Emergencies - community resilience

It seems that not a week can go by without the news reporting that a community has been affected by an emergency of one type or another. Recommendation 70 from Sir Michael Pitt’s report following the 2007 floods is:- The government should establish a programme to support and encourage individuals and communities to be better prepared and more self-reliant during emergencies, allowing the authorities to focus on those areas and people in greatest need.

This is something that is purely a recommendation for communities/parishes/towns and there is no legal requirement for any parish, town or community to write a plan.

By having a plan in place it is hoped that communities will be able to respond to emergencies when they occur in their area and recover quicker and fully. Local knowledge is invaluable when dealing with an emergency by having a written plan communities will be able to assist emergency services direct assistance where it is required most.

Any community group can develop a plan, however most Parish or Town Councils take this task on as they represent all of the residents of an area and may have access to some funds.

If you are interest in completing a plan below is a template plan what you may find useful.

• Parish plan

• Guidance templates

Community risk register

A community risk register has been developed to identify the main hazards in the area:

In order to plan for and protect against emergency situations, we have looked carefully at the risks present within the district.

Information on risks such as major roads and rivers liable to flood has been provided to the County Council and forms part of the Gloucestershire Community Risk Register. The Risk Register is a record of all known risks within the County.

The Gloucestershire Community Risk Register has been created to re-assure people and communities in Gloucestershire that an assessment of potential hazards has been made or considered. Also to satisfy the requirements outlined in the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004 and its associated statutory guidance ( Emergency Preparedness) which can be assessed through the UK Resilience website. The Gloucestershire Community Risk Register will continue to be updated when required and reviewed on an annual basis.

http://glosprepared.co.uk - Gloucestershire Community Risk Register.