Fire service warns funding gap could mean cut of 500 firefighters

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has warned it might have to reduce its workforce by another 500 firefighters to balance its budget over the next three years.

The service says it is facing a £6m funding gap in the next financial year and could receive flat cash settlements until 2029 under Scottish government spending proposals.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) says the number of firefighters in Scotland has already fallen by 1,200 over the last 12 years and has warned compulsory redundancies will lead to strike action.

The service says its capital funding is also falling well short of what it needs to repair and update its stations, vehicles and equipment.

More than £900m has been saved from fire service funding since eight regional brigades were merged into a single national organisation in 2013.

Holyrood's criminal justice committee was told the service had requested a £36.6m uplift in its resource funding for 2026/27 but has been allocated an £18m increase in the government's draft budget.

The service had also drawn up an investment plan which would involve capital spending of £61m, but its capital budget is going up by £1.4m to £48.4m.

Chief fire officer Stuart Stevens told the MSPs the service had identified a £6m funding shortfall for 2026/27 and said 128 firefighter posts might have to go if they can't close the gap.

That could be followed by another 389 posts over the following two years, if the service receives what is proposed under the government's latest spending review.

The service is already consulting on the permanent removal of 166 firefighters' posts under an ongoing service delivery review.

Stevens told MSPs: "Community safety is absolutely paramount to the organisation.

"That level of reductions would have an impact on community safety going forward, both from a response perspective but also from a preventative perspective as well.

"I would also be considerably concerned around firefighter safety."

FBU official Colin Brown told the committee budget pressures are having a negative impact on firefighters' health, wellbeing and workplaces.

"That is no longer managed decline - that is strangulation of the service," he said.

"The capital budget pays for the fire stations our members work from, fire stations that are woefully inadequate.

"Parliament is well aware of our position, there is guilty knowledge, that firefighters are exposed to higher levels of cancer risk and other health diseases that could kill them earlier than the general population."

Brown said a £1.4m increase in capital funding "will not scrape the sides" of what is required.

The service has estimated it needs £818m to bring its stations, vehicle fleet, equipment, digital technology and business systems up to the required standard.

The estate alone is said to require an investment of £496m, with some buildings deemed no longer fit for purpose.

The committee also heard that response times have increased by an average of 90 seconds over the last 10 years.

Community safety minister Siobhian Brown said: "The 2026-27 draft Budget includes almost £436m for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service – an increase of £23.8m (5.7%).

"Our investment will support delivery of frontline services and help to ensure SFRS continues to deliver the high standard of service needed to keep communities safe, and I thank all firefighters and staff for their services.

"Scotland continues to have more firefighters per capita than other parts of the UK."

She added: "We continue to work closely with SFRS to assess the impact of possible pressures on its budget to ensure that service levels can be maintained and that new risks and challenges such as wildfire and flooding can be met."