as ‘toxic’ and concluded that ‘basic standards of good governance and management had failed.’
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service welcomed the announcement from Cabinet Minister, Sian Gwenllian. In a written statement laid in the Senedd this week, the Minister said:
“The Commissioners have made some good progress since then. The senior management team has been completely refreshed, and those who oversaw the original failings have been replaced. Internal policies and procedures are being overhauled and made fairer and more robust. And staff survey results show that workplace culture is improving, albeit from a very low base.”
Despite this, the Minister said that the Commissioners do not believe their work to be complete and that the changes made so far are not “sufficiently embedded to survive a return to local control.” Over the next ten months, the Commissioners are expected “to complete their original remit and to take steps to secure an orderly and sustainable transition back to local control.”
That could mean the return of a fire and rescue authority comprising members drawn from Welsh local authorities. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Director for Corporate Services and Monitoring Officer Amanda Brown said that it was likely a transition committee would be established to oversee this process.
One of the Commissioners is former chief of West Midlands Fire Service Vij Randeniya. Baroness Wilcox is the former leader of Newport City Council and Kirsty Williams, was a member of the Senedd for Brecon and Radnor. Former Chief Constable of North Wales, Carl Foulkes has announced that he will be standing down as a Commissioner. The Minister confirmed that he would be replaced in due course.
Read more background on this story – South Wales fire one year on from Morris Report.
