Sufficient resources for operational planning
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: College of Policing, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, Home Office, Police Services
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, the College of Policing and the Home Office should work together to put in place robust systems, policies and guidance to ensure that all police services have sufficient resources dedicated to the development of operational and contingency plans, particularly for responding to Major Incidents, including terrorist attacks.
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:
- The new Command and Control approved professional practice is in the latter stages of development, with ambition to publish for public consultation in Spring and launch to forces in Summer 2025 (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 Whilst each individual police service is operationally responsible for ensuring they have sufficient resource to deliver against this recommendation, this new approved professional practice (APP) is aimed at providing further support to police services. This guidance is now in the latter stages of development, with the ambition to publish for public consultation in Spring and launch to forces Summer 2025. The ambition is that this guidance will align to updated Civil Contingencies approved professional practice (APP) (recommendation 72) and underpin the new Force Incident Manager and Operational and Tactical Commander training alongside Controller and NILO. Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 Whilst each individual police service is operationally responsible for ensuring they have sufficient resource to deliver against this recommendation, this new approved professional practice (APP) is aimed at providing further support to police services. This guidance is now in the latter stages of development, with the ambition to publish for public consultation in Spring and launch to forces Summer 2025. The ambition is that this guidance will align to updated Civil Contingencies approved professional practice (APP) (recommendation 72) and underpin the new Force Incident Manager and Operational and Tactical Commander training alongside Controller and NILO. 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.