Speaking in a debate in Westminster on the possible impact of the European Union’s Working Time Directive on retained fire-fighters, which may affect the ability of retained fire-fighters to opt out of the current maximum 48-hour working week, Borders MP Michael Moore pressed the case for maintaining as much flexibility as possible in the fire service provision in the south of Scotland.
During this morning’s debate, which was secured by the Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary, Alistair Carmichael MP, Mr Moore highlighted that, in the hundreds of square miles that make up the south of Scotland, only two fire stations are full-time, and even those are backed up by retained fire crews. He also pointed out that, in any given year, the range of call-outs can vary from 40 to 200, again emphasising the importance of maintaining a flexible service.
Speaking after the debate, Mr Moore said:
“The Government could – and should – be taking urgent steps to ensure that retained fire-fighters are able to provide vital cover across Scotland. Many of our smaller communities in Scotland do not have the size of population needed to maintain full-time services. Indeed, a huge 321 of 391 fire stations in Scotland are staffed by part-time retained fire-fighters, including 10 in my constituency alone.
“This debate is not about whether or not we should end the UK’s opt-out from the Working Time Directive. Rather, it is about the UK Government planning now to ensure that any changes are implemented in such a way as to enable retained fire-fighters to continue to provide their valuable service to our local communities.”
Mr Moore recently discussed the impact of losing retained fire-fighters with the Chief Fire Officer for Lothian and Borders. He is calling on Government Ministers to plan now to avoid this worst-case scenario.
Notes:
1. The following fire stations in Mr Moore’s constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk use retained fire-fighters:
•Coldstream
•Duns
•Eyemouth
•Galashiels (some full-time and some retained)
•Hawick (some full-time and some retained)
•Jedburgh
•Kelso
•Lauder
•Newcastleton
•Selkirk
2. If fire stations across the UK were to lose their retained fire-fighters, over 90% of the UK would lose valuable emergency fire cover.