The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) wildfire strategy was created with partnership at its heart. The strategy was launched in 2023 and is supported by a planned spend of around £1.6 million over the course of three years. The strategy considers the increased risk of wildfire and changing climate in Scotland; the latest developments in wildfire management; training and operational procedures; and the advances in technology that have been made in PPE and equipment.

SFRS responds to wildfires using a tiered system that includes latest technology and techniques, such as those in use in new Mediterranean-style specialist wildfire units, to safely bring an incident to a conclusion. The Service’s approach uses 4 Tiers:

• Tier 1 Stations: General first responder firefighting, hose, beaters, water backpacks;
• Tier 2 Stations: Sprinter vans with wildfire suppression and management equipment. This includes leaf blowers, excavation tools, beaters and lighting;
• Tier 3 Stations: Ford Ranger with Polaris All-Terrain Vehicles with fogging lance unit on trailer; and
• Tier 4: Wildfire Tactical Advisors.

In terms of training, all staff are trained to Tier 1. New equipment, PPE and vehicles are being rolled out on a phased and risk assessed basis and while much work in this area has already been delivered, SFRS intends to have fully implemented its wildfire strategy during the course of 2025.

Wildfires in rural communities can burn for days and often involve hundreds of staff and many resources, a large proportion of which are provided by SFRS’s on-call staff in rural communities, to bring these incidents to safe conclusions. This is why SFRS has bolstered its response to these incidents with more specialised equipment located at its network of dedicated fire stations strategically placed to safeguard the public.

Ensuring resilience and capacity to be able to respond effectively to adverse events, including weather, are operational matters for our emergency services.

We continue our commitment to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to deliver the high standard of services required to keep Scotland safe. The draft budget for 2025-26 provides SFRS with an additional £18.8 million in support of front line services, which will bring the total budget to £412.1 million.

It is for the Chief Constable, working with the working with the Scottish Police Authority, to determine how to allocate its budget to meet policing priorities including how adverse events are managed. In 2025-26, the Scottish Government will increase police funding to £1.62 billion to support police capacity and capability. This includes almost £57 million in additional resource funding – an increase of 4% compared to 2024-25 published budget.

In terms of the Scottish Ambulance Service, costs involved in ensuring this resilience and capacity will be covered through the existing operational budget. In 2025-26 NHS Boards will receive record funding of £21 billion. This includes an increase to the Service of more than £88 million, which takes the Scottish Ambulance Service’s overall funding for 2025-26 to £437.2 million.

Efficient and effective dissemination of wildfire prevention information to the public is key to preventing wildfires. Before igniting any flames in a rural or outdoor setting, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) encourage everyone to check which area of Scotland may be at threat of wildfires. If a threat is in place, the key prevention advice from SFRS is that people should refrain from igniting any flames.

When Scotland is at a high threat of wildfires, SFRS works in partnership with the Scottish Wildfire Forum (SWF), to alert the public and partners to the threat of wildfires by issuing Wildfire Danger Assessments. SFRS issues alerts through its social media channels, its website and local media outlets, and requests assistance from Local Authorities across Scotland to share safety messaging to seek engagement with as many members of public as possible. These warnings detail which areas across Scotland are most likely to be affected. SFRS also alerts the Scottish Government who proactively re-issue these warnings across digital and social media platforms.

The Scottish Government’s Ready Scotland marketing campaign can be activated at any time, using geographically targeted digital and local radio channels to inform the public about forecast extreme weather. In 2023, digital assets were developed for the campaign so that it can also be deployed in any area of Scotland at times of heightened risk of wildfires.

When areas are at risk from severe weather or severe wildfires, the Scottish Government, responder organisations and other resilience partners all work closely to share public safety advice through a variety of channels. Well-established processes are in place to consider the most appropriate methods of communication based on the specific circumstances.

How compulsory purchase orders are factored into the planning for large infrastructure projects is a matter for the relevant acquiring authority (i.e. body with compulsory purchase powers) in the circumstances of the project. As set out in Circular 6/2011: Compulsory purchase orders,https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-planning-series-planning-circular-6-2011-compulsory-purchase-orders/, acquiring authorities are expected – where practicable – to seek to acquire land by agreement before making a compulsory purchase order.

The Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 governs the making and confirmation of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs). It sets out requirements relating to the issuing and publication of notices regarding the making of a CPO, its submission to Scottish Ministers for confirmation, opportunities to object to it, and as regards the decision on whether to confirm a CPO. Guidance on the process is contained in Circular 6/2011: Compulsory purchase orders: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-planning-series-planning-circular-6-2011-compulsory-purchase-orders/.

In addition, the Scottish Government publishes a register of CPOs submitted to the Scottish Ministers for confirmation since 2012, which is updated quarterly. The current register, published in December, includes CPOs received up until the end of October 2024: https://www.gov.scot/publications/compulsory-purchase-order-register/.

The number of cancelled operations under ‘non-clinical/capacity reasons’ is the most granular level of detail that’s provided from PHS’s website, breakdown as follows:

The current value of the fleet, as at 31 December 2024, is £2,381,991.

A breakdown of the fleet by total purchase cost by model is provided in the following table.

We do not have any current plans to replace these vehicles, however when the vehicles approach the end of their operational life, a vigorous assessment will be conducted by our fleet management team to identify suitable fit for purpose replacements available on the open market. This will include assessing electric and any other zero or ultra-low emission vehicles as potential replacements.

An individual business case, including socio-economic analysis, is prepared for each route being considered for decarbonisation. These business cases include technical and economic examinations of the case for of different types of rail traction including electric, bi-mode diesel-electric, battery-electric and other independently powered traction technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells have been considered.