LOCAL RESILIENCE FORUM

Cleveland Local Resilience Forum

Introduction

The Forum is the body that oversees emergency planning and civil contingencies across the four unitary local authority areas of Hartlepool, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough and is coterminous with the boundary of Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade. It comprises of senior officials representing all Category 1 Responders, as defined under the Civil Contingencies Act, together with key partners. Whilst it is not a statutory body it is seen as the principal mechanism for facilitating multi-agency co-operation across the responding bodies to a major incident.

It is chaired by the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police. The Secretariat is provided by Andy Summerbell, Chief Emergency Planning Officer of the Cleveland Emergency Planning Unit. The Forum meets on a quarterly basis, normally at Police Headquarters.

Representatives from the following organisations and agencies provide the membership:

• Acute Hospitals

• British Red Cross, representing the Voluntary Sector

• Cleveland Emergency Planning Unit

• Cleveland Fire Brigade

• Cleveland Police

• Environment Agency

• Hartlepool Borough Council

• Health Protection Agency

• Maritime and Coastguard Agency

• Middlesbrough Borough Council

• Military

• PD Teesport

• Primary Care Trusts

• Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

• Regional Resilience Team, Government Office for the North East

• Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

• Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Principle aims and objectives of the Forum

1. To ensure that there is an appropriate level of preparedness to enable an effective multi-agency response to emergency incidents which may have a significant impact upon the communities of Cleveland.

2. To ensure effective delivery of those duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 that need to be developed in a multi-agency environment.

3. Provide support for the preparation by all or some of its members of multi-agency plans, protocols and agreements and the support for or co-ordination of multi-agency exercises and other training events necessary to address identified or foreseeable local and wider area hazards.

4. To facilitate integrated emergency and civil contingencies planning across the Cleveland area involving the four local authorities, emergency services, environment agency, harbour authority, health organizations and other identified agencies.

Groups and Sub Groups

The Forum has a number of Groups and Sub-Groups that concentrate on particular aspects of preparedness for the 'Cleveland' area. These include:

1.  Local Resilience Working Group chaired by the Chief Emergency Planning Officer- this is the principle group which oversees the work of the following sub groups:

·        Risk

·        Exercise Planning

·        Business Continuity

·        Flood Risk

·        Voluntary Sector

·        Temporary Mortuary

·        Search and Rescue 

2.  Cleveland Media Emergency Forum chaired by the Chief Emergency Planning Officer, the primary aim of which is to ensure plans, protocols and practices are in place to warn to communicate with the public during a major incident. This forum oversees the work of the Warning and Informing Sub Group.

Membership of the Groups and Sub Groups are mainly emergency / contingency planners drawn from the organisations and agencies represented on the Local resilience Forum, but are combined with specialists from partner organisations and industry to provide a unique combination of expertise.  For example, representatives from BBC Radio Cleveland and the chemical industry sit on specific groups.

For more information visit the Cleveland LRF website

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