Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 6 June (HL8104), whether the existing emergency services communications network, Airwave, would operate during a prolonged power outage.

ESMCP is working with representatives from the emergency services to determine which elements of the Emergency Services Network require resilience enhancements in addition to those that have already been delivered. All ESMCP suppliers are required to have business continuity plans in place, and resilience against extended power outages is achieved using a range of technical solutions that include tow to site and fixed generators and batteries.