New data shows that the number of women and ethnic minority recruits to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) fell significantly in 2023, despite warnings that the service should be more representative of the communities it serves.

The data revealed by the Liberal Democrats shows that in 2023 just 11 per cent of new recruits were female and only 13 per cent from Black, Asian and under-represented communities.

This is a significant fall when compared to 2021, where 31 per cent of recruits were female and 35 per cent of recruits were from black, Asian and under-represented communities. In the case of female recruits, the percentage is actually lower now than it was five years ago.

The Liberal Dems have stated that fall shows not enough is being done to make the London Fire Brigade more representative of the diverse city it services and that progress made to make the service a more inclusive workplace risks being reversed if the downward trend isn’t reversed.

They have called on the London Mayor Sadiq Khan to ensure efforts to reform the LFB are not derailed by funding constraints and to prioritise increased funding and support towards apprenticeships and recruitment programmes.

In 2022, the London Fire Brigade was found to be institutionally misogynist and racist following the damming Nazir Afzal Independent Culture Review into the service.

Commenting Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member & Fire Spokesperson Hina Bokhari said:

“This data is extremely disappointing and shows that the London Fire Brigade has actually gone backwards in the last year when it comes to increasing diversity in the service.

“London is one of the world’s most diverse cities and public services need to better represent the communities they serve.

“The scandal faced in recent years by the LFB over racism, misogyny and homophobia only goes to show the scale of the challenge in modernising the service.

“The Mayor of London must ensure that making our public services more representative is a key focus, both in order to provide better, more inclusive levels of service and to ensure woman and ethnic minority Londoners have access to exciting and fulfilling public service career opportunities.”