The Auditor General has been urged to investigate the resilience of Scotland’s fire service following the recent wildfire that devastated the Cairngorms.
Scottish Conservative North East MSP Liam Kerr has written to Stephen Boyle after Freedom of Information Requests and Parliamentary questions uncovered “deeply alarming” revelations about the procurement process surrounding vehicles ordered by the fire and rescue service three years ago.
Despite the purchase of eight new vehicles costing almost £1million, the vehicles were still not operational as of June this year.
Liam Kerr’s investigation also discovered that no business case was prepared for the procurement.
The SFRS have also admitted they cannot provide records of the delivery timetable or any revisions that were made, as well as the minutes of any meetings where the purchase of the vehicles was discussed.
Kerr says that the responses raise serious questions about the procurement process as well as the operational resilience to deal with incidents like the Cairngorms wildfire, as well as the governance within the SFRS.
He has urged the Auditor General to investigate whether the procurement process was managed appropriately and whether it delivered value for taxpayers.
Kerr added that the fire service is already at “breaking point” after years of SNP cuts and that ministers must also be held fully accountable for these decisions which have left firefighters without the resource they require.
Scottish Conservative North East MSP Liam Kerr said: “These responses from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are deeply alarming and I believe worthy of further investigation by the Auditor General.
“Firefighters did a remarkable job in fighting the recent wildfires which devastated the Cairngorms and which impacted across the North East, but they didn’t have the resources they needed.
“Serious questions must be asked as to why vehicles which were bought for almost £1million three years ago are still not in use.
“And the whole process appears to be shrouded in secrecy. The SFRS claim they can’t produce minutes of any meetings or any detail about why there is such a delay in these vehicles becoming operational.
“Wildfires like these are going to become more frequent and firefighters cannot be asked to tackle them with one hand tied behind their back.
“They are already at breaking point after years of SNP cuts which have resulted in local station closures and left many unable to access vital equipment.
“I hope the Auditor General agrees with me that the public deserve to know whether this procurement process was handled appropriately and delivered value for the taxpayer.
“Serious questions remain for SNP ministers and those at the very top of the fire service about this situation.”