The aim of the Civil Contingencies & Emergency Planning Unit is to plan for a flexible approach to all manner of emergencies, enabling the County Borough Council to respond effectively and in a way that is fully integrated with the response procedures of the emergency services and our other partner agencies.


In this respect, the work of the Emergency Planning Unit centres on:

• Planning.
• Information Sharing.
• Co-operation
• Communicating with the Public.
• Training & Exercising.
• Operations.
• Warning and Informing.
• Risk Assessment.
• Business Continuity (Internally).
• Business Continuity (Voluntary Agencies and Local Business)

The Civil Contingencies & Emergency Planning Unit activities are funded by means of a Government grant, through the Cabinet Office via the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Civil Contingencies Act is an important element of the Government's work to enhance and update the resilience of the United Kingdom to disruptive challenges of the 21st Century received Royal Assent on Thursday, 18 November 2004. The Government originally announced a review of emergency planning in December 2000 following the major flooding of that year. As part of this review, a discussion document was produced in 2001, which envisaged the introduction of new legislation for Emergency Planning. A public consultation was held in the second half of 2001 following which the Government announced its intention to bring forward a Civil Contingencies Bill.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 repeals outdated legislation, including the Emergency Powers Act 1920 and the Civil Defence Act 1948. The new legislation and accompanying non-statutory measures will deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK. It aims at improving 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 new Act sets out the roles and responsibilities of local responders, ensuring consistency in civil protection activity and enhancing performance. These clear expectations and responsibilities will help ensure that responding agencies are

able to deal with the full range of emergencies, from localised major incidents through to catastrophic emergencies.

A consultation on the underpinning Regulations and Guidance package will begin shortly. The Act also modernises the legislative tools available to government in order to provide an effective response to the most serious emergencies. It will also ensure that these powers are used in a proportionate manner and in accordance with the Human Rights Act and within the established constitutional framework.

In summarising the development of the Act, Ruth Kelly, Minister for the Cabinet Office, recently said:

The Bill's consultation and the Joint Committee stage provided the opportunity to work with key stakeholders such as local government, emergency services and the voluntary sector to get the Bill right. The Act has benefited significantly from

their support and the successful co-operation between stakeholders.

The Act is a crucial element of the Government's sustained efforts to deliver a marked improvement in the UK's resilience to emergencies. Throughout the Parliamentary passage we have worked closely with the political parties, particularly in debating amendments to improve the Bill. The Bill has undergone intense scrutiny by both Houses and the contributions by all parties involved have proved invaluable.

Through their co-operation the Government is now in a position to produce an Act that provides the best possible civil contingency framework in the UK.

Locally, the Emergency Planning Unit is working closely with the other members of the Merthyr Tydfil. Particularly the Merthyr Tydfil Local Resilience Forum to help to implement the Civil Contingencies Act.

The Act came into force on 14th November 2005; each local authority must comply with the six duties by this date, with an extra duty to follow on 1st May 2006.

For further information about the Act, please refer to the UK Resilience or the Emergency Planning Society websites at the following addresses:

http://www.ukresilience.info/home.htm

http://www.the-eps.org

Lifeline provides an emergency alarm service to anyone in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough and surrounding areas of South Wales, who feels vulnerable or alone, whatever their age or needs. The Lifeline offers reassurance, support and peace of mind by providing a direct link to its local control centre, and its services are offered day and night, around the clock, every day of the year. The 24-hour nature of the Lifeline service also provides for other 24-hour services such as Lone Worker Monitoring, Emergency Repairs, Radio Communications, etc. and, crucially, a key role in emergency planning situations.

The Lifeline Control Room is ideally placed to identify an emergency situation from the onset of the emergency, whether through notification and observation of developing severe weather conditions or through the general public and/or emergency services contacting the Control Room to seek advice or assistance

Outside of office hours.

The Lifeline Control Room has established contact information and communication links with:

• Out-of-hours duty officers.
• Other officers and managers who may be involved with emergency planning issues.
• Shop traders via the HART radio link
• A Communication link to Emergency Services.
• Direct links to local authority contractors for emergency repairs.

For more information about the Lifeline Service Contact Sian Davies

Ext:-5249

The Emergency Planning Unit has produced the Dealing with Severe Weather leaflet to increase public awareness of actions and issues relating to Severe Weather.

Severe weather (e.g. heavy snow and ice, blizzards, dense fog, gales, heat or flooding) can cause great disruption to daily routines. The success in limiting this disruption depends upon actions from a variety of agencies. Together with the

Emergency services and other agencies, the local authority will help to return the situation to normal as quickly as possible. This is achieved by co-ordinating the delivery of essential public services, directing their response towards limiting the degree of disruption caused by severe weather and protecting the community particularly the young, the old and the infirm.

To obtain more information throughout these periods of severe weather, contact numbers and other useful information will be given out through:

• Local radio and television broadcasts
• Local newspapers
• County Borough Council libraries
• The County Council's website - www.merthyr.gov.uk  

Further assistance regarding the Councils roads can be obtained by contacting Control Room (01685 385231), a 24-hour helpline for highway reports and for the public to report problems on the roads and to obtain advice. The County Borough Council has also produced a plan on Winter Maintenance, which shows the principal salting routes in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough. Keeping in mind, however, that these routes cannot always be guaranteed due to rapid changes in the weather, Also during such difficult times it is important to remember that everyone has a vital part to play. Being a good neighbour by being aware of those who may be particularly vulnerable is very important.

If Business Continuity is a new concept for your organisation then securing the support of senior management is vitally important. This will help to ensure that the process is fully embedded into the culture of the organisation and that business continuity becomes part of everyday management for the organisation and not seen as just a one off planning project.

Not only is it the responsibility of top senior management to make the decisions as to what functions of the business are more critical than others, it should also be their task to ensure that middle managers are engaging with the business

Continuity process in all aspects of their daily work. under the new Civil Contingencies Act 2004, business continuity implementation and promotion will become one of the seven statutory duties for the County Borough Council of Merthyr Tydfil.

For further information about Business Continuity, please refer to the UK Resilience, Business Continuity Institute or the Emergency Planning Society websites at the following addresses:

• http://www.ukresilience.info/home.htm
• http://www.thebci.org
• http://www.the-eps.org

A copy of the Unit’s Business Continuity Advice Leaflet can be obtained at the Civic Centre, or you can contact us, our details can be found below.

Did you Know?

• 80% of businesses affected by a major incident without a business continuity plan either never re-open or close within 18 months
• An estimated 46% of businesses do not have a business continuity plan.
• Of those with plans, only 30% have been tested and one in five has only ever been tested once.
• Nearly 1 in 5 businesses suffer a significant disruption every year.

Twenty six Officers attended a the session of the Emergency Planning Unit’s Chief Executive, Directors and Senior Management Awareness Seminar which was run at the Civic Offices on 18th November 2004.

The Seminar covered an introduction to the concept of integrated emergency

Management, the structure and role of emergency management within Merthyr Tydfil, an update on Emergency Planning work, a brief resume of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the response of local authority to an emergency.

REST CENTRE TRAINING

The Rest centre Training was carried out over two one-day training events on 11 and 12 May 2006. Training took place at the two main Rest Centre locations – Rhydycar Leisure Centre and Aberfan Community Centre - identified in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Major Incident Plan

1. On each day a maximum number of delegates were 30 divided into three groups of 8, which consisted of Emergency Services, Integrated Adults Services, Integrated Children’s Services, Leisure Staff, Voluntary Sector Partners and Neighbouring Local Authorities.
   
2. The training was undertaken by Tom Picton Phillipps from RICE with assistance from the Head of Civil Contingencies and Emergency Planning Unit, Robert Gough and his Deputy, Kez Mathias.
   
3. The Aim of the training was to develop delegates’ knowledge, skills and attitudes with regard to setting up, managing and running a Rest Centre in the event of an emergency.
   
4. The Objectives. By the end of the training, delegates were able to: 
   
   a. Explain the purpose of a Rest Centre.
   
   b. Set out the essential functions to be performed by staff at a Rest Centre.
   
   c. Describe the way in which each of the two chosen locations will be organised to meet the performance of those functions.
   
   d. Explain the importance of integrated working and effective communication between all agencies engaged in responding to an emergency and with the public.
   
5. At the conclusion of each day’s training each delegate received a Certificate of Attendance.
   
   

Emergency Rest Centres