A new digital standard will make it easier for central government, police, fire and ambulance services to communicate with each other in emergencies, Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock has vowed.
The Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service (GDS) team on Monday unveiled a new, open standard – agreed between tech suppliers, central and local authorities and the emergency services – which it said would make for "quicker and faster" responses to major incidents by standardising IT interfaces and equipment.
According to the Cabinet Office, the new multi agency incident transfer protocol (MAIT) standard will help improve response times to events such as terror attacks and floods, by creating a single data exchange for the emergency responder community and simplifying the flow of incident information between agencies.
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Guidance on the new standard – published on GOV.UK – says it has so far been taken up by the British Transport Police, HM Coastguard, and Highways England, but says other organisations "could adopt the scheme if they wish".
The guidance says MAIT, written in Extensible Markup Language (XML) – which has become the default language for many web and office programmes – will allow for integration with a "diverse range of incumbent and new supplier systems", while Hancock said the realisation that some emergency control centres were still reliant on fax machines to communicate with each other had prompted action.
"Improving digital communications is a crucial step and the valuable work, conducted by government in partnership with the emergency services, will make a tangible difference across the UK in times of emergency or crisis," he added.
The Cabinet Office said the standard – trialled in Wales last year, where it was found to slash the time needed to transfer records between control rooms from four minutes to under ten seconds – will allow control centres "to communicate in real time and without restriction", and allow agencies to share what's known as a Common Operational Picture to track the latest developments as a situation unfolds.
Charles Ball, head of coastal operations for HM Coastguard, stressed the importance of sharing information between emergency services.
"As the only national emergency service it is vital that we have a common standard and common procedure when dealing with our sister services," he said.
"This joined-up thinking is vital if we are to deliver safety and security to the British public and provide for people in need at sea and on land."