The Fire Brigades Union has responded to the Scottish government's latest budget, calling for urgent investment to rebuild following over a decade of cuts.
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said:
“The Scottish government’s latest budget has, once again, failed to provide the funding that the fire and rescue service desperately needs.
“With 1,250 firefighter posts lost to cuts since 2013, crumbing fire stations, and fire engines axed, the fire and rescue service is on its knees. Communities are living without adequate fire cover, and firefighters are stretched beyond limits.
“The FBU will continue to fight for the serious investment needed to rebuild the service and keep firefighters and residents safe.”
John McKenzie, regional secretary for FBU Scotland said:
“This budget is a wasted opportunity for both Scotland’s firefighters and the communities they keep safe, as for the fourth year in a row the Scottish Government has failed to find the investment required to expand the role of the fire and rescue service in Scotland.
"While our members will broadly welcome the increase to the resource budget as a small step in the right direction, it is still over £11 million short of what the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service set out as being required to recruit the new firefighters needed over the next three years.
"With 1250 firefighter jobs lost since 2013, the resource increase doesn’t go far enough to repair the damage these cuts have caused. The capital budget increase of less than £1.5 million is utterly inadequate and sits against an £818 million capital backlog leaving fire stations not fit for purpose, some held up by scaffolding and many without adequate toilets or running water. Overall the proposed budget announced today fails the FBU members who keep our communities safe and are being forced to work under increasingly intolerable conditions.“
