 communication, there is no evidence it will work Emergency services have been hit with massive unexpected costs because the Home Office is "completely disconnected from reality", MPs have said. A bombshell report found that despite ploughing £2billion into the Emergency Services Network (ESN) communication, there is no evidence it will work. The flagship system was supposed to be up and running by 2020 across police, fire and ambulance services - but it's still not clear when it'll be ready. It means cash-strapped police forces, fire brigades and NHS trusts are facing "financial pressures as a result with no specific mechanism put in place by Government to help them bear these extra costs." So far the project had not "delivered anything substantial or reduced any risks", the cross-party Public Accounts Committee said. Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier 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. "Assertions from the Home Office that it will simply 'crack on' with the project are disconnected from the reality, and emergency services cannot be left to pick up the tab for continued delays. "With £2 billion already spent on ESN and little to show for it, the Home Office must not simply throw good money after bad." Despite admitting that the commercial approach to the project was "suboptimal", Dame Meg said the Home Office is "pursuing it regardless". The report accuses the Home Office of appearing "complacent in its confidence that it could reduce the risks to the project, and its optimism appears disconnected from the reality of its performance to date and the challenges ahead." Only "limited" progress can be made until the department finds a new supplier in the wake of Motorola's departure){kind=link}
A bombshell report by the Commons Public Accounts Commitee found that despite ploughing £2billion into the Emergency Services Network (ESN) communication, there is no evidence it will work
Emergency services have been hit with massive unexpected costs because the Home Office is “completely disconnected from reality”, MPs have said.
A bombshell report found that despite ploughing £2billion into the Emergency Services Network (ESN) communication, there is no evidence it will work.
The flagship system was supposed to be up and running by 2020 across police, fire and ambulance services – but it’s still not clear when it’ll be ready.
It means cash-strapped police forces, fire brigades and NHS trusts are facing “financial pressures as a result with no specific mechanism put in place by Government to help them bear these extra costs.”