Hawick Fire Station

I had an introductory meeting with the SFRS board chair and chief officer on 4 June, at which we discussed the overall objectives of the service delivery review and the consultation process that has been undertaken by the SFRS. I also met the SFRS deputy chief officer to discuss the service delivery review on 11 June. The SFRS board will meet on 22 June to take final decisions on which of the service delivery review proposals should go forward to implementation. Until then, no decisions have been taken.

The location of resources, along with shift patterns, is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The review does not propose any reduction in fire and rescue cover in Hawick. Indeed, two fire appliances will continue to be located in Hawick. The SFRS has assured me that the proposed move to a day shift duty system is based on a thorough examination of the risks and historic deployment data across the Borders area and that it will not compromise the safety of the public or firefighters.

I reiterate that those decisions are operational matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The day shift duty system is not a new concept; it is already being operated in Livingston and at multiple other locations across the United Kingdom. There are challenges with on-call firefighter recruitment and retention that are caused by demographic changes, particularly in rural and island areas. The SFRS has concluded that availability at night and at weekends is much better and that there tend to be particular difficulties during the day, which is because people no longer live and work in the same location. That is why having whole-time firefighters working during the day, which is also when the majority of incidents occur, is a viable and sensible solution.