Cornwall’s fire and rescue service has made progress in addressing issues raised in a “cause for concern” report, but a government inspector says “there is still more work to be done”.

An inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) last year found that the service hadn’t done enough since its last inspection to make sure staff had access to gender-appropriate facilities.

It also noted access to welfare and hygiene facilities at incidents had been limited and staff didn’t have access to gender-appropriate uniform and personal protective equipment. HMICFRS stated that Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service had 28 days to provide an action plan to improve the areas of concern.

The inspectorate revisited in March this year, interviewing management including chief fire officer Kathryn Billing and service staff.

HMICFRS concluded: “Despite good progress being made, there is still more work to be done. While the action plan is comprehensive, we can’t determine how effective it will be to address the recommendation to provide adequate, gender-appropriate facilities for staff at all service establishments.”

It added: “We recognise the considerable work that has been carried out to improve the provision of welfare facilities for firefighters at emergency incidents. As a result, we now consider this recommendation to be closed.

“Appropriate oversight and governance arrangements are being introduced to monitor progress on the action plan [alongside its parent authority, Cornwall Council]. However, a more structured project-management approach would give the service greater assurance about progress on the remaining elements of its improvement plan.

“Further consultation and communication would help staff better understand the improvements the service is making, and how these affect them.”

HMICFRS will return to Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service in the near future to assess whether the service has made satisfactory progress.

Chief fire officer Kathryn Billing said: “I am pleased that the HMICFRS has recognised the good progress we have already made against their recommendations, and that they are happy with the plan of action we have in place to address any remaining issues.

“We will continue to work with the inspectors to ensure we meet all recommendations within the near future.”