Spring Budget 2024 - PwC comments on drones investment for emergency services

A welcome announcement for the UK drone industry, however equal focus should be given to integrating drone data with existing systems

Craig Roberts, Head of Drones, PwC UK, says:

“It is encouraging to see that the government is investing in drones for incident response in the emergency services. The unique perspective offered by drones can assist decision making at critical incidents, increase the speed of deployment, reduce costs, and enhance data collection and quality. However, it is important to note that these benefits will not be fully realised simply by buying drones, training pilots and putting governance in place. To unleash the power of drones, the government should give equal focus to ensuring that drone captured data is effectively processed, centrally stored and fully integrated. We often see drone investments fail to deliver the expected benefits due to a focus on capturing data rather than on the ultimate data use and integration with existing workflows and systems.”