THE SNP-GREEN budget boost to the fire service is a “sham” as the government massaged the figures, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said today. 

In its draft budget published last month, SNP finance secretary Shona Robison announced a £13.6 million increase in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) budget, after a year which had seen the service close fire stations and mothball fire engines across the country as part of a four-year, £36m cuts plan.

But the extra cash was revealed to include money allocated for a pay settlement last year when SNP community safety minister Siobhian Brown confirmed in an answer to Labour’s Katy Clark that “the £13.6m increase includes consolidating the £4.4m into the SFRS baseline budget.”