The Staffordshire Prepared website contains useful information about what you can do to prepare for an emergency as a home, business or community.
What is Emergency Planning?
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 defines an emergency as:
“an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare, the environment or an act of war or terrorism that threatens serious damage to UK security.”
The role of emergency planning is to ensure that when such instances occur, the Council is fully prepared to respond, mitigating the impacts and supporting the community affected.
What is East Staffordshire Borough Council's role in emergency planning?
East Staffordshire Borough Council is classed as a Category 1 emergency responder, along with Staffordshire County Council, the emergency services (police, fire), health authorities and the Environment Agency. These organisations work closely together with Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit to risk assess and develop planned responses for emergencies.
As a category 1 responder, ESBC has a number of duties including:
- to assess the local risks in East Staffordshire that need to be planned for
- to develop and maintain emergency plans and business continuity plans, to respond to incidents within East Staffordshire
- to warn, inform and advise the public before, during and after emergencies have occurred
- to share information and cooperate with other agencies, ensuring the effective management of emergencies and coordination of planning
- to provide business continuity advice and support to local businesses and voluntary organisations
East Staffordshire Borough Council has a suite of emergency plans which document its response and recovery arrangements in order to respond to emergencies or incidents in the Borough, or which may impact upon the Borough.
Local Authorities such as East Staffordshire Borough Council, will provide assistance to the emergency services in the initial stages of a major emergency. We also provide temporary shelter, such as rest centres, for people who are be made temporarily homeless as a result of a major emergency.
Once the initial stage of a major emergency has passed, the Local Authorities will play a leading role in recovery.
For more information contact us on the details below:
- East Staffordshire Borough Council's Principal Democratic Services Officer | 01283 508306
- Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit | 01785 898618
Further information about emergency planning in Staffordshire can be found at the Staffordshire Prepared website
Information about Civil Contingencies and the responsibilities of responder agencies can be found at the Gov.uk website.
How to contact the Council in an 'out of hours' emergency
Emergency Telephone - (01283) 517111 - For out-of-hours emergencies only
The Borough Council provides an Emergency Telephone number, (01283) 517111, for out-of-hours emergencies in the borough.
The Emergency Telephone is used by residents to report emergencies only, (such as lost and found dogs, pollution incidents, flooding, problems in parks and car parks and many others).
In some cases the caller may be referred to another organisation, e.g. South Staffordshire Water, Severn Trent Water, County Highways or the Environment Agency.