Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 2:10 pm on 25 January 2023.
I'm grateful to you for your answer. I've been made aware by members of the mid and west Wales fire authority that you informed the service there that the FireLink Airwave grant, used to support their essential radio platform, is set to end completely in April this year. By comparison, the Home Office is slowly reducing its FireLink grant funding by 20 per cent each year for five years for English fire and rescue authorities. Although this has been reduced gradually, this still gives fire and rescue authorities there the ability to plan for the removal of the grant and spread the financial impact, rather than just being given four months to find £0.5 million in their budgets. Given that the Airwave is an essential lifeline for blue-light services, including the coastguard, would you reconsider your decision and instead gradually reduce this grant?