Dave Webb, CFO Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Darryl Keen, ACFO Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, will provide a verbal update on the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme.

Dave Webb, CFO Leicestershire, and Darryl Keen, ACFO, Hertfordshire introduced the presentation and explained that this was the largest cross service work ongoing anywhere. Members were informed that the airwave provision worked across all emergency services and was controlled by contracts owned by the Government which were due to expire between 2016 and 2020.

The Emergency Services Network proposed would be used by all emergency services and would be more flexible than the current system. The advantage of this system was that FRA’s could ask for the service to provide for what it required, which would be more affordable in the long term. It was not economically viable to change the use of airwaves; therefore the best option was to transfer the existing system on to a more updated platform.

The timetable to achieve the transition was optimistic and it was agreed that a transitional programme was put in place to counter any slipping in the timetable.

Darryl Keen informed Members that although the fire service only made up 5% of the total order they were being treated as an equal partner in the process. The programme encompassed four key areas, namely Delivery Partner, User Services, Mobile Services and Extension Services. The programme ensured that the cost of this programme was less than a commercial alternative.

Members were informed that the cost implications for the fire sector was being discussed and views of the fire service were being fed into discussion at the main sounding board. The funding and finance group had oversight of everything that had gone in and out of the finance group.

Members welcomed the report and raised a number of questions to which Dave Webb responded including:

·         Mobile phones were not an option, this was because mobile networks crashed and some areas of the country still did not have a mobile network signal. It was important to remember that the airwaves used by the emergency services were much stronger and more robust than mobile networks.

·         It was hoped that each authority would be asked if the service works for them and to ensure any add-ons were done quickly, thus avoiding costs getting out of control.

·         Everything will be done to ensure that the service is fully operational as soon as possible. This had been identified as a key risk, although there was no set solution if the timings slipped.

Decision:

Members noted the presentation and thanked Dave Webb and Darryl Keen for their time.