Recommendation MAI-82: Allocate best-trained operators to Major Incident roles
From Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response, published 3 November 2022.
Recommendation
North West Fire Control should review how it allocates the best-trained and most suitable Control Room Operators to roles during a Major Incident. It should consider whether it is beneficial to allocate a Control Room Operator to monitor communications on a multi-agency control room talk group and another Control Room Operator as the specific point of contact for the fire and rescue service. Both roles could be supervised by a Team Leader.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended that North West Fire Control review operator allocations during major incidents. In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that "steady progress is being made" but noted this was largely influenced by different operational and resourcing models across control rooms (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). The update did not mention the suggested roles for monitoring multi-agency communications or acting as fire service contact points (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, 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 in progress (27 February 2026)
Steady progress is being made but this is largely influenced by the different operational and resourcing models of Control Rooms around the country.
Earlier statement on delivery (1)
Cabinet Office (14 November 2025)
Steady progress is being made but this is largely influenced by the different operational and resourcing models of Control Rooms around the country.
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
Published evidence
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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