Greater Manchester fire and rescue is suffering from the effects of austerity, the Fire Brigades Union has claimed after the release of an inspection into the service.
HMICFRS has statutory responsibility for the inspection of fire and rescue services and police forces across the country. Their annual report into Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has found that the service “requires improvement at effectively and efficiently keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks”.
Ed Burrows, FBU regional secretary for the North West, said that:
“Tory austerity since 2010 has been a disaster for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue. Between 2010 and 2019 more than £20 million was removed from its budget, and since 2010 nearly one in three of Greater Manchester’s firefighters have been cut. That’s appalling.
“Unsurprisingly, this is having a real impact when it comes to the service the community receives. The report says that the service needs to improve at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks, with some particular areas of risk specifically mentioned. This is a clear indicator of the impact of austerity.
“Ultimately, the government should not be surprised at these findings. It is their decade-old project to cut public services working exactly as expected. They need to put back the money they have taken, and end austerity.”
HMICFRS has statutory responsibility for the inspection of fire and rescue services and police forces across the country.
N.b. "firefighters" is defined in the job cuts statistics as including wholetime, retained and control staff.
You can access the report here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/
More info on statistics on cuts to the service’s budget: https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/130304/firefighter-numbers-in-crisis-after-chronic-underfunding
More info on statistics on cuts to firefighters: https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2021/10/05/new-job-cut-figures-firefighters-might-not-be-able-fight-all-fires.
