Gwefan llywodraeth y DU

Local responders

Local responders are the building block of emergency preparedness and response in the UK. Local responders, particularly the emergency services, are used to dealing with emergencies as part of their daily work and are best placed to respond to most emergencies in the first instance.

The legal framework

The Civil Contingencies Act sets the current UK framework for dealing with civil protection. This legislation is built upon the principle that local responders are the bedrock of preparing for, and responding to, emergencies. It sets out the responsibilities of those local responders, and it ensures structure and consistency in local civil protection activity.

It outlines the duties of local responders preparing for emergencies. These include:

• cooperating with other local responders and sharing information
• preparing emergency plans and business continuity plans on the basis of risk assessment
• communicating with the public about the risks of emergencies both before and during an emergency
• providing advice and assistance to businesses and voluntary organisations on business continuity

Regional and central government will become involved only if an emergency proves to be wider in scale or bigger in impact than local responders can handle on their own.

• UK Resilience - Civil Contingencies Act Opens new window

Local resilience - the importance of cooperation

Cooperation between a large number of organisations is fundamental to emergency preparedness and response.

Many organisations are well used to working together on both preparing for and responding to emergencies. The emergency services, for instance, obviously work together when responding to emergencies. They also work closely in policy and planning, and undertake joint training and exercises. Likewise, utilities companies have close links with local authorities and emergency services.

Local responders carry out training exercises (simulated emergencies) to test their ability to respond to the full range of emergencies (including natural disasters, terrorist attacks and industrial accidents). They do this together with central and regional government, and devolved administrations, as part of the government's coordinated exercise programme

Local resilience forums

The primary mechanism for multi-agency cooperation at the local level is the local resilience forum. These groups are generally based on local police areas (with the exception of London), and bring together all the organisations that have a duty to cooperate, along with others who would respond in an emergency.

Forums ensure that the preparation work for emergency situations is conducted effectively, with all local responders working together. Find your nearest forum by following the link below.

• Local resilience forums in England and Wales Opens new window