Fire chiefs facing £200,000 bill for botched radio emergency radio equipment project

Fire chiefs could be forced to shell out hundreds of thousands of pounds replacing radio equipment which should have been phased out years ago.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service HQ in WashingtonTyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service HQ in Washington
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service HQ in Washington

The rollout of the government’s National Emergency Services Mobile Communication Programme (ESMCP) was originally slated to be completed by 2017.

But with the botched programme now expected to be delayed until 2023 at least, bosses are facing added bills to keep the existing Airwave system running, despite the prospect of them becoming obsolete in just a few years.

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“Some of the Airwave equipment will become ‘end of life’ in December 2022 and will need to be replaced,” said Lynsey McVay, assistant chief fire officer at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, and Chris Lowther, chief fire officer for Tyne & WearKim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, and Chris Lowther, chief fire officer for Tyne & Wear
Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, and Chris Lowther, chief fire officer for Tyne & Wear

“Airwave is responsible for the replacement of this equipment at their cost, however the integration into our Mobilising System is a burden which falls to ourselves, unfortunately.

“At the moment, although we’re not 100 per cent certain what these costs are, we’ve been given outline estimates of costs between £100,000 – £200,000.

“This is a cost the authority did not expect.”

McVay was speaking at a meeting of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority, which is responsible for overseeing the work of the brigade.

Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime CommissionerKim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
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Addressing the panel via videolink, she told bosses the extra cost would not have been necessary if the project had been completed within the last four year, as originally planned.

The ESMCP is supposed to set up a new Emergency Services Network (ESN) to improve communication between the UK’s emergency services, especially in the event of a major incident, such as a terrorist attack.

Financial headaches may not be solved once the ESN work is completed either, with a report for the fire authority warning the new technology needed to use the system is ‘more expensive to procure and will also require replacement more regularly’.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Kim McGuinness said: “The delays in this are absolutely unacceptable.

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“I think this is being brushed off by the Home Office as just another the contract, but this [will be] six years late, by the time it will be delivered – and that’s if it sticks to the current timetable, which it hasn’t thus far.

“That isn’t something that we should have to shoulder the burden of locally.

“This is our emergency services’ ability to talk to each other and that is absolutely vital for the safety of our communities.”

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