This report provides an overview of the range of activities, outcomes and progress made by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) during 2025/26.
Legal Compliance and Public Sector Equality Duty
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is committed to meeting its legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). This includes having due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. This also includes using equality data and insight to inform risk-based decision-making, prevention targeting, and service accessibility for vulnerable and underrepresented groups.
In line with Section 149 of the Act, the Service integrates equality considerations into decision making, policy development and service delivery, supported by tools such as Equality Impact Assessments.
The Service also complies with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations by publishing relevant equality information, setting and monitoring ‘equality objectives’ – in our case our ‘EDI Priorities’, and demonstrating transparency and accountability in its progress.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion Priorities and Progress
In April 2025 we updated our EDI Priorities, following a 12-week public consultation taking place from December 2024 to February 2025. The consultation received 230 responses, a significant increase of 619% compared to the previous 2020 consultation, following a successful broadened engagement plan.
Feedback from the consultation informed the refinement of the EDI Priorities, which were then agreed by Humberside Fire Authority for implementation from 1 April 2025. The priorities are structured around three key themes:
- Leading by example on equality
- Increasing workforce diversity
- Fostering a safe, fair and engaged workplace that benefits our community and workforce
We continue to be guided by these EDI Priorities and demonstrate our commitment to these priorities through a wide range of workstreams, activities and events, both within our organisation and out in the communities we serve. Performance against these priorities is monitored through defined outcomes, impact measures and ongoing evaluation to ensure activity leads to meaningful and sustained improvement.
The following sections provide an overview of progress made against our EDI priorities, the outcomes achieved to date, and the actions planned to build on this progress in the coming year.
Key Achievements
During 2025-26, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service continued to strengthen its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion through improvements in leadership, governance, workforce development, employee engagement and community inclusion. Significant progress has been made in embedding EDI considerations into decision-making, strengthening accountability and improving engagement with both employees and the diverse communities we serve.
Key achievements during the year include:
- Launch of the Service Anti-Racism Statement, developed in partnership with employees, reinforcing organisational expectations and commitment to creating a fair, respectful and inclusive workplace.
- Relaunch of the Strategic Leadership Team Equality Ambassador programme, increasing leadership visibility, ownership and accountability for EDI across the organisation.
- Establishment of the Equality Impact Assessment Insight Group and further enhancements to Equality Impact Assessment processes, strengthening organisational decision-making and compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
- Delivery of positive attraction initiatives including Rookie Reds, Fire Cadets, firefighter inspiration days, community events and careers engagement activity designed to increase awareness of careers within the Service and encourage participation from underrepresented groups.
- Continued development of employee voice through the creation of the Neurodiversity Working Group and The Engine Room men's wellbeing network, increasing opportunities for peer support and employee engagement.
- Expansion of EDI learning, awareness and communication activity through leadership forums, Thriving Together workshops, Race Equality Week activity, lived-experience storytelling, quarterly newsletters and enhanced accessibility of EDI resources.
- Increased engagement with diverse communities through faith engagement, Pride events, White Ribbon activity, station open days, SEND quiet hours and targeted prevention initiatives designed to improve accessibility and strengthen community relationships.
- Strengthened collaboration with local and national partners, including representation on the NFCC EDI Board and closer partnership working with Humberside Police to support shared learning and continuous improvement.
Looking forward to 2026/2027
The Service will continue to build on progress made during 2025-26 through four strategic themes aligned to the Community Risk Management Plan, People Strategy and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Priorities.
Workforce Diversity and Positive Attraction
We will strengthen our approach to workforce representation through the newly established Positive Attraction workstream and Positive Attraction Manager role. Activity will focus on improving attraction, recruitment, progression and retention outcomes, particularly for women, ethnic minority communities, younger people, disabled people and other underrepresented groups. The Service will continue to review workforce data and recruitment pipelines to better understand and address barriers across the employee lifecycle.
Inclusive Culture and Employee Experience
We will continue to strengthen inclusion, wellbeing and psychological safety through leadership development, employee engagement activity, staff networks, wellbeing ambassadors and learning opportunities. Particular focus will be placed on improving confidence in disclosure, increasing employee voice, supporting managers to make reasonable adjustments and further embedding inclusive leadership behaviours across the organisation.
Community Engagement and Inclusive Service Delivery
We will continue to strengthen engagement with diverse communities, faith groups, partner organisations and underserved populations to ensure services remain accessible, equitable and responsive to local need. This will include building on existing prevention and protection activity, improving understanding of community risk and ensuring equality considerations remain embedded within service design and delivery.
Data, Insight and Continuous Improvement
We will further strengthen the collection, analysis and use of equality data across both workforce and community activity. Priorities include improving data quality, increasing transparency, strengthening workforce monitoring, refreshing Equality Impact Assessments where appropriate, and using insight to inform decision-making, performance monitoring and future service improvements.
Conclusion
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service has continued to make positive progress in embedding equality, diversity and inclusion across its governance, workforce practices and service delivery. During 2025–26, the Service strengthened leadership accountability, improved equality impact assessment arrangements, expanded employee voice, and increased engagement with diverse communities and partners.
The report also identifies areas for continued focus, particularly workforce representation, confidence in disclosure, data quality and measuring the impact of EDI activity. These priorities will remain central to the Service’s improvement work over the next 12 months.
Overall, HFRS demonstrates a clear commitment to meeting its duties under the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty. Continued governance oversight will ensure activity remains focused, evidence-led and capable of delivering meaningful and sustainable change.