Theresa May’s plans to launch a new communication network for emergency services which will cost £3.1 billion more than expected and will be three years late due to Home Office failings.
According to the National Audit Office (NAO), the emergency services network which is to replace the existing system will cost £9.3 billion and will not be service until after 2022. A report concluded that the 49% increase in the cost to the taxpayer is the fault of the Home Office’s management. Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said the Home Office must come up with a comprehensive plan to introduce the new system, which is critical to the police, ambulance and fire services.
The Emergency Service Network (ESN) would replace the Airwave which was introduced in 2000. Airwave is used by all 107 police, fire and ambulance services in England, Scotland and Wales. Airwave links control room to response teams as well as to 363 other bodies such as local authorities and train companies. According to the Home Office, ESN will transform what is currently available.
The NAO report said: “There are still significant risks and, based on past performance, it seems unlikely that ESN can be delivered by the target date of 2022.”
Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “The Emergency Services Network is to be used by police, firefighters and ambulance crews for the communications they need to do their life-saving jobs.
“The Home Office must take an urgent and honest examination of its ability to deliver to its new schedule for this critical project.”
A spokeswoman for the Home Office said that ESN would transform the response times of emergency services, meaning faster treatment for people in need while saving £200m a year.
ESN is jointly funded by the Home Office, Department of Health & Social Care, the Scottish and Welsh Governments, and by the emergency services.
In the report, it said: ” The Home Office considered that the only options available were to reset ESN or cancel it and continue to use the more costly Airwave. It decided to extend Airwave by three years to December 2022, with the option to extend further, and has addressed some fundamental issues, including adopting an incremental delivery approach, replacing a key piece of technology, and restructuring commercial relationships. But the Home Office did not evaluate other options, because such changes would require an even longer extension of Airwave. The Home Office estimates that the total cost of providing Airwave is £1.7 million per day whereas a completed ESN would cost £0.7 million per day”
