How London delivers a multi-agency response to an emergency
I
n times of emergency, the Civil Contingencies Act requires all
responding agencies to cooperate and share information.
In the capital, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) plays a leading role in developing and coordinating emergency planning, response and recovery arrangements for local authorities. Here, Tom Brady of LFEPA explains the background to the Act, how it is implemented in London and examples of its use since enactment in 2004.
A comprehensive review of London’s preparedness was conducted in recognition of new and emerging threats, following the significant events of 11 September 2001.
The threat of a terrorist attack on a crowded place had emerged, generating the need for a review of existing arrangements and the development of planning assumptions at all levels for emergency planning, moving from civil defence to resilience and risk management.
Shortly before this, in response to flooding, pandemic influenza and foot and mouth disease, Central Government instigated a review of civil defence legislation in December 2000 to ensure that UK preparedness, response and recovery arrangements were fit for purpose. This resulted in the production of the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004, which became the platform for emergency preparedness for public services and businesses.
Coordinated multi-agency response
The results of both reviews transformed London’s emergency planning landscape. Following assessment of the learning outcomes from 9/11, it was clear that London required a means to deliver a coordinated,
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multi-agency response at the regional level; this produced the London strategic communication and coordination arrangements.
These arrangements are designed to ensure that the London Resilience Partnership, comprising more than 170 organisations, can work together to coordinate the response to and recovery from major incidents, mitigating the impact on London’s communities and businesses. The core of this was the strategic coordination protocol, which sets out how London will achieve this, and from it a suite of emergency plans and procedures were produced, in response to the new and emerging threats. These plans became evolving documents, enhanced to remain fit for purpose and reflective of national, regional and local level arrangements. The plans cover: large scale evacuation, mass fatalities, pandemic influenza, warning and informing, and site clearance. To support these plans, training and exercising is undertaken at all levels, ensuring that they can be implemented effectively in response to a major incident.
The London Resilience Team and the Business Sector Panel
During the review of London’s preparedness, the London Resilience Team was established, with the role of coordinating more than 170 different organisations, which formed the London Resilience Partnership, to ensure London’s effective delivery of the duties within the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004. This included coordinating a platform for London’s businesses to engage and ensure resilience was at the top of their agenda: the Business Sector Panel.
The Business Sector Panel is focused on ensuring engagement from businesses, identifying risk control measures, coordinating
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the sharing of information between businesses and the wider partnership, sharing best practice and identifying resilience impacts of regulatory change, to ensure that London’s businesses are prepared to mitigate the impact of an incident on the economy and infrastructure of the capital city.
The London Resilience forum
The Civil Contingencies Act identified the need for a pan-London body and, as a result, the London Resilience Forum was formed. The Forum, which has been meeting for the past 10 years, comprises representatives from all sectors, including emergency services and businesses, and has the mission of ensuring London is prepared to respond to and recover from emergencies. This is achieved through the ability of London to detect, prevent and, if necessary, withstand, manage and recover from disruptive challenges. The London Resilience Forum is also made up of six sub- regional resilience fora, which promote communication flow between local responders and planners, including businesses, at the regional level. At the local level, there are 33 statutory borough resilience fora that have the duty of assessing risks within the borough and implementing multi- agency planning at the local level, through liaison with their partners and businesses.
London Local Authority Gold arrangements
The London Local Authority Gold Arrangements provide a means by which London’s 33 local authorities can respond as one in a collective, coordinated and consistent manner. These arrangements empower one London Local Authority Chief Executive to act as the strategic representative of London local authorities, the London Local Authority Gold (LLAG). The LLAG is supported by the London Local Authority Coordination Centre (LLACC,
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