Select committee inquiry
Emergency Services Network
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The Home Office’s Emergency Services Network (ESN) programme was launched in 2015 to replace Airwave, the critical mobile network for emergency services such as police, fire and rescue, and ambulance to communicate with each other. In 2019, following significant delays, the Home Office reset the programme to introduce the new technology incrementally, extending the timetable for turning off Airwave from 2020 to 2022. In 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into the communication services provided by the Airwave network. Based on the NAO investigation into the Emergency Services Network the Committee will question senior Home Office officials on current progress and the main risks the programme faces now. If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Thursday 20 April 2023. Please have a look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note the Committee cannot accept as evidence material that has been published elsewhere.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
In the committee's words, from the summary of Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Services Network ↗
The Home Office (the Department) is attempting to create the Emergency Services Network (ESN) to provide a new mobile communications service for the emergency services in the UK. ESN will replace the existing Airwave system, which although reliable, is expensive, does not provide modern data services, and will eventually become obsolete. The Department started the programme to deliver ESN in 2015 and expected to turn off Airwave in 2019. Now, in 2023, the Department still does not know when ESN will be ready and has little to show the taxpayer for its efforts, despite having spent some £2 billion. Delays to ESN have meant the emergency services have borne significant costs in running Airwave for longer. They have temporarily disbanded their ESN teams and found their own ways to access mobile data.
As we feared, the Department’s attempt to reset ESN in 2018 did not work and the programme is delayed yet again. The Department now needs to replace Motorola, one of its key suppliers, and plans to extend its contract with EE. Until a new supplier is in place, the Department can make only limited further progress. The Department considers that the technology ESN needs is now readily available in the market, but we are concerned that even after a new supplier is appointed, ESN will still be a high-risk programme with many challenges, including integrating the various parts of ESN together, testing the technology, providing the right level of coverage and resilience, and transitioning all emergency services onto the new service. The Department continues to be optimistic that it can solve these problems, but this optimism is disconnected from the reality that the Department has never been able to produce a realistic plan for delivering ESN and there is not yet evidence that the technology will work as well as Airwave. The Department claims it has learned not to set another arbitrary deadline for turning off Airwave, but we have heard this before. The Department did not give us confidence that it could break the cycle of over-optimism followed by delays.
The only significant progress is that the Department’s new programme leadership team has won back the support of the emergency services. But the Department still needs to prove that it can deliver. Even if the Department gets the programme back on track, it will take at least 10 years before the savings from ESN justify its cost, and the Department has paused its work to decide how ESN will be run as a live service. This means that the long-term risks to value-for-money are still high. There is also a risk that extending the role of EE may replicate some of the issues with Airwave, where a lack of competition meant a monopoly supplier could make excessive profits at the taxpayer’s expense.
What the government said
The government responded on 24 September 2023. The deadline was 14 September 2023.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response.
The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six recommendations, with target dates between December 2023 and June 2024.
- On assurance, it will commission an overall Independent Assurance Panel report "after the new supplier has been appointed", with a target completion date of end of June 2024 following Lot 2 award.
- On Airwave savings, it agrees, but says "scope for central support is limited" by how government funds are allocated, which "will constrain the ability to pass the charge control savings directly onto users".
- On the outline plan, it says it has drafted the ESMCP control plan, which is out for consultation with users and "will be agreed before the end of 2023".
- On EE, it says the new contract "will be awarded on an open book basis with a gain share mechanism built in", with a target implementation date of December 2023.
Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 3 February 2023 to its close on 24 September 2023. The dashed mark is the deadline Parliament records for the government's response.
- Oral evidence 2 sessions
- Report 14 Jul 2023
- Government response 24 Sep 2023
- Correspondence 2 letters
What it recommended 6 recommendations · 24 conclusions
2Explore using Airwave charge control savings to fund ESN transition and Airwave maintenance activities.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Department’s failure to deliver ESN creates a significant cost for the emergency services who must pay to fund ESN and to maintain Airwave for longer. Delays have meant the Department itself has actually spent less than it expected on ESN, but the ultimate users of ESN have had to pay more. The emergency services must contribute, alongside funding from the Department, the Department of Health & Social Care and the Scottish and Welsh governments, to the cost of both ESN and Airwave, and will get no benefit from ESN until Airwave is turned off. Emergency services need to decide how to replace ageing Airwave devices and control rooms, but do not have enough information to know when to do this, because the Department has no timetable for ESN. Emergency services are facing financial pressures and have had to temporarily disband teams who will work on the transition to ESN, risking the loss of vital skills. The Department has not created any specific mechanism for helping emergency services bear the extra costs created by failing to deliver ESN. The CMA has proposed a charge control on Airwave which, once implemented, will make Airwave less expensive to run. But Airwave will still require investment to replace potentially obsolescent infrastructure and technology, and to ensure it keeps operating at its current good performance level. The Department does not yet understand the extent of these costs. Recommendation 2: As part of the new ESN business case, the Department should explore with users how savings created by the CMA imposing a charge control on Airwave can be used to help fund transition activities and new Airwave devices as well as maintaining Airwave. 6 The Emergency Services Network
3Set out ESN building blocks plan by 2023, detailing prototyping, testing, and feedback incorporation.
Recommended (the committee's words)
The Department cannot yet prove to the emergency services that ESN will be good enough to replace Airwave. There is now a broad consensus among emergency services and the programme’s Independent Assurance Panel that ESN can work and that it remains the right approach. The Department believes that a widening market means ESN can now use off-the-shelf technology, but it is difficult for such a product to fully replicate Airwave, because Airwave is more complex than similar networks in other countries. Because each emergency service will decide for itself whether ESN can replace Airwave, the Department needs robust evidence from rigorous testing to prove that ESN fully meets all the needs of emergency services. Currently the Department does not have an agreed plan for when the different parts of ESN will be ready. Although emergency services are confident that the Department understands their needs, the Department’s past approach to testing ESN has not been good enough, and there is still much left to check, including that coverage is available everywhere it is needed, including in buildings. Recommendation 3: The Department should set out an outline plan for the main building blocks of ESN by the end of 2023, including when they will be prototyped, built, and tested in real world conditions, and which includes sufficient time for testing by emergency services, and allows feedback to be incorporated into the final version of ESN. This information should inform the main business case which we understand is due in the first quarter of 2024.
4Obtain independent opinion on ESN's integration plan and resources upon new contract delivery.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We remain concerned the Department does not have the capability to successfully bring the various elements of ESN together. ESN is a complex programme which was set up using a commercial approach that the Department admits is suboptimal but has decided not to change. Persisting with the same commercial structure means it will still have to contend with the same problems of integrating the work of different suppliers. The software Motorola was delivering must work seamlessly with EE’s network, control room systems provided by an unknown number of vendors, and with devices (in aircraft and vehicles as well as handsets). We have often seen integration cause issues in major programmes, and remain concerned that the Department does not have the skills to make this work effectively. It has previously tried to use contracts to make suppliers responsible for integration or to acquire capabilities, but these approaches have not worked so far. Recommendation 4: By the time the new user services contract is in place, the Department should obtain an independent opinion on whether ESN has a credible integration plan and the resources in place to deliver it.
5Create a plan to restart ESN live service operating model development, ensuring emergency services agreement.
Concluded (the committee's words)
It is still not clear how the Department will ensure that there are clearly defined responsibilities or plans in place for operating ESN as a live service, raising questions about whether ESN will provide the intended benefits for the emergency services. The expected benefits from ESN will only materialise if it is run effectively. For example, there will need to be a way of ensuring that any unforeseen consequences of ESN, such the prioritisation of ESN users preventing the public from communicating in an emergency, are appropriately managed. It will take at least 10 years before financial benefits from ESN will recoup the taxpayers’ investment, and widespread use of commercial mobile data by emergency services has already reduced the potential efficiencies that ESN might bring. ESN could still help emergency services to coordinate their responses to major events and The Emergency Services Network 7 standardise approaches to data. The latter will only happen if apps are developed for emergency services to use, but ESN has no current plans to enable this. The Department’s current plans assume it will be responsible for running ESN as a live service, but it has paused work to design a future operating model. Recommendation 5: As part of the new business case, the Department should create a plan for how it will restart work on how ESN will operate as a live service and ensure the emergency services agree that the future operating model meets their needs.
6Ensure new EE contract protects against excessive profits, mandates standards compliance, and enables future competition.
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Department risks creating a new monopoly supplier in EE, which could reduce long-term value for money. EE provides the main network infrastructure, but although it has made progress extending network coverage, it has not delivered on time, and still has work to complete. The Department has not introduced competition as quickly as it intended and, following previous extensions, it plans to award EE a new contract, again without competition. While the Department remains tied into a single network provider, emergency services cannot benefit from services provided by other operators. The Department claims it will be able to introduce competition later, because all its suppliers are following telecommunications standards, but incompatible assumptions made by different ESN suppliers about which telecommunication standards would be used was one of the issues that led to the 2018 reset. Recommendation 6: The Department should ensure that the new EE contract for ESN network infrastructure includes sufficient protection against EE making excessive profits and requires all infrastructure to fully comply with telecommunications standards and allows other network suppliers can be introduced in future if they are better value. 8 The Emergency Services Network 1 Progress delivering ESN
1Evidence gathered from Home Office and emergency services on ESN programme
Concluded (the committee's words)
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office (the Department), the Emergency Service Network (ESN) programme’s Independent Assurance Panel, and representatives of the police, fire and ambulance services.1
7Home Office admits significant risks and challenges remain for ESN programme
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Department said it was not being complacent, but acknowledged that even with the best team and governance arrangements it could assemble there was both considerable risk and a lot of work to do before ESN would be ready.16 Nevertheless, it was determined to ‘crack on’ with ESN and was confident it could solve the problems.17 While it acknowledged that optimism bias is a cultural issue in both the Department and wider civil service, and that it had been over-optimistic about ESN before, it claimed to have a better understanding now.18 But when we asked if it could reduce the risk, it acknowledged that it would not know until it found a supplier to replace Motorola.19 It acknowledged that ESN is its biggest, reddest and hardest programme in a portfolio “stuffed full” of very difficult programmes, and said it would be ‘brave’ to believe it had identified technical solutions for the entire programme.20
8Home Office acknowledges £140 million wasted on Motorola due to past decisions
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked whether the Department could have acted sooner to remove Motorola, and the Department acknowledged that, in hindsight, it wished different choices had been made when Motorola bought Airwave in 2016.21 The Department said it had been aware of a possibility of that Motorola might leave ESN following delays, but had been surprised by Motorola’s “extreme and swift” reaction to the CMA investigation.22 It also acknowledged 10 C&AG’s Report, paras 4, 9, 19 11 C&AG’s Report, para 19 12 Q 13 (27 March) 13 Q 80 (27 March) 14 Q 14 (27 March) 15 Qq 2, 4 (26 April) 16 Qq 26, 99 (27 March) 17 Qq 31, 100 (27 March) 18 Qq 101–103 (27 March) 19 Q 84 (27 March) 20 Qq 26, 68, 99 (27 March) 21 Q 104 (27 March) 22 Qq 92, 96 (27 March) 10 The Emergency Services Network the programme could have been delivered faster had it been able to solve issues with Motorola.23 The Department estimates it has paid some £140 million to Motorola without the taxpayer getting full value.24
9Replacing Motorola does not guarantee ESN success; credible technology essential from next supplier
Recommended (the committee's words)
The NAO found that although replacing Motorola may have been necessary, Motorola was regarded as the market leader and replacing it does not guarantee that ESN will succeed.25 The Department said it had received enough interest from potential bidders to be confident it could find a replacement, but it would take a few months to be certain.26 The programme’s Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) cautioned that Motorola’s software had done around 85% of what ESN needed and told us that although it was possible to find a replacement, the Department needs to ensure the next supplier offers credible technology.27 The impact of delays on the emergency services
10ESN delays create additional Airwave costs and uncertainty for emergency services
Concluded (the committee's words)
The emergency services contribute, alongside funding from the Department, the Department of Health & Social Care and the Scottish and Welsh governments, to the cost of ESN. Delays to ESN meant the Department itself has spent less than it expected on ESN.28 But emergency services have had to pay for additional Airwave devices as a result of the delays.29 The Department did not know how long Airwave devices would now need to last, saying only it was working to give emergency services a “rough idea”.30 Given that Airwave handsets last 10 years, radios bought after the previous reset in 2018 will be obsolete in 2028 and may need replacing again before ESN is ready.31 The ambulance service told us that it was now unsure whether to start replacing its Airwave terminals, and while the fire service had delayed buying new control rooms it agreed that it was ‘unhelpful for the sector’ not to know when ESN was going to be ready.32
11Emergency services disbanding dedicated ESN teams due to programme delays
Concluded (the committee's words)
Emergency services are temporarily disbanding their dedicated ESN teams that had been preparing for testing and transition, and the Department explained that there was currently very little for such teams to work on. It hoped each organisation would retain a “point of contact” but acknowledged that ESN might no longer be their priority.33
12Emergency services incurred significant costs, exceeding £140 million, from ESN programme delays
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the emergency services if they could quantify how much delays to ESN had cost them. The ambulance service interacts with ESN through the Ambulance Radio Programme (ARP) on which it had spent £9.5 million.34 The fire service said it had spent £6 million preparing for transition, and £2 million on early versions of ESN which now had to be replaced.35 Police forces estimate that Airwave devices cost £125 million since 2018, and expect to spend another £25m by 2026. Forces also spent a further £5 million 23 Q 92 (27 March) 24 Q 29 (27 March) 25 C&AG’s Report, paras 19, 2.10 26 Q 66 (27 March) 27 Qq 13, 32 (26 April) 28 C&AG’s Report, para 1.10 29 Q 34 (27 March) 30 Q 35 (27 March) 31 ESN0001; Qq 22 (26 April) 32 Qq 16, 21 (26 April) 33 Q 40 (27 March); C&AG’s Report, para 16 34 Letter to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee from Chris Lucas, Senior User, NHS Ambulance Radio Programme, 9 May 2023 35 Letter to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee from Ben Norman, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, NFCC Strategic Lead for Operational Communications, 12 May 2023 The Emergency Services Network 11 on transition teams. Although police forces did not consider all of this spend to be wasted, the intended benefits had not been realised, and they considered there was a strong case for financial assistance with future costs.36
13Uncertainty surrounding ESN transition funding could lead to cuts elsewhere
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the Department how the transition from Airwave to ESN would be funded. It said it would work with users to make transition affordable, but the only way to do this was through usual ‘fiscal events’.37 Although it said it would try and minimise the financial impact, it acknowledged there would inevitably be some financial impact on police forces, fire services and ambulance services.38 While the Department was confident that HM Treasury would provide the necessary funding at the next spending review it could not rule out having to make cuts elsewhere to pay for ESN.39 The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) told us that financial pressures had forced some police forces to use funding intended for ESN on other projects.40
14Airwave extension requires uncosted investment in infrastructure and agreement with Motorola
Recommended (the committee's words)
The CMA has proposed a charge control on Airwave which, once implemented, will make Airwave cheaper for the Department and emergency services.41 The Department considers that it can extend Airwave without creating a gap in service and without any negotiation with Motorola, provided it gives 12 months’ notice of an extension. It has not yet done this.42 The Independent Assurance Panel said that, to maintain Airwave’s performance, Airwave would need ongoing investment to: replace obsolete components, retain skills for managing the network and to maintain the steel and concrete in some 4,000 masts. It considered the latter had not yet been fully costed by the Department.43 The level of investment required will need to be agreed with Motorola.44 Demonstrating to the emergency services that ESN is ready to replace Airwave
15ESN technology no longer cutting edge, enabling UK to learn from international approaches
Concluded (the committee's words)
Since 2015, the market for the technology underpinning ESN has matured, so we asked whether ESN is now easier to deliver. The Department agreed that the programme was no longer at the cutting edge of technology.45 It told us that several other countries are now taking a similar approach to ESN, although some use a dedicated network, and others have involved multiple network operators.46 This means that rather than leading the way, the UK can now learn lessons from other countries.47
16ESN's proposed technology is more credible but may still be immature
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Department now intends for ESN to use technology that is ‘as off-the-shelf as it can be’.48 The Independent Assurance Panel told us that the technology ESN is proposing to use is now more credible than when ESN started, in part because telecommunications standards have moved on, and now cover the features that ESN needs, including push- 36 Letter to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee from Kier Pritchard, Chief Constable, NPCC lead for ESMCP, 15 May 2023 37 Qq 47, 48 (27 March) 38 Q 51 (27 March) 39 Qq 87, 89–91 (27 March) 40 ESN0001 41 Mobile radio network services, Competition & Markets Authority, 5 April 2023 42 Qq 54–58 (27 March) 43 Q 20 (26 April) 44 Qq 54–55, 58 (27 March) 45 Q 16 (27 March); C&AG’s Report, para 14 46 Qq 69–70 (27 March) 47 Q 75 (27 March), Q 54 (26 April) 48 Qq 15, 72–74 (27 March) 12 The Emergency Services Network to-talk.49 It noted that Airwave is a sophisticated network to replace, more so than similar networks in other countries, and has many requirements that ESN technology must support.50 The Independent Assurance Panel considered that there is still a need examine the new supplier’s approach carefully, because the technology may still be a ‘little immature’.51
17Emergency services will independently determine ESN readiness with no mandated adoption
Concluded (the committee's words)
The emergency services expect to decide for themselves whether ESN is ready.52 The police representative said they had been reassured that no force will be forced to adopt ESN.53 The ambulance service was also positive, but despite a more centralised approach, there is no-one with central authority to mandate that individual ambulance trusts accept ESN.54 The fire service emphasised that, once the agreed requirements for ESN are met they expected Chief Fire Officers would be able to accept ESN.55 The Department said it had brought users inside the programme to make sure it understood the emergency service’s requirements, so that no organisation would want to ‘veto’ ESN.56 While it has tried this approach before, the Department says it had now undergone a ‘mindset shift’ on the importance of working with the emergency services.57 Emergency service representatives agreed that the Department had engaged well with national groups including the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the National Fire Chiefs’ Council.58
18Emergency services confident in ESN, but demand formal assurance and contract verification
Concluded (the committee's words)
Emergency services were confident that ESN would be able to meet their needs. The ambulance and police representatives said they felt ESN was taking the right approach, and the fire service representative emphasised the importance of ESN meeting the requirements agreed in 2015, which it considered had only changed slightly.59 Although the police representative agreed the Department understood their requirements, they also told us that they needed to check that the requirements were included in the latest ESN contracts. Before accepting ESN they expected formal assurance from the Department’s leadership, which they intend to independently verify. The police expected this to cover network performance as well as coverage. They said they would be concerned if time for testing was reduced.60
19Critical ESN testing at scale lacks sufficient devices and dual-mode functionality
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Independent Assurance Panel agreed that testing at scale is crucial, including at real-world events such as the coronation and Notting Hill Carnival.61 We asked the Department about its previous attempts at testing parts of ESN. The Department said it had needed to be re-run some tests three times, but had not allowed the time to do so, which had caused delays.62 When asked about providing devices for testing, the Department acknowledged that only a small number of devices had ever been provided. It committed to getting preliminary devices in ‘as many hands’ as it could over the next 18 months. It also said it would listen to user feedback, so that ESN would work at ‘3 am, 49 Qq 7, 55 (26 April) 50 Q 13, 54 (26 April) 51 Qq 6, 55, 56 (26 April) 52 C&AG’s Report, para 16 53 Q 60 (26 April) 54 Q 59 (26 April) 55 Q 62 (26 April) 56 Qq 19, 41–42 (27 March) 57 Qq 45, 46 (27 March) 58 Qq 3, 4 (26 April) 59 Qq 10, 11 (26 April) 60 Qq 1, 60–61 (26 April) 61 Q 14 (26 April) 62 Q 77 (27 March) The Emergency Services Network 13 in the dark, in the rain, with gloves on.’63 It now expects the replacement for Motorola to provide these devices, and hopes these will be off-the-shelf handsets.64 However, the NPCC considers a radio-style device is a core requirement for frontline police, ideally with the ability to work with both ESN and Airwave to reduce the risk and complexity of a future transition.65 The Department said it would consider dual-mode devices if they were not too expensive.66
20ESN coverage remains key concern, particularly building penetration compared to Airwave
Concluded (the committee's words)
The coverage provided by ESN remains a key concern for emergency services.67 The NPCC was concerned that, despite commitments from the Department for ESN to be as good as Airwave, the ESN 4G signal does not penetrate buildings as successfully as Airwave.68 When we asked about the number of buildings in which ESN would work, the Department said its modelling suggested 2,000 to 4,000 locations still need to be checked.69 63 Qq 23, 36, 37 (27 March) 64 Q 38 (27 March) 65 ESN0001 66 Qq 39, 44 (27 March) 67 Q 56 (26 April) 68 ESN0001 69 Q 25 (27 March) 14 The Emergency Services Network 2 Ensuring ESN provides value in the longer-term Connecting the different parts of ESN together
21Systems integration poses major ESN risk, with unknown control room system vendors
Recommended (the committee's words)
As with most digital programmes, the various elements of ESN need to work seamlessly together for ESN to work;70 This ‘systems integration’) is one of the main risks the Department needs to manage.71 For example, the push-to-talk technology needs to integrate with handsets for individuals and devices in vehicles and aircraft and the mobile network. Control rooms use an unknown number of other systems that link to Airwave and will therefore need upgrading. The Department does not know how many vendors provide these systems.72
22Department lacks capability for ESN systems integration, seeking external expertise
Recommended (the committee's words)
We queried whether the Department has the capability to manage the systems integration73 given its previous approaches had not worked.74 It agreed that it needs to strengthen its capability. When we asked if it was acquiring people with experience from other complex programmes, it said it was talking to other large programmes such as Crossrail and was looking for new supplier to supplement its skills. Its current contract with Deloitte was due to end and will be replaced in 2023.75
23Department acknowledges suboptimal ESN supplier responsibilities but is constrained to make tweaks
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Department recognised that the split of responsibilities between its ESN suppliers is suboptimal.76 The Independent Assurance Panel told us that the complexity had been increased in 2015, when amended contracts had made the Home Office responsible for systems integration, a task it did not have the skills to do.77 The Department acknowledged that if it looked at ESN through a purely commercial, financial or technical lens, it would not retain its current approach, which it called a ‘recommended’ rather than ‘preferred’ option. It felt that had it been able to start again with a blank sheet of paper it would probably prefer to adopt a prime contractor approach, which would allow it to step back from the systems integration role.78 But it felt constrained by the need to turn off Airwave off as quickly as possible, which meant it could only make ‘tweaks’ to the programme’s commercial structure.79 Running ESN as a live service
24ESN's original cost-saving objectives unlikely; benefits uncertain until 2024 business case
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Department’s original objectives for ESN were to save money and bring mobile data to emergency services.80 It will now take at least 10 years from now for the potential 70 C&AG’s Report, para 2.11 71 Q 60 (27 March) 72 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.26, 2.11 and Figure 1 73 Q 61 (27 March) 74 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.12–2.13, Figure 8 75 Qq 61–63 27 March 76 C&AG’s Report, para 12 77 Q 55 (27 April) 78 Q 60 (27 March) 79 Q 32 (27 March) 80 C&AG’s Report, para 2.30 The Emergency Services Network 15 savings to recoup the total cost of ESN.81 The Department said it would not be certain about costs or benefits until it revised the programme’s business case, which it expected to do in 2024.82
25ESN's expected productivity and cost benefits are unclear; commercial alternatives already adopted
Concluded (the committee's words)
Police were concerned that ESN may not prove any cheaper than commercial alternatives.83 We asked about operational benefits from access to data. The Department acknowledged that it no longer expected ESN to provide any productivity benefits.84 Police explained that almost all forces use mobile data via commercial tablets, laptops and smartphones, and the benefits from ESN enhancing these with priority access to data were not clear.85 The fire service said that its services were also using data and had already realised some of the benefits ESN was originally planned to bring. It also warned that, the longer these commercial services were used, the greater the risk that fire services would not agree to replace them with ESN.86 The ambulance service said that it had needed to redesign systems that were expected to connect to ESN to use commercial mobile connections instead, although it hoped ESN could be introduced in future.87
26ESN programme no longer expects to provide apps essential for key emergency service benefits.
Concluded (the committee's words)
Despite these concerns, all three emergency services did still see a continuing case for ESN. For example, the fire service said that there could be benefits from being able to share drone footage of incidents by ESN providing a common platform for such services. It noted that several reports into national incidents have called for better communication and coordination between the three emergency services.88 The Independent Assurance Panel pointed out that innovations and benefits would only happen after the network was completed, and may require software and an app store.89 However, the ESN programme no longer expects to provide any apps, other than to enable push-to-talk.90
27Department has not decided ESN operational responsibility, pausing live service planning.
Recommended (the committee's words)
The Department has not yet decided who will be responsible for running ESN and has paused work planning the live service operations.91 The fire service said it had seen limited lack information about how this would work, for example, it was not clear whether Home Office would run ESN as happens with Airwave.92 We asked whether the prioritisation of ESN communications over the general public risked a reduced public service during an emergency. The Independent Assurance Panel told us that while prioritisation is not an ‘on/off’ switch, proper network management is needed to ensure the network functions appropriately.93 Avoiding another monopoly supplier
28Department plans non-competitive extension of EE’s ESN contract despite slow infrastructure progress.
Concluded (the committee's words)
In 2015, the Home Office awarded EE a six-year contract to provide the main network infrastructure for ESN. It intended for this contract to be subject to competition in the future, to avoid being locked into a single supplier and to help take advantage of 81 Qq 30, 53–54 (27 March) 82 Q 31 (27 March) 83 Q 10 (26 April) 84 Q 47 (27 March) 85 ESN0001 86 Q 4 (26 April) 87 Q 10 (26 April) 88 Q 11 (26 April) 89 Qq 12, 26 (26 April) 90 C&AG’s Report, para 2.30 91 C&AG’s Report, paras 15, 2.28 92 Q 35 (26 April) 93 Q 15 (26 April) 16 The Emergency Services Network innovations. As part of the 2018 programme reset, the Department extended EE’s contract by three years to December 2024. It currently plans to award EE a new contract, without competition, thereby extending EE’s involvement in ESN. Although EE has made progress on the network infrastructure, its work has proceeded slower than expected and was not complete, with six sites unfinished when the NAO reported in March 2022.94
29Department prefers diverse ESN networks but considers introducing new suppliers too complex currently.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked whether it would have been better to have a consortium of suppliers providing the main network infrastructure, rather than just EE.95 The Department agreed that it would prefer to be able to take advantage of a range of networks, but it felt that introducing other suppliers now would increase complexity.96
30Department aims to prevent EE ESN monopoly by ensuring standards and future competition.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We asked the Department how it would ensure EE did not obtain a monopoly position as Motorola had done with Airwave. The Department said that to avoid being locked into EE, it would ensure all suppliers complied with telecommunication standards. It said it wanted to return to an open market competition once Airwave was shut down and would study what measures it would need to take.97 One of the issues that led to the programme being reset in 2018 was the incompatible assumptions made by EE and Motorola about versions of telecommunications standards.98 The Independent Assurance Panel said that, as well as complying with standards, it was important that the various parts of ESN met emergency services’ needs, in order to avoid creating a service that worked but was seen as ‘clunky’ by those using it.99 94 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.19, 2.7, Figure 6 95 Q 106 (27 March 96 Q 106 (27 March) 97 Q 107 (27 March) 98 Progress delivering the Emergency Services network, Session 2017–2019, HC 2140, para 6 99 Q 57 (26 April) The Emergency Services Network 17
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 2
- 26 Apr 2023Emergency Services Network4 witnesses: Ben Norman, Chris Lucas, Kier Pritchard, Simon Ricketsparliament.uk ↗
- 27 Mar 2023Emergency Services Network4 witnesses: David Kuenssberg, Dr John Black, Simon Parr QPM, Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBEparliament.uk ↗
Who gave evidence 8 witnesses
- Ben NormanDeputy Chief Fire Officer, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
- Chris LucasSenior User, NHS Ambulance Radio Programme
- David KuenssbergDirector General of Corporate Delivery, Home Office
- Dr John BlackProgramme Director, Home Office
- Kier PritchardChief Constable ESN, National Police Chiefs Council
- Simon Parr QPMSRO for ESN, Home Office
- Simon RicketsIndependent Technical Assurance Panel, Home Office
- Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBEPermanent Secretary, Home Office
Correspondence 2 letters
- 24 May 2023Correspondence from Kier Pritchard, Chief Constable, NPCC lead for ESMCP, re update on Emergency Services Mobile Communication Programme (ESMCP), dated 15 May 2023
- 24 May 2023Correspondence from Ben Norman, Deputy Chief Fire Officer NFCC, Strategic Lead for Operational Communications, re Follow up questions raised at the Public Accounts Committee on the Emergency Service Network, dated 26 April 2023