Agenda item

This report continues the cycle of regular updates that the Emergency Planning team provide for the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee. The report provides the Committee with an update on the work and priorities of the team since the last update in September 2024.

The Emergency Preparedness Report was taken as read by the Committee, with members proceeding directly to questions and discussion.

As such, the Chair opened the floor to any questions or concerns from the Committee. The highlights of the questions raised are summarised below:

·            Inquiries were made about the debrief process, specifically asking whether it involved the fire brigade and other emergency resources, and whether such processes were always handled sensitively. Darren Armstrong responded, noting that the approach used involved a combination of various emergency services and stakeholders. He explained reviews looking at responses to tragic incidents largely focused on evaluating how well responses were managed whilst identifying any areas for improvement. It was noted that while the initial incident response had been recorded as excellent, recovery phases often continued well beyond the first 24-48 hours of the incident. This was felt particularly keenly through the Council’s support of families involved in incidents, with many needing temporary housing for long periods of time. Emphasis was given to the Council’s position that resilience was the responsibility of everybody at the Council and that there was considerable reliance on maintaining a collaborative approach.

·            Approval of the report was noted by members, with the document seen to be live with healthy and reassuring changes. Questions were raised over if any emergency planning for civil disobedience or rioting had been planned. Darren Armstrong confirmed that such scenarios had been considered within the inherent risks framework and were fed into current planning processes received from the broader London risk register. He explained that work was conducted internally with colleagues, with internal warning signs monitored and information and intelligence shared throughout the Council frequently.

·            Regarding preparations required for the implementation of Martyn's Law, members asked whether any reviews were being conducted to help smoothen the implementation process and whether additional CCTV was being considered. Darren Armstrong indicated that a broader update on this topic would be brought to the next committee meeting as part of the strategic risk report, which included emergency planning as one of their strategic inherent risks. He explained they were in the initial stages of considering the factors mentioned, as their main focus over the past twelve months had been on their own improvement plan from an independent inspection report and responding to the Grenfell inquiry phase two report. The team had only recently turned attention to Martyn's Law, with a fuller update promised for the September meeting. An action was noted for this item to be included in future proceedings. Clarification was sought about Martyn's Law thresholds, noting the legislation's specific guidelines of internal events with 200 people or more and external ticketed events with 800 or more. Members asked whether the council would look at approaches for smaller numbers to build in best practices beyond these specific thresholds. Darren Armstrong confirmed this approach aligned with the team's ethos of achieving best-in-class standards. He assured that they wouldn't just adhere to legislative minimums but would look across the full spectrum, aiming for gold standards and more aspirational measures that might not fall within immediate requirements but would raise the bar as high as possible. He confirmed they would consider the legislation in its full breadth rather than just specific threshold points.

·            The importance of maintaining up-to-date accredited rest centres was emphasised, with reference made to a previous major incident in Kilburn where an accredited rest centre (the Granville) was found to be demolished, requiring emergency alternative arrangements for hundreds of displaced residents including children in their pyjamas at night. Darren Armstrong confirmed that significant work had been undertaken over the previous twelve months regarding rest centres, including site visits to ensure they remained fit for purpose. This work was linked to observations and findings from the Grenfell inquiry, ensuring that directly or indirectly linked findings were considered when determining appropriate rest centres. The team had been conducting site visits when not responding to incidents or working on improvement plans and had also provided training to rest centre staff to ensure they were fully trained and understood their roles and responsibilities for efficient, effective, and compassionate activation when needed.

·            Member’s referenced section 3.3.2 on page 89 regarding updates to business continuity templates, asking whether sufficient challenge and learning would be incorporated given the team had been asked to update them by August. Darren Armstrong explained this was an enhancement to previous business continuity exercises. Rather than simply asking areas to test their plans, they had developed a suite of off-the-shelf scenarios that heads of service and service areas could select from based on relevance. These collaborative exercises were supported by the emergency planning and resilience team in a business partner role. While they couldn't attend all exercises, they had identified those requiring the most support. The exercises included lessons-learned components to ensure genuine value rather than mere tick-box compliance.

With no further questions noted, the Chair thanked Darren Armstrong for his report, with the Committees thanks for the efforts made by the Emergency Team formally recorded. Following this, the Committee moved to RESOLVE and note the contents of the report.