A Home Office minister has criticised fire services over a “woeful” lack of diversity.

Speaking in London on Tuesday, Brandon Lewis cited figures showing firefighters in England were 96% white and 95% male.

He said: “Any workforce should represent the community that it serves, but in fire this simply is not the case. I’ve been to fire stations where I noticed more diversity in the fire hoses used than I have in the workforce.”

I’ve been to fire stations where I noticed more diversity in the fire hoses used than in the workforce Brandon Lewis MP

Lewis, the minister for policing and the fire service, said the proportion of black and minority ethnic and female firefighters must increase. He dismissed any attempt to blame the lack of diversity on a reduction in recruitment, saying: “That isn’t good enough.”

Lewis called for a culture shift and said there was a golden opportunity for services to make sure their workforces reflected the communities they served as almost a third of personnel are due to retire in the next few years.

The minister set out plans for a “year of change” for the fire and rescue sector. He announced the creation of an inspectorate to scrutinise performances and outlined plans to introduce a professional standards body.

He also highlighted large differences in the amounts of money spent on the same pieces of equipment in different parts of the country. Figures last year showed that some services were paying as much as five times more than others for similar items.

One spends £85 per fire helmet, compared with another that pays £252. Prices paid for breathing kit range from £328 to more than £1,500.

Lewis called for services to work together and get a better deal from suppliers to save themselves and the taxpayer money. He also said the practice of senior fire officers retiring from their posts then being re-employed in the same or similar roles “needs to stop”.

The Fire Brigades Union expressed concern that cost savings are at the heart of the government’s proposals. Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “The FBU is not opposed to genuine reform, in fact it welcomes it if public safety is to be improved, but we are not at all certain from today’s announcement that this is going to be at the heart of the new-look fire and rescue service.”

He added: “All we have seen since 2010 are job losses, equipment losses, station closures and slower response times. We are not reassured that we are going to see this unfortunate, worrying trend reversed.”