Recommendations & Conclusions
30 items
2
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will continue to engage with users to determine how best to support transition activities, acknowledging scope to reduce local costs. The ESN business case is being reviewed to reflect the CMA ruling and new procurements.
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HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and has developed a comprehensive control plan, covering all prototyping, testing, and user transition activities, with durations agreed with users. This plan is currently under user consultation and will be agreed before the end of 2023.
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HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will commission the Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) to monitor, comment on, and assure the integration plans of bidders for the User Services contract, their delivery, and dedicated resources, as well as overall integration with the mobile services contract.
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HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and is actively working to define and implement the ESN operating model, including clarifying supplier roles, updating the Service Integrator definition, developing a new user billing model, and a newly appointed Live Service Manager to complete the overall Programme Operating model.
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HM Treasury
6
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government stated the new EE contract will be open book with a gain share mechanism to protect against excessive profits. It will allow reprocurement of ESN suppliers in two years and confirms the program adheres to international technical standards.
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government describes the ongoing work of the Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) with the programme, noting its continuous assessment, endorsement of strategic direction, and plans for future reports and tasking based on programme progress.
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HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Acknowledged
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee’s observation regarding the risks and challenges of ESN and states it is fully focused on these, with ongoing involvement of the Independent Assurance Panel and progress towards a target completion date of June 2024 for the Lot 2 award.
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HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Not Addressed
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, …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees but responds by detailing current programme progress, the role of the Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) in oversight, and the competitive global market for alternative suppliers, without addressing the specific historical observations or financial estimates.
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HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating the Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) will continue to provide critical assessment and challenge throughout the programme, and international research indicates a wide range of companies will bid to replace Motorola.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Acknowledged
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations, stating that if a CMA decision is upheld, there may be scope to reduce Airwave costs for users, and the department will engage to determine support for transition. However, central financial support is limited, and the ESMCP is …
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Not Addressed
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government's response, which focuses on financial implications of the CMA ruling and business case review, does not address the committee's conclusion regarding the disbanding of emergency services' dedicated ESN teams or the importance of retaining points of contact.
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HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Acknowledged
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's findings on the costs incurred by emergency services due to ESN delays, but states that central financial support is limited. It notes potential future cost reductions for Airwave users if a CMA decision is upheld, and the department will …
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HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Acknowledged
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the funding challenges for the Airwave to ESN transition, stating that future funding decisions are subject to HM Treasury spending reviews and that the ESMCP is reviewing the business case to incorporate CMA ruling impacts, expecting user savings from reduced Airwave costs.
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HM Treasury
14
Recommendation
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Acknowledged
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the implications of the CMA charge control on Airwave, stating it is reviewing the business case to reflect the ruling and engaging with users to support transition activities, but does not explicitly commit to issuing an extension notice or fully costing future …
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HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating the Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) has confirmed other countries are on a similar journey, reinforcing the programme's own international comparative research. The IAP will continue to provide critical assessment.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating that commercial officials and independent experts have reviewed contract terms for value, and the new EE contract will be open-book with a gain-share mechanism. The contract allows for reprocurement of suppliers after two years, and the program follows international technical standards.
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HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's points on emergency services' readiness, confirming that an ESMCP control plan, including user transition and Airwave shutdown activities, has been drafted, consulted with users, and will be agreed by end 2023, with phases agreed with users.
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and has drafted an ESMCP control plan, which includes prototyping and testing, with durations agreed with users. The plan is currently in consultation and will be agreed by end 2023.
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HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and has drafted an outline ESMCP control plan, which includes prototyping and real-world testing, with a target date of end December 2023 for agreement after user consultation. A full Programme Plan and business case will follow in 2024 after a new supplier …
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Not Addressed
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion and states it has drafted an ESMCP control plan outlining main building blocks, dependencies, and testing (including real-world testing). This plan is currently out for user consultation and will be agreed upon by the end of 2023, but …
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HM Treasury
21
Recommendation
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of systems integration, committing to commission the IAP to monitor and assure integration plans of bidders for the User Services contract by July 2024, and to strengthen the Programme Management team with specialists and external experts to address this …
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HM Treasury
22
Recommendation
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the need to strengthen its systems integration capability, committing to commission the IAP to monitor and assure integration plans by July 2024, and to continue strengthening the Programme Management team by recruiting specialists and partnering with external experts, including through the …
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Acknowledged
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations regarding the suboptimal split of responsibilities, stating it has focused on addressing integration complexity. It will commission the IAP to monitor integration plans for the User Services contract and is strengthening its Programme Management team with specialist recruitment …
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HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation, confirming that the ESMCP is reviewing the business case to reflect the CMA ruling and new supplier procurement, with a target implementation date of December 2023.
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HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Not Addressed
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government's response, which is identical to a response for another recommendation, does not address the committee's specific observations regarding concerns about ESN's cost, lack of productivity benefits, or the risk of emergency services not adopting it due to existing commercial alternatives.
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HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Not Addressed
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the need for clear responsibilities and plans for operating ESN when live, detailing that current contracts define the service model, the User Services supplier will act as Service Integrator, and a new billing model is developed. However, the response does not …
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HM Treasury
27
Recommendation
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the need for clear responsibilities and plans for ESN live operations, committing to define and implement the overall Programme Operating model by March 2024, including establishing a User Services supplier as the Service Integrator and a new billing model.
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HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating that the new contract with EE will be awarded on an open book basis with a gain share mechanism. Crucially, the contract will be structured to allow for reprocurement of all ESN suppliers around two years after …
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HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's point on supplier diversity and commits to structuring the new EE contract with open book and gain share mechanisms, and enabling reprocurement of all ESN suppliers around two years post-programme completion to allow for future commercial competition.
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HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Ser…
Accepted
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 …
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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
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will implement an open-book contract with EE including a gain-share mechanism and allowing for reprocurement of all ESN suppliers in about two years post-completion. The programme will also adhere to international technical standards.
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HM Treasury