Regular expert review of GMP Major Incident plans
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: Greater Manchester Police
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Greater Manchester Police should ensure that its plans for responding to a Major Incident, including a terrorist incident, are reviewed regularly by those with the appropriate skills and experience to make meaningful improvements to each plan. This must include a regular review of the Operation Plato plan, which must include obtaining the views of those with experience of firearms policing and of performing the role of Force Duty Officer.
Manchester Arena Inquiry, Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · 3 Nov 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- Greater Manchester Police stated that the Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit, with updates made in consultation with subject matter experts at a quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
- The GMP Operation Plato plan is managed separately by the Firearms Policy and Governance Unit with quarterly operational meetings (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The Home Secretary made a written statement to Parliament on 3 November 2022 following publication of Volume 2, acknowledging the findings on emergency response failures and stating the government would work with emergency services to implement improvements. The response committed to reviewing interoperability arrangements between emergency services and strengthening joint training and exercising protocols for major incidents.
UK Government · 3 Nov 2022 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 27 Feb 2026 The Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit who have relevant training and experience. Any updates or changes are made in consultation with Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group. The GMP Operation Plato Marauding Terrorist Overall Plan is managed by a separate specialist team, the Firearms Policy, and Governance Unit who have relevant training and experience. GMP employs a similar approach to updates and changes to the Plato Plan as these are considered by Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Operation Plato Operational Meeting. Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 The Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit who have relevant training and experience. Any updates or changes are made in consultation with Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group. The GMP Operation Plato Marauding Terrorist Overall Plan is managed by a separate specialist team, the Firearms Policy, and Governance Unit who have relevant training and experience. GMP employs a similar approach to updates and changes to the Plato Plan as these are considered by Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Operation Plato Operational Meeting. Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 · Cabinet Office Government published formal Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations dashboard on GOV.UK (14 November 2025) tracking all 149 recommendations with implementation progress updates. View source → Reasonable Progress
- 3 Apr 2025 · UK Parliament Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent 3 April 2025. Creates two tiers: Standard Duty (200-799 capacity) and Enhanced Duty (800+). SIA will be regulator. Not yet in force -- at least 24 months before enforcement (expected April 2027). View source → Reasonable Progress
- 1 Apr 2024 · JESIP JESIP Joint Doctrine updated to v3.1 (April 2024) following inquiry findings on interoperability failures. Operation Plato reformed to cover all terrorist attack types, not just firearms. Emphasis extended beyond command-level to frontline responders. View source → Good Progress
- 5 Jun 2023 · National Police Chiefs Council NPCC, Counter Terrorism Policing and College of Policing provided comprehensive updates to Sir John Saunders demonstrating "continued drive to improve collective response to terrorist incidents." View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.