The Civil Contingencies Act 2004

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (“the Act”) seeks to minimise disruption in the event of an emergency and to ensure that the UK is better prepared to deal with a range of emergencies. The Act applies to the whole of the UK, reflects the various devolution settlements and is separated into  two substantive parts:

• Part 1: focuses on local arrangements for civil protection, establishing a statutory framework of roles and responsibilities for local responders
• Part 2: focuses on emergency powers, establishing a framework for the use of special legislative measures that may be required to deal with exceptionally serious emergencies