Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service is the latest to announce more cuts to staffing - between 250 and 280 jobs are expected to go by 2020 - as austerity continues to bite.

The £14.6million efficiency plan, said by one source to be equivalent to a 20% budget reduction, will also mean fewer appliances. 

The cuts come despite a planned 1.99% increase in council tax revenues for the service, which will provide £800,000.

When the plan was first mooted last year, it was expected that up to 385 firefighter posts were to go, to make a saving of almost £15million over four years.

The Fire Brigades Union claims that the metropolis will be “left with just over 1000 firefighters which is less than half of what they had 10 years ago when the city was served by 2200.”

Gary Keary, secretary of the FBU in Greater Manchester, said:,“This is terrible news for firefighters and the public alike. Nationally, response times to emergency incidents are at their slowest in 20 years. 

“Last year, Greater Manchester saw an increase in fires, deaths and injuries - a tragic trend that continues. Now is the time to be investing in this vital service, not cutting it.

“We urge the service and local politicians to think again about these drastic frontline cuts that will undoubtedly lead to lives being lost.”

Original sources

Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue 

Manchester Evening News

Fire Brigades Union