Silver Commander training for designated officers
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: College of Policing, Home Office, Greater Manchester Police
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says in progress (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Home Office and College of Policing should ensure that any police officer whose position carries with it the expectation that they will assume a Tactical/Silver Commander role in the event of a spontaneous Major Incident (e.g. Night Silver in Greater Manchester Police) has undertaken an accredited course preparing them for that role.
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 accredited training for police officers expected to assume tactical commander roles. The Cabinet Office reported in February 2026 that new operational and tactical commanders training had been devised and launched to forces (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). The department stated that this would be underpinned by new command and control approved professional practice (APP), due for launch in 2025, which will designate role accreditation (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, in November 2025, the UK Government recorded that the recommendation was accepted in full (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 in progress · 27 Feb 2026
New operational and tactical commanders training has been devised and launched to forces. This will be underpinned by the new command and control approved professional practice (APP) which is due for launch in 2025 which will designate the accreditation of each role.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
New operational and tactical commanders training has been devised and launched to forces. This will be underpinned by the new command and control approved professional practice (APP) which is due for launch in 2025 which will designate the accreditation of each role.
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.