What is Emergency Planning?
The primary role of the Emergency Planning department is to co-ordinate the statutory duties of the Council of the Isles of Scilly under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA) and other related legislation. The CCA defines Local Authorities as Category 1 Responders. These duties are achieved in cooperation with the other designated Category 1 and 2 Responders on the islands and on the mainland (including the emergency services, facilities and transport service organisations, government departments and other local authorities) and all other organisations with responsibilities under the Act in relation to:
- Risk assessment.
- Planning for and responding to emergencies.
- Business Continuity Management (including promotion of general Business Continuity advice to local businesses and the voluntary sector).
- Warning and informing the public in the event of an emergency.
- Providing information to the local community about risk assessment processes and emergency plans.
The following responsibilities arise from these duties:
- Preparing and maintaining the Council of the Isles of Scilly Emergency Procedures Guide and the Business Continuity Plan.
- Preparing and maintaining any necessary local plans, including Isles of Scilly-specific sections of the Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum (LRF) plans.
- Assisting in the development of multi-agency plans.
- Regularly liaising with the emergency 'blue lights' services and other Category 1 or 2 Responders and voluntary organisations, including: Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Maritime Management Organisation (MMO), Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Environment Agency, Met Office and Royal National Lifeboat Institution, among others.
- Training Council of the Isles of Scilly staff and the necessary voluntary organisations to assist in the event of a major incident. This includes training for the provision of humanitarian assistance during emergencies. We also arrange for Directors and Heads of Services to receive training in managing the Council's response to and recovery from an emergency.
- Planning and overseeing regular multi-agency exercises in order to verify the content of emergency plans and facilitate cooperation between agencies.
- Providing generalised advice to local businesses and voluntary organisations with regard to Business Continuity best practice.
- Co-ordinating the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance, if required.