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West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority regularly consult with the communities of West Yorkshire in order to give local people the opportunity to tell us what they think about the services provided. This information helps us to provide better and more responsive services.
We have carried out a number of surveys and information relating to these consultation exercises is given below.Fire Safety Quality of Service Survey 2007
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service carry out an annual Quality of Service Survey relating to the Service’s enforcement responsibilities under current fire safety legislation.
The primary function of central and local government enforcement work is to protect the public, the environment and groups such as consumers and workers. At the same time carrying out enforcement functions in an equitable, practical and consistent manner helps to promote a thriving national economy.
It is important that enforcement inspectors take care to help businesses and others meet their legal obligations without unnecessary expense whilst taking firm action including prosecution, where appropriate, against those who flout the law or act irresponsibly.
Individuals were asked for feedback following a visit within the last 12 months from a Fire Safety Inspecting Officer. The responses assist the Fire Authority to monitor the standard of service being provided by its staff and to assess how satisfied individuals are with the approach made.
The questionnaire was sent to 500 addresses across West Yorkshire in October 2007, asking the following 15 questions and resulted in 197 responses. The results of the survey confirmed a very high level of customer satisfaction with the Authority's Fire Safety services and identified that overall satisfaction had been maintained and in many areas improved since the survey commenced in 2005.
A summary of the responses for the 2007 and 2006 surveys are shown below.
Q1Did the Inspector show you any identification or give their name? - 2007 Yes 98.5% No 1.0% 2006 Yes 99.1% No 0.4%.
Q2 Did the Inspector fully explain to you the reason for the visit?
2007 Yes 99.0% No 0.5% 2006 Yes 98.2% No 0.4%.
Q3 Was a full explanation clearly given of any remedial work that was necessary to comply with the legislation?
2007 Yes 91.4% No 5.1% 2006 Yes 93.8% no 2.2%
Q4 If ‘no’ to Q3 please give your comments.
Q5 Were options for addressing the necessary remedial work discussed? (New question for 2006) 2007 71.1% 2006 61.9%.
Q6 Did the inspector discuss with you the timescale for completing the work?
2007 Yes 70.1% No 13.2% 2006 Yes 63.7% No 16.8%
Q7 Did you consider the inspector’s advice was proportional to the risk in your premises?
2007 Yes 90.4% No 2.0% 2006 Yes 88.9% No 3.5%
Q8 Did the inspector provide you with information and advice on matters necessary to comply with the legislation?
2007 Yes 89.3% No 5.1% 2006 Yes 96.9% No 0.9%
Q9 Did the inspector conduct themselves in a fair, equitable and consistent manner?
2007 Yes 98.5% No 0.5% 2006 Yes 97.8% No 1.3%
Q10 If ‘no’ to Q9 please give your comments
Q11 Was the inspector courteous at all times?
2007 V.Good 84.3% Good 12.2% Average 2.5% Poor 1.0%
2006 V.Good 85.5% Good 9.3% Average 3.1% Poor 0.9%
Q12 Any other comments to Q11
Q13 How would you rate the helpfulness of the inspector?
2007 V.Good 78.2% Good 17.3% Average 3.0% Poor 0.5%
2006 V.Good 81.6% Good 13.3% Average 2.7% Poor 0.9%
Q14 Did you think the visit by the inspector was of benefit to you and your business? (New question for 2006)
2007 - Yes 95.4% 2007 - No 3.0%
2006 - Yes 93.4% 2006 - No 3.5%
Q15 Any other comments.
Fire Safety School Visit Survey
During January 2005 and December 2005 a total of 1211 school visits were undertaken by West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service.
A survey questionnaire was distributed to teachers in West Yorkshire following fire safety school visits undertaken during September 2005 to December 2005. 37 completed responses were returned and examples of comments/feedback received are listed below:
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service is committed to continuously improving the services we provide to the public and local communities, although there are occurrences when expectations have not been fulfilled and this has resulted in a complaint being received. All complaints are investigated and dealt with in accordance with our Complaints Policy.
Once investigations have been concluded a questionnaire is sent to the complainant asking for feedback on the way the matter was dealt with and a measure of their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the process. This questionnaire is returned by freepost to an independent research company to be processed and analysed, this also ensures strict confidentiality for the individual with no personal details being divulged to West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service.
The cumulative result figures from April 2006 to March 2007 show that 14 completed questionnaires were returned.
An example question from the Survey is:-
A2 Thinking about the person dealing with your complaint would you agree or disagree that they were?
Easy to reach. Strongly Agree,5 - Tend to Agree,6 - Tend to Disagree,1 - Strongly Disagree,0 - Don't Know,0 - Not Answered,2.
Polite. Strongly Agree,10 - Tend to Agree,3 - Tend to Disagree,0 - Strongly Disagree,0 - Don't Know,0 - Not Answered,1.
Friendly. Strongly Agree,7 - Tend to Agree,6 - Tend to Disagree,0 - Strongly Disagree,0 - Don't Know,0 - Not Answered,1.
Helpful. Strongly Agree,6 - Tend to Agree,6 - Tend to Disagree,0 - Strongly Disagree,1 - Don't Know,0 - Not Answered,1.
A graph shows the levels of compliments and complaints received by West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service since 2000-01. The 54 complaints received for the period April 2006 to March 2007 shows a dramatic reduction compared to the 2005-06 figure, indicating West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service’s commitment to continuous improvement, listening to our customers and taking remedial action where appropriate. During the same period 233 compliments were received from the general public.
Quality of Service Survey
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) feels it is essential to analyse and publicise satisfaction levels for the full range of customers for all the main areas of our service.
One of the ways through which these views are obtained is the Quality of Service Survey. Each month, a questionnaire is sent to a 10% random selection of the incidents attended in the previous month. The questionnaire is sent out by WYFRS but is returned directly to an independent research company via freepost. The returned questionnaires are processed and the information obtained is analysed with a feedback report sent to WYFRS.
We include in our measurement of satisfaction specific questions relating to:
The initial contact made with the Fire Service
Timeliness of our attendance
Service provided at the scene
Information and advice given
Overall satisfaction with the quality of customer service
Below is a summary of performance results for West Yorkshire from the independent research company relating to 283 completed questionnaires for 2007/08.
Domestic (household) respondents (211 responses):
98% were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with their initial telephone contact with the Fire Service
57% said that the Fire Service arrived at the incident quicker than expected and 40% said that the arrival time was as expected
99% of respondents were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the service provided at the scene
80% received information at the scene, in the form of general safety advice, 58% were offered a Home Fire Safety Check and 41% received and advice booklet
Overall, 98% of respondents expressed their satisfaction with the service received from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service; 94% were very satisfied and 4% said that they were fairly satisfied with the service
Non-domestic respondents (72 responses):
94% were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with their initial telephone contact with the Fire Service
32% said that the Fire Service arrived at the incident quicker than expected, but 62% said that the arrival time was as expected
99% of responents were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the service provided at the scene
63% received information at the scene, in the form of general safety advice and 22% received an advice booklet
Overall, a full 100% of respondents expressed their satisfaction with the service received from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service; 89% were very satisfied and 11% said that they were fairly satisfied with the service
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