Recommendation MAI-36: Regular expert review of GMP Major Incident plans
From Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response, published 3 November 2022.
Recommendation
Greater Manchester Police should ensure that its plans for responding to a Major Incident, including a terrorist incident, are reviewed regularly by those with the appropriate skills and experience to make meaningful improvements to each plan. This must include a regular review of the Operation Plato plan, which must include obtaining the views of those with experience of firearms policing and of performing the role of Force Duty Officer.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended that Greater Manchester Police regularly review its major incident plans. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that the force manages its major incident plan through a specialist team, with updates reviewed quarterly by subject matter experts (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). The department stated that the force also reviews its Operation Plato plan quarterly alongside a firearms governance unit, though obtaining views from Force Duty Officers was not mentioned (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Previously, 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 completed (27 February 2026)
The Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit who have relevant training and experience. Any updates or changes are made in consultation with Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group. The GMP Operation Plato Marauding Terrorist Overall Plan is managed by a separate specialist team, the Firearms Policy, and Governance Unit who have relevant training and experience. GMP employs a similar approach to updates and changes to the Plato Plan as these are considered by Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Operation Plato Operational Meeting.
Earlier statement on delivery (1)
Cabinet Office (14 November 2025)
The Major Incident Plan is managed by a specialist team within the Civil Contingencies and Resilience Unit who have relevant training and experience. Any updates or changes are made in consultation with Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Major Incident Plan Review Group. The GMP Operation Plato Marauding Terrorist Overall Plan is managed by a separate specialist team, the Firearms Policy, and Governance Unit who have relevant training and experience. GMP employs a similar approach to updates and changes to the Plato Plan as these are considered by Subject Matter Experts who attend the quarterly Operation Plato Operational Meeting.
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
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response - Cabinet Office
Delivery statement