Major Emergency Response Plan - Summary plan
This is a summary of the Council's Major Emergency Response Plan that sets out the responsibilities and actions the Council will take in the event of a “Major Emergency.”
The Council has updated its Major Emergency Plan to take into account the new legal responsibilities it has under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004).
This Act sets out the roles and responsibilities of all local authorities and other agencies that will be involved in responding to a major emergency.
It is a single framework for all local responders – and will ensure there is a consistent and effective response to such emergencies across the country.
Meeting the responsibilities outlined in the Act will also ensure that the Council can deal effectively with a full range of emergencies – from Major Emergencies resulting from incidents within Waltham Forest to catastrophic emergencies that affect the whole of London.
What is a major emergency?
A “Major Emergency” is defined as an event or situation that threatens serious damage to human welfare or the environment, or war or terrorism that threatens serious damage to security.
Examples include:
- “Natural” emergencies e.g. freak weather, infectious disease or industrial accidents
- “Malicious threats” - bombs, chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear (CBRN) attacks or mass shootings
The emergency services (usually the Police or the Fire Brigade) will lead the immediate response to any major emergency.
The Council will work closely with them at all times, and will usually lead on the action taken to help the community to return to normal once the emergency services have cleared the incident scene.
What is the Major Emergency Response Plan?
The Major Emergency Response Plan sets out the framework that the Council will use to co-ordinate its own response to the impact of Major Emergencies.
It sets out what actions the Council will take and how – including the command, control and communications structures that will be used, the roles and responsibilities of Council services, and how the Council will work with others to respond to a Major Emergency.
Emergency response
An event or situation will be designated as a Major Emergency by the senior Emergency Planning (EP) officer on duty at the time, under special delegated powers.
A Major Emergency Response will normally be triggered by information received by the Council’s call centre. This information will be checked and validated before any action is taken.
The Duty EP Officer will then be alerted immediately and will assess if the incident is a Major Emergency. If this is the case, the Council will activate its Major Emergency Response.
This will involve calling out the staff who will be involved in the Council’s response to the incident. These staff have already been identified and receive ongoing training and advice.
A LALO (Local Authority Liaison Officer) will go to the scene of the incident and will provide a link between the Council and the emergency services.
The Council’s emergency response team will be set up and will operate from a Crisis Management Centre (CMC). This will include key officers from a range of council services that will be involved in dealing with the incident.
All Council services are responsible for developing their own plans for how they would work in an emergency. This includes clear procedures for ensuring “normal business” continues wherever possible and appropriate, as well ensuring key tasks can be carried out at short notice and out of normal working hours.
Special attention has been given to the particular needs of vulnerable people in these service plans. Vulnerable people will include all those under the age of 16, those inhibited in physical movement for any reason (age, disability etc), and those who are deaf/hearing impaired or blind/visually impaired.
The CMC will be the base for co-ordination of the Council’s action to respond to the incident. It will also liaise closely with the emergency services.
The Council has identified a number of locations that can be opened as emergency rest centres in the event of evacuation. These will be run by trained Council staff or the voluntary service.
Help for the Council in an emergency
Waltham Forest is part of the North East London Local Resilience Forum, which includes all Emergency Responder agencies across Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking & Dagenham and Newham.
These organisations have an obligation to help each other, wherever possible, in a major emergency. Assistance between Local Authorities will be co-ordinated through the London Local Authority Control Centre (LLACC).
If a Major Emergency affects the whole or most of London, a group will be set up to co-ordinate activity across the capital. This group will include a Local Authority Chief Executive, who will represent all London Boroughs including Waltham Forest.
The Council will also work with local partners when responding to a Major Emergency. These include the emergency services (police, fire brigade, ambulance service), and health partners (Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust, Whipps Cross Hospital).
It will also work with other organisations who are required to provide information and assistance to the Council. These include the utilities (gas, electricity, water), transport companies and phone providers.
The Council also has arrangements with a number of voluntary organisations who can help in a Major Emergency. This includes running rest centres, and providing medical assistance or transport for those with minor injuries.
