In Scotland, our experience over many years has taught us the importance of Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR), whether the challenges we face include severe weather, pandemic disease, or man made threats from crime or terrorism.
As well as physical impacts, major incidents can have a lasting psycho-social effect on communities and individuals. Some areas may not return to exactly how they were prior to the incident, and the transition to a new normality can be a difficult one. Decisions made early in the response process can have lasting ramifications in the months and years that follow and enable a good recovery. The Scottish Government is likely to take an early interest in the recovery, public reassurance and the support of continuity of essential services.
The PCG must be activated as early as possible following a major incident or emergency. The communication of alerts and public information is a critical element of the initial response, and RPs should ensure that their wider activation processes include the communications function at the earliest opportunity.
A first alert system for PCG members can be agreed to facilitate early communication.
The effective delivery of crisis communications relies heavily on good planning. Communications planning in advance of an incident should be informed both by the Principles outlined above and by the specific local risks outlined in the relevant Community Risk Registers.
Whether during the planning, response or recovery phase of an incident, certain common principles underpin all good crisis communications practice.
The identity of the lead responding organisation should be agreed where possible in advance of a particular type of incident, and if not then as quickly as possible after a situation develops.
In Scotland, the public communications response to any major incident or emergency will primarily be co-ordinated through one or more of the regional Public Communication Groups (PCGs).
These three groups, based in the North, East and West of Scotland, meet throughout the year and bring together a wide range of communication practitioners from key responder agencies and private sector partners, often mirroring the operational makeup of their associated RRP.
Scotland faces a range of threats and hazards - from terrorist incidents to severe weather, from disease outbreaks to utility failures.
These and other challenges, collectively assessed and graded in the UK’s National Risk Register, each have the potential to seriously disrupt everyday life for the people of Scotland.
The following templates are a suggestion only and should be adapted to suit your group’s needs. Please feel free to use, change or add different information as you see fit.
If you need an editable Word version of these templates, please contact readyscotland@gov.scot
Plan last updated on: xx/xx/xxxx
IF YOU ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER CALL 999
Having a Community Emergency Plan means that your community will be a safer, more supportive place to live, and has the potential to result in reduced insurance claims. Community resilience activities are very low risk and should definitely not put volunteers or the public in any danger. So, you should not see insurance or liability issues as barriers to preparing your community for emergencies. Depending on what your group wants to do, you should check that your group has the cover it needs in order to do the things it want to with confidence.
Different communities face different issues, and have different strengths and ideas about how to tackle them. So, your Community Emergency Plan will be unique to your community.
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