Police body could lead FiReControl

Friday, November 06, 2009

The infamous FiReControl project could be handed over to a police body instead, writes Mike Lowe.

A consultation on the Fire Service's resilience programme – which includes FiReControl and Firelink – has proposed that responsibility for the programme pass from the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), the police's IT body.

Firelink and FiReControl are the two main parts of the Fire Service's future resilience programme. Firelink will work like the Airwave project, giving firefighters a secure channel to communicate with colleagues in their local force and nationwide. FiReControl, which has been blighted with delays and cost increases, will see all local control centres consolidated into nine regional control centres to reduce costs and provide better back-up facilities in case of an emergency.

FiReControl has faced stiff opposition in the past from opposition parties and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

The consultation said there is a "strong argument" for managing the contract functions of both Firelink and FiReControl within a single organisation. But CLG has accepted that any change can only occur with the full support of EADS, who deliver FiReControl, and Airwave, who deliver Firelink.

Its proposal to pass responsibility to the NPIA is based on the fact that the police IT body is already responsible for a wide range of functions, including the customer management function with Airwave on behalf of police forces.

CLG said that whilst managing Firelink makes a lot of sense, as the NPIA already deals with Airwave, it could be less advantageous for the NPIA to take on FiReControl.

"[The] NPIA would not want to take on any work without commitment from all parties. Initial indications from stakeholders are that they would be concerned that this option may not result in their priorities and needs being properly reflected in the way the contracts were managed," the consultation said.

Other options proposed by the CLG include letting the department retain responsibility for the project, establishing an entirely new non-departmental public body to manage the projects or using an existing body like Firebuy – CLG's procurement body for the Fire Service.

The NPIA refused to comment, saying it will wait for the consultation process to complete.