Compel LRF attendance from Category 1 and 2 responders
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, Home Office, Local Resilience Forums, Fire and Rescue Services
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Home Office should consider empowering the leadership of local resilience forums to compel the attendance of a senior representative of its Category 1 and Category 2 responders at all local resilience forum meetings. Inspections by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services should include an analysis of a service's engagement with its local resilience forum or forums. Consideration should be given to putting this on a statutory footing.
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 dashboard notes that the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and 2005 Regulations already require Category 1 and 2 responders to attend LRF meetings or be effectively represented (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
- The 2022 Post-Implementation Review considered broadening Category 2 duties but changes were not supported by evidence; Cabinet Office continues to keep legislation under review (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
- MHCLG is working with inspection agencies to develop new approaches to LRF assurance, and will explore HMICFRS assessment of police engagement with LRFs (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 The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) Regulations (2005) (Cabinet Office) set out requirements for the attendance of both Category 1 and 2 responders at meetings including the Local Resilience Forum. For example, the 2005 regulations require relevant Category 1 responders to hold LRF meetings to which the chief officer of each relevant general Category 1 responder and each relevant general Category 2 responder is invited, at least once every six months (known as the “Chief Officers Group”). Category 1 and 2 responders (if invited) must, so far as reasonably practicable, attend meetings of the Chief Officers Group or be effectively represented by another responder there. More broadly, under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the 2005 Regulations, Category 1 and 2 responders each have statutory duties to co-operate and to share information in the context of emergency preparedness. In practice, this generally results in regular participation in LRF and other meetings. The 2022 Post-Implementation Review (PIR) of the CCA considered the LRF participation, including broadening the duties on Category 2 responders; changes were not supported by the evidence gathered in consultation. However, the Cabinet Office continues to keep the legislation under review and will consider any future changes as appropriate, including considerations of the findings of the DLUHC-led Strengthening LRFs pilot. As part of the Government’s ambition to strengthen Local Resilience Forums as laid out in UK Government Resilience Framework , DLUHC is working with other government departments and inspection agencies to develop new approaches to the assurance of Local Resilience Forums. HMICFRS are independent of Government. They set their inspection frameworks and programme independently of us, and in consultation with the sector. Their current fire inspection framework already includes an examination of Fire and Rescue Services’ engagement with LRFs. However, the existing frameworks for police inspections do not examine how police forces engage with LRFs. There are a number of levers we can use to influence HMICFRS’ inspection programmes. Through upcoming consultations on HMICFRS’ frameworks and inspection programmes, we will explore the possibility of HMICFRS carrying out some assessment of police forces’ engagement with LRFs. We will also continue to work with HMICFRS to explore the way fire inspections examine FRS’ engagement with LRFs further in any future iterations of the fire inspection framework. Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) Regulations (2005) (Cabinet Office) set out requirements for the attendance of both Category 1 and 2 responders at meetings including the Local Resilience Forum. For example, the 2005 regulations require relevant Category 1 responders to hold LRF meetings to which the chief officer of each relevant general Category 1 responder and each relevant general Category 2 responder is invited, at least once every six months (known as the “Chief Officers Group”). Category 1 and 2 responders (if invited) must, so far as reasonably practicable, attend meetings of the Chief Officers Group or be effectively represented by another responder there. More broadly, under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the 2005 Regulations, Category 1 and 2 responders each have statutory duties to co-operate and to share information in the context of emergency preparedness. In practice, this generally results in regular participation in LRF and other meetings. The 2022 Post-Implementation Review (PIR) of the CCA considered the LRF participation, including broadening the duties on Category 2 responders; changes were not supported by the evidence gathered in consultation. However, the Cabinet Office continues to keep the legislation under review and will consider any future changes as appropriate, including considerations of the findings of the DLUHC-led Strengthening LRFs pilot. As part of the Government’s ambition to strengthen Local Resilience Forums as laid out in UK Government Resilience Framework , DLUHC is working with other government departments and inspection agencies to develop new approaches to the assurance of Local Resilience Forums. HMICFRS are independent of Government. They set their inspection frameworks and programme independently of us, and in consultation with the sector. Their current fire inspection framework already includes an examination of Fire and Rescue Services’ engagement with LRFs. However, the existing frameworks for police inspections do not examine how police forces engage with LRFs. There are a number of levers we can use to influence HMICFRS’ inspection programmes. Through upcoming consultations on HMICFRS’ frameworks and inspection programmes, we will explore the possibility of HMICFRS carrying out some assessment of police forces’ engagement with LRFs. We will also continue to work with HMICFRS to explore the way fire inspections examine FRS’ engagement with LRFs further in any future iterations of the fire inspection framework. 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
- 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.