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Emergency Planning

What the Council does about Emergencies

Grounding of klondiker Pionersk at Ness of Trebister october 1994 Emergency Planning is responsible for the readiness of the Council to respond to any emergency alongside the Emergency Services.

The activities of the Council and the other Emergency Services before, during and after an emergency are dictated by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2005.

The core of this legislation is to improve the resilience of communities to respond to disruptive events of any size. This means that there are obligations upon individuals, families and businesses to be prepared for an emergency (see: What you can do about Emergencies and Business Continuity). This also means that there are statutory duties placed upon Local Authorities, Emergency Services, various companies and wider Government Authorities to be prepared for an emergency.

The legislation divides those with duties placed upon them, into two groups:

  • Category 1 Responders:
    • Local Authority - Council
    • Police
    • Fire service
    • Ambulance service
    • Coastguard
    • Hospital - NHS
    • SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency)
  • Category 2 Responders (who support the Category 1 Responders), which include:
    • Utility Companies (e.g. Electricity, Water, Communications)
    • Transport (e.g. Airports, Port Authorities)
    • Voluntary Agencies (e.g. Red Cross, WRVS)

The legislation requires responders to cooperate and coordinate with one another to ensure their preparedness for any emergency.

This involves all responders creating and maintaining plans that specify what each responder does in the event of an emergency. Some plans, such as the Council Emergency Plan (pdf), are as general as possible to enable the greatest flexibility of response. For example, the people of Lockerbie could never have expected that a jumbo jet would crash onto their village. Other plans are more specific to known potential hazards within the community, such as fuel depots or airports. These potential hazards within the community are reviewed on a regular basis and placed within a Community Risk Register.

Emergency plans must be exercised regularly to prove that they work, that they relate to current circumstances and that training of personnel is effective. Feedback from exercises, which may involve any or all of the Responders, is integrated into plans and training to keep them updated.

Emergency Plans recognise that Shetland is a remote community, with isolated communities within it, at the end of extended transport and communication links. Therefore, part of any planning involves the contingency of Media during Braer incidentcalling in resources from outside Shetland, if the scale of the emergency goes beyond the ability of local responders. This had to be done when the oil tanker "Braer" grounded in 1993.

The Council has a duty to warn and inform the public, but not to cause alarm unnecessarily. All forms of media; printed, Internet and local radio will be used to inform the public.

The Council has a duty to continue to provide services to the community throughout the time of an emergency. This is especially important to the vulnerable within the community and emergency planning takes this into account.

The public should be aware that many Council staff may be involved in an emergency and that means that services may not continue to be provided as normal during and immediately after an emergency. This may mean for example that the frequency of a regular service may temporarily become less frequent.

If you require further information on What the Council does about Emergencies, please contact us.