The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that establishes a coherent framework for emergency planning and response ranging from a local to national level.
There are two different Categories of Responder who are required to work together in the planning & response phases of emergencies.
- Category 1 Responders - Local authorities, Police forces, Fire services, Ambulance services, HM Coastguard, NHS, the Environment Agency
- Category 2 Responders - Electricity distributors and transmitters, Gas distributors, Water and sewerage undertakers, Telephone service providers (fixed and mobile), Transport Health and Safety Executive & Voluntary Aid Societies
An emergency is defined as
- An event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the United Kingdom
- An event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment of a place in the United Kingdom
- A war, or terrorism, which threatens serious damage to the security of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has been divided into seven Regional Resilience areas which are then subdivided into 48 Local Resilience Forums (LRF) in England and Wales, three Regional Resilience Partnerships (RRP) in Scotland and three Emergency Planning Groups (EPG) in Northern Ireland.
