Independent inspection regime for LRFs
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: Home Office, Cabinet Office, Local Resilience Forums
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Local resilience forums have a vital role in the preparation for the response to any Major Incident. The Cabinet Office and the Home Office should consider implementing an independent inspection regime for local resilience forums.
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:
- MHCLG is working on proposals for a new peer review protocol for local resilience forums, which it hopes to begin testing later in 2025/26 (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 MHCLG is working on proposals for a new peer review protocol for local resilience forums, which we hope to begin testing later in 2025/26. Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 MHCLG is working on proposals for a new peer review protocol for local resilience forums, which we hope to begin testing later in 2025/26. 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.