I am notifying the House of the publication today of a post-incident review into technical fault BT experienced on 25 June 2023, which affected its ability to transfer 999 calls to the emergency authorities.
Whilst the emergency call service has proven itself to be extremely resilient, and the incident that occurred on 25 June was the first significant disruption to 999 in nearly 90 years of its operation, it is clear that such a disruption gives rise to the risk of serious and widespread harm to the public, and so the incident was exceptionally serious.
I am pleased that emergency authorities have reported that the overall impact on the public was lower than it could have been, and they have not currently identified any confirmed cases of serious harm occurring as a direct result of the incident. However, this will continue to be monitored by the appropriate authorities.
The review establishes the facts of what happened on that day, what the response was, and what lessons may be learnt about the wider resilience of the 999 system. The review does not find fault—its sole aim is to identify lessons to improve the resilience of the 999 system for the future. The review draws on the evidence and expertise provided by all relevant expert stakeholders, including emergency authorities, BT, Ofcom, Government Departments, the devolved Administrations, and local resilience forums.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the communications sector, continues its technical investigation of BT’s compliance with their regulatory obligations in connection with the incident.
There are six recommendations. I am pleased to say the two most pressing of these have already been completed and were done as a matter of urgency following the incident. The first of these relates to BT implementing immediate improvements to its systems and procedures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. That means that the issue that caused the incident on 25 June has been addressed and BT’s systems have full resilience. The second relates to the establishment of a cross-system notification procedure to enable a rapid and co-ordinated response between BT, emergency authorities and central Government in the unlikely event of any future incidents.
Alongside continuing good risk management practice across the system, the remaining recommendations are focused on improving HMG’s oversight, improving public communications for advice on what to do in the event of any such incident, and exercising to test the resilience of the system to a range of different scenarios. Work on each of these is under way and planned for completion by April 2024. His Majesty’s Government will continue to oversee the implementation of this work in recognition of the vital role that 999 plays in the safety, health and security of the country. A copy of the report will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
[HCWS362]