Question reference: S4W-30689
- Asked by: Roderick Campbell, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 10 March 2016
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 March 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the emergency services in Scotland are expected to use the same mobile communications network as their counterparts in the rest of Great Britain after the current contracts with Airwave expire.
Answer
Yes.
As outlined by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs in his response to S4W-27311 on 17 September 2015, the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme has developed proposals for a replacement Emergency Services Network (ESN) which will be enhanced, flexible and affordable. The UK Government has endorsed these proposals and the Scottish Government has confirmed to UK Government ministers that the proposals offer an acceptable route for meeting the future mobile communications needs of our emergency services as regards functional capability, orderly transition, financial affordability and effective governance. These proposals also have the potential to provide collateral benefit, by improving the general availability of mobile connectivity across Scotland.
As the ESN’s prime contractor and system integrator, the Home Office has awarded contracts for its central components, while continuing to lead procurement planning for key supplementary aspects. The Scottish Government is a co-sponsor of the programme (along with relevant UK Government departments and the Welsh Government) and is represented and participates in all key aspects of programme governance. It is intended that the ESN’s application to Scotland will be underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding with the Home Office, which will define mutual rights and responsibilities around the network’s collaborative governance and funding.
In addition, Scottish Ministers will continue to press the UK Government to exercise its power to give Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service the same ability to reclaim VAT as equivalent ESN users.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.