Provision of airwave radio equipment for specialist operations

Report: 14
Date: 8 November 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

This paper seeks approval from the Authority to purchase, through the radio outsource arrangement, Airwave radio equipment (vehicle and hand-portable) for Specialist Operations (SO) officers operating in forces that will be migrating to the Airwave service.

A. Recommendations

Members are asked approve the request for procurement action, through the radio outsource contractor, for Airwave equipment for use by SO officers.

B. Supporting information

Introduction and background

1. The decision by the Airwave Programme Board (of which Catherine Crawford the Clerk to the MPA and Ailsa Beaton the Director of Information are both members) to accept with conditions the Lancashire pilot triggered the national roll-out of the Airwave service across England, Wales and Scotland. It is expected that at least seventeen forces will have migrated to the Airwave service over the next 12 to 18 months.

2. Although the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is contracted to take the Airwave service in the fourth quarter of 2003, SO who that operate outside of the Metropolitan Police District (MPD) will need communications before that date. These officers will in the meantime need the ability to communicate with those forces that have migrated to the Airwave service, and will require communications to maintain SO’s lines of business outside of the MPD associated with;

• National security
• Anti-terrorist operations
• The protection of the Royal Family
• The protection of visiting dignitaries / Heads of State
• The protection of HM Government
• Investigation of serious and organised crime.

3. In addition to routine duties two major events during 2002 will require additional SO support. These are the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. Compatible radio communications will be essential.

4. The MPS have joined with a number of other police forces in England and Scotland to procure Airwave terminals and ancillary equipment to take advantage of economies of scale. This joint procurement arrangement is not sufficiently developed to provision this requirement in time to meet SO’s needs. Therefore the procurement proposed in this submission must be completed ahead of the bulk purchase.

5. There are a very limited number of manufacturers that can satisfy the Metropolitan Police requirement to date, and a production run is about to begin that can meet our time-scales. Consequently, there is pressure to reserve the MPS requirement for hand-portable terminals by mid December 2001.

Proposal

6. It is proposed to order, through the radio outsource contractor ntl Ltd, 100 vehicle radios and 924 hand-portable radios complete with accessories. This number has been the subject of a rigorous assessment by the business and is the minimum quantity required to meet known operational requirements.

7. The cost is estimated to be no more than £1.25 million. There is an expectation that the final figure will be lower than this estimate, although the exact figure will not be known until the contract has been signed.

C. Financial implications

This procurement is an interim measure pending the full purchase of Airwave equipment previously reported within Finance Planning and Best Value Committee meeting on the 19 July 2001. Provision has been made in estimates for 2001/02 of £1.25 million to service this procurement; this was agreed at IMSG on 3rd May 2001 having previously been agreed in principle by the MPA as part of the development budget. That approval required us to seek specific MPA approval for expenditure. The cost of bringing the radios into service will be dealt through the existing radio service support arrangements as an Airwave implementation cost.

D. Background papers

See Internal links.

E. Contact details

Report author: Paul Glaister, MPS Directorate of Information.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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