Written Question · S2W-26431 · Session 2
What steps it will take to review the preparedness of the emergency services and other local responders to deal with simultaneous major inc…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to review the preparedness of the emergency services and other local responders to deal with simultaneous major incidents.
The answer
It is vital that Scotland’s emergencyservices and other organisations with responsibilities for dealing with civil contingenciesare properly prepared to deal with such incidents. A great deal of work has alreadybeen done, flowing from the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to ensure that appropriateprocedures are in place to respond to a range of risks and I commend the contributionmade by the emergency planning community. But in the light of the terrorist attackson London in July 2005 and other recent emergencies, it is right that we should takestock of Scotland’s ability to respond to simultaneous major incidents,particularly those which occur across administrative borders or require a multi-agencyresponse.
The review will be conductedby officials from my department and HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services Jeff Ord.It will be consultative and wide-ranging: the review team will hold discussionswith all key stakeholders over the coming months and report to ministers in thesummer of 2007. In the context of assessing overall preparedness, the review willconsider the potential for increased collaboration between the emergency servicesand other responders, the lessons learned from the London bombingsof July 2005, and the future of fire control rooms. I am today publishing two documentswhich stakeholders will be asked to consider and discuss with the review team: areport by HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services on the preparedness of the Fire andRescue Service to deal with simultaneous terrorist attacks like those in London,and an analysis by my officials of the main concerns expressed by respondents toour 2004 consultation exercise on the future of fire control rooms. Both documentsare available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39661and 39662) and on the Scottish Executive website at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/05/18155955and
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/05/18155521.
The review will be conductedby officials from my department and HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services Jeff Ord.It will be consultative and wide-ranging: the review team will hold discussionswith all key stakeholders over the coming months and report to ministers in thesummer of 2007. In the context of assessing overall preparedness, the review willconsider the potential for increased collaboration between the emergency servicesand other responders, the lessons learned from the London bombingsof July 2005, and the future of fire control rooms. I am today publishing two documentswhich stakeholders will be asked to consider and discuss with the review team: areport by HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services on the preparedness of the Fire andRescue Service to deal with simultaneous terrorist attacks like those in London,and an analysis by my officials of the main concerns expressed by respondents toour 2004 consultation exercise on the future of fire control rooms. Both documentsare available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39661and 39662) and on the Scottish Executive website at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/05/18155955and
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/05/18155521.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-26431 by reference.