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The Tayside Fire and Rescue Board's Performance Monitoring Sub-Committee met this morning. The main item on the agenda was the Provisional Revenue Budget for 2012/13. I asked a number of questions on the provisional budget. Firstly, I asked whether the third Ariel Rescue Pump was operational yet. I was told that it was not and that it would become operational during 2012/13. I was also told that the 4 firefighter posts which will be lost as a result of this will be lost by what is called natural wastage.
On income I asked about a fall in income related to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licences. HMO Licences are a big issue in the West End and the fire safety element of these licences provides piece of mind for many people, like myself, who live near HMO properties. There is expected to be a fall in the number of inspections required due to the nature of licences and the cyclical nature of them, also there has been a downturn in the buy-to-let market.
I also asked about a fall in the level of income from officers seconded to the Scottish Government and the Fire Service Training College at Gullane. I was obviously concerned about the possible loss of revenue to Tayside Fire and Rescue but I was much more concerned about whether there is a fall in the level of training going on. I was told by the Chief Fire Officer that officers were not keen to undertake secondments due to the level of uncertainty which there is about the future of the fire service at the moment and that there is a lower level of training going on at the moment at the Fire Service Training College because this is mostly for new recruits and that there are fewer at this time. I was pleased that the Chief Fire Officer was able to say to me that he felt that the level of training offered to firefighters in Tayside continued to meet their needs and the needs of the service.
These are changing times for the fire service in Scotland but it is essential that organisational changes do not get in the way of delivering a high quality service which protects people across Tayside and the rest of Scotland.
On income I asked about a fall in income related to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licences. HMO Licences are a big issue in the West End and the fire safety element of these licences provides piece of mind for many people, like myself, who live near HMO properties. There is expected to be a fall in the number of inspections required due to the nature of licences and the cyclical nature of them, also there has been a downturn in the buy-to-let market.
I also asked about a fall in the level of income from officers seconded to the Scottish Government and the Fire Service Training College at Gullane. I was obviously concerned about the possible loss of revenue to Tayside Fire and Rescue but I was much more concerned about whether there is a fall in the level of training going on. I was told by the Chief Fire Officer that officers were not keen to undertake secondments due to the level of uncertainty which there is about the future of the fire service at the moment and that there is a lower level of training going on at the moment at the Fire Service Training College because this is mostly for new recruits and that there are fewer at this time. I was pleased that the Chief Fire Officer was able to say to me that he felt that the level of training offered to firefighters in Tayside continued to meet their needs and the needs of the service.
These are changing times for the fire service in Scotland but it is essential that organisational changes do not get in the way of delivering a high quality service which protects people across Tayside and the rest of Scotland.