Emergency Services (Interoperability)

Debate between Mark Pawsey and Karen Lumley

Tuesday 12th June 2012 Westminster Hall

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Havard, and a pleasure to secure a debate on such an important subject. People might assume that because I am introducing this topic, I have a background in one of the emergency services. That is not so, although I have a brother who is a police officer. I was in business before coming to Parliament and I approach the issue of emergency services working together from the perspective of a business person in many ways, ensuring the efficiency of the operation and that public assets are used with maximum efficiency.

During my time as a Member of Parliament, I have formed the view that the emergency services are at their best when they work co-operatively and closely together. I have become aware of the benefits of that way of working since becoming an MP and have joined other hon. Members in creating a new all-party parliamentary group on emergency services. Other all-party groups support the individual services, but I remain convinced that the services need to be brought together to ensure that they work for the good of the country as a whole. It is important that each emergency service is not viewed, organised and operated in isolation. Our new all-party group was set up with the explicit objective of promoting joined-up working between the emergency services—the key word being “interoperability”. I shall cover those issues in my remarks.

Why do we need interoperability between the emergency services? History shows clearly that there can be a real danger if an emergency service looks inward on itself and operates solely in its own interests when contributing to resolving an emergency. There is grave danger if the three main emergency services—police, fire and rescue and the ambulance service—work in isolation, with little contact between them. This was borne out particularly in the emergency response to the 7 July bombings. There have been a number of reports since that event, and Lady Justice Hallett’s coroner’s report in particular highlighted interoperability between the emergency services as a major issue. The report bore out concerns that each service, when responding to that event, did not have a full grasp of what the other services were doing in response. The coroner’s report, which was published on 6 May 2011, said that there was a lack of adequate sharing of information between the emergency services’ and Transport for London’s control rooms.

One of the first issues that the all-party group considered was how many emergency services there are. I have mentioned the three blue-light services—police, fire and rescue and ambulance—which are most commonly referred to as emergency services, but they are not the only people who respond on our behalf when an emergency occurs. For example, coastguards play a vitally important role in saving lives, and orange-light services, such as the Highways Agency, assist with the day to day, smooth running of the road network. In emergencies affecting London, both Transport for London and the Port of London Authority are involved. So the response to any emergency will involve more than the traditional blue-light services. The key issue with regard to interoperability is that each service needs to know about the activity of others in responding to an emergency or the threat of loss of life.

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

A few weeks ago we had the unfortunate experience of the English Defence League marching in Redditch. I was impressed by the emergency services working together under the police’s gold command. Does my hon. Friend agree that as the Olympics draw closer, we need a seamless, comprehensive, integrated approach to our services, with a clear chain of command, so that everyone knows who they are reporting to?

[Mark Pawsey]

My hon. Friend is well ahead of me. I will talk at some length about the Olympics, which is one of the biggest challenges our country faces in terms of a possible security threat. My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the need for gold command, led by the police service.

On the broader issue of who responds on our behalf in an emergency, taking the simple example of a serious accident on the motorway, attendance of the police and the ambulance service, responding to dangers to life, and of the fire and rescue service—to free people trapped in vehicles—will be necessary, but it is just as crucial that the Highways Agency is there to assess the situation, to help to minimise the effect on traffic and get the motorway moving again as quickly as possible. That example shows why joint working is paramount.

If we accept that the services responding on our behalf to an emergency need to work more closely together, where does responsibility for joint working currently lie? The three main blue-light services are the responsibility of different Departments. The police service is the responsibility of the Home Office; the ambulance service is administered by the Department of Health; and the fire and rescue service is administered by local authorities, under the control of the Department for Communities and Local Government. In theory, that may be no bad thing, but in practice there is grave danger that each service is considered in isolation. Since becoming an MP, I have learnt about silo thinking, and with each emergency service attached to a Department, there is a danger of such thinking.