Tory MP questions Home Office on delays to Emergency Services Network
On 23 October 2019 the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee heard evidence from Home Secretary Priti Patel and senior Home Office officials on the work of her Department.
Conservative MP Douglas Ross asked a non-Brexit related question about the Emergency Services Network.
Following text is from the National Audit Office report 'Progress delivering the Emergency Services Network', published May, 2019.
The Emergency Services Network (ESN) is the government's chosen option to replace the Airwave system, which 107 police, fire and ambulance services in England, Scotland and Wales (the emergency services) use for communications between control rooms and the field.
The Home Office previously expected that emergency services would start using ESN in September 2017, allowing Airwave to be replaced in December 2019. The National Audit Office reported on ESN in September 2016 and concluded that the Home Office was underrating the risks to delivering ESN successfully. By 2017, the Home Office realised that its plan for delivering ESN was not achievable.
In September 2018, the Home Office announced a ‘reset’ of its approach, based on a phased introduction of ESN services, rather than launching the whole programme at once.
• Progress delivering the Emergency Services...
https://www.nao.org.uk/report/progres...