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What the civil contingencies team do

Blackpool is a safe place to live, work and visit. However, it is important to recognise that emergencies and incidents can and do happen at any time and in any place. Emergencies and incidents can affect or threaten:

  • Human welfare - Directly affecting life and limb or indirectly through damage or disruption
  • Animal welfare - Affecting cattle and livestock
  • The environment - Contamination of land, air or water
  • Security - of UK interests within the UK or abroad

It is always a good idea to be prepared for the unexpected and often simple things can help in the event that you, your loved ones or your business is caught in an emergency or incident. Helping ourselves and others in an emergency helps improve our own resilience and that of our communities and contributes to UK resilience in general.

The civil contingencies team works to ensure that Blackpool Council meets its statutory duties as defined in the Civil Contingencies Act (2004). The act identifies local authorities as a key responder along with the emergency services and others (known in the act as category 1 responders) and specifies seven duties:

7 statutory duties for local authorities 

  • Risk assessment
  • Co-operation (with other responders)
  • Emergency planning
  • Business continuity management (BCM)
  • Warning and informing
  • Promotion of BCM to the local business community
  • Information sharing

The act enables category 1 responders and also other organisations like utility and communications companies (classed as category 2 responders) to work together to ensure that plans and response arrangements are, as far as possible, joined up so we can work together effectively in preparation for, response to and recovery from emergencies, incidents and other disruptive events.

The act also established the need for local resilience forums to enable these organisations to come together to plan and prepare.

Blackpool is proud to play its part alongside partners working within the Lancashire Resilience Form (LRF).