Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the (a) daily, (b) monthly and (c) yearly cost for the use of the airwave service since 2017.

From 2016/17 to 2021/22 the Airwave System has averaged approximately £370m per annum, which includes network and devices for the three emergency services. With the impact of inflation, the projected annual costs for the Airwave System were anticipated to be approximately £450m per year in the July 2021 Full Business Case. To note that there are other Airwave users beyond the three emergency services that are invoiced directly, and are not captured in these costs.

There are a number of elements that may impact the overall delivery cost and time. This includes but is not limited to the recent provisional CMA findings into Motorola’s dual role as owner of Airwave and supplier on the programme and any extension to the Airwave shutdown date beyond the end of 2026, as well as negotiations for both Lot 2 and 3 as both of these contracts are due to end in 2024. Our goal is to work to deliver ESN as swiftly and safely as possible.