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Cabinet Office open final consultation on revised chapters of Emergency Preparedness
A consultation on the revision of the Cabinet Office guidance document ‘Emergency Preparedness’ has been announced this week.
The original document, a statutory guidance that accompanies the Civil Contingencies Act, was designed to set out a generic framework for civil protection; however recent changes in government target structure have highlighted the need for clearer more specific guidelines.
The changes
The document has been put through extensive review this year, and this will be the final consultation assessing the following changes:
- Chapter 1 has been amended to help bring the guidance in line with the new government policy on “localism and decentralisation”, and also outlines the role of the Police Service in Northern Ireland.
- Chapter 13 has been updated to reflect the government’s emphasis on localism and the abolition of national targets. It will outline the impact this will have on responder monitoring mechanisms and the relationship responders should have with local authorities: “The new chapter 13 provides clarity about responsibilities, whilst promoting local accountability…it provides guidance on how Local Resilience Forums and the DCLG RED team can assist responders, acting as ‘critical friends’, fostering bi-lateral arrangements and challenging organisations when things go wrong.”
- Finally, the reviewed Chapter 16 covers collaboration and cooperation between LRFs in England: “The new chapter aims to support enhanced compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) by encouraging local responders not to lose valuable existing working arrangements”
The final consultation will remain open for comment until 23rd December 2011.
Click here to view a summary of the proposed changes, and the revised chapters in full.
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