Emergency planning and business continuity

Emergencies can happen anywhere at any time. Incidents which could affect Ashfield or our services include severe weather, major traffic accidents, industrial accidents, disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks, and flooding.

Being as prepared as possible for any incident

We work with other councils and organisations such as the police, fire services, and NHS to make sure we have plans and are as prepared as possible for any incident.

This includes us:

• considering the potential risk of an emergency occurring
• preparing emergency plans to address these risks and reviews them regularly to ensure their suitability and relevance
• identifying roles and responsibilities to be assumed in the event of responding to an incident or emergency with our partners
• identifying our critical functions – those which if not maintained will cause hardship for residents – and put plans in place to maintain these functions in the event of an incident or emergency
• identifying and prepare ways of communicating warnings and other information to our residents in the event of an incident or emergency
• understanding our responsibility to share information and cooperate with other responders such as the emergency services and utility companies
• providing business continuity information to businesses and voluntary groups
• providing our staff with the training necessary to operate under emergency conditions.

Business continuity

Business continuity planning is becoming more important as organisations face increasing threats and risks, both natural and man-made, to their day-to-day operations.

The main aim of any business continuity plan is to allow an organisation to react, deal with an unforeseen event, and minimise interruption to the business. A good plan should allow the business to return to normal as quickly, smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Consider risks specific to your business

You should consider risks specific to your business - if you're near water are you more at risk of flooding, or if you're in a rural area are you more at risk from being isolated in bad weather? You should also consider more general risks such as computer fraud or cyber attacks, fire, or staff being off in a pandemic. There are guides to being safe online and keeping computers safe on the Get Safe Online website.

• website: Get Safe Online - business information

If you'd like more help with business continuity planning you can contact us.