FBU members in Scotland are ramping up the fight against Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) proposals to cut the service across the country.
A public consultation on the cuts has now closed, having received 3,500 responses in 12 weeks to the 23 options for cuts. The SFRS board is scheduled to discuss the proposals at a meeting on 18 December, ahead of the Scottish government’s budget announcement in January.
More than 70 parliamentary questions have been raised in Holyrood, and FBU members have held over 100 direct engagements with politicians across all levels of local and national politics in Scotland and the UK. As a result of members’ lobbying, the proposals have been regularly debated in Scottish parliament.
Katy Clark, Labour MSP for West Scotland Region, secured a chamber debate on Community Safety on 1 October. However, SNP MSPs voted for what FBU Scotland described as a “wrecking amendment”, removing reference to reduced firefighter numbers and the increased risk for communities.
This included some politicians who had pledged public support for the campaign, described as “nauseating hypocrisy” by Colin Brown, FBU executive council member for Scotland. Firefighters are planning to continue lobbying alongside local organising, and will be gathering in large numbers at the “Scotland Demands Better” march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on 25 October
