MAI-141 Accepted

Nationally agreed format for all emergency plans

Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: College of Policing, Fire Service College, National Ambulance Resilience Unit, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, Home Office, JESIP

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

Inquiry recommendation

The Home Office, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, the College of Policing, the Fire Service College, the National Ambulance Resilience Unity, individual police services and JESIP should develop a nationally agreed format for all plans, placing JESIP at their centre.

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 Government's implementation dashboard records this recommendation as accepted in full with delivery status "In progress" (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
- The JESIP Transformation Team is continuing work on a nationally agreed format for emergency plans throughout 2025, with ongoing consultation (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 This continues to be an area of work that the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Protocol (JESIP) Transformation Team takes forward throughout 2025. Ongoing consultation around the the national plans and their format for agreement continues. Source →
  • 14 Nov 2025 This continues to be an area of work that the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Protocol (JESIP) Transformation Team takes forward throughout 2025. Ongoing consultation around the the national plans and their format for agreement continues. 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.