Shropshire FRS faces £2 million funding cut

The union says the figure equates to a 28% budget cut, which is the equal highest percentage cut to a fire authority’s budget in the country tied with Hereford and Worcester. Shropshire Fire Authority’s central funding will decrease £7.2 million to £5.2 million by 2020. This is not the first budget cut imposed on Shropshire as the government forced it to take austerity measures equaling £3.2 million in 2010.

A spokesman for the Fire Brigades Union told the Shropshire Star: “The central point is that these figures are very bad news – a 20 per cent cut overall – more of the same. Once again they show that the fire and rescue service has not been protected. In some cases, fire authorities will lose a quarter of their central revenue over the next four years.

“What this government and its predecessor have done to the fire and rescue service is a travesty. They have axed 10,000 firefighter jobs across the UK during the last seven years – around one fifth of the workforce.

“At a time of increasing risks from an ageing population, flooding and various other emergencies, they are tearing up the fabric of our communities. It’s about time politicians raised their voices in protest.”