Recommendation MAI-5: Major Incident training for North West Fire Control staff
From Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response, published 3 November 2022.
Recommendation
All North West Fire Control staff should be trained on the best practices for responding to a Major Incident, as identified through its participation in exercises. North West Fire Control should ensure that learning is kept under review.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended that all North West Fire Control staff receive major incident training. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that major incident training and awareness for control room staff was "progressing well", with many services routinely incorporating control staff into training plans and response exercises (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). The update refers to control room services generally, while North West Fire Control specifically and keeping learning under review are not mentioned in the sources (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the UK Government accepted the recommendation in full in November 2025 (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. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Accepted in full
Delivery
Cabinet Office says in progress (27 February 2026)
Training and awareness around major incidents for Control Room staff is widely reported as progressing well. Many services have incorporated Control staff routinely into training plans, for example exercising and testing response to a fire in a tall building or an MTA incident where high demand and volume of 999 calls are being received.
Earlier statement on delivery (1)
Cabinet Office (14 November 2025)
Training and awareness around major incidents for Control Room staff is widely reported as progressing well. Many services have incorporated Control staff routinely into training plans, for example exercising and testing response to a fire in a tall building or an MTA incident where high demand and volume of 999 calls are being received.
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
Published evidence
Published findings referenced by inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether the finding is independent or government self-reported. Each finding is this site's summary of what the source found, with a link to the source; this site does not add its own progress rating.
Summary by this site of the published finding
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.
Source
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response - Cabinet Office
Delivery statement