Contingency planning: Types of emergency
Most emergencies in the United Kingdom are handled at a local level by the appropriate emergency services, local authorities and agencies, with no direct involvement from Central Government. However, sometimes the scale or complexity of an incident is such that some degree of Central Government input or co-ordination is required.
Due to our wide remit, Defra has the lead role in a number of scenarios, in Government jargon, this is called ‘Lead Government Department responsibilities’. Those responsibilities are summarised via the links below.
The role and responsibilities of Lead Government Departments is set out in the Cabinet Office publication The Lead Government Department and its Role – Guidance and Best Practice.
For further information on the generic Central Government Arrangements for responding to an emergency is available on the UK Resilience website.
Other things we have an interest in
We also consider the impact of any emergency on the full range of our interests and have arrangements in place for contributing to the overall response and national recovery arrangements.
Some of our other interests include:
- rural communities;
- air quality;
- waste management;
- food commodities (livestock products, crops, horticulture, fisheries); and,
- as an employer, the impact on our own staff.
Things that other people lead on
We use a Generic Response Plan to respond to emergencies that affect our interests but which fall outside our responsibility eg
- Energy (gas & electricity) - Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
- Fuel supply – Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
- Transport – Department for Transport (DfT)
- Infectious Diseases – Department of Health (DH)
- Food Safety – Food Standards Agency (FSA)
- Severe Weather – Met Office
See:
Page last modified: 13 February 2008
Page published: 13 February 2008