SNP cuts blamed as fire service 999 response times slowest in decade
The Scottish Conservatives have pointed to ‘savage and sustained budget cuts’ by the Scottish Government
Emergency calls to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are now responded to more slowly than at any point in the past ten years, according to new figures.
Statistics obtained by the Scottish Conservatives show responses to 999 calls have slowed almost every consecutive year between 2014 and 2024, including for those calls where it was considered there was a high risk of casualty.
In 2014, it took a median of six minutes and 51 seconds for a 999 call to result in the fire service arriving on site. By 2024, this had increased to a median of eight minutes and 20 seconds – a rise of 21 per cent.
There was a similar increase among cases classified as “possible life risk” incidents, where the chances of encountering a casualty are considered to be much higher.
In 2014, it took a median of seven minutes and 13 seconds for a 999 call to result in the fire service arriving on site. By 2024, this had increased to eight minutes and 42 seconds – a 20 per cent increase.
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The SFRS has seen its budget cut by £57 million in real terms over ten years, with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) repeatedly raising the alarm over “decades of underfunding” and the need for sustained investment.
Scottish Conservative community safety spokeswoman Sharon Dowey said: “Our firefighters do an incredible job, but the SNP’s savage and sustained budget cuts are putting public safety in jeopardy.
“It’s little wonder that emergency response times have hit their slowest rate in ten years, when the nationalists have imposed a real terms cut of £57million and the number of firefighters has dropped by one thousand within a decade.
“On the SNP’s watch, 18 fire stations have no running water, most fire engines are over ten years old, and many stations are in poor condition with several set to be closed.
“Their continual contempt for our fire service and failure to maintain crucial firefighter numbers is an abject dereliction of duty which will almost certainly have resulted in lives being lost.
“It is crucial that SNP ministers step in now and urgently protect the public by giving the fire service the resources they desperately need.”
Fire stations without running water
The Tories previously highlighted figures showing 18 fire stations across Scotland have no running water. These are primarily located across the Highlands and rural areas, including in Cromarty, Foyers and Spean Bridge.
Last month, Colin Brown of the FBU said the service had seen year-on-year cuts to jobs and services.
“Decades of underfunding have left the Scottish fire service with a crumbling estate and an eye-watering £800 million hole in their capital finances,” he said. “What we need is sustained investment in staff, stations and equipment to keep our communities safe.”
The SFRS is currently carrying out a “service delivery review” to look at ways of reshaping and modernising the organisation.
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Its website said the primary aim is to ensure resources, such as staff, stations and appliances, are matched to operational risk and demand across Scotland. The proposals will be part of a public consultation throughout the summer.
The plans include the closure of eight “long-term dormant” fire stations in rural locations. A further five stations are earmarked for potential closure across Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
There are also plans to repair or rebuild stations to ensure firefighters have access to modern facilities, while “a number of appliances and firefighters could be transferred to other locations” to meet risk and demand.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We continue to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with substantial year-on-year budget increases that enable our firefighters to deliver a high standard of services and keep our communities safe.
“This year’s Budget includes £412.2 million for SFRS – an increase of £18.8 million and Scotland continues to have more firefighters per capita than other parts of the UK.
“Whilst the deployment of SFRS resources is an operational matter for the Chief Fire Officer, their targeted approach to risk and allocation of resource overtook the focus given to response times some years ago - and the service continues to respond to every emergency incident with the appropriate level of resource.”
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