PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Funding for fire and rescue services (21 November 2022)

That this House recognises and celebrates the significant role firefighters play in society, particularly in the face of increasing extreme weather events and the part they played during the pandemic that included delivering medicines to the vulnerable, supporting the ambulance service and moving the bodies of the deceased; further recognises that the fire and rescue service has suffered central funding cuts of around 30 per cent since 2010, resulting in the loss of more than 11,500 frontline firefighters; is concerned that lives could be put at risk from further cuts; acknowledges that firefighters have lost approximately £4,000 in real terms over the past decade; notes with dismay that some firefighters are resorting to food banks; further notes when inflation is taken into account, the 5 per cent offer from the employers that was rejected by the Fire Brigades Union still represents a further cut in real wages; calls for urgent central Government funding for fire and rescue services; and urges employers and the Government to give firefighters a fair pay rise.

Sponsored by:
Mary Kelly Foy (Labour)