MEETING Authority AGENDA ITEM 17 MEETING DATE 21 September 2006 DOCUMENT NUMBER FEP 925 SUBJECT London Assembly 7 July Review Committee REPORT (13.09.06) by The Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Planning. Summary The Authority was provided with an interim position in response to the London Assembly 7 July Review Committee report at its meeting on 22nd June 2006 (FEP 865). The Review Committee has invited detailed responses to be submitted by 30th September 2006. This report provides a detailed response to the Report for submission to the Review Committee. Officers have also been requested to attend the Review Committee at its meeting scheduled to take place on 22 November 2006. Recommendation That the report be received and the Authority agrees the response contained with appendix A which will be forwarded to the London Assembly 7 July Review Committee by way of response to their report. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Contents INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2 APPENDIX A - DRAFT RESPONSE TO THE LONDON ASSEMBLY 7 JULY REVIEW COMMITTEE..... 4 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 4 TERMS OF REFERENCE .................................................................................................. 4 REVIEW REPORT PUBLICATION PROCESS......................................................................... 4 FINDINGS OF THE REPORT............................................................................................. 5 REPORT OF THE 7 JULY COMMITTEE – VOLUME 1 ............................................................. 7 THE FIRST HOUR – ESTABLISHING WHAT HAD HAPPENED. ................................................ 7 THE FIRST HOUR – SITE BY SITE.................................................................................... 10 ALDGATE.................................................................................................................. 10 EDGWARE ROAD ....................................................................................................... 10 KING’S CROSS/ RUSSELL SQUARE................................................................................. 11 TAVISTOCK SQUARE .................................................................................................. 13 THE FIRST HOUR – RESCUE AND TREATMENT OF THE INJURED ......................................... 14 CONCLUSIONS (7 JULY REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT)..................................................... 14 VOLUME 2 – VIEWS AND INFORMATION FROM ORGANISATIONS ...................................... 15 VOLUME 3 – VIEWS AND INFORMATION FROM INDIVIDUALS ........................................... 15 Version 8 1 INTRODUCTION 1. On 7th July 2005 the first suicide bomb attacks were carried out on the UK mainland. These events were anticipated as inevitable under the current threat climate and London Fire Brigade had been in preparation for this for a number of years. Over the preceding four years an extensive range of new vehicles, equipment, procedures, policies and training have been introduced to help us respond to this new threat. Lessons learned from previous incidents have been implemented and we continue to develop our response capability for terrorist events in the future. 2. Following the tragic events of 7th July 2005 the London Fire Brigade has fully engaged with the multi- agency debriefing and review process that has taken place. 3. In addition the Greater London Assembly set up a 7 July Review Committee chaired by Richard Barnes. 4. The terms of reference of the Review Committee were as follows: To review and report with recommendations on lessons to be learned from the response to 7 July bomb attacks: • How information, advice and support was communicated to Londoners, • How business continuity arrangements worked in practice, • The role of Broadcasting Services in communication, • The use of Information and Communication Technology to aid in the response process 5. Evidence to the Review Committee was sought and provided by officers. The evidence included the attendance at a Committee hearing; a full written submission and providing supplementary questions from the Committee Chair. The Review Committee published its report at a media launch on 5 June 2006. 6. The Authority received an initial response to the 7 July Committee at its meeting on 22 June 2006 (FEP 865). 7. Concern was previously expressed to the Authority that (unlike the Parliamentary Select Committee process) the Review Committee did not provide officers the opportunity to check the accuracy and context of the evidence provided. In addition LFEPA received the report as it was placed on general public release which hindered our ability to check the report for accuracy and provide a detailed response to the concerns raised at the media launch. 8. The Review Committee has announced that the publication of its report does not represent the conclusion of its work. Responses to the report are invited (by 30 September 2006) and the Committee have stated that they intend to request progress reports against their recommendations in November 2006 and May 2007. 9. Attached at Appendix A is the proposed response to the 7 July Review Committee. The responses have been restricted to those points and findings on which the Authority wishes to express a view together with the report publication process previously reported to the Authority. 10. In addition officers have accepted an invitation to attend the 7 July Review Committee meeting scheduled to be held on 22 November 2006 to update the Committee on the outstanding matters raised. Version 8 2 RECOMMENDATIONS 11. It is recommended that this report be received and the Authority agrees the response contained in appendix A which will be forwarded to the London Assembly 7 July Review Committee. Version 8 3 APPENDIX A - DRAFT RESPONSE TO THE LONDON ASSEMBLY 7 JULY REVIEW COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION 1. We are pleased to have the opportunity to comment on the findings of the report produced by the London Assembly 7 July Review Committee and look forward to having the opportunity to provide further comment for the November 2006 Review Committee update. 2. Following the tragic events of 7th July 2005 London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority officers have fully engaged with the multi-agency debriefing and review process. We have also provided information to the London Assembly 7 July Review Committee as well as to the London Regional Resilience Forum. 3. We are fully committed to the implementation of ‘lessons learned’ from incidents and exercises. We recognise the value in the early identification of lessons and continue to learn from such challenges to improve the service which we provide to Londoners 4. We acknowledge that the fire and rescue service should be and is, accountable to the communities which we serve. LFEPA has fully engaged with the Review Committee, to produce this full and honest response to the report. 5. We are rightly proud of the professionalism and conduct of LFEPA staff, both those involved in planning and preparing for such attacks as happened on 7 July 2005 and those who responded on the day. 6. For the purposes of this response, any point or finding numbers shown in bold type refer to the report of the London Assembly 7 July Review Committee. 7. Where the Review Committee’s findings make recommendations for response by other agencies no comments on the findings are made. TERMS OF REFERENCE 8. The 7 July Review Committee has produced a report under the following terms of reference: 9. To review and report with recommendations on lessons to be learned from the response to 7 July bomb attacks: • How information, advice and support was communicated to Londoners, • How business continuity arrangements worked in practice, • The role of Broadcasting Services in communication, • The use of Information and Communication Technology to aid in the response process. REVIEW REPORT PUBLICATION PROCESS 10. At its meeting held on 22 June the Authority noted that the publication process adopted by the Version 8 4 Review Committee hindered officers ability to check the contents of the report for accuracy and to provide early detailed response to the concerns raised in the media launch. 11. LFEPA received the report as it was placed on general public release whilst it is understood that the report was issued to the media prior to the press conference to facilitate reporting arrangements. 12. If a process similar to a Parliamentary Select Committee had been adopted it would have permitted officers to comment on the accuracy and context of the evidence submitted. It would also have allowed the Authority to receive the report 24 hours prior to official publication to permit constructive comment to be made. FINDINGS OF THE REPORT 13. Finding 5: We recommend that the Metropolitan Police Service, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service provide us with an update on the rollout of digital radio systems within their services in November 2006, May 2007 and November 2007, so that we can monitor progress towards full implementation of TETRA-based radio communications across London’s emergency services. 14. As part of the Department for Communities and Local Government national Firelink project the London Fire Brigade is planned to go live on the Airwave digital TETRA system third quarter 2008. LFEPA