5. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to modernise the fire estate. (S6O-02288)

Steps to modernise the fire service estate are decisions for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to make. The Scottish Government has provided the service with a capital budget of £32.5 million for 2023-24. The allocation of the capital budget, including the decision on whether to prioritise fleet, equipment or the fire service estate, is a matter for the SFRS.

This month, freedom of information responses to my office confirmed the poor state of Scotland’s fire estate, with about 45 per cent of fire stations assessed as being in either bad or poor condition. Four fire stations are known to have no running water, and many have inadequate showering facilities, although we know that the toxins that firefighters come into contact with are carcinogenic. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is failing its duty of care to firefighters. Will the Scottish Government commit to an emergency funding package to address those issues?

I agree that the safety of firefighters should be our priority. The fire stations with the least facilities are in remote locations and deal with very few incidents. The

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has introduced procedures to ensure that firefighters in those locations have workable solutions to ensure that contaminated personal protective equipment is dealt with safely.

I recently had the pleasure of holding a members’ business debate to recognise firefighters memorial day and to support the Fire Brigades Union’s decon campaign. There is widespread support from the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Scottish Hazards and many individual trade unions for responsibility for health and safety legislation to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Given the Tories’ race to the bottom when it comes to workers’ rights and the disappointment over Labour’s parking the idea during the Smith commission, does the minister support those calls, and will she press the United Kingdom Government to support them?

The FBU’s decon campaign highlights exactly why health and safety powers need to be devolved to this Parliament as a matter of urgency, so I am happy to support those calls.

The Presiding Officer:

Question 6 has been withdrawn.