Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the original estimated completion date for the Emergency Services Network critical communications system was; what his most recent estimate is for the completion date of that project; and what (a) the original cost estimate was for and (b) his most recent cost estimate is for that project.

The Emergency Services Network will replace the Airwave communications service currently used by Britain’s emergency services and transform the way they operate.

The July 2021 Full Business Case (FBC) estimated the cost of the programme to deliver ESN at £1.6bn, compared with the original estimate of £1.2bn. When combined with the Airwave and Legacy contracts, and the ongoing costs of the replacement ESN service, the total cost of providing critical emergency services communications between 2015/16 and 2036/37 in the July 2021 FBC was estimated at £11.3bn. This assumed Airwave and legacy system costs of approximately £450m annually compared with ESN at around £250m per annum. This estimated a target Airwave Shutdown Date of December 2026. The original estimated completion date was 2019.

In April 2021 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Motorola’s profits on Airwave and as a result Motorola left the Programme in December 2022.

The CMA’s final report recommended Charge Controls on the Airwave service that if confirmed will save the taxpayer in the region of £200m a year for the period 2023 to 2029. This is pending the outcome of Motorola’s appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The Home Office is in the process of procuring a new supplier for mobile radio and data services and intends to release a revised Business Case in 2024, which will set out a new timetable and costs, taking into account the impact of procurement activity and proposed CMA Charge Control.

The Home Office is committed to delivering ESN as swiftly and safely as possible and Airwave will not be switched off until the conditions for full transition have been met.