Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much additional technology funding will be made available in the next Spending Review for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP); how much the overspend is on that programme to date; how many deadlines that programme has missed to date; what plans she has made to ensure confidence in the delivery of the ESMCP; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the delay of the delivery of the ESMCP on public services.

The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) is replacing the current Airwave radio system, used by the emergency services, with the Emergency Services Network which runs over the commercial EE network with priority and pre-emption for emergency service users.

The Spending Review is ongoing and it would be wrong to prejudge the outcome.

Programme costs are separated into 3 categories; first the cost of building and rolling out the new ESN system; second costs borne locally by users for things like devices and accessories that they’ll need to use the ESN, and; third the cost to maintain Airwave until ESN has been adopted by all users and Airwave can be switched off. The costs for maintaining Airwave are by far the most significant and, subject to commercial negotiation, the annual cost of extending Airwave beyond the current contract end date of December 2022, is likely to be in excess of £450m per annum, taking into account local Airwave costs.

The programme set itself an original target of transitioning all users from the current Airwave system onto the ESN and switching Airwave off by December 2019. We are now targeting an Airwave switch off date no later than 2025. The investment case for the programme remains positive even with this later Airwave switch off timescale.

Both during and since the programme reset in 2018, it has undergone extensive assurance both internally within the department and externally through Cabinet Office and HMT. The programme has also been scrutinised by the National Audit Office and Parliament (Public Accounts Committee and Home Affairs Select Committee). An Independent Assurance Panel chaired by a Non-Executive Director from HMRC and made up of several industry experts also regularly assures the programme and provides advice to the Permanent Secretary and Ministers. I, (Home Secretary) receive regular updates on the programme.

The Department remains committed to completing delivery of the ESN and switching off Airwave as quickly as possible. We stand by our commitment to the Emergency Services that we will only transition from Airwave to ESN when it is operationally safe to do so. In the meantime, Airwave continues to provide a resilient service.