Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Targets and Priorities

Fire Public Service Agreement

The fire PSA target covers England only. It fully incorporates previous targets relating to accidental fire-related deaths and deliberate fires and will come into effect on 1 April 2005.

By 2010, reduce the number of accidental fire-related deaths in the home by 20% and the number of deliberate fires by 10%.

The PSA target covers one main and two sub-targets:

Main target: Accidental fire-related deaths in the home
To reduce the number of accidental fire-related deaths in the home by 20%, averaged over the eleven-year period to 31 March 2010, equivalent to 280 fire-related deaths per annum, compared with the average recorded in the five-year period to 31 March 1999 of 350 fire-related deaths

Sub-target 1: Floor Target
No local Fire and Rescue Authority having a fatality rate, from accidental fires in the home, more than 1.25 times the national average by 2010

Sub-target 2: Deliberate fires
To achieve a 10% reduction in deliberate fires by 31 March 2010 to 94,000 from the 2001/02 baseline of 104,500

Equality and Diversity Targets:

To increase the percentage of women amongst uniformed operational staff to 15% by 2009.

To increase the percentage of minority ethnic representation within the fire service to 7% by 2009.

SR2000 SDAs:

To reduce sickness absence and sustain improvement thereafter, by 2005 to a level consistent with, or better than those presently achieved by the best quartile of employees - an average of 6.5 shifts for firefighters and 5.4 shifts for control staff;

To operate so that levels of ill-health retirement are reduced by 2005, and are consistent with, or better than the best quartile of 6.9 retirements per 1,000 employees for the Fire Service.

SR02 PSA Target 4 on local government services:

Improve delivery and value for money of local services by:

    Priority 1

Delivering a better balance between housing supply and demand by supporting sustainable growth, reviving markets and tackling abandonment.

    Priority 2

Ensuring people have decent places to live by improving the quality and sustainability of local environments and neighbourhoods, reviving brownfield land, and improving the quality of housing.

    Priority 3

Tackling disadvantage by reviving the most deprived neighbourhoods, reducing social exclusion and supporting society's most vulnerable groups.

    Priority 4

Delivering better public services, by devolving decision-making to the most effective level - regional, local or neighbourhood:

    Priority 5

Promoting the development of the English regions by improving their economic performance so that all are able to reach their full potential, and developing an effective framework for regional governance taking account of the public's view of what is best for their area.