Meeting of the Parliament 01 October 2025 [Draft]
The bill that became the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 was supported by Labour at the time. The reduction in the number of firefighters is primarily a result of the establishment of the single national service, which reduced the duplication in the eight regional services. I know what the member is saying about rural areas, which she mentioned to me yesterday, but, under the service delivery review, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service needs to keep evaluating its services as time progresses.
The single service has allowed for the delivery of additional specialist resources that serve the whole of Scotland, such as the water rescue capability, which is being rolled out to 20 fire stations.
In 2013, there were 357 fire stations in Scotland; today, there are 356—only one fewer. In that time, the risks that our country faces have changed, and it is right that we make sure that we are ready to respond to any new challenges. Over the past 10 years, there has been a 20 per cent reduction in the number of house fires. The overall number of incidents that are attended by the SFRS continues to fall.
Although the number of house fires has reduced, there have been other incidents, and new risks have emerged.