Community Emergency Planning

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 imposes a duty on local authorities (i.e. County, District and Borough Councils) throughout the country to prepare and maintain Emergency Plans. In turn, parish councils are asked to prepare their own plans to provide local assistance and parish information in support of the emergency services.

So, whereas the county, district and borough councils have a legal duty to prepare for emergencies, town and parish councils have a moral responsibility to do so.

However, this should not be looked upon as an onerous task involving professional planners preparing to mobilise the entire parish, but rather a local effort that reflects good neighbours preparing to look after each other.

Towns and parishes throughout Suffolk will have different demands made upon their levels of resilience depending on a number of factors, including geography, size and the nature of the emergencies likely to affect them. But as it says in the Government's "Emergency Response and Recovery" Booklet:

"The community can play a vital role in the response to and recovery from emergencies. It can provide resources, expertise and knowledge in support of the response agencies. Members of the community may need to provide self-help and can also provide support for local vulnerable people who may need physical assistance or reassurance."

So, with this in mind, you may wish to learn more. Below are links to two documents devoted to Community Emergency Planning.
Part Two is a template of a Community Emergency Plan, and Part One is a Guide to A) give you a basic insight into emergency planning, a B) to help you complete the plan itself.

You may download these to your own computer and work with them as you see fit, using as much or as little as you and your Emergency Team (see page 13 of the Guide!) deem necessary to meet your particular requirements. (The Plan Template is a MS Word document so you can edit it as you require.)

You should never consider yourself to be alone in this. Members of the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Unit, in the person of your own District Emergency Planning Officer or any member of the Central Team will be more than willing to provide further advice and guidance.

Community Emergency Plan

The Joint Emergency Planning Unit has produced two documents that provide a plan Template and a comprehensivce Guide for your use.

Community Emergency Plan Part One - A Guide (pdf 180kb)

Community Emergency Plan Part Two - Template (Word 357kb)

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