Emergency response plan

Most incidents are controlled and dealt with by the police, fire service and ambulance service (blue light services) without ever involving the council. However, when the police consider that an emergency is likely to require assistance beyond the resources available to them in normal circumstances, they will declare a major emergency and inform the council.

Our emergency response plan is then put in place. The plan is deliberately flexible and provides a generic framework outlining our response arrangements should the need ever arise.

Having such a plan in place ensures the council meets its emergency planning duties of:

• assessing the likelihood, risk and potential effects of a particular emergency
• preparing action plans for the deployment of resources
• co-ordinating the local authority's response, and recovery
• training staff involved in the emergency plans
• validating the plans through exercises and training
• liaising with the emergency services to ensure an effective and integrated response
• identifying and locating resources and facilities