New radio system for emergency services failed to consider risks – MPs

A new radio system for emergency services is facing delays after calls were made for additional testing and assurance work.

ESN will be used by the 105 police, fire and ambulance services in Great Britain. Through an enhanced 4G mobile network it promises extensive coverage, high resilience, appropriate security and public safety functionality.

But the Public Accounts Committee said the current delivery date of December 2019 does not allow for further testing of the ESN, which will replace the current Airwave system.

There are concerns over the technology, including how well it operates on the underground system.

The Committee warned that the Home Office has not budgeted for an extended transition period and has not put in place detailed contingency arrangements to manage the risk.

The current Airwave contracts expire in December 2019 and the only contingency if ESN is not functional by then is to extend the existing contracts, which would cost an estimated £475m for a year’s delay nationwide.

Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “It is absolutely right that emergency services will not commit to using ESN in potentially life-or-death situations until they are convinced it works.

“Questions continue to hang over the technology, not least how it will operate on underground rail systems in London and elsewhere – high-risk environments that present unique challenges in emergencies. These must be addressed urgently.

“It is encouraging that the head of the ESN programme has remained in post since 2011, providing a degree of stability absent from some high-profile projects our committee has examined.

“However, we are disappointed that detailed contingency plans have not been budgeted for or drawn up in the event that, as now seems likely, implementation over-runs.

“It is critical for public safety and achieving value for money that the Government has a firm grasp of the implications of delays in its timetable and a costed plan to tackle them.”

Grant Wordsworth, CQP MCQI, quality manager at Affinity Water, told QW: “The potential to reuse the commercial 4G bandwidth presented an ambitious opportunity to meet the future communication needs of the emergency services.

“However, the National Audit Office and the Home Office have identified a few flaws in the plan around the level of national coverage by the network provider, the software, the functionality and the lack of devices that will apparently work in this brave new world.

“From my view point, there is more than a hint of poor quality in the planning for the project delivery programme, which appears to have placed a reliance on the NAO to pass or fail the scheme. 

“I have little doubt that a costly extension to the current Airwave contract will be seriously considered, if not granted, but with a hope that future contracts will contain suitable plans and exit terms.”