Guidance

Fire and Rescue Service workforce and pension statistics quality and methodology information

Updated 25 January 2024

Applies to England

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Helene Clark

Press enquiries: pressoffice@homeoffice.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 123 3535

Public enquiries: firestatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk

Summary

Fire and Rescue Service workforce and pension statistics is an annual publication that, in part, describes the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) workforce in terms of its size, rank, roles and personal characteristics which are used to understand diversity by FRS. It also includes information on numbers joining and leaving FRSs. Data is sourced from the Operational Statistics Data Collection process — see How the output is created.

This document provides an overview of the statistics and the process by which the annual National Statistics release and associated data tables are brought together. It includes sections on:

1. Output quality

This section gives users information that describes the quality of the data and statistics, and details any points that should be noted when using FRS workforce and pensions statistics.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has developed Guidelines for measuring statistical quality based upon the 5 European Statistical System (ESS) quality dimensions. We address these quality dimensions here and other important quality characteristics, including:

To also address quality concerns associated with the use of administrative data in the production of National Statistics, ONS developed a Good practice guidance for using administrative data and an Administrative data quality assurance toolkit.

2. About the output

Relevance

The degree to which statistical outputs meet users’ needs.

Overview of the output

What it measures

The Operational Statistics Data Collection requests detailed information from all FRSs on their workforce as aggregate counts for each personal characteristic separately. This includes: gender, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and disability, at the appropriate reference date (31 March).

Frequency Annual collection

Sample size

All staff in post at the specified reference date (circa 45,000 in 2023).

Periods available
Recent versions of Fire and Rescue Service workforce and pension statistics are on the publication page and the relevant tables are on the data tables page.

Sample frame
Complete census of FRS employees at the reference date. All FRSs are required to complete a return as part of the Single Data List which is a list of all the datasets that local government must submit to central government.

Sample design
Census

Weighting and estimation No weighting or estimation is used.

Imputation
No imputation is undertaken, except in the very rare occasions when an FRS does not complete their return to deadline. In these circumstances the omission will be clearly noted and usually the previous year’s figures will be included in statistics for use in national and other totals.

Outliers
No filtering of outliers.

FRS workforce and pension statistics is published annually; however, FRSs may publish their own workforce statistics using different snapshot dates, 12-month periods or definitions. The release provides users with a detailed picture on FRSs in terms of its structure and composition. The release has been published as HTML, rather than in PDF format, to aid accessibility and more accessible MS Excel statistical tables will continue to be released.

The release includes information on the FRS workforce as follows:

• size: number of employees
• composition: employees by role, rank and personal characteristics
• location: FRS breakdowns
• flows: entrants to and leavers from FRSs

Figures are a ‘snapshot’ as at the appropriate reference date, that is, 31 March. Flow information (that is, joiners, apprentice joiners and leavers), refers to the 12 months prior to the reference date.

The media, think tanks and lobby groups may also use these statistics to make an assessment of changes taking place across FRSs, and reuse the data to provide additional commentary. Other non-governmental bodies, such as His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), FRSs, National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC) and individuals will also make use of these statistics.

Timeliness and punctuality

Timeliness refers to the lapse of time between publication and the period to which the data refer.

Punctuality refers to the gap between planned and actual publication dates.

The proposed month of publication is announced on GOV.UK at least 2 months in advance of publication, normally far earlier. In the event of any changes to the pre-announced release schedule, the change and the reasons for it will be announced. Publication is currently around 30 weeks after the end of the reference period.

The following timeline outlines the major steps in the production process for the annual statistical release:

FRS workforce and pensions statistics production process broad timings

Timelines for the collection process

Prior to the commission

The Operational Statistics specification is agreed following consultation with main users and engagement with data suppliers through Central and Local government Information Partnership (CLIP) Fire.

The conversation with data suppliers is ongoing to improve the content and guidance of the data collection, as well as emerging issues. The main CLIP Fire meeting is usually held annually in the autumn, to test proposals and ideas. The intention is for the group to meet at least twice a year, but more frequently as data requirements change and develop.

FRSs prepare for the collection, making changes to HR systems as necessary, for example, where new variables have been introduced, this is ongoing but focused on the months leading up to collection.

The operational statistics returns are sent to FRSs. FRSs extract their data and input it into the required format, quality assuring the figures, and returning them to the Home Office.

The deadline gives FRSs 11 weeks, with data returns provided in 2 batches, to reduce the burden on FRSs.

Home Office follow up on returns, querying inconsistencies and accepting necessary revisions and late returns.

11 weeks

The statistical release is produced, all tables and figures are quality assured.

6 weeks

Documents are finalised for release on GOV.UK.

1 week

As part of the production process, data suppliers are notified of the return deadlines in advance, and the Home Office follow up with them over the course of the collection and production cycle.

3. How the output is created

The statistics in the release are derived from returns completed as part of the Operational Statistics Data Collection. The commission covers all FRSs and North West Fire Control, who, although not an FRS, are included because their fire control function would usually be covered by FRSs and to not include them would result in inconsistent statistics. For the purposes of this method note, and the statistical release, North West Fire Control is considered as an FRS, to simplify the naming references.

The Home Office requests from FRSs, data on the number of employees ‘in post’ as at the reference date, along with totals for leavers and joiners from/to the FRS in the preceding 12 months. The collection has returns on standard Excel templates and includes data fields on the total number of staff (FTE) by rank and role. It also includes headcount totals, by rank and role, on personal characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and disability). The data collected is anonymous (that is, no employee names are provided). The data is, however, considered and handled as ‘personal data’ because in certain circumstances individuals may be identifiable (see Statistical disclosure control section).

Collection, validation and reporting of these statistics is facilitated and primarily controlled by computer software written using Excel and the R and SQL programming languages. The code constitutes a ‘Reproducible analytical pipeline (RAP)’ in that the process of getting from the raw data to the published tables and figures is semi-automated. All raw data files supplied by FRSs are maintained in their unprocessed form. The code maintained by the Home Office takes this raw data and checks for invalid data (more detail in the validation and quality assurance section).

4. Validation and quality assurance

The raw data from FRSs undergoes 4 distinct rounds of checks and quality assurance prior to it being assessed as suitable for publication:

1. Initial checks by FRSs: All FRSs are expected to undertake a level of assurance ahead of sending in their initial returns to the Home Office. This process will vary by FRS. In addition, the spreadsheet supplied to FRSs by the Home Office automatically generates validation routines that will highlight data inconsistencies ahead of FRSs sending their return to the Home Office.
2. Raw data validation checks by the Home Office: Home Office will conduct initial checks on the return, starting with the internal data return data validation checks which, for example, check the different personal characteristics headcount totals are identical and that the FTE totals are less than or equal to the headcount.
3. Contextual checks by the Home Office: Home Office will, for example, check numbers provided for the latest year against previous years’ data, to identify any large changes in the totals, and verify if these changes are commented in the FRS notes supplied. Any issues identified that are not explained will be queried with FRSs. Checks to compare trends between FRSs are also completed.
4. During the final stages of the production process: Detailed final checks and quality assurance will be undertaken by the Home Office. This will often be based on unusual trends in the draft tables or statistical release.

Accuracy

The degree of closeness between an estimate and the true value.

These workforce statistics are derived from information sourced from FRSs’ HR systems. The key stages in the production of the statistics are outlined below, covering the stage of production, the potential sources of risk or error, and the steps taken at each stage to mitigate these potential risks.

The data collection is a census in design and receives a 100% response across all FRSs in virtually every year. However, it is still important for users of these statistics to be aware of accuracy issues associated with the data collection. For example:

• FRSs may have different interpretations of the guidance or have a situation outside the guidance provided to them; whilst every effort is made to keep the guidance used strong there will always be inconsistencies and new issues that arise
• statistics are currently published on the gender, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation and disability status of the FRS workforce; all these personal characteristics statistics relate to employees on a headcount basis and are presented as a percentage of known status, that is, FRSs who do not collect the information, employees who have not responded or who have actively chosen not to declare their status are excluded from the calculation
• item-level response and under-coverage, in general, has improved since the first operational statistics collection in 2011; the most recent non-response values for the characteristics Home Office collect are displayed in the table below

Table 1: Percentage of non-response (all staff), 2019 to 2023

Personal characteristic	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Gender	0.0%	0.0%	0.5%	0.4%	1.8%
Ethnicity	9.5%	9.9%	8.9%	8.8%	9.5%
Age	0.0%	0.1%	0.5%	0.4%	0.0%
Religion	39.4%	37.8%	33.5%	32.7%	31.3%
Sexual orientation	44.0%	40.7%	36.5%	33.8%	32.4%
Disability	28.7%	30.0%	24.9%	22.6%	24.4%

Notes:

1. Non response includes “not stated” and “not collected” response.

Under-coverage can occur because there is a lag in recording information in HR systems following someone joining an FRS. Whilst it is the responsibility of FRSs to review the quality of information held and encourage regular updates by their employees, an element of non-response can still be expected. Where there are larger than expected non-response levels, these are queried with organisations.

In the published tables, the Home Office publish percentages and totals of characteristics that are “not stated” or “not collected”. Currently 3 of the characteristics (religion, sexual orientation and disability) have high enough percentages of such non-response that they are considered experimental statistics. Similarly, these same 3 characteristics are not published in full detail by rank, role and FRS, as data quality concerns will override any public value considerations that may be derived from their publication. The Home Office also must be mindful of the balance of data privacy and transparency and has adopted a cautious approach to err on the side of those who do not wish to display their personal characteristics. See the Statistical disclosure control section.

Where variables do exhibit high levels of non-response (“not stated” or “not collected”), users should bear this in mind when drawing conclusions from relevant statistics, and especially when making comparisons between organisations or over different time periods. The Home Office will continue to work with FRSs to drive these “not stated” and “not collected” percentages down to such a level the statistics are no longer considered experimental.

Production processes

The section below shows the broad production process, helping to identify risks of error in the process and how these are minimised with relevant mitigating actions.

1) FRS workforce data specification drafted:
Each year the specification will be refreshed to ensure all variables remain relevant or are amended as appropriate. This process will be informed by discussion with primary users — mainly officials who lead on specific workforce policy areas and with the CLIP Fire group.

2) Engagement with data suppliers:
Ahead of the formal commission, the Home Office reaches out to data suppliers through the CLIP Fire group, to engage with the main FRS contact for the data reporting. This engagement will highlight any changes in the specification for that year’s commission, timings, and other process changes that data suppliers should note. It also provides an opportunity for data suppliers to raise any concerns or issues so that these can be addressed prior to the commission. Any changes to the specification are first approved by CLIP and DLUHC for the Single Data List, with the changes communicated to FRSs and initial drafts of the reporting shared in advance to facilitate discussion.

Potential source of risk or error:
Data suppliers do not engage directly with the Home Office on changes to the specification.

Risk or error mitigation:
The Home Office will work with those organisations to ensure alignment to the specification as appropriate. In addition, any specific changes to the specification will only occur alongside discussions with lead policy officials who will have their own engagement plans and working level groups within FRSs.

3) Commissioning, reporting and data extraction:
The Home Office will issue the formal commission of Operational Statistics data on or just after the reference date, that is, 31 March. FRSs supply the Home Office with the required data as per the specification.

Potential source of risk or error:
The statistics generated from the organisations’ returns may be incorrect, inconsistent or unavailable.

Risk or error mitigation:
See validation and quality assurance

4) FRS workforce and pensions publication:
Once the data is finalised, the statistical release and accompanying tables and dataset are produced.

Potential source of risk or error:
Errors may be introduced during the production phase.

Risk or error mitigation: See validation and quality assurance. In addition, separate quality assurance checks are undertaken outside of the automated process by senior staff. The statistical release undergoes a number of quality assurance checks, including cross-referencing all numbers quoted in the release against the final data tables. A final sense check is undertaken before being signed off.

5) Revisions:
Organisations submit revisions to their data after publication.

Potential source of risk or error:
Revisions may significantly change the message of the published statistics.

Risk or error mitigation:
The lead-in time from reference date to publication allows organisations time to revise their data close to publication date, that is, some 22 to 28 weeks after the reference date (although this will be on an exception basis).

Our policy on revisions will generally follow that, as per our published guidance.

Once Fire and Rescue workforce and pensions statistics are published, given this is an annual publication, no further revisions take place. However, if significant revisions to organisations’ data are received after publication, the Head of Profession will make a decision as to the extent that these revisions impact the overall statistics for users. If necessary, the initial statistical release will be revised or updated, and table revisions may be necessary with an appropriate note placed on the publication website.

5. Coherence and comparability

Coherence is the degree to which the data that is derived from different sources or methods, but refer to the same topic, is similar.

Comparability is the degree to which the data can be compared over time and domain – for example, geographic level.

Workforce information published through other processes (for example, the FRS’s own releases and freedom of information requests (FOIs)) may not necessarily align with that presented in FRS workforce and pensions statistics, due to differences in timing, coverage and scope. The statistics published by the Home Office cover England only and some statistics produced through other processes or organisations may cover Great Britain or the UK. The comparability of data over time is relatively strong although some definitions have had minor amendments over time.

6. Concepts and definitions

Concepts and definitions describe any legislation governing the output and a description of the classification used in the output.

The FRS staff totals include personnel employed directly by the Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) across all duty systems. The totals include new, temporary and fixed term staff, secondees (if the FRS is paying their salaries) and paid apprentices. Personnel excluded are agency and casual staff employed for less than a year, personnel employed by outside contractors and secondees (if the FRS is not paying their salaries). Staff who are on temporary promotion are counted in the temporary role and rank held on the reference day. Personnel who are over normal retirement age are also to be included in the annual returns.

Anyone with 2 contracts of employment should be counted twice in the returns. For example, if a member of staff is employed with a retained firefighter and wholetime firefighter contract they will be recorded in both the on call and wholetime firefighter totals.

Full-time equivalents (FTEs) are based on converting part-time employees’ hours into a full-time employees’ equivalent and provides a better indicator of total labour input than a headcount. On call firefighters, also known as retained firefighters, respond when required during their ‘on call’ hours, therefore it is more appropriate to calculate their employment in 24 hours of cover to determine whether their number is sufficient to fulfil operational commitments.

New staff are those who were employed on the reference date and were new to their roles in the year up until that day. This includes members of staff whose application was successful the previous year, but who took employment in the year up to the reference date. Therefore, this includes all staff who are new to the fire service and staff who are new to the category of role (for example, if a member of staff moved from support staff to become a firefighter they would be included in this collection).

Apprentices are paid workers employed under an apprenticeship scheme with a signed Apprenticeship Agreement in place with either an FRS or an apprenticeship training agency.

Statistical disclosure control

Statistical disclosure control methodology is applied to FRS workforce data. This ensures that information attributable to an individual is not identifiable in any published outputs. The Code of Practice for Official Statistics and specifically the Principle on Confidentiality sets out practices for how we protect data from being disclosed. The Principle includes the statement that our outputs should, “Organisations should look after people’s information securely and manage data in ways that are consistent with relevant legislation and serve the public good”. More information can be found in the National Statistician’s Guidance: Confidentiality of Official Statistics. Users should also refer to our published Privacy Notice and refer to our published policy on Home Office Fire privacy policy.

Specifically, in FRS workforce and pensions statistics, no strict suppression rules are in place. The Home Office feels the public good of transparency is a strong reason to publish these statistics; however, restrictions are made on the actual tables and data and tables that are published. For instance, the published tables for religion and sexual orientation do not publish all categories at an FRS level (they are grouped into “other religious groups” and “LGB” rather than showing each religion or sexual orientation) and the tables for religion, sexual orientation and disability do not publish FRS-level for rank. If and when the percentage of “not stated” and “not collected” responses reduce to a sufficient level and the Home Office are satisfied with the data quality, then these statistics may be published.

7. Other information

Output quality trade-offs

Trade-offs are the extent to which different dimensions of quality are balanced against each other

In producing FRS workforce and pensions statistics, the timeliness of the publication must be balanced against the quality of the data produced. Users have a need for statistics to be produced as soon as possible after the end of the reference period in order to ensure their relevance. However, as outlined in the section on timelines and punctuality, considerable time is dedicated to quality assuring the final values received from organisations in order to mitigate potential sources of error.

Assessment of user needs and perceptions (The processes for finding out about uses and users, and their views on the statistical products)

In order to engage with both known and potential users, our engagement strategy includes both active and passive elements, allowing both structured engagement with known users and open lines of communication for potential new users. Unstructured feedback has proved useful in identifying particular issues with the collection, while structured feedback is essential in setting out the areas for development that will address broad user needs.

Accessibility and clarity

Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in which the data is available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the release details, illustrations and accompanying advice.

The different users of these statistics have a range of needs in terms of presentation of the results, and we therefore provide multiple formats for use:

• headline results, trends, and narrative are provided in HTML format (previously as PDF); this summarises the data with explanatory charts, visualisations and figures for general consumption
• key figures at an overall and FRS level are shown in MS Excel tables that sit alongside the statistical release, with data sheets available to interrogate the data