Strategic Co-ordinating Group within two hours
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: Home Office
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says completed (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Home Office should consider the introduction of a national standard requiring a meeting of the Strategic Co-ordinating Group to take place no more than two hours after the declaration of a Major Incident where more than one emergency service is engaged in the response to that 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 the Home Office to consider requiring Strategic Co-ordinating Groups within two hours. In an update published by the Cabinet Office in February 2026, the department stated that revised Civil Contingencies approved professional practice (APP) was launched to police forces in April 2024 (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). It noted that the work strand was complete for submission to National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) governance in December 2024, but the update did not mention a two-hour meeting standard (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the UK Government recorded in November 2025 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.
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
Revised Civil contingencies Guidance - The requirement for revising this approved professional practice (APP) was agreed upon in 2022. This review is now complete, and the updated guidance was launched to forces in April 2024. As the new Command and Control approved professional practice (APP) (recommendation 58) continues to be developed, this may result in further updates to the Civil Contingencies guidance to ensure both are aligned. This work strand is now complete and will be submitted for closure via NPCC governance in December 2024.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
Revised Civil contingencies Guidance - The requirement for revising this approved professional practice (APP) was agreed upon in 2022. This review is now complete, and the updated guidance was launched to forces in April 2024. As the new Command and Control approved professional practice (APP) (recommendation 58) continues to be developed, this may result in further updates to the Civil Contingencies guidance to ensure both are aligned. This work strand is now complete and will be submitted for closure via NPCC governance in December 2024.
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.