Emergency Response Plan 2006 Protection marking: Version: 1 Date: April 2006 Foreword The Breckland Council Emergency Response Plan replaces all previous editions, which should now be destroyed. Under the provisions of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the requirement to have in place adequate Emergency Planning and Business Continuity strategies is significantly enhanced. It is important that we all recognise the statutory requirements which have to be in place, adequate emergency response arrangements etc is placed upon the entire Breckland Council staff and not just one department or team. We must have staff adequately trained and prepared to undertake their ‘emergency roles’ and the District Emergency Planning Officer will continue her work to ensure that Breckland Council is ready to meet its commitments under a single or multi agency response to any major or significant emergency which could occur with the County. The Emergency Response Plan will be distributed to appropriate personnel throughout the Authority. Many of the arrangements outlined in the various sections of this plan are generic and the principles will be applied to our response to any major or significant emergency situation, whether it is purely one which affects the internal operations of Breckland Council or the wider community of Norfolk. This document should be read in conjunction with the Breckland Council Business Continuity Plans. All staff should take every opportunity to understand the role of Breckland Council when dealing with major or significant emergencies. Becky Hellard Chief Executive Breckland Council April 2006 3 Purpose of the Plan This document has been produced in accordance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, with enactment of legislation taking effect from 14 November 2005 and outlines the role of Breckland Council and its response to a major or significant emergency by: • Providing guidance to all personnel in Breckland Council who are required to respond to a major or significant emergency • Outlining Breckland Council’s procedures to support the Emergency Services and public involved in the incident • Outlining Breckland’s management strategy for managing the return towards normality for the community of Breckland after a major or significant emergency • Ensuring all departments involved in the response to the emergency are aware of their decision making responsibilities and the need for the preservation and protection of records relating to an incident Protocols This plan will take effect on 1st April 2006. It will be reviewed in December 2006 and at yearly periods thereafter. This process will be advanced should legislation or best practice guidance necessitate such action. The master copy of this document and a record of the review and decision-making process will be held by Breckland’s District Emergency Planning Officer (DEPO) and will be made available for audit as necessary. Departments are requested to notify the DEPO of any changes that may impact on the contents or procedures outlined in this document. 5 Record of Amendments Amendment No Date Inserted Signature District Emergency Planning Officer Breckland Council Elizabeth House Walpole Loke Dereham Norfolk NR19 1EE Telephone: 01362 656351 Fax: 01362 656266 E-mail: [email protected] 7 Distribution List EMERGENCY SERVICES No. of Copies Norfolk Constabulary 1 Norfolk Fire Service 1 East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust 1 NORFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL Emergency Planning Unit 1 DISTRICT/BOROUGH/CITY COUNCILS District Emergency Planning Officers: Broadland 1 North Norfolk 1 King’s Lynn 1 Norwich 1 South Norfolk 1 Great Yarmouth 1 EXTERNAL Government Office for the East of England 1 HQ 49 (East) Brigade (Nottingham) 1 RAFLO Cottesmore 1 Cabinet Office – Emergency Planning College Library 1 Environment Agency - Ipswich (who will circulate accordingly) 4 HEALTH SYSTEMS Primary Care Trusts 6 Acute Hospitals 3 Strategic Health Authority 1 Health Protection Unit 1 Mental Healthcare Trust 1 9 Glossary Bellwin Scheme Discretionary scheme for providing central government financial assistance in exceptional circumstances to affected local authorities in the event of a major emergency. DEPO District Emergency Planning Officer CCS Civil Contingencies Secretariat DCMS Department of Culture, Media and Sport Defra Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DfT Department for Transport DoH Department of Health DTI Department of Trade and Industry DETR Department of Education, Transport and the Regions Emergency Centre Operations centre from which Breckland Council will manage its response EPDO Emergency Planning Duty Officer (Norfolk County Council) EPU Emergency Planning Unit (Norfolk County Council) FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FSA Foods Standard Agency GO-East Government Office for East of England GOLD Strategic Management GNN Government News Network HO Home Office HSE Health and Safety Executive JOC’s/Silver Joint Operations Centres (Silver Control) LA Local Authority MACC Military Aid to the Civil Community MOD Ministry of Defence NCC Norfolk County Council NCS Norfolk County Services NHS National Health Service NPS Norfolk Property Services NSWWS National Severe Weather Warning Service ODPM Office of Deputy Prime Minister NRF Norfolk Resilience Forum RAYNET Radio Amateurs Emergency Network RIMNET Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network RVP Rendezvous Points VIP Very Important Person 11 CONTENTS Page Foreward............................................................................................................................. 3 Purpose of the Plan.............................................................................................................5 Protocols ............................................................................................................................. 5 Record of Amendments ...................................................................................................... 7 Distribution List.................................................................................................................... 9 Glossary.............................................................................................................................. 11 Contents.............................................................................................................................. 13-15 SECTION 1 – STRATEGY Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 19 Breckland Council ............................................................................................................... 19 District/Borough/County/City Council Responsibilities........................................................ 19 Central Government Response........................................................................................... 20 The Lead Department Concept........................................................................................... 20 - 21 Lead Government Departments - Default Positions............................................................ 21- 25 The Military.......................................................................................................................... 26 Major Emergency – Definition............................................................................................. 26 - 27 Major Emergency – Declaration.......................................................................................... 28 Major Emergency – Phases................................................................................................ 28 Breckland Emergency Response Plan................................................................................ 28 Departmental Emergency Plans ......................................................................................... 28 Business Continuity Plans................................................................................................... 28 SECTION 2 – BRECKLAND COUNCIL DISTRICT EMERGENCY PLANNING OFFICER AND OFFICER EMERGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibilities of Breckland Council ................................................................................. 31 Chief Executive ................................................................................................................... 32 Emergency Director (Appointed by Chief Executive) .......................................................... 32 District Emergency Planning Officer ................................................................................... 33 Head of Communications (Media)....................................................................................... 34 Finance ............................................................................................................................... 34 - 35 Asset Management ............................................................................................................. 35 Director of Corporate Resources/Cultural Services ............................................................ 35 Director of E-Services ......................................................................................................... 36 13 Head of Human Resources................................................................................................. 36 Tactical (Silver) Manager ................................................................................................... 36 - 37 Emergency Planning Liaison