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Sadiq Khan MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (October 2008 - June 2009)- View Sadiq Khan's profile
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FiReControl
| Date of statement | 26 November 2008 |
|---|---|
| Type | Written |
I wish to inform the House about the progress of the FiReControl project, which will establish a linked network of highly resilient fire control rooms across England to replace the current stand-alone facilities.
Major emergencies in recent years have shown us the very real challenges we face in today's world. The Fire and Rescue Service is central to our ability to be able to respond to these and the Government is determined to support it by investing around £1bn to ensure that it has the necessary capabilities and resilience. The FiReControl project is an important part of this investment.
FiReControl will give all Fire and Rescue Services access to systems and technology that only a few currently benefit from. It will result in greater resilience and collaboration, better information and incident support for fire-fighters, and a better service to the public - both day to day and during major incidents.
The Government is investing £380m in FiReControl and remains strongly committed to it. Good progress has been made on a number of fronts, including the completion of eight new highly resilient Regional Control Centre Buildings, the establishment of eight Local Authority Controlled Companies which bring together all relevant local partners, and the development of a strong network of regional project teams working to ensure the project is a success in their areas.
However, FiReControl is a complex and demanding project and as such is subject to rigorous ongoing review. Since I took up my post as Fire Minister a thorough review of all aspects of the FiReControl project has been completed, and a number of difficulties with the ICT and other dimensions of the project were identified. These issues will result in some delay, and the FRS rightly expects us to address these in full.
As a result I can announce today that the project is now aiming to achieve cut over to the first three Regional Control Centres in the North East, East Midlands and South West in summer 2010 - nine months later than previously expected, with the full system expected to be in place by spring 2012 - five months later than originally planned. I want to emphasise however that, as with any project of this nature, we will only have certainty about the timing of these later stages of the project once earlier stages have been completed successfully.
Our updated plans are being delivered in close partnership with the Fire and Rescue Service, Fire and Rescue Authorities and our suppliers, EADS Defence and Security Systems Ltd. Shorter term milestones will be monitored very carefully and progress shared with our partners. Longer term milestones will be reviewed as the project progresses. Members of the Fire and Rescue Service are being given more opportunities to contribute to the development of the project so that they can have full confidence in the new systems being developed, with staff embedded in national and local project teams and playing a full part in joint working groups.
I am also committed to ensuring transparency around the project wherever practical. So I am today publishing Part 2 of the 'FiReControl Business Case', and seeking views during a period of consultation. Part 1 of the Business Case was published on 8 July 2008 and was placed in the library of the House. Part 2 will be placed in the library of the House later today.
