What is Emergency Planning and Resilience?
The Emergency Planning and Resilience Team of the Council is situated in the Community Safety Service and holds responsibility for coordinating the Council's response to emergency situations in accordance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Newham is classified as a Category 1 responder, and in the event of an emergency, the Council must collaborate with emergency services to carry out essential on-the-ground tasks and subsequently lead recovery efforts in conjunction with local communities.
The well-being of our residents is our top priority during emergency incidents, which can encompass a wide range of events such as house fires, flooding, storms, power outages, public health emergencies, and other types of crises. To ensure our residents receive the best possible care, our team works diligently to provide prompt and effective assistance.
In order to fulfil our emergency planning and resilience obligations and provide the necessary support for our residents during times of crisis, we take the following measures:
- A weekly rota for the Borough Emergency Control Centre (BECC) is published, specifying the BECC on Call Group who will handle any emergency situation. This Group is available 24/7.
- The BECC on Call Group comprises of GOLD (Corporate Director), SILVER (Director), Resilience Advisor, BECC Manager, Rest Centre Managers, Communications, support staff, Humanitarian, British Red Cross, and on-call personnel from all of the Council's service areas.
- The primary responsibility of this on-call group is to ensure that our residents are appropriately supported and cared for, regardless of the type of emergency.
The primary responsibilities of our team are:
- To ensure that the Council meets its legal obligations under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
- To establish, maintain, and revise contingency plans for managing significant incidents throughout the Borough.
- To maintain a close working relationship with emergency services, other local authorities, and numerous agencies and organisations within the London Resilience Forum. This ensures that suitable arrangements are in place, and all stakeholders are prepared and able to respond in the event of an emergency.
Regarding incidents that impact their constituents, councillors can expect:
- To be regularly informed and updated so they can keep their community informed.
- Potentially to assist in the provision of support to their residents, depending on the nature of the incident.
- In such cases, assistance and guidance will be available to councillors.