Hansard

I am aware of the terrible incident at Clydebank police station last week. Of course, the emergency services responded in an exemplary way to deal with that particular issue.

I am sure that the member will recognise that again, in 2014, we witnessed events of a catastrophic proportion in Glasgow city centre at the end of the year—a time that is traditionally reserved for family and friends, and good spirits. There was also the unfortunate accident that involved the Cemfjord cargo ship, which was en route from Denmark to Cheshire. Despite an extensive land and sea search, the eight crewmen from that vessel have not been found. Again, I pass on our thoughts and condolences to all the families and friends of the loved ones who lost their lives and pass on our thoughts to those who are still being treated and those who were caught up in or witnessed those tragic events. It is at times such as these that we see our emergency services act so bravely, selflessly, effectively and timeously.

We owe our gratitude for the immediate and fast work of the first responders, the NHS Scotland staff who provided the injured with the best care and attention and those who quickly put in place arrangements to support families and those affected members of the public. However, we should not forget that the men and women of our emergency services, although highly trained, feel the same pain, fear and emotion. They go home at the end of each shift to family and loved ones still carrying the scars of what they have witnessed.

Earlier today, I met some of the police officers who were first on the scene at the Glasgow bin lorry accident on 22 December—the deceased-victim identification officers and the family liaison officers who supported the families following the events. I was struck by their professionalism, their dedication and how they responded to the accident. The first responders included some who were off duty but were in the area, and a young new police officer who was only five weeks into his probationary training and was one of the first on the scene.

It is not just events at home that raise our attention, concern and thoughts. Last week’s chilling events in France make only too real the risks that are faced daily.

The work of the voluntary sector emergency organisations is increasingly intrinsic to Scotland’s multi-agency approach to emergency response. Their commitment, dedication and courage are highly valued by the Scottish Government, by the communities that they serve and by Scotland’s emergency services, with which they work shoulder to shoulder. They have a unique capability to put boots on the ground in communities during emergencies, as well as through tackling what can be long-term and challenging recovery processes.

We regularly witness that through the selfless work of the Scottish mountain rescue teams, who provide a front-line, world-class voluntary search and rescue service, helping those in need of assistance 24/7, 365 days a year. In 2013, 780 people were assisted across 590 incidents, during which the 27 volunteer mountain rescue teams gave over 27,500 volunteer-hours—a remarkable achievement by all those involved.

That selfless work on land is replicated at sea by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In 2013, the 236 vital lifeboat stations around our coasts undertook 995 launches with 1,007 rescues, saving 29 lives. Altogether, more than 37,000 hours were logged by volunteer crews. That is a huge lifesaving resource.

Medical support is provided by the volunteers of St Andrew’s First Aid and the British Red Cross, who give up their time to attend a range of events across Scotland, from football matches to music events, to ensure that everyone can enjoy themselves safely.

Within the blue-light services, we must acknowledge the excellent work that is done by special constables and lay advisers in Police Scotland, as well as the work that is done through the retained duty system and by the volunteer firefighters, who play a vital role in keeping communities safe, particularly in rural and remote areas.

Scotland’s communities continue to play an important role by using local skills, knowledge and commitment in ways that complement the work of the emergency responders. That includes local community resilience groups; the voluntary community first responder scheme, supported by the Scottish Ambulance Service; and the Police Scotland youth volunteers programme, which provides young people aged between 13 and 18 with the opportunity to gain confidence and develop leadership skills by working with the police and volunteering in their local area.

In 2013-14, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended almost 28,000 fires, and the Scottish Ambulance Service saw an increase in its emergency responses, responding to more than 650,000 incidents and reaching life-threatening incidents in an average of 6.5 minutes. Over the course of the past year, Police Scotland has responded to more than 497,000 emergency calls raised through the 999 route.

Of course, 2014 brought a lot to celebrate, but we must acknowledge the emergency services’ role in delivering a successful Commonwealth games and Ryder cup. The high level of pre-planning and resource that was committed to ensuring that both events could progress safely, without incident and with the resilience to react if, where and when gave confidence to all those who took part and attended these events, and that fact will not have gone unnoticed by the thousands of visitors and spectators who came to Scotland and who, in turn, will have taken away a lasting impression.

We cannot overlook the significant prevention activities in which our emergency services and voluntary organisations are actively engaged. A good example is the ready for winter campaign, which has been delivered for the fourth year this winter and has been a true success, due in no small part to the work of our emergency responders in delivering its important message.

I also highlight the work that Education Scotland is carrying out with schools and local authorities as part of curriculum for excellence to help pupils understand how to prepare for and cope with emergencies. Meanwhile, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is committed to reducing the number of accidental dwelling fires in Scotland through a programme of home safety visits targeted at those who are most vulnerable to the risk of fire in their homes, and figures show that 71,000 such visits were carried out in 2013-14. Of course, it is not just front-line officers whom we have to thank but all the staff who in so many different ways help to make our emergency services exemplary.

However, while reflecting on the positives, we should not fail to acknowledge the challenges ahead. I reassure this Parliament and the people of Scotland that this Government is committed to supporting our emergency services and ensuring that the communities of Scotland continue to receive the excellent levels of service, protection and support that they have come to rely on, be that through our continued commitment to 1,000 extra police officers, our shared goal of keeping local priorities at the heart of our emergency services or the importance that we place on ensuring that the nearest and most suitable resources are available to respond to incidents, irrespective of their location.

Following the introduction of a single police and fire service, we have seen across the country the benefit of access to specialist resource and equipment, an example of which was their utilisation in dealing with the tragic incident at the Clutha bar in 2013.

In health, the highly skilled staff of the Scottish Ambulance Service special operations response team respond daily to major incidents across Scotland, working closely with their colleagues in the Ambulance Service and other emergency services to ensure that patients get the very best care, regardless of where they are. Moreover, the Scottish specialist transport and retrieval project—or ScotSTAR—which was launched in 2014, brings together under the auspices of the Scottish Ambulance Service the emergency medical retrieval and transportation of critically ill adults, children and babies. The initiative, which has rightly been recognised as world class, demonstrates clear collaborative working across NHS boards. The sharing of resources, increased collaboration and partnership working and the benefits that they bring will be key in meeting the challenges ahead, and I am aware that our emergency services are already jointly considering such opportunities, which will in turn improve the safety and wellbeing of our communities.

Beyond the blue lights, there are a wide range of organisations that work together to facilitate a successful conclusion to emergency events, not least in difficult weather similar to the kind that we are experiencing at the moment. In emergencies, public and private emergency operatives, such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Met Office, local authorities, Transport Scotland, and utility and telecom companies, meet resilience co-ordinators and Scottish Government resilience room officials to support the front-line response. They are key to ensuring that we co-operate in response, recover quickly and reduce disruption where possible.

We saw the benefits of that co-operation in the work only this week, when, due to bad weather, homes and businesses on the Isle of Coll were isolated from power, and ferries and aviation were cancelled. The Scottish Government, working in co-ordination with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and SSE, arranged for a helicopter to be provided on Coll in order to get power back on in extremely challenging conditions.

It is right that the work that is undertaken by the men and women of our emergency services be recognised by Parliament. Not all of us could easily adapt to going to work each day, not knowing from one minute to the next what we might be faced with, yet that is what all our emergency services colleagues willingly sign up to. Be it their management of significant incidents, their quick response to local accidents and emergencies or their ability to provide comfort and calm at times when individuals and communities are at their most vulnerable, there is a lot to commend the men and women of our emergency services.

I ask Parliament to join me in acknowledging the work of the emergency services and in a commitment to support them in the year ahead. I ask Parliament, too, to support the motion in my name.

I move,

That the Parliament applauds the excellent work undertaken by all of the brave and dedicated men and women of Scotland’s emergency services, both blue light and voluntary, who meet significant challenges on a daily basis to help keep communities safe and respond where and whenever there is need; acknowledges that Scotland has been reminded of this again through the events over the festive period, and commits to support all of the emergency services in the years ahead.