Review NWAS Tactical Advisor rostering coverage
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says completed (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
North West Ambulance Service should review how it rosters Tactical Advisors and National Interagency Liaison Officers so as to ensure that there is adequate geographical coverage enabling those on duty to arrive promptly at the scene of any Major Incident.
Manchester Arena Inquiry, Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · 3 Nov 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Inquiry asked for a review of ambulance tactical advisor rostering and coverage. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that investment by North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) will increase its National Interagency Liaison Officers (NILOs) from 12 to 21, ensuring three are on call to improve geographical coverage (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). It noted that the trust removed the title Tactical Advisors in October 2023, with liaison officers providing the role following discussions with the National Ambulance Resilience Unit (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the UK Government accepted the recommendation in full in November 2025 (Cabinet Office response, Nov 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Accepted · 14 Nov 2025
Accepted in full
Response document: Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations (GOV.UK page linking to the Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard)
Delivery
●Cabinet Office says completed · 27 Feb 2026
Investment by North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) will increase the number of National Interagency Liaison Officers (NILOs) from 12 to 21. This will see an increase to the rota and geographical coverage so that there will be 3 NILOs on call at any one time. As of 01/10/2023 NWAS has removed the title Tactical Advisors. The NWAS NILO provides the Tactical Advisor role. This decision was taken following dialogue with the National Ambulance Resilience Unit and received NWAS Executive approval.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
Investment by North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) will increase the number of National Interagency Liaison Officers (NILOs) from 12 to 21. This will see an increase to the rota and geographical coverage so that there will be 3 NILOs on call at any one time. As of 01/10/2023 NWAS has removed the title Tactical Advisors. The NWAS NILO provides the Tactical Advisor role. This decision was taken following dialogue with the National Ambulance Resilience Unit and received NWAS Executive approval.
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
Published evidence
●JESIP · 1 Apr 2024
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.
JESIP Joint Doctrine Version 3.1, April 2024View source →
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.