Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Steve Wright has pushed back against Labour Party real-terms cut to fire and rescue services across England, warning that “austerity under a Labour government is still austerity”.
“Next time there is a fire, a flood, or an extreme weather event, the public will ask why their fire service is unable to respond effectively”, he said. “The FBU urges the government to think again and deliver the investment we need to keep people safe.”
The FBU: hitting back at Labour’s real-terms cuts
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published its local government settlement on 3 February. It reveals the amount of central funding that will be given to fire and rescue services in England from April 2025.
Central funding for fire and rescue services in England will increase by just 1.4% on average. CPI inflation is running at around 2.5%.
After 15 years of austerity which has seen one in five firefighter jobs scrapped, the Fire Brigades Union is campaigning for a substantial increase to fund public safety. It is also calling for a decent pay rise, after substantial real terms cuts since 2010.
Central funding for fire and rescue services in England will be £999m, an increase of £13.4m in cash terms. In 2013-14, central funding was £1.24bn and prices were substantially lower.
Local authorities will now be left to decide whether to increase local taxes in an attempt to fill some or all of the shortfall. The FBU has warned that this will further exacerbate the fragmentation of the fire service and the postcode lottery on response times.
Steve Wright, FBU general secretary, said:
This funding settlement is a real-terms cut to fire and rescue services across England. Even in cash terms, it will leave central government funding lower than it was a decade ago.
These cuts put lives at risk. We have lost one in five firefighter jobs since 2010, and response times are the worst they’ve ever been. Labour was elected promising change.
There is already a postcode lottery on fire cover, and a lack of central government funding will make fragmentation worse.
In some areas, local authorities will raise council tax to cover the shortfall. In others, they may choose to cut the fire service even more.
The public will ask questions
The FBU head continued:
Next time there is a fire, a flood, or an extreme weather event, the public will ask why their fire service is unable to respond effectively. Austerity under a Labour government is still austerity.
The Fire Brigades Union urges the government to think again and deliver the investment we need to keep people safe. Any further cuts to fire services are cuts to public safety, and FBU members will be making that case to fire authorities across the country.
We are also clear that we must see substantial real terms improvement in pay, following 15 years of falling wages.
It’s time for Keir Starmer to go after the super rich and big business, rather than asking workers and the public to stomach more cuts to vital frontline services.
Featured image via the FBU
