Future Of The 999 Service

EDM number 239 in 1992-93, proposed by Peter Hain on 11/06/1992.

That this House calls on the Government to reject the proposal to hive off the 999 emergency operator service to an independent agency, since the new 999 service will employ 600 operators in just three centres, whereas it is currently fully integrated into the comprehensive nationwide British Telecom network of operator centres employing some 8,000 staff in about 80 centres specially trained in all the skills needed to handle emergency calls and able to switch from their general duties to handle priority 999 calls during disasters or emergencies; and since concentrating such 999 calls into just three centres in England, Wales and Scotland can only be at the cost of local knowledge and pronunciation of places and names often vital for a speedy and accurate response from the police, ambulance and fire servces, thus endangering lives and personal security.

This motion has been signed by a total of 130 MPs.