Submitted by SWFBU on
The local FBU in Gloucestershire has written a letter to MPs and County Councillors demanding that they deliver a budget settlement which provides for a "sustainable, effective and resilient Fire & Rescue Service". Amid fears that the forthcoming budget settlement will be seriously inadequate, the Union has outlined the "severe implications" that further cuts to the Service will bring including increases to response times which will endanger public and firefighter safety.
Read the text of the letter below and look out for future posts and updates as they arrive!:
Dear
FURTHER BUDGET CUTS - SEVERE IMPLICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY COVER
I am writing to you in my role as the elected Brigade Secretary for the Gloucestershire Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and in reference to our deeply held concerns regarding the implications for emergency cover should further budget cuts be forced on Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service.
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service provides emergency cover to the public via the provision of emergency appliances and other resources placed strategically throughout the County at 22 Fire Stations.
These appliances are crewed by highly trained Firefighters who provide cover via a number of different duty systems which, together, provide an integrated, efficient and resilient emergency response to the public within our County.
In a single year, we have seen our budget reduced by £1.3m with plans already in place for a further £1.3m. This has resulted in a reduction of 60 frontline Firefighter posts – more than a quarter of the county’s wholetime workforce. We believe that this proportion is one of the highest cuts to be faced by any service!
It is clearly the case that cuts to our frontline operational service impact on our ability to respond to members of the public in emergency situations and damage the resilience of the Service to resolve long term and large scale incidents.
As recently as last winter, large scale floods, some of the worst in living memory, saw the Firefighters of Gloucestershire FRS work around the clock, for days on end and in the most difficult of circumstances in order to serve and protect their communities before, during and after the floods. The highly effective teamwork within the Service was there for all to see, from the Emergency Fire Control Staff who received and co-ordinate extraordinary high levels of calls to the Fire Crews on the ground carrying out numerous rescues and assisting their communities in every possible way.
As the very serious weather situation developed, plans were initiated by the Fire & Rescue Service which provided crews and equipment from other areas of the UK who arrived in the region in order to assist with the situation. This co-ordination increased our capacity but was only possible because no other region, at that time, was affected to the same extent. It should be clear that, even with this extra assistance, the Service had been pushed to the limit with enormous demands placed on the capacity of the Service at every level.
This is one very high profile example of the necessity for the Fire & Rescue Service to ensure proper plans and resources are in place, not just for our day to day emergency response work, but to ensure resilience in the face of large scale and protracted incidents.
It is against this background that we raise our serious concerns, not just regarding recent budget cuts, but also the potentially highly serious consequences of further cuts that we believe you are considering.
It is the professional view of the Gloucestershire FBU and our Members in the Service that, if further budget cuts are implemented, they will result in serious cuts to the front line which will dramatically reduce the operational effectiveness of Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service. Further cuts to the frontline will:
• Increase response times;
• Reduce resilience;
• Compromise fire cover;
• Place unsustainable pressure on remaining staff;
• Increase risk to communities;
• Compromise the safety of Firefighters and the public.
Gloucestershire County Council has a responsibility to ensure that the financial pressures being created by central Government do not impact on the ability of the service to keep our communities safe and protect the infrastructure, properties and businesses within our County.
Our experience tells us that in economic downturns we can expect to see an increase in the work of the Service as properties become empty (and so become more at risk from fire and arson) and people who are struggling to afford basic necessities look to find short cuts in household bills and use potential fire risks such as candles more often.
This together with numerous plans being put in place for new housing projects, roads and buildings etc will obviously increase the risks faced by the fire & Rescue Service.
To deal with this properly the County Council must place its responsibility for the safety of the people and places it represents at the very front of the decision making process. The county already uses less of its council tax levy for the provision of its fire service than almost any other service. The public must not continue to be short changed in this way.
On this basis the FBU calls on Gloucestershire County Council to ensure that the budget settlement for the Fire & Rescue Service provides for a sustainable, effective and resilient Service and one that reflects the level of council tax paid by local people.
I would like to meet with you in order to discuss this further and, if you are willing to do so, I will contact your office urgently to arrange an appointment.
Yours sincerely,
MIKE TULLY
GLOUCESTERSHIRE BRIGADE SECRETARY
