HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

COMMUNITY SAFETYPANEL

THURSDAY 3 APRIL 2008 AT 10:00 A.M.

EMERGENCY PLANNING TEAM BUSINESS PLAN 2008/09

Report of the Head of the Safety Emergency & Risk Management Unit

Author: John Boulter Tel:01992 555951

Executive Member: Richard Smith

  1. Purpose of report

To advise the Community Safety Panel on the work programme for 08/09 which the Emergency Planning Team will undertake to support and enhance the County Council’s emergency response and resilience arrangements.

  1. Summary

The Emergency Planning Team’s business plan (see Appendix) sets out a programme of work in support of HCC services and departments as well as the county’s Local Resilience Forum (LRF) - known as Hertfordshire Resilience, for which the EP Team undertakes the secretariat function. The EP Team also provides support (on a traded-service basis) to eight of the County’s ten Borough and District Councils. The plan has been developed in consultation with HCC departments (each of whom has individual programmes of work which they will now undertake) and also in consultation with LRF partners.

The draft document was considered and approved at the Safety Emergency & Risk Management Board on 11 March at which departmental representatives also committed to progressing this programme of work. Member comment on the document would be welcomed.

3.Recommendation

That the Panel note the report and comment on the Emergency Planning Team Business Plan for 2008/09.

4.Background

4.1The Emergency Planning Team supports and develops resilience and emergency response arrangements in three particular areas.

  1. Support for the County Council itself, providing advice and professional expertise to ensure that the full range of services within the Authority who potentially have a role to play in responding to a major emergency response are prepared and that their own services are resilient and capable of withstanding disruption.
  1. The EP Team undertakes a programme of work in support of the Local Resilience Forum (known as Hertfordshire Resilience), the multi-agency forum which oversees and co-ordinates multi-agency emergency planning, training and exercising and the other duties assigned to it under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
  1. The EP Team also provides support to many of the county’s borough and district councils. Eight councils currently receive a service provided by the EP team and a ninth (St Albans City & District Council) is currently receiving support on an interim, short term basis, with the possibility of a more extended arrangement being given active consideration.

4.2The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires Category 1 organisations such as the emergency services, NHS Trusts, local authorities, the Environment Agency etc. to deliver civil protection based on six key themes. The six key themes are:

Co-operation: within and across Local Resilience Forums

Information sharing amongst partner agencies

Emergency planning: planning, training, exercising plans and reviewing plan content)

Risk assessment: assessing risks in the community and using this assessment to prioritise a programme of work

Warning & informing: having arrangements in place to warn and inform the public of any particular hazards or threats

Business Continuity Planning: having plans in place to be able to withstand potential disruption to or loss of service.

Additionally, local authorities also have a duty to promote business continuity management within the community and parts of the voluntary sector.

4.3The programme of work is also influenced by the LRF’s Community Risk Register (CRR), a formal assessment used to assess risk and control measures and to prioritise work activities where any gaps in capability or capacity are identified.

4.4The Safety Emergency and Risk Management (SERM) Board has responsibility for monitoring emergency planning performance across the County Council. This is chaired by Alan Warner, Corporate Director (People and Property). Its membership comprises assistant directors from each of HCC’s Departmental Management Boards who themselves are the resilience ‘champions’ within their own departments.

The SERM Board:

  • Sets strategy
  • Co-ordinates and monitors emergency planning and business continuity activity across the authority
  • Has an annual business plan that sets out the authority’s resilience priorities for the year

The Board regularly receives a report on compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) and monitors the additional activity being undertaken across departments to meet the highest standards listed in the Audit Commission’s self assessment guidance.

4.5Appendices 1-3 in the EP Business Plan lists the programme of work which will be undertaken to support each of the three groups identified above (4.1)

Background Papers

Hertfordshire Resilience Community Risk Register

Hertfordshire Resilience Strategic Objectives 2008/09

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

080403 Emergency Planning.doc 1