A bungled upgrade of the UK police radio network has forced emergency services to spend more than £170m on outdated equipment, MPs said. warned.
In a report released today, the Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Department of the Interior's failure to put in place a new blue light communications network put emergency services in a financial position.
The government has targeted plans to set up a new emergency services network (ESN) in 2015 and expected to shut down the current system, dubbed Airwave, in 2019.
But the transition, which cost the taxpayer £2bn, has been plagued by lengthy delays, and now it is not expected until 2026 at the earliest.
The fourth investigation into the failed project by the Cost Control Service found that emergency services incurred huge costs after being forced to purchase additional Airwave devices due to delays.
Police estimate from 2018 they have spent £125m on new radios and expect to shell out another £25m by 2026. An additional £5m has been spent on transitional teams.
Interim costs for the ambulance service were £9.5m, while the fire department said it spent £6m on the transition, as well as £2m on early ESNs that have since had to be replaced.< /p>
The report warns that further costs are inevitable as existing radios will become obsolete in 2028 and may need to be replaced again before the new system is ready.
The deputies accused the Interior Ministry of complacency and expressed optimism that the project was “disconnected from the reality of its work to date and the challenges ahead.” jpg” /> Airwave radios were originally expected to be retired by 2019. According to the latest forecasts, this will happen no earlier than 2026. Ian Nicholson/PA Wire
They added that the departure of questionable supplier Motorola means only limited further progress before the government finds a new supplier.
Dame Meg Hillier, PAC Chair, said: “The ESN project is a classic case of optimism bias in government. There has never been a realistic plan for ESN and no evidence that it will work as well as the current system.
“The statements of the Ministry of the Interior that it will simply “crack” along with the project do not correspond to reality. reality, and emergency services cannot pay the price for continued delays.
“With £2bn already spent on ESN and little to be gained from it, the Home Office should not just throw good money at bad money.”
The GAC urged the government to specify how it will help emergency services cover the costs of the transition, as well as the maintenance and purchase of new Airwave devices during the delay.
The report also says that the Home Office should set out its plans for the main elements of the ESN by the end of the year, including when they are prototyped, built and tested in real conditions.
The intervention of the deputies came after how the competition watchdog imposed price caps on Airwave amid concerns that supplier Motorola is overcharging taxpayers by £200m a year.
An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority found that the delays turned Motorola into a monopoly supplier as emergency services had no choice but to continue using the old system.
Critics also raised concerns about the dual role Motorola is both a supplier to both Airwave and ESN, saying it takes away the incentive for the US company to speed up the transition.
However, the government has since terminated ESN's contract with Motorola.
The PAC called on the Home Office to ensure that EE, a major network infrastructure provider, does not become a new monopoly provider.
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A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Office and Motorola agreed to terminate the contract to provide services for the emergency network in December last year.
“We have agreed that Motorola will provide certain services for twelve months after this date.
“The Department of the Interior has made significant progress in finding a new user service provider.”
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