Troops training to drive ambulances
HUNDREDS of troops are being trained to drive ambulances and firefight in the event of strike action, the Government has said.
About 2,000 military personnel, civil servants and other volunteers from across government have been preparing as ministers brace for a wave of industrial action across the public sector.
The Cabinet Office said they included up to 600 armed forces personnel and 700 staff from the Government’s specialist Surge and Rapid Response Team, as well as other parts of the Civil Service.
As well as covering for fire and ambulance crews, they could also be drafted in to ports and airports in the event of strike action by Border Force staff.
Conservative Party chairman Nadim Zahawi said ministers were determined to minimise disruption from industrial action in the weeks ahead.
“It is the right and responsible thing to do to have contingency plans in place,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.
“We have a very strong team at Cobra (civil contingencies committee) who are doing a lot of the work in looking at what we need to do to minimise the disruption to people’s lives.”
The Cabinet Office said no decisions have been taken yet on the deployment of troops, but they were part of the ‘range of options available’ should the strikes go ahead as planned.
“The priority over the coming weeks is to protect the public who may need access to emergency services support, and limit disruption as much as possible.
“Particularly at a time when increased numbers of people will be travelling for the festive period and NHS services are under huge pressure due to the impact of Covid,” it said.