Lengthening wait times for fire and rescue service show ministers must get their priorities straight
Service that often makes the difference between life and death should not be starved of Scottish Government funding
Under normal circumstances, one minute and twenty-nine seconds may not seem like a very long time. But, for those who find themselves in need of Scotland’s Fire and Rescue Service, it no doubt feels far longer.
New figures released under Freedom of Information laws reveal today that the average time for a fire appliance to arrive at the scene after a 999 call in 2024 was eight minutes and 20 seconds - up from six minutes and 51 seconds in 2014.
The Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the figures, claim the increased response time stems from a reduction in Scottish Government funding of £57 million over the same period, during which time the number of firefighters fell by almost 1,000.
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In addition, 18 fire stations have no running water and most fire engines are more than ten years old.
When questioned over cuts to public spending, Scottish ministers instinctively claim they are constrained by inadequate funding from the UK government and complain they do not have access to enough “levers” to control the nation’s finances better.
And yet the devolution settlement is at a record high, and the Scottish Government has powers over taxation that mean Scotland is the most heavily taxed part of the UK.
Question of priorities
With this being the case, critics can with some justification question whether ministers should be making cutbacks to a service that is so often the difference between life and death in emergency incidents.
At some point - a point we have arguably already passed - raising taxes becomes counterproductive.
And perhaps at another point, the size of Scotland’s public sector will have to stop increasing.
Meanwhile, ministers may have to take a closer look at how effectively public money is being spent. Universal benefits such as “free” prescriptions and university tuition may need to be reassessed.
Otherwise, we may see waits for fire and rescue service personnel to arrive on the scene of emergencies lengthen even further.
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