The cost of fuel for the emergency services is on the rise, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The massive increase in fuel costs faced by Gwent Police, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service, has been revealed by Plaid Cymru AM Lindsay Whittle.
Figures obtained by Plaid Cymru, using the Freedom of Information Act, show that Gwent Police’s bill for petrol and diesel rocketed from £782,760 in 2006/07 to £1,183,032 in 2010/11 – a rise of more than 30%.
Gwent Police has said it was working to reduce fuel use and costs along with carbon emissions and has commissioned a green fleet review. Video conferencing is also being used where it can.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service disclosed that its fuel bill rose from £500,437 to £624,239 between 2007/08 and 2010/11 and that it had restricted all “modern operational appliances” to 50mph unless the blue lights were on.
An extra £1.8 million was spent on fuelling Welsh ambulances in 2010/11 compared to five years ago.
Lindsay Whittle, who represents South Wales East, said the figures show that the rising cost of oil on the global market is having a major impact on the budgets of emergency services.
He said: “The woes of motorists at the petrol pumps are well documented but little has been said about how the inexorable rise in fuel is hitting the emergency services.
“In spite of various measures being taken by all of the emergency services to lessen their fuel consumption, the cost of keeping their fleets of vehicles running is swallowing up an increasing part
of their budgets.
“At the Plaid Cymru spring conference in a Stop Climate Chaos Cymru fringe event Dr Calvin Jones outlined a scenario in the future whereby fuel would be too expensive to warrant many emergency service call-outs.
“While we may well be many years from such a situation, with the price of oil going upwards over time due to global demand, it is clear that this is a problem that will get worse for our emergency services unless bold action is taken.
“Preparations must be for a future where we use much less oil. I’m pleased to hear that trials of hybrid vehicles are being undertaken by Gwent Police.
“I would like all emergency services now to share good practice with each other so that they can drive down their fuel consumption further and prepare for the price increases that will inevitably follow in the years to come.
“Apart from being good for the environment, it is clear that the emergency services cannot afford to stand still on this issue.”