Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Not Addressed
ESN coverage remains key concern, particularly building penetration compared to Airwave
Conclusion
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
Government Response 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 the response does not specifically address how building penetration issues or the 2,000-4,000 locations needing checks will be resolved.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end December 2023 3.2 The department has drafted an outline plan, the ESMCP control plan. 3.3 The control plan shows the main building blocks, dependencies and sequencing, and includes elapsed time contingency. The control plan includes all elements of prototyping, and testing (including real-world testing), as well as the activities leading to user transition and Airwave shutdown. The durations of all phases that affect users (for example, formal ‘service acceptance’ and transition from Airwave) have been agreed with users. The control plan is now out for consultation with users, and it will be agreed before the end of 2023. The control plan will be turned into a full Programme Plan after the new User Services supplier is confirmed, and their delivery plan is known. In 2024, the programme will return to the Major Projects Review group with a business case, budget and clear plan, prior to the award of the User Services contract.