NO LAUGHING MATTER: Ivan McKee
FIREFIGHTERS’ union FBU Scotland has accused SNP minister Ivan McKee of “living in fantasy land” after he claimed savings from the creation of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) and Police Scotland have been “redirected to the front line.”
The Scottish government’s Secretary for Public Service Reform told the BBC’s Sunday Show that the 2013 merger of local services into a single Police Scotland and SFRS “saved over £300 million every year.”
“We have taken out the back office costs and redirected it to the front line,” he said.
Pointing to £840 million in real-terms cuts to SFRS since its formation, FBU Scottish regional secretary John McKenzie said: “Ivan McKee is living in fantasy land if he thinks the money cut from the SFRS has been reinvested in front-line services.
“The reality is 1,250 firefighter jobs have been lost since the creation of the SFRS; emergency response times have increased dramatically; and everyday fire appliances across Scotland sit uncrewed and unavailable due to staffing shortages.
“It is a bleak picture of cuts, cuts and more cuts putting families, communities, lives and properties at greater risk.”
The new Scottish Parliament looks set to continue a cycle of managerial tinkering while public services face the axe, writes STEPHEN LOW
As Scotland heads to the polls, the main parties offer variations on the same script, says MATT KERR
Since 2010, one in five firefighter jobs has disappeared alongside 30% funding cuts — all while climate breakdown brings record blazes and flooding. It’s time to fund our fire service properly, writes FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT