by BILL HEANEY
MSP Jackie Baillie has blasted the Scottish Government after it was revealed that more than £600,000 will be slashed from Helensburgh Fire Station’s budget.
The move is the result of the recent Service Delivery Review, which led to cuts in crew provision.
Dumbarton MSP Jackie tabled Parliamentary Questions which revealed the scale of the cut locally.
The move forced the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Neil Gray, to unveil the figures.
Fire chiefs confirmed in June that they would move to a ‘Day Crewing’ model at the South King Street station, following the nationwide Service Delivery Review.
The unpopular proposals saw emergency provision switch to on-call during evenings and weekends.
Working alongside the Fire Brigades Union, Jackie opposed the move, making representations to both the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Government, as well as creating an online petition against the planned cuts, which gathered hundreds of signatures.
The Scottish Government has denied that jobs will be lost, saying 69 whole-time firefighters will be “redirected”, while 20 new on-call firefighter posts will be created.
However, the Cabinet Secretary was forced to reveal that when the changes go ahead, the salary costs of four whole-time pump crews – totalling 17 people – will be reallocated “elsewhere”.
The total cuts amount to £779,000 in salary, as well as an anticipated £23,000 reduction in property costs related to a “reduced staff footprint”.
The Scottish Government says £109,000 will be spent on additional on call staff per annum, while £67,000 will go on training on-call crew and providing swift water and flood response capability.
Overall, an estimated £626,000 will be cut in Helensburgh.
MSP Jackie Baillie blasted the Scottish Government over the “dangerous” cuts, saying: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said that response times will increase as a result of decisions taken in the Service Delivery Review.
“This is bad news for the community served by Helensburgh Fire Station, and these cuts are downright dangerous.
“But now we get to the truth of the matter that these changes will save £626,000.
“The need for these changes results from the Scottish Government’s under-funding of Scotland’s public sector agencies.
“It is high time that the SNP Government started placing communities and their safety first.”