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

MANY staff employed in the health and social care sector are plugging funding gaps from their own pockets.
Of course, this problem is not restricted to the NHS, it has been happening across public services for some time. Teachers, for example, will have recently been on their annual shopping trips to equip their classrooms for the new school year, purchasing such essentials as books, stationery and other vital learning resources.
This has almost become an accepted normality for the teaching profession. It should not be.

With 121,000 vacancies and 44.8% of staff feeling unwell from work stress, the NHS 10-year plan will not succeed unless the government takes immediate action to retain existing staff, writes ANNETTE MANSELL-GREEN


