A view from Plaid Cymru’s North Wales Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in their respective Parliaments and closer to home – you can find them all here. ​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

In this month’s column Llyr Gruffydd MS writes:

One of the hotter topics we will face over the summer is how much we value our public services.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority is currently consulting the public on emergency cover across the region.

Part of the proposal is driven by a desire to improve response times in the south Gwynedd area, which is more reliant on retained firefighters to turn out to emergencies.

The Authority has a long-standing issue with recruiting and retaining part-time firefighters, especially in rural areas such as this.

But I suspect a greater driver for the proposals is to address the black hole in the Authority’s finances. As more than three quarters of the Fire Authority’s annual budget is spent on wages – i.e. staff – then the spotlight inevitably turns to how to save money by cutting the wage bill.

Unfortunately, the three options presented to the public of north Wales by the Fire Authority do not offer real alternatives.

The first option will not save money. It is to improve responses as mentioned above but would not see a reduction in staff and consequently no real savings.

The second option is to move Deeside and Rhyl stations to day staffing rather than being available 24 hours a day. This would have marginal savings I understand.

The real saving is to be made in Wrexham with the second whole-time pump being axed and only 28 firefighters remaining of the current 52. That saving is around £1m a year but would mean losing one in eight of the region’s frontline firefighters

The third option is one that even the Chief Fire Officer has deemed unacceptable and does not advocate. It is all of the second option plus closing five fire stations. These are Abersoch, Beaumaris, Llanberis, Cerrigydrudion and Conwy. That would mean cutting the number of firefighters by 19%.

As this is a column for Wrexham.com, I will focus on the impact on the Wrexham area primarily of losing half its staff and whole-time appliances.

Of course, this proposal is nothing new – it was first suggested in 2016 and sparked a huge campaign that led to the Fire Authority reconsidering.

Over the past decade, Wrexham has seen thousands of extra houses built, a new super-prison and a growing industrial estate with many potential hazards for the fire service.

There are also the growing challenges presented by climate change that mean more wild fires and flash flooding. This is not a service that isn’t needed, although the reduction in accidental house fires over previous decades is very welcome. This is due in part to the preventative work being done.

I understand the financial pressures facing the fire authority because of 13 years of cuts and austerity by the UK Government. I also accept that there is a reluctance to increase the fire levy substantially again this year after a 9.9% rise last year. This goes on the Council Tax bill of every household in the North.

Every public service is struggling to balance budgets and the failure of the UK Government to provide funding for the pay settlement it agreed with the Fire Brigades Union has made matters worse.

But there’s no escape from the fact that Wrexham is the busiest station in north Wales and reducing the service in half will make it less able to respond to emergencies in the surrounding areas.

A 12% cut in staffing – and losing experience and expertise – will also call into question the ability of the fire service to operate specialist equipment based in Wrexham.

If there is no second whole-time crew, who will man the aerial ladder platform, the technical unit and the specialist unit?

This is not a problem that can be answered by slashing front-line services – especially if the Fire Authority is not looking to cut other non-frontline services and its capital spending on a new training centre at the same time.

Those in positions of power must explain why cuts don’t start at the top rather than the bottom if we are to have a meaningful debate on whether saving money trumps saving lives.

The consultation takes place over the next two months – for more information please go to https://www.northwalesfire.gov.wales/about-us/emergency-cover-review-have-your-say/ and have your say.

My party, Plaid Cymru, is being clear about the need to retain the current levels of emergency cover in Wrexham. In 2016, my colleagues spearheaded the campaign – which culminated in a march through the town – to maintain emergency cover levels. If you want to sign the petition to maintain the current level of cover, please go to https://www.wrexhamplaid.cymru/save_wrexham_s_fire_engine