London’s borough leaders report that they are continuing to support a pan-London response network for major emergencies.
London Councils’ Leaders Committee has agreed to continue to ring-fence a share of the grant boroughs receive from government so that they can carry on developing ways of better co-ordinating services across the capital to support Londoners in the event of a disaster.
Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 all boroughs have a duty to ensure they have a thorough emergency plan in place to deal with events including terrorism, illness epidemics and freak weather. They also need to work closely with other boroughs to share information and support when emergencies occur. In London this is co-ordinated by London Resilience.
Initiatives the boroughs’ renewed funding will support include the:
co-ordination of pan-London local authority arrangements including the Gold Command which ensures that a rota of borough Chief Executives is in place 24-hours a day. The nominated Chief Executive is on standby to attend the Police-led Strategic Co-ordination Centre, and represent all London boroughs at strategic (Gold) co-ordination meetings
provision of the London Local Authority Co-ordination Centre at Clapham, a back up site at Redbridge and staffing with a 24/7 response capability in the event of a pan-London emergency
provision of appropriate secure communications between London boroughs and other parts of the pan-London co-ordination structure. Currently the creation of a dedicated secure internet communications network (Extranet) for London is being investigated
management of a pan-London mass activation communication system, ensuring effective time critical response arrangements.
London Councils’ Executive member for Crime and Public Protection, Ian Clement, said: “It is vital that everyone who lives, works and visits the capital has peace of mind that London is ready and able to deal with any eventuality. London boroughs are committed to ensuring that there is a well co-ordinated and speedy response network to support our local communities if they are affected by any kind of disaster. The agreement to continue our support to the pan-London resilience arrangements is testament to this.”
