Sixty-Fourth Report - The Emergency Services Network
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 1006
14 July 2023
Government Response (AI assessment · 30 of 30 classified)
Accepted
19
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixty-fourth report from Session 2022-23 · published 24 Sep 2023
Recommendations & Conclusions
6 results
7
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Home Office admits significant risks and challenges remain for ESN programme
Conclusion
The Department said it was not being complacent, but acknowledged that even with the best team and governance arrangements it could assemble there was both considerable risk and a lot of work to do before ESN would be ready.16 Nevertheless, …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee’s observation regarding the risks and challenges of ESN and states it is fully focused on these, with ongoing involvement of the Independent Assurance Panel and progress towards a target completion date of June 2024 for the Lot 2 award.
HM Treasury
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10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
ESN delays create additional Airwave costs and uncertainty for emergency services
Conclusion
The emergency services contribute, alongside funding from the Department, the Department of Health & Social Care and the Scottish and Welsh governments, to the cost of ESN. Delays to ESN meant the Department itself has spent less than it expected …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations, stating that if a CMA decision is upheld, there may be scope to reduce Airwave costs for users, and the department will engage to determine support for transition. However, central financial support is limited, and the ESMCP is reviewing the business case to reflect the CMA ruling and new suppliers.
HM Treasury
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12
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Emergency services incurred significant costs, exceeding £140 million, from ESN programme delays
Conclusion
We asked the emergency services if they could quantify how much delays to ESN had cost them. The ambulance service interacts with ESN through the Ambulance Radio Programme (ARP) on which it had spent £9.5 million.34 The fire service said …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's findings on the costs incurred by emergency services due to ESN delays, but states that central financial support is limited. It notes potential future cost reductions for Airwave users if a CMA decision is upheld, and the department will engage with users for transition activities.
HM Treasury
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13
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Uncertainty surrounding ESN transition funding could lead to cuts elsewhere
Conclusion
We asked the Department how the transition from Airwave to ESN would be funded. It said it would work with users to make transition affordable, but the only way to do this was through usual ‘fiscal events’.37 Although it said …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the funding challenges for the Airwave to ESN transition, stating that future funding decisions are subject to HM Treasury spending reviews and that the ESMCP is reviewing the business case to incorporate CMA ruling impacts, expecting user savings from reduced Airwave costs.
HM Treasury
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14
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Airwave extension requires uncosted investment in infrastructure and agreement with Motorola
Recommendation
The CMA has proposed a charge control on Airwave which, once implemented, will make Airwave cheaper for the Department and emergency services.41 The Department considers that it can extend Airwave without creating a gap in service and without any negotiation …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the implications of the CMA charge control on Airwave, stating it is reviewing the business case to reflect the ruling and engaging with users to support transition activities, but does not explicitly commit to issuing an extension notice or fully costing future Airwave investment needs.
HM Treasury
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23
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Department acknowledges suboptimal ESN supplier responsibilities but is constrained to make tweaks
Conclusion
The Department recognised that the split of responsibilities between its ESN suppliers is suboptimal.76 The Independent Assurance Panel told us that the complexity had been increased in 2015, when amended contracts had made the Home Office responsible for systems integration, …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations regarding the suboptimal split of responsibilities, stating it has focused on addressing integration complexity. It will commission the IAP to monitor integration plans for the User Services contract and is strengthening its Programme Management team with specialist recruitment and external technical expertise.
HM Treasury
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