Page last updated at 10:20 GMT, Friday, April 26 2013

Emergency Planning

What is an emergency?
Every day the emergency services are called to deal with circumstances which require the use of their knowledge and skills to safeguard life and property. Occasionally an incident occurs that, by its nature and size, will need the additional specialist services of other agencies including the County and District Councils, the Health Authorities and voluntary organisations, to instigate this joint response there would be a declared  "Major Incident"
 
Definition of an Emergency
"An event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK, or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK"
 
Emergencies leading to a Major incident can occur in a number of ways, some of the more common being:-

• Severe weather
• Natural disaster
• Industrial accidents
• Transport accidents
• Terrorism
   
• What is emergency planning?
  Emergency Planning is one of the key local authority functions which prepares and plans for a managed response to a major emergency through the following 6 stages:-
  
• Anticipation
• Assessment
• Prevention
• Preparation
• Response
• Recovery Management
• 
  It is a partnership of local authorities, emergency services, non-emergency services, Government departments and voluntary organisations likely to have a role in responding to emergencies, working under a formal framework of mutual support, information sharing and communicating brought about through the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA).
   
  This recent legislation introduces 6 duties for category 1 responders with a 7th for local authorities.
   
  Most are what you would expect from previous Emergency Planning provision
   
  1          Risk assessment  
                     Carry out risk assessments to enable appropriate planning
                     and preventative measures to be put in place, This include     
                     involvement with hazardous sites and areas of potential risk
                     such as Public Events
   
  2         Emergency Planning
                     Undertake the many tasks associated with emergency           
                     planning from assessing responses to exercises and training
   
  3          Communicating with the public
                     So as to maintain public awareness of Emergency issues
                      and where appropriate provide warnings, inform the public of           
                       what to expect and how they can prepare themselves                    
                     and advising the public in dealing with emergencies and
                       what measure they need to take in response to emergencies
                       as they arise. 
   
  4           Co-operation
                     Through a formal framework of regular meetings ensuring
                     those involved are able to attend
   
  5           Information sharing
                         Using all means to ensure all involved agencies have the
              necessary information to carry out their own duties of the act
             and to be able to respond appropriately
   
  6             Business continuity
                         Providing prepared plans to ensure we can continue to
                         provide services during an emergency or disruption to our
                         normal working practices.
   
  7              Promotion of business continuity within the community
                           For local authorities only, the CCA requires us to promote
                         Business Continuity management to the commercial
                        sectors and voluntary organisations within the local
                       community
   
  If you require additional information for Business Continuity Management or require guidance in implementing continuity plans please contact:-
   
  Melvin Hartley  Emergency Planning Officer 023 8068 8149 email bcm@eastleigh.gov.uk
   

The Role of Emergency Planning
The Emergency Planning Officer for Eastleigh provides for and coordinates the duties of the CCA for Eastleigh through consultation with emergency services, other agencies and local authorities.
 
Extensive risk assessments and community profiles are evaluated and response plans prepared and then supported through training and exercises, often involving other agencies such as the County Council and the local NHS trust.
 
Eastleigh Borough Council, working with its partners within the concept of Integrated Emergency Management, is committed to prevent or reduce the effects of any disaster in the community. To this end it is developing plans and staff designated and trained to respond should an emergency occur through activation of the Borough Emergency Control Centre (BECC) or the provision of Prepared Rest Centres (PRC) throughout the Borough. It is also committed to maintaining its normal services despite the disruption and dislocation that disasters can sometimes cause through development and integration of Business Continuity Management (BCM) throughout the council.
 
Plans are developed for a wide variety of emergency situations. Recent years has shown an increase in the number of emergencies that have struck without warning. The concept of Integrated Emergency Management with fellow agencies and supporting organisations is utilised to the full in Eastleigh to ensure a flexible response to any potential disaster.

Legislation
The Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 provides definitions of Category 1 and category 2 responders, some are shown below
 
Category 1 responders

• Local Authorities
• Fire and Rescue
• Police
• Ambulance
• NHS trusts
• Port Health Authorities
• Environmental Agencies

Category 2 Responders

• Electricity distribution companies
• Gas distribution companies
• Water and Sewerage undertakers
• Airport Operators
• Telephone service providers
• Railway operators
• Ports
• Highway Authority
  

Each has duties imposed upon them by the Act; all Category 1 responders have six duties with local authorities having seven.
 
Category 2 responders have a duty to co-operate and share information.
 
Under Health and Safety at Work and other legislation, local authorities have duties to make arrangements for specific contingencies such as major industrial hazards and radiation emergencies.
In a number of areas the Government expects local authorities to make emergency arrangements, for example, to tackle the effects of coastal oil pollution.

The Role of Eastleigh Borough Council

It is accepted that in most instances within Hampshire, the District Council in whose area the incident occurs will lead the local authority response. Eastleigh Borough Council will be responsible for initiating and co-ordinating the total local authority response to any emergency occurring in the Borough, including the responses of Area Departmental offices of Hampshire County Council and those of the voluntary agencies. Beyond the co-ordinating role, it is likely that requests for assistance to Eastleigh Borough Council will in the main, involve little more than the provision of the normal services, albeit in a more concentrated form and within the constraints and disruptions imposed by the emergency.
 
Requests for assistance will most probably come from the Police, Fire or the Ambulance service. The call can be made, day or night, to the senior officers of the Council, starting with the Chief Executive, often through the Hampshire County Council emergency planning call out system.
 
The officer will assess the extent of the request and decide the level of the response. If the incident requires the deployment of resources in depth, the officer will immediately assume the role of operational command and co-ordinate the first responses, including a call-out of staff, before moving to the Borough Emergency Control Centre (BECC) if necessary.
 
Borough Council Emergency Control Centre (BECC)
The operational commander would co-ordinate the Eastleigh Borough Council response to the emergency from the BECC. In most cases, the Centre will be established in the Civic Offices. The functions of the Centre are: to collect, collate and disseminate information so that quick and informed decisions can be made; to co-ordinate the work and act as the central liaison point for the Borough Council's Service Units and other organisations involved in the emergency; and to record and time all requests for services and resources and the actions taken in consequence.
In addition to the BECC support staff it is also likely that there will be liaison officers in attendance from other agencies involved, e.g. Police, Social Services etc.
 
The Borough Council will often send a member of staff to the scene to act as the Local Authority Liaison Officer and to be the Control rooms "eyes and ears" at the scene. He or she will also advise the Police Incident Commander on the availability and deployment of Council resources to assist with the emergency and provide information to the Controller in the Emergency Centre.
 
During the emergency phase in all major emergencies it should be remembered that the local authority role is normally no more than one of support to the full-time emergency services. However, once the emergency phase of the incident has ended it is likely that Eastleigh Borough Council would become the lead authority for the return to normality.
 
 
If you would like to know more about emergency planning contact -
Melvin Hartley  Eastleigh Borough Council Civic Offices Leigh Road Eastleigh Hants SO50 9YN
Telephone: 023 8068 8149 

• The Emergency Planning Society