(2) what guidance her Department has issued to chief officers of police with regard to making the Airwave Radio System available to non-Home Office constabularies; and if she will list those non-Home Office police organisations which (a) do and (b) do not have access to the Airwave Radio System.
For a non-Home Office police force to gain access to the Airwave Radio System, they must make an application to the Office of Communications (Ofcom). If this is granted, the force concerned would then be in a position to communicate with the emergency services that also use the network.
The relevant local Home Office police force would then determine how they need to interoperate, basing this decision on national security assurance standards.
Non-Home Office police organisations that do have access to the Airwave Radio System are:
British Transport Police
Civil Nuclear Constabulary
Dover Port Police
Haringey Borough Parks Police
IPCC
Ministry of Defence Police
Scottish Police Forces
Scottish Police Services Authority
A comprehensive list of those non-Home Office police organisations without access to the Airwave Radio System is not available.