Preparing for emergencies
This website exists to provide information to the public, businesses and voluntary and community groups on risks that exist and on what to do when incidents occur. This part of the site tells you what the Government is doing to prepare for emergencies.
The Government's aim is to reduce the risk from emergencies so that people can go about their business freely and with confidence. This means that the Government is working hard to make sure that the UK is as prepared as it can be in the event of an emergency. The Government also has a comprehensive programme of work to ensure an effective response to a range of disruptive emergencies that might affect the UK.
The concept of 'resilience' has long been used to describe individuals with the ability to withstand or recovery easily and quickly from illness or hardship. It is a term that can easily be applied to organisations or even societies. The Government uses the term resilience when talking about national security and emergency preparedness. Resilience in this sense means ensuring that the country as a whole can handle and recover quickly from any emergency, such as a major flood, terrorist attack or industrial accident.
The sections below provide more information on what is being done at different levels to prepare for emergencies.
Central Government section covers what is being done within Central Government to reduce the risk from emergencies, to ensure the country is as prepared as it can be, and to ensure the response to any emergency is effective, regardless of cause (e.g. terrorism, natural disaster, industrial accident).
Devolved Administrations section tells you what is being done within the Devolved Administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to prepare for possible emergencies. It also sets out how the Devolved Administrations work closely with Central Government to ensure an effective, co-ordinated approach.
English Regions section tells you about the important role of the English Regions in preparing for and responding to emergencies. In particular, it describes the work of the Regional Resilience Teams within the Government Offices of the Regions.
Local resilience section tells you about the work at a local level to prepare for possible emergencies. It describes the work done by local responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (e.g. emergency services, Local Authorities), and the role of Local Resilience Forums as the principle means for co-operation between responders at a local level.
You can get more detailed information on all these topics on our sister website, UK Resilience, in Emergency Preparedness [External website]. and Emergency Response and Recovery [External website]