This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Progress reported on fire service modernisation
07/10/2004
Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry today welcomed the
latest report from the Accounts Commission which shows that
all Scottish fire authorities have been making progress on
fire service modernisation.
Following the improvements identified in the report, he
confirmed that the Executive would now release the third
stage of transitional funding - £1.68m - to support
brigades in the short term implementation of the June 2003
pay agreement.
Mr Henry said:
"Today's report from the Accounts Commission shows that
all fire authorities in Scotland have been making
improvements on fire service modernisation since
publication of the last verification report in March.
"I welcome this progress and following my pledge last
week, I have therefore authorised the release of a further
#1.68m in transitional funding to support local
implementation of the fire service pay agreement, on top of
the £15.12m announced on September 28.
"I now expect all authorities to build on the
improvements made to date and deliver on their commitment
to a modern fire service which places more emphasis on fire
prevention and community fire safety across Scotland, and
on best value."
Although fire is a devolved matter, pay and other
conditions of service are negotiated on a UK basis by local
authority employers and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) under
the auspices of the National Joint Council for Local
Authorities Fire Brigades.
The June 2003 Agreement between the employers and the
FBU provides for a five stage pay increase, linked to
modernisation.
Taken together, the first three stages produce a total
16 per cent pay rise for fire service staff with effect
from July 1, 2004, (with further rises from July 2005 and
2006 derived by the application of a pay formula).
The Executive has recognised that fire authorities may
have short term difficulty in absorbing the additional pay
costs from the agreement and announced earlier this year
that it would provide some transitional funding to support
implementation of the agreement.
On September 28, Hugh Henry announced that the Executive
would release £15.12m in new funding to support the
modernisation of the fire service.
He also indicated that the service would receive a
further £1.68m in October, depending on the outcome of the
Accounts Commission report.