Fire Minister Bob Neill calls time on FiReControl
Fire Minister Bob Neill MP today reached agreement with the main FiReControl contractor, Cassidian (formerly EADS Defence and Security), to …
Fire Minister Bob Neill MP today reached agreement with the main FiReControl contractor, Cassidian (formerly EADS Defence and Security), to call a halt to the troubled project. The Minister made it clear in the summer that Cassidian must deliver the main IT system to time, cost and quality. The Department and the contractor have now jointly concluded that the project requirements cannot be delivered to an acceptable timeframe.
Ministers believe that the interests of both the fire and rescue community and the taxpayer are now best served by closing down the project.
FiReControl is the third part of the last Government’s Fire and Resilience Programme - the other two, Firelink and New Dimension, have been delivered. The project aimed to replace England’s 46 standalone fire and rescue control rooms with a national network of nine control centres.
In a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament today Bob Neill said:
The progress of the project has caused serious concern, and so in June this year I made it clear to the main FiReControl contractor, Cassidian (formerly EADS Defence and Security), that the main IT system must now be delivered to time, cost and quality. At this point, we activated a key milestone in their contract requiring the main IT system to be completed in three control centres by mid-2011.
We told Cassidian that no additional taxpayers’ money could be invested in this project, nor would delivery of a system of reduced quality or functionality be acceptable.
Following extensive discussion with Cassidian, we have jointly concluded, with regret, that the requirements of the project cannot be delivered to an acceptable timeframe. Therefore the best outcome for the taxpayer and the fire and rescue community is for the contract to be terminated with immediate effect. Cassidian and the Department for Communities and Local Government have reached an acceptable settlement over this although the details will remain commercially confidential.
The Minister thanked the many operational experts and other representatives from the fire and rescue community for their contribution to the project. Today’s decision gives more operational certainty to the Fire and Rescue Service as well as financial certainty to the taxpayer.
The Department will now consult with the fire and rescue community on the future of control room services in England. This will be based on the principles of localism and seek feedback on the best use of FiReControl assets.
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