Chamber and committees

I thank Katy Clark for securing tonight’s important debate on the subject of fire service cuts. Like many in the chamber, I am compelled to speak tonight by my alarm over reports that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has ordered the temporary withdrawal of fire appliances at 10 stations across Scotland. One of those appliances is set to be removed from Kingsway East fire station in Dundee, in my region. Although those changes are reportedly temporary, firefighters and their trade union, the FBU, know all too well how easily temporary solutions become permanent, and, like them, I am extremely concerned by the proposals. I fear the impact that they will have on my constituents and the significant risk to firefighters and the public that those changes will cause.

I also fear the impact that a reduction in appliances will have on staff numbers—staff whose essential skills and expertise could then be lost from the service for ever. We know that recruitment and retention are already an issue in the fire service, which has lost 1,100 firefighters in the past 10 years, with a further 780 job losses still to come, according to the SFRS’s financial projections. Having fewer firefighters means longer response times and greater risk to the public and to the firefighters responding to emergency incidents.

In the event of any major incident in Dundee, there is concern that there simply is not the cover needed to keep our firefighters safe and protect the public. It is simply not good enough to refer to appliances elsewhere, because mobilising appliances from other stations has an impact on the service’s ability to respond quickly, and it could leave those other areas vulnerable.

We simply cannot allow further cuts to this emergency service. It is imperative that the Scottish Government provides immediate and sustained investment in the SFRS to enable it to retain all 10 appliances and maintain the personnel required to staff them. However, when I wrote to the Minister for Victims and Community Safety to urge her to act, she was unwilling to meaningfully engage, stating that

“Operational decisions on the number and location of appliances are entirely a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Officer”.

However, those operational decisions do not take place in a vacuum—they take place within the context of budgets. It is the minister’s Government that sets the fire service’s budget.

This summer, the SFRS published its organisational statistics for 2022-23, which show several concerning trends that further highlight the impact of shrinking budgets and firefighter numbers. That report does not even include the further cuts that have taken place over the course of the summer. Let us be clear: the problems facing the fire service are the result of chronic underfunding over a sustained period. The service has been operating with a massive double-digit cut in real terms in its budget over the past 10 years, which is why it is in the position that it is in now.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is an emergency service. It requires urgent investment from the Scottish Government, not cuts. I stand with firefighters, I stand with the Fire Brigades Union and I stand with the public, and we are saying: stop the cuts.

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a member of Unite, the union.

Today, it was announced that Newman Bonar Ltd, the company that was set up earlier this year to acquire historic Dundee textile manufacturer Bonar Yarns, is closing, risking the livelihoods of 57 workers and their families. I invite the First Minister to take this opportunity to join the provisional liquidators in asking that any party that has an interest in acquiring the business contact them. Will the First Minister join me in fighting to save those important manufacturing jobs in Dundee?

I offer my condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones and been affected by the devastating impact of storm Babet.

Unless we act, extreme weather events such as last week’s storm will become more frequent and severe, and we will continue to mourn victims of climate change around the world. However, the Scottish Government has already admitted to breaching its statutory climate duties and has already missed four of its five most recent emissions targets. Can the minister assure my constituents in the North East Scotland region that her Government will meet its next emissions reduction target?

Only two communities have applied for the right to buy neglected land since 2018, and both were unsuccessful. Proving that land has been neglected is very difficult. Communities are being blocked by overly bureaucratic processes, so what changes will the Scottish Government make to the right to buy in its upcoming land reform bill?

The offshore training passport was due to be launched by the end of this month but, with just two days to go, we are hearing reports that progress has stalled. Does the minister believe that the passport will go live in the next two days? If not, why not?

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its final energy strategy and just transition plan. (S6O-02559)

When the Scottish Government published its draft strategy, the Scottish Trades Union Congress said that workers had “little faith” in the Government’s plan. In the light of the STUC’s submission to the Government’s consultation, will the minister set out precisely what policy changes have been incorporated into the final strategy since then?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I was not able to connect. I would have voted yes.

When you say that there is a little bit more work to be done to avoid that taking place again, what kind of work are you envisioning? What kind of improvements or changes do you see as necessary?

Good morning, minister. Following on the theme of scrutiny of instruments, I want to ask a question about information sharing. The committee has recently considered and reported instruments that have been linked to UK-wide changes, such as instruments relating to public sector pension schemes following the McCloud judgment and council tax reductions following UK-wide changes to universal credit. What processes are in place to monitor changes in the UK Parliament, and what processes are there to work with the UK Government to share information in those sorts of examples?