Article: Resilience Management Article Body Resilience management is the process by which organisations respond and recover from a major incident within their area of control. In the past this function has been commonly referred to as emergency planning, but with the implementation of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, emphasis was given to not only the immediate response but the recovery and pre-planning stages. This means that resilience now incorporates risk management, emergency planning and business continuity. Risk management Risk management involves generic risk assessment of the issues that may affect the borough as a whole. Specific risks to Barnsley Council are identified and mitigating actions are instigated to alleviate the effects that may be experienced. The Corporate Resilience Plan details the specific risks to Barnsley that have been identified at a regional level. Emergency planning Emergency planning is the compilation and implementation of set procedures that can be initiated to respond to any incident. They are overseen by Emergency Planning Advisors who ensure that the procedures are monitored, maintained and reviewed on a regular basis. All procedures are tested and exercised using various methods to ensure their effectiveness and that staff involved within the plan can respond in an efficient manner. Business continuity Business continuity is the process by which organisations identify their critical functions using an effective method. It also provides procedures to ensure that services can continue to deliver these functions during a disruption and restore all other services following a systematic approach. Definition of a major incident Barnsley Council defines a major incident as: an event or situation, which threatens serious damage to the environment of the Barnsley metropolitan borough area; or the human welfare of its population; or civil unrest, war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the borough. Adapted from Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Cabinet Office. Throughout all of the response to a major incident, the council has to maintain its own services to the community as far as is reasonably possible. The role of Barnsley Council The main role of Barnsley Council's major incident response is to: Provide support to the emergency services Maintain day to day services (where possible) Provide short and long term care to those affected Deliver cross boundary assistance, if necessary Co-ordinate the response of organisations other than the emergency services, such as the voluntary sector Rehabilitate the community and restore the environment back to normality as quickly as possible Note: It must always be remembered that the council is not an emergency service and cannot respond instantly as they do. We provide a measured response using the resources available at the time. Role of the council's Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Unit The plan is the production of the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Unit (HSERU) who are responsible for the overall development of the council resilience arrangements and the delivery of related training and exercising programs. Staff awareness and training for the implementation of this plan may be undertaken in conjunction with representatives from partner/external agencies, where appropriate. During the planning and preparation phases, the HSERU is able to provide advice and support to all directorates within the council with regards resilience arrangements. The HSERU will carry out all emergency planning related liaison on the councils behalf with partner/external agencies. Any internal or external related emergency planning queries shall be passed to this unit. South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum - community risk registers The South Yorkshire community risk registers have been compiled by a group of South Yorkshire emergency planning professionals and covers all 38 identified risks within the county which includes adverse weather, pandemic flu, terrorism, flooding and ties into the council's Corporate Resilience Plan which details specific risks to Barnsley and the councils response to them. Contacts If you wish to know more about Emergency Planning in Barnsley or have any questions, please contact us at the address below: Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Unit Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Chief Executive's Department Human Resources PO Box 680 Barnsley S70 9JF Office email: BMBCResilience@barnsley.gov.uk Specific emergency planning information can be found at the following web links: The Cabinet Office UK Resilience Website Direct Gov Preparing for Emergencies Website South Yorkshire Emergencies Website