GM Resilience Forum tri-service plan reviews
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, 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
The Greater Manchester Resilience Forum should oversee, at least every six months, a regular tri-service review of the Major Incident plans used by Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service. The purpose of that review should be to ensure that there is a common understanding by each emergency service of the plans of the other emergency services. It should also ensure that the importance of joint working is embedded within each emergency service.
Manchester Arena Inquiry, Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · 3 Nov 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Inquiry recommended regular six-monthly joint reviews of emergency service major incident plans in Greater Manchester. In an update published in February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that the Manchester Arena task and finish group had closed, with the recommendation delegated to the Greater Manchester blue light working group (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). It noted that the group's terms of reference incorporated the recommendation, the first plan review was underway with the intention to continue every six months, and British Transport Police had also been included (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the UK Government recorded that it 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.
About this summary
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
The Manchester Arena task and finish group has now closed with recommendation 1 delegated to the GM blue light working group (BLWG). Terms of Reference make clear that recommendation 1 is incorporated into the group remit and the first review of major incident plans is currently underway. The intention is for this to continue on a 6-monthly basis. Of note, whilst British Transport Police weren't explicitly mentioned in the recommendation they have been incorporated into the review as a key planning and response blue light partner within the Greater Manchester region.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
The Manchester Arena task and finish group has now closed with recommendation 1 delegated to the GM blue light working group (BLWG). Terms of Reference make clear that recommendation 1 is incorporated into the group remit and the first review of major incident plans is currently underway. The intention is for this to continue on a 6-monthly basis. Of note, whilst British Transport Police weren't explicitly mentioned in the recommendation they have been incorporated into the review as a key planning and response blue light partner within the Greater Manchester region.
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.