We are delighted to introduce our Strategic Plan 2022-2027 which sets out our vision for the future, "to be a World Leader in Emergency Response and Community Safety"
Our Strategic Plan is designed to deliver our vision, mission and values. The Commitments highlighted within this Plan will be delivered through the provision of an Annual Business Improvement Plan, which will highlight what we will do in the coming business year to deliver against our five-year Commitments.
Our vision
To be a World Leader in Emergency Response and Community Safety.
Our Mission
To engage, connect, develop and inspire people to deliver an excellent service.
Our Values
Do the right thing.
Treat people with respect.
Perform with excellence.
Our commitments
Commitment 1
We are committed to recruiting, retaining and developing a highly skilled workforce.
Commitment 2
We are committed to supporting the health, wellbeing and prosperity of the communities we serve.
Commitment 3
We are committed to minimising our impact on the environment.
Commitment 4
We are committed to improving the way we work through organisational learning.
Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
We are committed to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and we have embraced our duties and our role as a statutory partner across our six Public Services Boards’. We understand the purpose and aim of the Act and are committed to ensuring we consider the long-term impact of our decisions on the communities we serve.
Strategic Plan
Our Strategic Plan 2022-2027 outlines our five-year Commitments, which we have developed in accordance with the sustainable development principle and incorporated the five ways of working.
Our Commitments
Our Commitments have been developed through a series of workshops with our staff, Elected Members and Representative Bodies.
Throughout this Plan, we highlight how our Commitments contribute to the seven Well-being Goals, demonstrating how each one helps us improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales.
We will therefore ensure that when making decisions we take into account the impact the decisions could have on the people living their lives in Wales both now and in the future. We will also remember to give due consideration to the rich diversity of people within mid and west Wales and continue to work collaboratively with others to help the Authority achieve its Objectives, and conversely, to help others to achieve theirs.
Sustainable Development Principle
The importance of balancing short-term needs with the needs to safeguard the ability to also meet long-term needs.
What are we doing to meet these principles?
We will continue to look at long term trends and undertake analysis of our actions, to ensure that the services we provide are proactive rather than reactive, therefore better meeting the needs of our communities and stakeholders by making our communities as safe as possible, and not compromising the needs of our future generations. We have embedded long term thinking within our business practices and Improvement and Well-being Objectives and we will continue to adopt a horizon scanning approach as part of our planning processes. When setting our Improvement and Well-being Objectives, we have ensured that we monitor future trends and long-term challenges, that will have an adverse impact on the services we provide. We will continue to adapt and diversify our activities to better meet the needs of our communities, as well as improve the way we meet the needs of the people that work, live and visit our communities to make them safer.
Preventing problems occurring or getting worse.
What are we doing to meet these principles?
Prevention, protection and early intervention remain a priority for us, and we are committed to making the communities we serve as safe as possible, by continually reviewing and adapting our intervention services. We will continue to take a proactive, integrated and collaborative approach to the services we provide, by working closely with new and existing partner organisations to deliver tailored safety messages, therefore maximising the positive impact in our communities. Our focus for prevention is centred around preventing problems from occurring or worsening by ensuring early intervention is undertaken and that our communities are as informed as possible.
Considering how the public body’s well-being objectives may impact upon each of the well-being goals, on their objectives, or on the objectives of other public bodies.
What are we doing to meet these principles?
We have taken an integrated approach when developing our Commitments, as we believe that working in a more integrated way will enable us to solve problems more effectively and efficiently. By undertaking a joint approach to maximise opportunities, and working collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders, we will reduce duplication of effort across public sector organisations and furthermore share resources, learning and knowledge for the benefit of our communities and future generations.
Acting in collaboration with any other person (or different parts of the body itself) that could help the body to meet its well-being objectives.
What are we doing to meet these principles?
Working collaboratively with our partners is of key importance to us as a Fire and Rescue Service. We work collaboratively with North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service in a number of ways and have adapted an “All Wales” approach in several areas. This collaborative approach has also identified the most cost effective and efficient delivery methods across the three Fire and Rescue Service’s on several subject matters. We understand that working closely with our partners, maximises the impact of our safety messages on our communities and delivers safety messages with a joint approach. We will therefore continue to build on existing relationships and look for new opportunities to develop new and existing partnerships to make the most effective use of our assets.
The importance of involving people with an interest in achieving the well-being goals and ensuring that those people reflect the diversity of the area which the body serves.
What are we doing to meet these principles?
We have consulted widely with our stakeholders, partner organisations and the public. We will fully engage with local communities through events and consultations, encouraging them to get involved in the decisions that affect them. This promotes a two-way dialogue and also ensures that they have their say on how we deliver our Commitments. Encouraging public participation and involvement in decision making is extremely important to us.
Achieving the Seven Well-being Goals
Our Commitments will help to achieve the seven Well-being goals in a number of ways, and we have ensured that the actions for our Improvement and Well-being Objectives have been developed in accordance with the sustainable development principle.
Our contribution towards achieving a Prosperous Wales will include providing a greater level of information and support from each of our contacts when we visit people in our communities to keep people safer in their homes. We will also contribute to achieving a Prosperous Wales by building on existing relationships and looking for new opportunities to maximise the benefit for the community and enhance our contribution to the local economy and reduce costs to society.
Contributions towards a Resilient Wales will be achieved through the consideration of new technology and innovation within our Service. We will also better understand our impact on the environment in order for reductions in our carbon footprint to be achieved, whilst continuing to maintain a high standard of Service Delivery.
A healthier Wales will be achieved by an increase in connectivity and digitisation, which will assist the Service in delivering both our emergency and community safety services to our communities, therefore ensuring that we can provide advice and deliver our intervention programmes to assist individuals to improve their lifestyle.
Our contribution towards a Wales of Cohesive Communities will be accomplished by improving our digitised solutions and advancing information and communication technologies, by contributing to the progression of connectivity and our delivery of services to the public.
In order to assist with creating a More Equal Wales, we will prioritise our interventions to individuals who are most vulnerable to improve their circumstances and to provide them with advice to enable them to improve their lifestyle.
Our contribution to a Wales of Vibrant Culture and thriving Welsh Language is to continue to encourage and promote the use of the Welsh Language within our service area. Where possible, we will promote access to our services through the utilisation of the Welsh language, to ensure that our stakeholders are able to communicate with us in their preferred language. We will also continue to encourage our staff to speak their preferred language in the workplace and provide opportunities to staff who wish to learn Welsh.
We will influence the achievement of a Globally Responsible Wales by continuing to make significant changes to reduce the amount of paper used in our activities through encouraging the submission of all electronic correspondence and documentation.
Public Service Boards
As specified within the Act, Public Services Board’s must utilise the sustainable development principle to maximise contribution to the achievement of the seven national well-being goals by addressing the specific well-being needs of the area. We have embraced this principle and are fully committed to providing the utmost contribution as a statutory partner to achieving the well-being goals and have subsequently implemented the ethos of ensuring that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations in our business practices.
The significance of the Objectives contained within each of the six Public Services Boards’ Well-being Plans, is reflected in our own Service Commitments which ensure that working with our partners to deliver better outcomes for our communities remains a priority.
New Ways of Working
Not only have we considered the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 in the formation of this plan, we have also embedded a number of new ways of working within the day to day running of the organisation. The “Golden Thread” of the Service is greatly influenced by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. From our individual development plans, departmental strategies, through to our Strategic Plan 2022-2027 and the Annual Business Improvement Plan 2022/2023, the ethos of the Act is at the forefront of our minds. Whether its forming new partnerships; adopting a horizon scanning approach as part of our future planning processes; or embedding the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 project framework within the delivery of our own corporate projects, you can be assured that the needs of the present will be met, without compromising our future generations.
Welsh Language and the Service
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority recognises and values the rich diversity of our communities and the significance of our cultural heritage. As such, we are committed to ensuring that in conducting public business in Wales, the Welsh and English languages are treated on the basis of equality.
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 sets out a legal framework for the imposition and monitoring of Welsh Language Standards on public bodies and other organisations. As a Service, we have a legal duty to comply with the set of Standards imposed on the Authority by the Welsh Language Commissioner on 30 September 2016. Our compliance notice, internal processes for implementation and monitoring, and annual reports are available on our Welsh Language Standards page.
As an Authority, we have responded positively to the Welsh Language Standards, utilising the Standards to further progress our commitment and aspiration to provide services equitably to all areas of mid and west Wales. We also acknowledge our duty towards our own staff, most of whom are residents of mid and west Wales and who themselves reflect the linguistic and cultural make-up of their own communities.
We will continue to look for opportunities to further collaborate with our partners and other fire and rescue services across Wales to promote, encourage and support the wider use of the Welsh language in our workplaces to meet individual language need and to provide a real language choice for our communities.
Socio Economic Duty Statement
Following the introduction of the Socio-Economic duty which came into force on the 31 March 2021, which requires specific public bodies, when making strategic decisions such as deciding priorities and setting objectives, to consider how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.
The overall aim of the duty is to deliver better outcomes for those who experience socio-economic disadvantage. The Service aim to support this by ensuring all those responsible for strategic decisions:
- Take account of evidence and potential impact through consultation and engagement.
- Understand the views and needs of those who suffer socio-economic disadvantage.
- Welcome challenge and scrutiny.
- Drive a change in the way that decisions are made and the way that decision makers operate.
We have embarked on a proactive programme of information sharing and training in relation to the Duty and will continue to ensure that due consideration is provided when deciding priorities and setting objectives.
Your views are important
We recognise that listening to your views is crucial if the Service is to continue to deliver an effective, efficient and improved service to keep you and your families safe. We therefore invite you to provide your views on our plans in order to help us continue to improve the services we provide to our local communities. You can use our contact form or email haveyoursay@mawwfire.gov.uk
Annual Business Improvement Plan 2023/2024
Our Annual Business Improvement Plan is designed to help deliver our vision, mission, values and Commitments. This Plan has been developed to recognise the challenges we face as a Service. We want to be able to respond quickly, flexibly and collaboratively to these challenges in order to deliver the best possible services to the communities we serve.