South Yorkshire fire crews will demand councillors halt plans for massive fire service cuts at a key meeting on 26 March. The cuts would see the closure of four fire stations, cutting five fire appliances, the loss of 140 frontline posts and cuts in numbers of emergency control staff.
South Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union says the cuts are too much, too soon because the Government won’t set the central grant until 2013. The FBU says the fire authority is awash with cash and can use part of its cash reserve of £15 million.
The cash reserve of £15 million accounts for 25% of the authority’s annual budget, far in excess of reserves held by local councils. The fire authority has warned Government that cuts on this scale would risk lives.
The fire authority meeting starts at 10.00 at the Joint Secretariat Building, Regent Street, Barnsley. Fire crews will be gathering from 09.00 and Advans will be touring central Barnsley.
In a submission to Government the fire authority concluded: “The cuts planned for years 3 and 4 are unsustainable and would lead to life threatening reductions in fire cover and national resilience capacity, particularly to deal with terrorism threat, flooding and a high incidence of other events arising from climatic change.”
South Yorkshire FBU brigade secretary John Gilliver said: “These cuts are too deep, too soon. We agree with the fire authority’s own conclusion that the cuts are life threatening.
“We have a potential cash problem caused in London which we can solve in South Yorkshire. The budget gap can be filled by using part of the huge financial reserves.
“It is ludicrous to start making incredibly risky cuts when you don’t need to. I’d urge councillors to think again.”
