Annex 1 – Summary of the statutory roles and responsibilities of emergency responders
(Source: Preparing Scotland)
Preparing Scotland is underpinned by the principal legislation involved, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (“the Act”) and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (“the Regulations”).
This legislation outlines the key organisations responsible for ensuring the effective management of emergencies in Scotland. These are referred to in the legislation as follows:
Category 1 Responders
- Local Authorities
- Police
- Fire
- Ambulance
- Health Boards
- Integration Joint Boards
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Category 2 Responders (Scotland)
- Electricity operators
- Gas distributors
- Telecommunications providers
- Scottish Water
- Railway operators
- Airport operators
- Harbour authorities
- Road authorities (Transport Scotland + local authorities)
- The Coal Authority (added 2023)
- The Met Office (added 2023)
In addition to these 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 voluntary sector
(In performing their duties under the Act, Category 1 responders must have regard to the activities of voluntary organisations of a certain type (Regulation 17)
Regional Resilience Partnerships
Under the terms of the principal legislation, the structure which supports multi-agency co-ordination is the Regional Resilience Partnership. Currently there are three partnerships in Scotland, based in the North, East and West.
These groups serve to bring together all the relevant organisations in an area to develop an effective approach in dealing with emergencies.
Legislative Duties
The Act and the Regulations place a number of legal duties upon Category 1 responders.
These are, in brief:
- Duty to assess risk
- Duty to maintain emergency plans
- Duty to maintain business continuity plans
- Duty to promote business continuity
- Duty to communicate with the public
- Duty to share information
- Duty to 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 proper sharing of information.