Question reference: S6W-05878
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 25 January 2022
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Current status: Answered by Ash Regan on 2 February 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the reported recruitment issues in the retained fire service, and whether it will list the (a) actions that it has taken and (b) additional resources that it has provided in this regard.
Answer
Recruitment of any staff group to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is a matter for the SFRS Board. The Scottish Government is aware of the challenges of recruiting and retaining Retained and Volunteer Duty System (RVDS) firefighters as fewer people live and work in the same location. The Scottish Government has invested an additional £9.5m in the 2022-23 budget for service delivery and modernisation of SFRS. How that money is spent is a matter for the SFRS Board.
SFRS now has 58 full time manager positions in rural locations to help with availability and recruitment of RVDS firefighters and is currently reviewing RVDS arrangements to assess what more can be done to help the situation.