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English Regions

Background

Regional government structures provide the platform for a regional role in emergency response where one would add value by improving co-ordination between local and central response. The actual delivery of a response to a disruptive event will remain for the most part with local responders. This section outlines the English regional arrangements for emergency response.

The Government Offices for the English Regions

The Government Offices (GOs) in the English regions can provide a useful link between local and central government during a non-terrorist emergency. Government departments may use GOs to cascade information and guidance to local responders. The GOs also have substantial knowledge and experience of the working of central government and so provide a valuable first port of call for advice and guidance.

A Regional Resilience Team (RRT) has been established in each of the GOs to co-ordinate the response of the whole GO to emergencies. RRTs will often be the first place that government departments turn to for a situation report on non-terrorist emergencies that could generate ministerial interest or national/regional press coverage, and RRTs in turn will look to local responders for this information.

In order to ensure an effective two-way flow of information between local responders and central government in an emergency, GOs may place a Government Liaison Officer (GLO) within the Strategic Co-ordinating Group (SCG).

The mechanisms for alerting, mobilising and information sharing between local responders and the GO will be set out in Regional Response Plans, agreed for each region. The plans will outline procedures for: activating the emergency management facilities in the GO; activating the Regional Civil Contingencies Committee (RCCC); and communicating with the local level, other regions and central government.

GOs can provide particular support in relation to consequence management - where the scale and nature of an incident is such that the effects are likely to be felt outside the immediate locality or to overwhelm the local response - and in areas such as arranging Ministerial or VIP visits. They work closely with the Government News Network (GNN) in the regions and, with their links to government departments, can help local responders to ensure that a co-ordinated and coherent message is given to the public. Where a spokesperson for the region as a whole is appropriate, one option is the Regional Director of the GO.

GOs may play an important role in cross-regional co-ordination, liaising with other GOs and the Devolved Administrations (DAs) to support the response effort during cross-border emergencies.

GOs will provide support for Regional Civil Contingencies Committees (RCCCs) if established.

Regional Civil Contingencies Committees in England (RRCs)

RCCCs are intended as a means of co-ordinating the response to and recovery from an emergency at a regional level in England. While most emergencies are dealt with by local responders at a local level, recent experience has highlighted that there may be very exceptional circumstances when the response to an emergency would benefit from co-ordination at a regional level. This may be when local response arrangements are overwhelmed, or when the majority of localities within a region are affected.

An RCCC is a multi-agency group including representatives from across the region of the emergency services, local authorities, the GO and others. Membership may, in principle, be similar to that of the Regional Resilience Forum (RRF), although it should be made clear that RRFs have no role in response, being instead focused on emergency planning.

The precise role of an RCCC is likely to vary depending on the nature of the emergency, but generically its role may include: maintaining a strategic picture of the evolving situation within the region; assessing any issues that cannot be resolved at local level; facilitating mutual aid arrangements within the region and, where necessary, between regions; ensuring effective communication between local, regional and national response; identifying regional resource priorities; and providing, where appropriate, a regional spokesperson.

In London, unlike other regions in England, many local responder agencies have boundaries that align with those of the region. Hence, in London there is little distinction between an RCCC and the Strategic Co-ordinating Group (SCG). In practice, particularly for immediate-impact, police-led emergencies, the group is likely to be referred to as an SCG. The London Resilience Team would provide the GO representatives to either the SCG or the RCCC.

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