Regional resilience

Regional Resilience and Emergency Response

Communities and Local Government have lead Government Department responsibility for resilience at the regional level, and it is the Regional Resilience and Emergency Response Division (part of the Fire and Resilience Directorate) which leads on co-ordination of work on regional resilience and the interface between Central Government and the Regional Resilience Teams in the Government Offices.

The Regional Resilience tier

The regional structures described below provide the platform for a regional role in both planning and response in relation to civil contingencies. While the regional tier provides improved co-ordination and facilitation, the actual delivery of a response to a disruptive event remains for the most part with local responders (emergency services, local authorities, etc). The full regional tier, including of the Regional Civil Contingencies Committee, will only become involved in a single site incident if the local response (including locally arranged mutual aid) is in danger of being overwhelmed and requires support.

The Government Offices (GOs)

The GOs represent central Government in the nine English regions and provide a useful link to local areas. Regional Resilience Teams (RRTs) have been operational in each of the GOs since April 2003. They were established to improve co-ordination and the flow of information within and between regions, and also establishing an effective two-way flow of information central Government and local responders, in preparation for an emergency, and, if necessary, in supporting the response to an emergency.

The key roles for the RRTs and wider GO will be:

supporting the local response and providing a channel for the exchange of information between central and local tiers
monitoring the wider impacts of an emergency
supporting the co-ordination of the response where the emergency affects a number of localities within the region and in liaising with other GOs and the Devolved Administrations during cross-border emergencies

The mechanism for alerting, mobilising, and information sharing between local responders and the GO will be set out in Regional Resilience 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); communicating with the local level, other regions and Central Government.

Regional Resilience Forums (RRFs)

Regional Resilience Forums were formed to bring together the key players, including central government agencies and the Armed Forces, and representatives of local responders including the emergency services and local authorities. The Forums work to improve the co-ordination of planning at a regional level and improve communications between the centre and the region and between the region and the local response capability.

Regional Civil Contingencies Committees (RCCCs)

A separate committee, the Regional Civil Contingencies Committee, would be formed to co-ordinate the regional response to an exceptional event which completely overwhelmed local responders or which had an impact over a wide area. In these circumstances, it is normal for the local GOLD Commander or lead Government Department to seek support from the regional tier.

An RCC is a multi-agency group including representatives from across the region of the emergency services, local authorities, the GO and others. Membership may be similar to that of the Regional Resilience Forums, although it should be made clear RRFs have no role in response.

The precise role of the RCC is likely to vary depending on the nature of the emergency, but generally 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 with the region and if necessary, outside the region
ensuring effective communication between local, regional and national response
identifying regional resource priorities, and
providing where necessary a regional spokesperson

If established, the GO will provide support for Regional Civil Contingencies Committee.