The Role of Local Government in Emergency Response

Dominic Mellon BSc MICDDS

Senior Civil Protection Officer

Emergency what?!

Emergency Planning Emergency Preparedness Emergency Management Civil Resilience Civil Defence Civil Protection Disaster Management

History of Civil Protection

Legislation

Civil Defence Act 1948 Health & Safety at Work Act Seveso II Directive Civil Contingencies Act 2004

Regulations

Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH)

Pipeline Safety Regulations 1996 (PSR)

Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (REPPIR)

Civil Contingencies Act 2004 Regulations 2005 (CCA)

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

Local Authority - Cat One Responder Seven Civil Protection Duties:

1. Cooperation2. Information Sharing3. Risk Assessment4. Emergency Planning5. Business Continuity Management6. Warning & Informing7. BCM Promotion

1: Cooperation

Cat 1 & 2 responders must cooperate within Local Resilience Area

Formation of Local Resilience Forum Right to attend vs. right to invite LRF subgroups Seven Local Authorities in South

Wales LRF

2: Information Sharing

Cat 1 & 2 responders must share info Underpins duty to cooperate Requires controlled release of

information Classification of information Freedom of Information Act Data Protection Acts

3: Risk Assessment

Cat 1 responders must make emergency plans that are proportionate to risks

Community Risk Register Challenge of ‘localising’ risk

information: ‘top-down’ vs. ‘bottom-up’

4: Emergency Planning

‘Heart of Civil Protection’ Defines requirements of plans Regard to risk assessments Generic vs. Specific Multi-agency planning Involvement of Cat 2 and voluntary

agencies in planning process

5: Business Continuity Management

Cat 1 responders must have BCM plans in place to ensure adequate emergency response

Good practice for all organisations

6: Warning & Informing

AKA ‘Communicating with the public’ Well informed = better prepared! Alerted vs. Alarmed Actually two distinct duties Media – e.g. BBC Connecting in a

Crisis

7: BCM Promotion

Local Authority only Must promote BCM principles to local

businesses and voluntary organisations

Best practice?

Emergency Response Role

Crucial to the emergency response Functions often required in

emergency situations Temporary mortuaries Responder welfare Community welfare Response Recovery

How do we do it?

Civil Protection Unit 3 x Civil Protection Officers On-Call 24/7/365 Help coordinate emergency response Liaise with emergency responders Lessons learnt? Plan review schedule