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Civil emergencies

What Is An Emergency

An ‘Emergency’ as defined within the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 is:  

1. an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the United Kingdom,
2. an event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment of a place in the United Kingdom, or
3. war, or terrorism, which threatens serious damage to the security of the United Kingdom.

Although Bedford Borough Council as a ‘Category 1 Responder’ plans and prepares for all types of emergencies, the response to point (c) above would be dealt with at the outset by the Government and/or the Military, and a local authority will only later be involved in the restoration process if the area in question is deemed safe.    

In terms of a local authority response to an emergency, it is likely that for the purposes of local government emergency planning, response processes and planning in general will be focussed around dealing with a ‘Major Incident’. As defined by the Home Office and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, a Major Incident is:  

“A serious disruption to life arising with little or no warning which causes or threatens one or more of the following effects:

• Death or injury to numbers of people;
• Extensive damage to property and the infrastructure;
• Contamination of the environment;
• Major but temporary shortages of the essentials of life on a scale beyond the capacity of the services for the public operating under normal conditions and requiring the special mobilisation, organisation and co-ordination of those services.”         

Solace/Home Office                               

In comparison to the definition of an ‘Emergency’, one can see that a ‘Major Incident’ is something that a Local Authority such as Bedford Borough Council would always be heavily involved in dealing with. The provision of emergency shelter/accommodation, addressing local environmental problems such as water contamination, and the liaison with utility companies to restore services, are all very much areas in which Local Authorities have responsibility.

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