Fire and rescue service - Fire and emergencies. Www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmpubacc/1397/1397.pdf. The failure of the FiReControl project - Public Accounts Committee. The failure of the FiReControl project - Public Accounts Committee. Www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmcomloc/352/352.pdf. Labour's FiReControl project a £500m failure. Labour's FiReControl project, launched by then Local Government Secretary John Prescott, has been condemned by a damning Public Accounts Committee report as a 'complete failure' that lost the taxpayer 'nearly half a billion pounds...on costly white elephants' and 'one of the worst [project failures] we have seen for many years'. This follows a scathing National Audit Office report in July that 'the project to replace the 46 Fire and Rescue Service's local control rooms across England with nine purpose-built regional control centres linked by a new IT system has been a comprehensive failure', 'flawed from the outset' and a waste of 'at least £469 million'.
The Public Accounts Committee report has today concluded that Labour's 'project was rushed, without proper understanding of costs or risks. The leadership relied far too much on external consultants and the frequent departures of senior staff also contributed to weak management and oversight of the project'. MPs torch failed FiReControl project. MPs have strongly criticised the FiReControl project to revamp communications for England's fire and rescue services, calling it a total failure that wasted at least £469m of taxpayers' money.
MPs have slammed the FiReControl project to revamp communications for England's fire and rescue services as a 'complete failure'. FiReControl was cancelled in 2010 after six years of development with nothing to show IT-wise bar nine "white elephant" control rooms with no technical capability, noted Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The committee issued its report into the project, which was initially budgeted at £120m, on Tuesday. "The contract to implement a national IT system linking the control centres was not even awarded until a full three years after the project started. The contract itself was poorly designed and awarded to a company without relevant experience. The computer system was simply never delivered," Hodge, said in a statement from the committee. Canned FireControl project labelled ‘worst government IT failure’ by MPs.
The scrapped £469m FireControl project has been singled out by MPs as the worst government IT failure in many years. Critics may point to this judgement as indicative of how serious the project's systemic flaws must have been, given the public sector's track record for troubled major IT programmes. FireControl intended to abolish 46 local fire and rescue control rooms around the country and replace them with nine regional control centres. But the IT system was never delivered and eight of the centres remain vacant. Around half a billion pounds has been lost to the taxpayer as a result of the project, which was cancelled in December 2010. The contract to implement a national IT system linking the control centres was not even awarded until a full three years after the project started. The contract itself was poorly designed and awarded to a company without relevant experience. The computer system was never delivered, said Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
Email Alerts. FiReControl Project: silly name, stupid idea – but you and I will pay for the fiasco. Www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc12/1272/1272.pdf. Failed fire project wasted £469m, says committee of MPs. A project to set up nine regional control centres for fire and rescue services in England was a "complete failure" and wasted £469m, MPs say. The public accounts committee said the Firecontrol scheme had not achieved any of its objectives and that eight of the centres were empty "white elephants". The plan to replace 46 smaller control rooms was scrapped in December 2010. Fire Minister Bob Neill said Labour must be held accountable for the "comprehensive failure". Margaret Hodge, who chairs the MPs' committee, said the project had been "flawed from the outset" and one of the worst wastes of public money for many years. "The taxpayer has lost nearly half a billion pounds and eight of the completed regional control centres remain as empty and costly white elephants.
" She said the project - launched in 2004 by the Labour government - had been terminated in 2010 "with none of the original objectives achieved and a minimum of £469m being wasted". 'Extraordinary failure' 'Proper oversight' The Failure of the FiReControl Project: HC 1397, Fiftieth Report of Session 2010-12 - Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence. Author: House of Commons - Committee of Public Accounts Publisher: TSO (The Stationery Office) Price: £11.00 The FiReControl project was launched in 2004, but following a series of delays and difficulties, was terminated in December 2010 with none of the original objectives achieved and a minimum of £469 million being wasted, reports 'The Failure of the FiReControl Project (HC 1397)'.
FiReControl was an ambitious project with the objectives of improving national resilience, efficiency and technology by replacing the control room functions of 46 local Fire and Rescue Services in England with a network of nine purpose-built regional control centres using a national computer system. The Department attempted, without sufficient mandatory powers, to impose a single, national approach on locally accountable Fire and Rescue Services who were reluctant to change the way they operated. The IT contract went to a company with no direct experience of supplying the emergency services. MPs shoot fire control project down in flames. Labour launched FiReControl (sic) in 2004. Following a series of major delays and cost overuns, it was scrapped in December 2010 by the current government.
In its report, the public accounts committee says the project did not achieve any of its objectives and that eight of the centres were empty "white elephants". Margaret Hodge, who chairs the committee, said the taxpayer has lost nearly half a billion pounds. "The success of the so-called FiReControl project crucially turned on the cooperation of locally accountable and independent Fire and Rescue Services. " She said the Department for Communities and Local Government's failure to recognize this and try to ensure local buy-in fatally undermined the project from the start. According to the MPs the project was rushed, without proper understanding of costs or risks. A contract to implement a national IT system linking the control centres was not awarded until a full three years after the project started.
Public Accounts Committee publishes report into FiReControl project. The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said: "The Department's ambitious vision of abolishing 46 local fire and rescue control rooms around the country and replacing them with nine state of the art regional control centres ended in complete failure. The taxpayer has lost nearly half a billion pounds and eight of the completed regional control centres remain as empty and costly white elephants.
The success of the so-called FiReControl project crucially turned on the cooperation of locally accountable and independent Fire and Rescue Services. The Department’s failure both to recognize this and try to ensure local buy-in fatally undermined the project from the start. The project was rushed, without proper understanding of costs or risks. The contract to implement a national IT system linking the control centres was not even awarded until a full three years after the project started. The FiReControl Project Following the cancellation Further Information. PAC: FireControl is one of worst IT project failures in years.
FireControl, the project to centralise control centres for the fire brigade, has been branded “one of the worst cases of project failure” in years. Commenting in the release of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report into the project, Margaret Hodge, chair of the PAC, said: “The department’s [Department for Communities and Local Government, or DCLG] ambitious vision of abolishing 46 local fire and rescue control rooms around the country and replacing them with nine state of the art regional control centres ended in complete failure. “The taxpayer has lost nearly half a billion pounds and eight of the completed regional control centres remain as empty and costly white elephants. However, the project was abandoned in December 2010, after a series of delays, with none of the original objectives achieved and at least £469 million wasted. “In fact, the technology was very complex, requiring 46 local fire services to standardise the way they operated.
Memorandum to the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee: FiReControl project.