999 services face huge bills as Home Office 'out of touch', say MPs

A bombshell report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee has found that despite the £2billion investment in Emergency Services Network communication (ESN), there is no evidence that this will work< /p> The Home Office was supposed to have its new Emergency Services Network (ESN) operational by 2020 (

Image: jamesmitchell)

Emergency services have been hit with massive unexpected costs because the Home Office is 'completely out of touch with reality', MPs have said.

A bombshell report has revealed that despite the £2billion investment in Emergency Services Network (ESN) communication, there is no evidence it will work.

The flagship system was expected to be operational by 2020 in police, fire and ambulance services, but it is still unclear when it will be ready.

This means that cash-strapped police forces, firefighters and NHS trusts face "financial pressures as a result, with no specific mechanism put in place by the government to help them meet these additional costs ".

So far, the project has “delivered nothing of substance or reduced risk,” the all-party public accounts committee said.

Dame Meg Hillier has accused the Home Office of being "out of touch with reality" (

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Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier said: 'The ESN project is a classic case of optimism bias in government.

"There has never been a realistic plan for ESN and no evidence that it will perform as well as the current system.

"The Home Office's claims that it will simply 'collapse' with the project are out of touch with reality, and the emergency services cannot be left to pay the tab for delays continues.

"With £2billion already spent on the ESN and little to show for it, the Home Office must not just throw good money after bad."

While she admits the business approach to the project was "sub-optimal", Dame Meg said the Home Office is "pursuing her regardless".

The report accuses the Home Office of appearing “complacent in its confidence that it could de-risk the project, and its optimism seems disconnected from the reality of its performance to date and the challenges ahead” .

Only "limited" progress can be made until the department finds a new supplier...