Recommendation MAI-41: Include NWAS capabilities in GMP Major Incident Plan
From Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response, published 3 November 2022.
Recommendation
Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Plan should be reviewed to ensure that it includes clear guidance on the capabilities of North West Ambulance Service, including its Hazardous Area Response Team, Ambulance Intervention Team and Special Operations Response Team, as well as on the importance of joint working.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended that Greater Manchester Police include ambulance capabilities in its major incident plan. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that the force's plan includes a section on Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) capabilities written by the service and reviewed with the Greater Manchester Blue Light Working Group, though North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), its specialist teams, and joint working are not mentioned in the sources (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). In November 2025, the UK Government accepted the recommendation 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. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Accepted in full
Delivery
Cabinet Office says completed (27 February 2026)
GMP's Major Incident Plan has a section on the capabilities of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and this includes details of its specialist assets such as the Specialist Response Team. This section was written by GMFRS and has been reviewed by them and the Greater Manchester Blue Light Working Group in advance of the publication of the next version of the Major Incident Plan. This section contains relevant details for both Commanders and Responders
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard
Site note: The dashboard gives this recommendation the same progress text, word for word, as recommendation 40, which asks for guidance in Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Plan on the capabilities of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. This recommendation asks for the same guidance on the capabilities of North West Ambulance Service, which the text does not mention. The dashboard marks it Completed. The words are shown as the dashboard publishes them.
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