The Audit Commission undertook a comprehensive performance assessment of fire and rescue authorities in 2005, the results of which were published in July 2005. The Commission followed this up with annual performance assessments of each fire and rescue authority, determining the extent of improvement or deterioration in service delivery over the previous year, how well the authority manages its finances and how effectively it plans and responds to emergencies and incidents.
The performance assessment for 2006 was published in April 2007 and the one for 2007 in January 2008. I understand that Commission is proposing to publish the annual performance assessment for 2008 next month.