AGENDA ITEM 7

BOROUGH OF POOLE

EMERGENCY COMMITTEE

12TH April 2006

REVIEW OF CIVIL CONTINGENCY ARRANGEMENTS

PART OF PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN: No

1.PURPOSE AND POLICY CONTEXT

1.1The purpose of this report is to seek Members’ consideration of the independent review of the Council’s Civil Contingency arrangements and an Action Plan to respond to the findings of the Review.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1.Members are asked to note the report at Appendix A which reviews the Council’s Civil Contingency Arrangements.

2.2.Members are asked to approve the Action Plan at Appendix B.

2.3Subject to Members’ decision at 2.2, the Cabinet be recommended to adopt the Action Plan.

3.BACKGROUND INFORMATION

3.1At the last meeting of the Emergency Committee it was agreed to commission a review of the Council’s Civil Contingency arrangements (Minute 5 refers).

3.2Tom Griffin the Ex-Chief Executive of Suffolk District Council and an adviser to the LGA on Emergency Planning, was commissioned to undertake the review.

3.3The review consisted of interviews with relevant officers and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Emergency Committee. The consultant spent one day in Poole so the number of people who could be interviewed was limited. The Council’s plans and the Bournemouth and Poole Resilience Group website were also reviewed. It is worth noting that the review found that recent responses to emergency situations had been credible but there was room for improvement.

3.4The headline results of the review are as follows,

  • The Borough of Poole has made reasonable progress in meeting its new duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
  • Specifically, working with its partners, it has put in place an initial Community Risk Register.
  • Inadequate progress has, however, been made in Business Continuity Planning.
  • In recent months, the Borough has been unlucky in having to face a number of major incidents (e.g. a prolonged armed siege; a fire which led to a serious power blackout), which have tested the Borough’s capacity and capability to respond.
  • The Borough is fortunate to have a loyal, committed and relatively stable workforce.
  • These factors have been of assistance to the Borough in delivering a credible response to these incidents, but there are concerns at both Member and Officer level that that response could have been better.
  • There is an absence of strategic leadership of the Emergency Planning function. This is reflected in ambiguity about the role of the Emergency Committee and a lack of commitment to Emergency Planning by Service Units.
  • Poole has a devolved structure, with significant autonomy delegated to a large number of Service Units. In such a structure, clear direction and control is required if key corporate objectives are to be achieved and if those objectives are to be “owned” by the Service Units. These characteristics are not sufficiently present in the case of Emergency Planning.
  • As a consequence, whilst a framework for responding exists in the form of the Incident Plan, this may not fully be underpinned by the readiness of Service Units to respond.
  • Command and Control arrangements for responding to emergencies are potentially inadequate to meet the demands of a complex emergency.
  • There is ambiguity surrounding the role and priorities of the Emergency Planning Officer.
  • There is a need to ensure that staff likely to be involved in responding to an emergency are adequately trained and exercised.
  • There are concerns about the way in which media issues are handled.
  • Poole Borough Council can only devote limited resources to Civil Contingencies Planning, but there is scope for these resources to be augmented, and for some of the above issues to be addressed, through joint working/partnerships with neighbouring authorities.

Simon Hendey

Head of Housing and Community Services

12th April 2006

Emergency Committee 12 April 2006 Item7, Appendix B

Recommendation / Action / Lead officer / Target date for completion
1. Clear and ambiguous terms of reference for Emergency Committee / 1a,Review of democratic arrangements for Emergency planning in other Councils / Emergency Planning Officer / May 2006
1b,Review of Terms of Reference for Emergency Planning Committee / Head of HCS / September 2006
1c,Agreed Terms of Reference for Emergency Committee including governance arrangements for Bournemouth and Poole resilience group by Council / Policy Director / September 2006
2. Emergency Committee and senior management articulate commitment to Emergency Planning as corporate priority within the Borough / 2a, Extended Management Team for all Service Unit Heads to explain responsibilities under Civil Contingency Act / Policy Director / July 2006
3. Review role of Emergency Planning Officer / 3a,Review role of Emergency Planning officer / Head HCS / June 2006
3b,Establish a work plan to support Council response to Emergency Planning / Head HCS / June 2006
4. Review of Service unit role in terms of Emergency Planning / 4a, Review of role and preparedness of service units in terms of response to Emergency Planning / Head HCS / July 2006
4b, Emergency Committee to consider the roles of service units response to Emergency Planning / Head HCS / September 2006
5. Consideration of provision of control centre for emergency situations / 5a, Review of arrangements for provision of a control centre / Emergency planning officer / September 2006
5b, Identification of additional provision required / Emergency planning officer / September 2006
5c, provision made as part of budget process / Management team / November 2006
5d, Review of back up power and telephony systems for the civic centre / Head of property Services / September 2006
6. Review of joint working / 6a, Identification of joint working with BPRG members / Head HCS / October 2006
6b, Report recommendations to Emergency committee / Head HCS / January 2007
7. Review training requirements of staff /members involved in Emergency Planning / 7a, Develop training programme for staff and members / Emergency Planning Officer / September 2006
7b, Develop a guidance note for chair, vice chair Emergency committee members and ward councillors on the respective roles in an emergency situation. / Head of HCS / September 2006
7c, Establish a training programme for key staff positions in relation to Emergency planning / Emergency planning officer / September 2006
7d, Review training against plan and establish training programme / Emergency Planning Officer / November 2006
8. Develop a multi-year exercise programme / 8a, Establish a multi-year exercise programme / Emergency Planning Officer / September 2006
8b, Report to Emergency Committee / Emergency Planning Officer / September 2006
9. Review business continuity plans / 9a, Review service unit business continuity plans / Portfolio holders / January 2007
9b, Report to Emergency committee / Policy Director / January 2007

Simon Hendey

Head of Housing and Community Services

12th April 2006