The Council has an emergency plan called the Integrated Emergency Management Plan which would be activated in the event of a major emergency. The plan sets out the steps that each agency involved would have to take in order to deal with an emergency and also tries to envisage the many scenarios of such an emergency. As a Council we are as prepared as we can be to deal with the aftermath of an emergency and we do have regular training events to deal with major flooding, train or plane crashes, major fires, chemical spillages etc.

One of the most important elements of any emergency is communication, particularly with members of the public, and we have systems in place to very quickly ensure that as much information is generated and passed on.

The Civil Contingencies Act came into force in April 2005 and is an important element of the Government's work to enhance and update the resilience of the United Kingdom to the disruptive challenges of the 21st Century. The legislation and accompanying non-statutory measures aim to deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK, to improve the UK's ability to deal with the consequences of major disruptive incidents by improving the planning process at a local level, building better contacts between agencies and improving the link between local areas and central government.

The Act sets out the roles and responsibilities of local responders, ensuring consistency in civil protection activity and enhancing performance to ensure that the front line can deal with the full range of emergencies, from localised major incidents through to catastrophic emergencies.

The Act sets out seven key areas of responsibility including:

1. Co-operation
2. Information Sharing
3. Risk Assessment
4. Emergency Planning
5. Business Continuity Management
6. Working with the voluntary Sector
7. Audit and Monitoring

To view or order a copy of the Act, guidance or further information please look at the UK Resilience website.

What is Tamworth Borough Council doing?
Tamworth Borough council has welcomed the Civil Contingencies Act though many of the basic elements of the Act have been in place in Staffordshire for some years and we continue to work closely with our partners to ensure response to emergencies is effective, efficient and well co-ordinated.

The time scale for implementation of the Act was November 2005, and in order to ensure this was achieved a Local Resilience Forum (LRG) has been established for the Staffordshire area with members representing all Category 1 Responders (Local Authorities, Emergency Services, Environment Agency and Health bodies)

The LRG will ensure that the key requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act are implemented across relevant agencies in Staffordshire and to address civil protection issues. The key roles of the group are to:

• Nominate sub groups to address relevant areas of civil protection work
• Report back to the LRF on progress from sub groups.
• Agree lead responders for areas of responsibility under the act
• Look to draw up relevant plans and protocols on a multi-agency basis across Staffordshire

Further details of the LRG and other working groups formed and their progress will be posted as available.

Finally if you would like to know more about what the council is doing regarding emergency planning please contact derek-bolton@tamworth.gov.uk

For advice on Business Continuity Planning please contact stuart-altman@tamworth.gov.uk