UK Resilience
Last updated: 28 October 2008
Recovery is a complex and long running process that will involve many more agencies and participants than the response phase. It will certainly be more costly in terms of resources and it will undoubtedly be subject to close scrutiny from the community, the media and politicians alike. It is therefore essential for the process to be based on well thought out and tested structures and procedures for it work in an efficient and orderly manner.
Non-statutory guidance on the multi-agency structures and processes that can be used during the recovery phase are given in Emergency Response and Recovery. However, recent emergencies have shown that local responders would benefit from access to more detailed guidance, hence the production of this National Recovery Guidance.
In addition, responders have indicated that having access to a generic Recovery Plan template would also be of assistance as they take forward their recovery planning. In light of that, a Recovery Plan Guidance Template has been drawn up using examples from many existing local authority recovery plans and the experience of those affected by events such as severe flooding and other major emergencies both in the UK and abroad.
The Recovery Plan Guidance Template provides generic guidance to assist in the recovery phase of emergencies. Depending on the scale or nature of the emergency, some parts may not be relevant and a flexible approach both to the emergency and recovery is needed. It is also important to bear in mind that, if the event is regional or sub-regional in scope, this plan must, by necessity, be a part of the wider recovery process. Reference should be made to the contents of the Community Risk Register when producing the plan to ensure it reflects the hazards and threats in the local area.
The Template has been developed to enable it to be adapted for use at different levels, eg. on a regional, Local Resilience Forum (LRF) or local authority geographic footprint. Users can extract whatever content they feel is appropriate to their particular needs. For example, users may wish to develop a Local Authority-based Generic Recovery Plan, and/or an LRF-based Generic Recovery Plan, or incorporate a Recovery chapter in an LRF-based Generic Major Incident Plan, etc. There are no rules as to which approach should be taken, so long as:
The Template explains:
The template is equally applicable to Wales, where similar structures exist at the local level. However, responsibilities devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales must be taken into account in recovery planning.
[TBC]
The principles and guidance set out above are relevant to Northern Ireland. However, the statutory and organisational context is different. A Guide to Emergency Planning Arrangements in Northern Ireland and The Northern Ireland Civil Contingencies Framework set out contingency planning, including recovery planning arrangements for Northern Ireland.
The Local Government Emergency Management Group publication, The Role of District Councils in Emergency Planning and Response: Support to other Organisations provides information on some local recovery arrangements.
The Local Authority is the agency responsible for planning for the recovery of the community following any major emergency, working closely with other local and regional partners via the Resilience Forums.
Following an emergency, it will usually co-ordinate the recovery process, including by chairing and providing the secretariat for the Recovery Co-ordination Group, with support from the full range of multi-agency partners as necessary. The Recovery Plan Template provides details of those other multi-agency partners who may be involved in recovery and outlines their roles and responsibilities.
When carrying out their recovery planning, local authorities, along with their Local and Regional Resilience Forum partners, need to agree how they would co-ordinate the recovery from emergencies that cross local authority boundaries. The agreed arrangements need to be detailed in the relevant local and regional plans.
Where the emergency crosses a local authority boundary but remains within one LRF area, the affected Authorities will need to decide whether to establish one Recovery Co-ordination Group (RCG) at the LRF level, or whether to operate separate RCGs in each Local Authority area. To ensure there is consistency of approach, no duplication of effort, and to reduce the burden on agencies that cover more than one Local Authority area, the recommended approach would be to have one RCG to cover all affected communities within the LRF area. In this instance, it would be sensible for the affected Local Authorities to designate a Lead Local Authority that would provide the RCG Chair and Secretariat. Other Local Authorities could then provide Deputy Chairs as necessary.
Where the emergency crosses LRF boundaries, consideration should be given to the potential assistance that the Regional Civil Contingencies Committee (RCCC) could provide in ensuring consistency of approach, reducing duplication of effort, minimising the burden on responders, and facilitating the sharing of information, support and mutual aid. Reference should be made to the relevant Generic Regional Response Plan for details of how Local Authorities are represented at RCCC meetings.
In an event requiring national level recovery structures to be activated, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (Cabinet Office) will decide the Lead Government Department, based on the type of emergency.
The Regional Resilience Team in the relevant Government Office will provide the conduit for communication with the nominated Lead Government Department.
Other Government involvement in national level recovery structures will depend upon the specific emergency. Responsibilities will lie where they fall.
Where emergencies cross Government (or in the case of Northern Ireland, country) boundaries, it is clearly still vital that recovery efforts are co-ordinated. However, it should be recognised that different legislation and funding streams, as well as different structures, may be in place in the Devolved Administrations. These are outlined in the detailed topic sheets in this guidance. Areas that border Devolved Administrations are encouraged in the planning phase to agree how recovery would be co-ordinated in cross-government boundary incidents and record this in the relevant local and regional plans.
Within the Devolved Administrations, the same Recovery Co-ordinating Groups would be established. Equally, in place of Regional Civil Contingencies Committees, the Devolved Administrations could establish their equivalents (Wales Civil Contingencies Committee for Wales, TBC for Scotland, TBC for NI) to fulfil the same role.
Many aspects of recovery fall within the devolved responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales, which will therefore act as the Lead Government Department in those instances.
[TBC]
Recovery planning for local emergencies would fall to district councils and other local organisations. For civil contingencies purposes Northern Ireland district councils (other than Belfast City Council) work in Groups. The Local Government Emergency Management Group (LGEMG) co-ordinates civil contingencies activities across district councils and other organisations. Arrangements are in place for councils to decide quickly on a lead council for local emergencies which cross council or Group boundaries.
District Councils which border the Republic of Ireland have arrangements with local authorities across the border for dealing with any local incidents which cross the border.
In emergencies with a regional dimension a lead government department or the Northern Ireland central crisis management machinery would co-ordinate response and recovery, although local organisations would still have a significant role to play at community level.
In regional emergencies with a cross border dimension, the Northern Ireland Executive would work closely with its counterparts in the Republic of Ireland to ensure a co-ordinated approach to response and recovery.
Local Authorities are expected to fund and carry out Recovery Planning through their normal Emergency Planning workstreams.
Focus on Recovery: A holistic framework for recovery in New Zealand [External website]
[TBC]
General enquiries: Cabinet Office, 22 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH.
Contact: via feedback form.
[Terms and conditions, privacy and copyright] [Complaints procedure] [Document readers] [
RSS Feeds] [This website is speech enabled]