The promotion of business continuity advice to the business and voluntary sectors was introduced as one of the seven new duties for local authorities, under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Specifically the Act requires local authorities to provide advice and assistance to those undertaking commercial activities and to voluntary organisations in relation to business continuity planning (BCP) in the event of emergencies. BCP is seen as a way of building ‘Community Resilience’, a way of helping local organisations to help themselves, to reduce the economic impact of emergencies and to reduce reliance on public sector bodies. BCP will build stronger links with the business community and improve the LA’s own emergency management arrangements.
The role of the local authorities in BCP is as a catalyst, to raise awareness in the public and to be a conduit for information for all interested parties. LA’s are not expected to be specific experts in this field, but are expected to join up with other initiatives – eg town centre evacuation plans – and make this pertinent for local organisations.
Some Frequently Asked Questions about business continuity
The County Council provides a number of tools or has engaged in a series of initiatives as follows
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