Responders
The Act and the Regulations outline the key organisations responsible for ensuring the effective management of emergencies in Scotland. These are:
Category 1 responders are:
- local authorities
- police
- fire service
- ambulance
- health boards
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Category 2 responders are:
- electricity operators
- gas suppliers
- Scottish Water
- communications providers
- railway operators
- airport operators
- harbour authorities
- NHS National Services Scotland
- Health and Safety Executive
- Met Office
- Mining Remediation Authority
In addition to the above, other agencies can have an important role in the context of resilience. These include but are not confined to:
- the military
- the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
- Transport Scotland
- commercial organisations
- the Scottish Government
- the voluntary sector
Duties
The legislation places a number of legal duties upon Category 1 responders. These are to:
- assess risk
- maintain emergency plans
- maintain business continuity plans
- promote business continuity – this duty applies to Local Authorities only
- communicate with the public
- share information
- co-operate
For Category 2 responders the basic legislative principle is that they must co-operate with Category 1 responders in connection with the performance of their duties, including the proper sharing of information.
Structures
The Regulations outline the structure within which cooperation to meet these legal duties should be undertaken, namely the Regional Resilience Partnerships (RRP). The RRPs do not have the power to direct individual members in the undertaking of their duties.
There are three RRPs, the North of Scotland, East of Scotland and West of Scotland.
To support working arrangements and maintain effective local liaison, the RRP areas have been sub-divided into 12 Local Resilience Partnerships (LRPs), taking account of existing Local Authority and, where applicable, Health Board boundaries.