3 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Report
North Ayrshire Council · 2 December 2022
Back to Ayrshire Shared Services Committee — 2 December 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 South Ayrshire Council Report by Head of Legal, HR and Regulatory Services to Ayrshire Shared Services Joint Committee of 2 December 2022 Subject: Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to advise the Joint Committee on proposals within the current Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team (ACCT) Service Plan for 2023/2024 (Appendix 1) noting work activity ongoing or achieved within 2022. 2. Recommendation It is recommended that the Joint Committee: 2.1 Approve the current Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team (ACCT) Service Plan for 2023/2024 (Appendix 1) 3. Background 3.1 The ACCT has provided the civil contingencies services on behalf of the three Ayrshire Councils since it was established in 2008. 3.2 The Team has a responsibility to ensure the provision of the following key requirements on behalf of the North, South and East Ayrshire Councils; • Operation of an on-call service to provide 24/7 response for Civil Emergencies as the Duty Officer(s) on behalf of any of the affected Councils. • Preparation of a generic Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan for approval and implementation by each of the 3 Councils. • Maintenance of an accurate and up to date Emergency Contact Directory for each of the 3 Councils. • Development and delivery of training programmes to ensure key staff within each Council know and understand their emergency roles and are prepared to respond to major incidents and civil emergencies. • Preparation and maintenance of Contingency Plans for specific sites, which are also tested on a multi-agency basis at 3 yearly intervals. • Maintenance of a range of plans to cover the response to emergencies of non- site specific risk.
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2 • Annual review of the Care for People Guidelines in conjunction with the three Health and Social Care Partnerships. 3.3 This work is routinely monitored and evaluated by a Steering Group comprising the Head of Service from each Council with the responsibility for Civil Contingencies. 4. Key Work Activity within 2022 4.1 Staff absences have continued to impact the ACCT Work Plan during 2022; there are a few areas of contingency planning work that were unable to be completed within the previously agreed timescale. Where necessary and in agreement with the Steering Group these have been rescheduled to later into 2022/2023. 4.2 The recent focus of the Team has been the revision of the internal generic Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plans, which have been drafted and await approval by the Steering Group. 4.3 The Emergency Contact Directory was updated and issued in June. This document contains the contact details for all the personnel who may need to be contacted to respond to a major emergency. These are updated on a 6 monthly basis and will be reissued again prior to the Christmas break. 4.4 There has been continued focus in 2022 on internal training for those who will be required to assume the roles of Council Incident Officers and Council Incident Coordinators in the event of an emergency within any of the 3 Councils areas. 4.5 The existing Civil Contingencies eLearning packages were revised in 2022. Two new packages were also developed and launched including Council Incident Officer and Civil Contingencies Awareness Training for Elected Members. 4.6 During July 2022, the ACCT supported the Ayrshire Local Resilience Partnership’s coordinated response to the Extreme Heat event. The ALRP Disruptive Weather Response Arrangements were used to assist partners share their information. 4.5 An Avian Flu outbreak in the seabird population caused a large number to die and be found washed up on our beaches. This resulted in the ACCT, along with other Council colleagues, the local NHS Public Health team and Animal Health representatives to convene a response group. They worked collaboratively to support the teams undertaking the clean-up operation on the beaches, to share the public information messaging and to ensure the safety of all those working on or enjoying the beaches this summer. 4.6 Two additional ALRP multi-agency tactical groups have been established to consider the consequences and response across Ayrshire to the Ukrainian Refugee situation and the Cost of Living Crisis. These are ongoing and chaired by Council Chief Officers. 4.6 The work to prepare for a Power Resilience emergency continues within the 3 Local Authorities and all Council services are required to consider and plan for alternative models of service delivery during this type of incident. 4.7 A number of the External Plans are undergoing their 3 yearly review and will be tested through the exercise process before the end of 2022/23, as per the attached ACCT Work Plan (Appendix 1).
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3 5. Proposals 5.1 It is proposed that the Joint Committee approves the current ACCT Service Plan 2023/2024, detail of which is attached as Appendix 1. 5. Legal and Procurement Implications 5.1 The recommendations in this report are consistent with legal requirements. 5.2 There are no procurement implications arising from this report. 6. Financial Implications 6.1 Not applicable. 7. Human Resources Implications 7.1 Not applicable. 8. Risk 8.1 Risk Implications of Adopting the Recommendations 8.1.1 There are no risks associated with adopting the recommendations. 8.2 Risk Implications of Rejecting the Recommendations 8.2.1 Rejecting the recommendations may give rise to external criticism, breach of statute or legal challenge. 9. Equalities 9.1 The proposals in this report allow scrutiny of performance. The report does not involve proposals for policies, strategies, procedures, processes, financial decisions and activities (including service delivery), both new and at review, that affect the Council’s communities and employees, therefore an equality impact assessment is not required. Any specific island issues are considered in the report. 10. Sustainable Development Implications 10.1 Considering Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) - This report does not propose or seek approval for a plan, policy, programme or strategy or document otherwise described which could be considered to constitute a plan, programme, policy or strategy. 11. Options Appraisal 11.1 An options appraisal has not been carried out in relation to the subject matter of this report.
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4 12. Link to Council Plan 12.1 The matters referred to in this report contribute to the delivery of all Council strategic objectives. 13. Results of Consultation 13.1 There has been no public consultation on the contents of this report Person to Contact Carol Boyd – Service Lead - Risk and Safety, South Ayrshire Council River Terrace, Ayr Phone 01292 613090 E-mail carol.boyd@south-ayrshire.gov.uk Date: 6 November 2022
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5 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team – Service Plan (2023/24) - Appendix 1
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6 Introduction 1.1 The Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Service Plan covers the period 2023/2024 and sets out what we intend to achieve over the next year based on the resources available to us. 1.2 Effective Contingency Planning is crucial to the achievement of the combined objectives of North, South and East Ayrshire Councils and the success of the strategic operation and delivery of all Council Services. The Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team (ACCT) is responsible for developing and delivering a work plan that ensures compliance in respect of statutory obligations and endeavours to support all Council services embed robust contingency planning arrangements. The team will support the 3 Councils and relevant multi-agency partners to ensure that response and recovery in the event of adverse incidents is efficient and carefully planned. 1.3 Actions have been formulated and form the basis of the ACCT Work Plan. This is reported on and scrutinised quarterly by the Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Steering Group comprising of the Head of Service from each Council with the responsibility for Civil Contingencies. The 3 Ayrshire Council Shared Service Joint Committee has a remit to approve the plan and/or progress made on a 6 monthly basis. We have agreed challenging targets for the team in order to continuously improve the way we work and to take account of the statutory obligations imposed on all 3 Councils as Category 1 responders in line with Civil Contingencies legislation. 1.4 By planning and monitoring our progress for 2023-2024 we aim not only to contribute to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the 3 Ayrshire Councils but also support our colleagues within Health and Social Care, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, the Emergency Services and a wide range of multi- agency responders. These partners form the core membership of the Ayrshire Local Resilience Partnership (ALRP). 2 Profile 2.1 The Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team has a responsibility to ensure the provision of the following key requirements on behalf of the 3 Councils; • Operation of an on-call service to provide 24/7 response for Civil Emergencies as the Duty Officer(s) on behalf of any of the affected Councils. • Preparation of a generic Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan for approval and implementation by each of the 3 Councils. • Maintenance of an accurate and up to date Emergency Contact Directory for each of the 3 Councils. • Development and delivery of training programmes to ensure key staff within each Council know and understand their emergency roles and are prepared to respond to major incidents and civil emergencies. • Preparation and maintenance of Contingency Plans for specific sites, which are also tested on a multi-agency basis at 3 yearly intervals. • Maintenance of a range of plans to cover the response to emergencies of non-site specific risk. • Annual review of the Care for People Guidelines in conjunction with the three Health and Social Care Partnerships. 2.2 To date the service is working within an overall net revenue budget for the team of £196,712.09 (2022-2023) and is delivered utilising a workforce of 3.5 FTE.
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7 3 How are we doing? 3.1 Demanding performance targets are set through the Performance Development and Review (PDR) process, this helps us embed a culture of improvement within the team and aims to ensure the achievement of outcomes within the Service Plan. These are further articulated through team meetings where assigned activities are monitored and assessed. Prioritising workloads and establishing clear deadlines are key features on the allocation of tasks. 3.2 The Team’s performance is tracked and measured using the South Ayrshire Council Performance Management System approach, and new initiatives progressed where any need for improvement is identified. The team are actively supported and encouraged to consider opportunities to introduce new and innovative ways of working. 3.3 There has been an investment in training for the team and officers have the opportunity to attend external events and participate in a range of external or multi-agency forums which help ensure knowledge of best practice in Civil Contingencies. 3.4 Areas identified for improvement are being taken forward and these include more regular refresher training opportunities for key Council managers and the further development of online E Learning training in Civil Contingencies to extend the reach and breadth of core skills across a wider range of participants within North, South and East Ayrshire Councils. 4. The challenges we face 4.1 These are outlined as follows: - • External An increase in adverse and concurrent incidents, emergency or weather events stretch existing resources in terms of ensuring that Civil Contingencies responses are well planned and tested. Additional high-profile events, which rely on Council support also place considerable pressure on available time and expertise. • Internal Conflicting priorities and resourcing pressures across a number of service areas can expose gaps in terms of demonstrating a fully corporate approach to the implementation of well embedded Contingency Planning. There can often be challenges in terms of persuading services of the business benefits in preparing and testing contingency plans. 5. Detailed Service Plan 5.1 The strategic outcomes for all 3 Councils are underpinned by having robust processes for risk management and resilience. How we intend to contribute to the successful achievement of the 3 Ayrshires’ objectives is set out in the detail in the ACCT Service Plan on the following pages. 6. Governance 6.1 The progress made by the ACCT is analysed on a quarterly basis by the 3 Council Civil Contingencies Steering Group. The Service Plan will be developed on an annual basis and subject to approval and scrutiny by the Shared Service Joint Committee.
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8 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team - Work Plan The following tables outline key contingencies plans, training and exercises for the Civil Contingencies Team. It includes work activity ongoing or completed within 2022 and further actions for 2023-2024. The ACCT is either leading on these or providing support to other agencies on their development. It also includes reference to Civil Contingencies sub-groups which may be contributed to by ACCT. Internal Plans / Training and Exercises led by ACCT Target Date for completion Civil Contingencies Response & Recovery - SAC (Review) S Awaiting approval Civil Contingencies Response & Recovery – NAC (Review) N Awaiting approval Local Incident Room Guidelines – SAC (Exercise) S November 2022 Local Incident Room Guidelines - NAC (Exercise) N December 2022 Major Accident Hazard Gas Pipelines - Ayrshire Plan (Review and Exercise) N S E March 2023 (D) Shoreline Response Plan (Develop) N S March 2023 Care for People – Emergency Support Centres Guidelines (Review & Exercise) N S E Jan 2023 Black Start and Power Resilience Recovery (Councils) N S E March 2023 Emergency Contact Directories (biannual updates June and December) N S E Ongoing Internal Plans / Training and Exercises led by ACCT – completed for 22/23 Civil Contingencies Response & Recovery – EAC (Review) E Complete Local Incident Room / Emergency Control Centre – EAC (Training) E No longer required Mobile Telephone Privileged Access System (MTPAS) N S E Complete eLearning package for Community Support Centres / Care for People Awareness N S E Complete eLearning package for Civil Contingencies Awareness N S E N S E Complete eLearning Civil Contingencies package for Elected Members (Develop) N S E Complete Former Station Hotel, Ayr - Major Incident Response Guide (MAIRG) S Complete Wm Grants External Contingency Plan (Review & Exercise) S Complete Pandemic Influenza Plan N S E Complete Fuel Disruption Plan - Fleet Management N S E Complete Chemring, Stevenston External Contingency Plan (Review & Exercise) N Complete The above Plans / Training will be reviewed again prior to financial year end 2023/24. Target dates will be provided in March 2023 via the Ayrshire Shared Service Panel Update report. Any additional work activity identified will also be included within the report. External Plans / Training and Exercises led by ACCT Target Date for completion Defence Munitions Beith External Contingency Plan (Review & Exercise) N Dec 2022 Hunterston B Offsite Contingency Plan (Review and Exercise) N Jan 2023 Hunterston B Offsite Contingency Plan (Redacted Version) N Jan 2023 DSM (Dutch State Mining) Nutritional Products Contingency Plan (Review & Exercise) N March 2023(D) Chivas Brothers – Balgray and Willowyard (Review & Exercise) N 2023/2024 Spaceport COMAH Plan (prepared in conjunction with identified partner) S Sept 2023 External Plans / Training and Exercises - Working with Multi Agency Partners Lead Target Date for completion Hunterston B – Training and Exercising Programme N EDF Ongoing Black Start and Power Resilience Recovery (Multi Agency) MA ALRP Ongoing Radiation Monitoring Unit Arrangements N ALRP Dec 2022 Arran Multi-Agency Response Plan N MA ALRP Dec 2022 Joint Health Protection Plan MA NHS Dec 2022 WoSRRP Mass Fatalities Arrangements - (Review and Exercise) MA WoSRRP Jan 2023 Marine Pollution Response Plan - Girvan Harbour (Biannual Notification Exercise, Review Plan & Table Top Ex Carrick) S MA ARA Complete Animal Health MAIRGs (Review) MA EH&TS Complete Glasgow Prestwick Airport Multi Agency Contingency Plan S MA GPA Complete Ayrshire Safer Shores Initiative Response Arrangements N S MA Police Complete ALRP Disruptive Weather Response Arrangements MA ALRP Complete Supported Tasks - Participation at Sub Groups Lead Agency Update Community and Business Resilience Sub Group (developing and sharing best practice) MA WoSRRP Ongoing Training, Exercising and Learning Sub Group (developing and sharing best practice) MA WoSRRP Ongoing Warning and Informing the Public – Media Plans, Websites MA Councils Ongoing Ukraine Tactical ALRP Sub Group MA Councils Ongoing Cost of Living Tactical Sub-Group MA Councils Ongoing
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9 ALRP Power Resilience MA Councils Ongoing Provide Secretariat to Ayrshire Local Resilience Partnership (ALRP) MA ACCT Ongoing Community Resilience (provide advice and support to local community councils and resilience groups – ad hoc) MA ACCT Ongoing Colour coded abbreviations Work undertaken on behalf of North Ayrshire N Work undertaken on behalf of South Ayrshire S Work undertaken on behalf of East Ayrshire E Work undertaken on behalf of ALRP or other agencies MA (Multi Agency) Plans, Procedures and Guidelines It is important to note that by its very nature Civil Contingencies work activity is often reactive and the team endeavour to respond to events and circumstances as they arise. The Councils’ Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plans are deliberately generic and provide a framework which allows for speedy response to emergencies as they arise. The Service Plan will therefore be regularly updated as and when required. Copies of the ACCT and other resilience documents are hosted on each Council’s Resilience Direct page and on their shared drive system - access is limited to those who have a key role responding to an emergency - the links are noted below. South Ayrshire - ACCT on Sharepoint East Ayrshire - ACCT on Shared Drive North Ayrshire - on Resilience Direct Update Prepared – 06/11/22