The Life Cycle of an Emergency Learning from Recent Experience
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The life cycle of an emergency Learning from recent experience Case studies Foreword Councils that have had to respond to Of particular interest was the view from emergencies know that from the public’s a number of recent emergencies that the point of view, the effects of an incident can line between response and recovery has be felt long after it first occurs and in different substantially blurred, with work on recovery ways over time. In that sense, emergencies being initiated while immediate responses can have a life cycle of their own, which calls are still being worked through, and both then for local partners to match and adapt their informing preparation for future emergencies, approaches through different phases. helping to complete the cyclical nature of integrated emergency management. As the types of emergencies that our areas are facing have become more diverse and The case studies were completed in autumn complex, this has prompted both senior 2018 through a series of interviews. This political and managerial leaders to think guide is not a comprehensive analysis of the carefully about local and corporate resilience, debrief of each emergency but aims instead and the importance of civic leadership to provide an overview of councils’ reflections in responding to and recovering from on how they and partners responded to emergencies. Therefore over recent months, the incidents, have been supporting their the Local Government Association (LGA) residents and communities to recover and has updated its councillor guide on civil how they are building the lessons learnt into emergencies, and Solace has worked with the planning for future emergencies. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to update their joint guidance for The two emergencies are clearly very chief executives from 2014. different, yet common themes and learning emerge from them, which are summarised But both the LGA and Solace also felt that it at the end of this document. We hope that would be valuable to take a more in-depth both councillors and officers will find it useful look at political and managerial leadership to reflect on these in the context of their own in the context of how specific emergencies councils’ preparedness. were handled. This document takes two emergencies – the horrific bomb attack at Stephen Baker Manchester Arena in May 2017 and a flooding Solace spokesperson on civil resilience incident across Suffolk earlier the same year – and looks at them during the different stages Councillor Simon Blackburn of the integrated emergency management Chair, LGA Safer and Stronger Communities cycle; preparedness, response and recovery. Board Learning from recent experience 3 Manchester City Council Manchester Arena Attack On Monday 22 May 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an improvised device in the crowded foyer area immediately outside the Manchester Arena, where around 14,000 people had been attending an Ariana Grande pop concert. Twenty two people, including several children, were killed; over one hundred sustained physical injuries; many more suffered psychological and emotional trauma. Manchester City Council responded to the incident as a category one responder, working in partnership with a vast range of other organisations, including those which form the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum. Preparedness Leadership for resilience in Greater Manchester is provided through a lead The 10 metropolitan borough councils in politician (the Deputy Mayor of Greater Greater Manchester (GM) are served by a Manchester), lead chief executive, lead single civil contingencies and resilience unit director of public health and a lead coroner, (CCRU). This was established in 2011 with appointed from within the 10 local authorities. the objective of developing a single approach The lead chief executive is supported by a to emergency planning and resilience that Civil Contingencies Chief Officers Group is broadly consistent across all the councils comprising lead resilience officers from within the footprint of partners, such as GM each of the 10 GM councils: Manchester is Police and GM Fire and Rescue. represented by Fiona Worrall, Director of Neighbourhoods, and Chief Officer for Civil The approach recognises that many Contingencies and Resilience at Manchester emergencies have impacts across boundaries City Council. and ensures that individual boroughs benefit from a shared unit and expertise that would The lead politician, lead chief executive, lead be difficult to maintain individually. Since director of public health and lead coroner 2013, emergency preparedness, resilience represent councils on the Greater Manchester and response support to GM directors of Resilience Forum, the strategic multi-agency public health has also been integrated into forum which oversees and coordinates CCRU service delivery. multi-agency civil resilience activity across Greater Manchester. The forum commissions The CCRU is hosted by Manchester City delivery of work through the multi-agency Council, based at Greater Manchester Police Resilience Development Group (RDG) and a headquarters and is on call 24 hours a day, number of work-stream groups which form 365 days a week; the head of service is the part of the forum’s partnership arrangements. GM Chief Resilience Officer. Manchester City Council chairs the RDG and some of the working groups, including the Risk Assessment Working Group. 4 The life cycle of an emergency Manchester City Council’s own work Manchester City Council’s Chief Executive programme for emergency preparedness is Joanne Roney had been in post for just informed through the annual business plan five weeks when the attack took place, for GM local authorities (overseen by the Civil but crucially her induction programme Contingencies Chief Officers Group) and had included a session on this issue with the multi-agency work programme (overseen Fiona Worrall. Having quickly established by the Greater Manchester Resilience a relationship with the lead officer for Forum). The council undertakes an annual emergencies proved important given how assessment of the internal arrangements soon the chief executive was required to lead critical to emergency preparedness in order the response to an emergency. to identify any areas for development. Regular briefings and training in relation Reflecting the importance of emergency to civil contingencies are provided for preparedness to the city, they also provide councillors at Manchester City Council. additional funding to the CCRU for enhanced An e-learning tool is also available, and services, and have worked with CCRU and information about emergency planning is partners to develop a range of plans; the usually included in councillor inductions. GM Generic Response Plan, GM Mass The role of councillors in an emergency Casualties Plan, and the Manchester Borough is explored during briefings and training Evacuation and Shelter Plan, all utilised in sessions; emergency planning procedures response to the arena attack. Rotas were in ensure that councillors are notified of place to ensure the availability of staff for incidents where required. emergency response, including strategic officers at senior management team level, Manchester City Council and the wider tactical level officers and operational resilience forum also ensure that regular staff. Manchester City Council’s internal simulation exercises are undertaken to plans also set out the range of operational test plans and preparedness. At least one services which can play a crucial role in multi-agency strategic (gold) level exercise emergencies, for example the social care is undertaken annually; in addition, more and communications teams were deployed to tactical (silver) level multi-agency responses support the response to the arena attack. An are exercised at the Greater Manchester level Emergency Control Centre is also maintained and around the individual boroughs. Previous as a resource for coordinating internal major exercises included Exercise Winchester services in an emergency. Accord (a terrorism exercise at the Trafford Centre), Exercise Sherman (a borough based In terms of training and support, CCRU offers terrorism exercise), Exercise Triton (a GM a range of training and exercising for both wide reservoir failure) and Exercise Ebola officers and councillors. For officers, it has in (a GM response to Ebola). An event had the past commissioned a GM wide session also been held in Manchester to exchange of MAGIC (the Multi Agency Gold Incident learning in relation to mass fatalities planning Command training run by the College of and response, including speakers involved Policing) and a local one day version of the in the response to the Shoreham air crash. Emergency Planning College gold command These events had all provided significant course. The CCRU runs briefing, training and opportunities to test a range of plans, awareness sessions in individual boroughs, including many of those relevant to the which each taking responsibility for ensuring response to the Manchester Arena attack, senior officers are aware of local procedures. and helped strengthen the response to it. Learning from recent experience 5 Cooperation with expert organisations and the Manchester City Council’s immediate voluntary and community sector was also well operational response focused on the need established prior to the attack: Manchester to provide support to those affected by the City Council had commissioned training and attack and to coordinate the wider response