Recommendation MAI-92: Emergency service hotline to Force Duty Officer
From Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response, published 3 November 2022.
Recommendation
The College of Policing and Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters should take steps to ensure that each police service establishes a hotline that enables those within the command structure of the three emergency services to make contact with the Force Duty Officer in the event of a declaration of Operation Plato.
In brief (written by this site)
In February 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that work on the recommendation remained in progress, explaining that a third version of the Joint Operating Principles had been produced and signed off across the emergency services to incorporate inquiry learning (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Previously, the UK Government accepted the recommendation in full in November 2025, when the department first recorded that progress update (Cabinet Office response, Nov 2025; Cabinet Office, Nov 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Accepted in full
Delivery
Cabinet Office says in progress (27 February 2026)
Following the publication of the report the Joint Operating Principles known as ''JOPs'' Version 3 has been produced and signed off by the tri-services. This document contains additional principles, which can be applied when responding to a Marauding Terrorist Attack. These Joint Operating Principles (JOPs) have been developed from the operational experience of the three services, as well as learning taken from attacks, exercises and wider national learning. The JOP's covers the following areas:- IDENTIFICATION, MOBILISATION, COMMUNICATION, SCENE ASSESSMENT, SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND JOINT UNDERSTANDING OF RISK, CASUALTY MANAGEMENT, FIRE AND HAZARDS MANAGEMENT, DE-BRIEFING AND LESSONS IDENTIFIED This was a large piece of work which captured a number of recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry. The JOPS is reviewed on an annual basis to determine its value, additional learning and to ensure it is still relevant.
Earlier statement on delivery (1)
Cabinet Office (14 November 2025)
Following the publication of the report the Joint Operating Principles known as ''JOPs'' Version 3 has been produced and signed off by the tri-services. This document contains additional principles, which can be applied when responding to a Marauding Terrorist Attack. These Joint Operating Principles (JOPs) have been developed from the operational experience of the three services, as well as learning taken from attacks, exercises and wider national learning. The JOP's covers the following areas:- IDENTIFICATION, MOBILISATION, COMMUNICATION, SCENE ASSESSMENT, SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND JOINT UNDERSTANDING OF RISK, CASUALTY MANAGEMENT, FIRE AND HAZARDS MANAGEMENT, DE-BRIEFING AND LESSONS IDENTIFIED This was a large piece of work which captured a number of recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry. The JOPS is reviewed on an annual basis to determine its value, additional learning and to ensure it is still relevant.
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response - Cabinet Office
Delivery statement