The County Council's Resilience Policy
We have a duty to make sure we are prepared to respond to rapid increases in demand for our services during widespread disruptions and emergencies.
We have developed a resilience framework that sets out how the vital services that we provide will be maintained and how we will respond and recover from any disruption.
The greatest test of our preparedness and resilience will be in how we respond as an organisation to disruptive events, and how well supported the people of West Sussex are during these times.
What the team does
- We ensure that the County Council fulfils its’ statutory duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004
- We prepare, maintain and review arrangements for dealing with major incidents across the county.
- We work closely with the county’s emergency services, district and borough councils and many other agencies and organisations within the Sussex Resilience Forum. This ensures that everyone is prepared and arrangements are in place to react if something does happen.
Planning
- We continually assess the risks posed to West Sussex using the Sussex Resilience Forum risk matrix.
- We develop and maintain plans to ensure that procedures are in place to control and mitigate the impact of adverse events. This includes developing processes and plans to maintain business continuity within the County Council and minimise any disruption to our services.
Training and advice
- We work with staff and partner agencies to raise awareness and develop skills in planning and managing emergency situations.
- We develop training in resilience and emergencies for County Council departments and teams.
- We advise County Council staff on resilience and emergencies matters.
Testing
- We test our own and others emergency response by scheduling and taking part in exercises. This enables us to check that procedures and arrangements work effectively, and gives staff the knowledge and confidence to carry out their roles in a controlled environment.
Liaising
- We work closely with local groups, people and partner agencies to share information and ensure our plans and procedures are all-inclusive. This helps us provide an effective and coordinated response to emergency incidents.
- We work with local communities to make communities stronger and more able to help themselves in an emergency. We do this through two main programmes:
Responding
- We respond to any emergency when we are called upon.
- Our Resilience and Emergencies Advisors are on call 24 hours a day to respond to emergency incidents.
Contact us
Sussex Resilience Forum
The Sussex Resilience Forum is a non-statutory, multi-agency organisation that works together to make Sussex a safer place.
Membership consists of:
- emergency services
- National Health Service/Public Health England
- local authorities (County, Unitary, District and Borough)
- Environment agency
- military and other government representatives with a comprehensive support from the voluntary sector
- utility companies
- major ports
- transport.