Our Team

The Estates Department is responsible for the management of revenue and capital budgets for over 70 properties, at locations throughout the operational area of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The team provide an integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the Service’s buildings and infrastructure to ensure they are well-maintained and fit for operational objectives.

Responsibilities range from the acquisition of land, major capital schemes, management of hard and soft facilities services such as heating, electrical services, cleaning, waste and energy management, as well as the day-to-day maintenance issues consisting of minor repairs, such as a leaking tap to more involved minor works projects.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service maintains an extensive vehicle fleet which comprises a diverse range of specialist vehicles.

Supporting these vehicles to ensure they are always available to support a whole range of operational demands faced by the Service, is the responsibility of the Transport Department.

The role of the Human Resources department is to develop and support the Service’s plans for recruiting, developing and retaining high performing employees in a fair and supportive environment.

The department is arranged around five internal functions: Employee Relations, Occupational Health, Equality and Diversity, Human Resources Administration and Corporate Administration. Collectively, the department deals with terms and conditions of employment, policy formation, support and implementation, absence monitoring, health and wellbeing, cultural change, recruitment, employee data processing, and front of house services.

The department also comprises the Service’s payroll function, which deals with all matters relating to salaries and expenses for Councillors and staff, as well as direct taxation issues.

The ICT department is responsible for implementing and supporting information technologies in a secure manner, in order to deliver business efficiency improvements, enhance the safety of operational firefighters and empower all Service staff.

There are two elements to the ICT Department, namely Support and Development. The Support arm addresses the installation and maintenance requirements of PC hardware, radio equipment, paging and mobile data requirements. Whilst the Development team undertake the commissioning, configuration and management of business software systems. 

OEA is responsible for the research, development and purchasing of operational equipment; with an overall view to ensuring consistency of approach across the Service area.

The department has a water section who are responsible for securing and maintaining effective firefighting water supplies and carrying out hydrant maintenance, liaising with water companies.

The department also coordinates the inspection and assurance programs for the Service.

OPAL has the responsibility to manage the transition from our current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to National Operational Guidance (NOG). During this transitional period, OPAL will also ensure that our current SOPs are reviewed and updated, as required.

The department is also responsible for operational learning and managing the Operational Learning System (OLS), which assists the Service to achieve and maintain the highest level of operational safety and performance.

The principal role of the People Development department is to identify and support professional development opportunities for all staff, in order to ensure that the Service maintains and develops a highly skilled workforce.

The development of learning and development opportunities for personnel is recognised as paramount to the Service’s future success. The department is committed to the continual development of the Organisational Development Pathways model in order to identify and support individuals in their role within the Service.​

The Procurement department deal with initial acquisition and supply through to disposal, incorporating sustainable considerations such as economic, ethical, moral and environmental factors.

Within the central team, corporate procurement is covered in terms of strategy, policy, tendering, contracts, training, national issues and support to budget holders. We aspire to influence national and sector-specific procurement and foster collaboration.

The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24^th February 2025. The legislation requires suppliers to be registered on the Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender Service) for all contracts above £30,000 (including VAT). The Authority will require a supplier's Unique Identification Number from the Central Digital Platform before we can award any contracts to you, therefore we strongly encourage all suppliers to register if they have not already done so. Please follow this link for guidance on the registration process. The Authority’s contract opportunities will continue to be advertised on Sell2Wales. Please register on Sell2Wales to ensure that you receive automated notifications of contract opportunities that are relevant to your business. If you are already registered, please ensure that you update your supplier profile before submitting any tenders.  Please use this link to access support and guidance for the Sell2Wales system.

What is public procurement?

Public procurement is the process by which public bodies buy goods, services and works from third parties to meet customer and service user needs. Procurement covers all activities from identifying a need through to the end of the useful life or disposal of an asset.

The Authority procures a diverse range of supplies, services and works. For example, stationery, utilities, fire appliances, specialist operational equipment, Training services, ICT equipment, first aid supplies, specialist software, construction works, facilities services etc. The council spends on average over £19 million a year from external organisations.

Why do business with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority?

The Authority is committed to making sure its procurement activities are carried out efficiently, effectively, compliantly and ethically. Our procurement activity should also contribute to the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of the residents of Mid and West Wales. Procurement decisions are made on the basis of value for money and are not based on lowest cost. All suppliers are treated equally and assessed on the merits of their tender by evaluating it against the award criteria.

What rules, regulations and procurement procedures does the Authority follow?

The way in which the Authority purchases goods, services and works is governed by UK law and by the Authority's own internal Constitution, which includes Contract Standing Orders.

Swansea Council has a legal requirement to comply with the Procurement Act 2023, which governs the way in which public sector procurement is conducted for contracts above the value thresholds set out below.

Current thresholds (effective from 1 January 2024 for two years):

The purpose of the Procurement Act 2023 is to encourage open and transparent competition delivered through competitive tendering. All public sector procurement, including any below these thresholds, must abide by the key principles of transparency & fairness, open competition, non-discrimination and proportionality.

The Authority's Contract Standing Orders set out how we make sure public spending shows clear value no matter how much the contract is for.

Before sourcing external suppliers, the Authority will identify whether what's needed can be met through a contract or framework already in place. If this can't be done either a request for quotation (RFQ) or tender process will be conducted depending on the contract value.

Local Suppliers

The Authority is committed to developing the local economy and supporting local suppliers. Wherever possible, local suppliers are invited to quote for low value contracts and are encouraged to bid for tenders. All suppliers are encouraged to register on Find a Tender Service and Sell2Wales to make sure they receive notifications of upcoming procurements. The Authority cannot discriminate in favour of local suppliers. Contracts are awarded based on the evaluation criteria set out in the invitation to quote/tender. However, we do encourage local organisations to bid for contracts with the Authority and we try to break down any barriers that may exist for smaller local businesses.

Business Wales

The Welsh Government's Business Wales service supports new and established businesses in Wales.

Their tendering support service gives free practical help to small and medium-sized businesses in Wales to understand the procurement process. They will give support in preparing pre-qualifying questionnaires and tenders as well as provide policy templates and free training sessions on how to tender, how to use Sell2Wales etc.

For help and guidance, the Business Wales Tendering Support can be contact by phoning 03000 603000 or via the Business Wales web portal.

Socially Responsible Procurement Strategy 2026 – 2031

Please find below a link to our Socially Responsible Procurement Strategy 2026 – 2031, which outlines our 5 key socially responsible procurement objectives. These will be regularly reviewed and once completed will be replaced by new socially responsible procurement objectives.

Socially Responsible Procurement Strategy 2026 2031

Service Response provides our core protection duties for the communities we serve, comprising of Fire Control, along with our 58 Fire and Rescue Stations and their respective Command areas. 

Our Fire Control Room, based in Bridgend, receives all emergency calls, processing them accordingly and mobilising the appropriate operational crews to deal with any incidents.

We cover some 12,000 square kilometres of Wales, with 58 Fire and Rescue Stations located across the area to ensure we are able to protect all our communities. These Stations are covered by a mix of crewing models based on risk and share the wide variety of skills required to deal with all the incidents we respond to. You can visit the Your Area section of our site to find out more about your local Fire and Rescue Station.

The principal role of the Training Delivery department is to train and assess our operational personnel in a range of risk critical skill areas. These include Breathing Apparatus; Fire Behaviour; Road Traffic Collision; Manual Handling; Line Rescue; Emergency Response Driving; Water Rescue and Immediate Emergency Care. We also deliver initial foundation training to recruit firefighters, providing them with a range of skills which allows them to ride on our front line appliances.

Our provision of high quality training and regular assessment in these key areas ensures that the Service maintains a competent and  highly skilled workforce, thereby providing a world class service to the communities it serves.