Leaders meet to strengthen UK resilience

• First UK Resilience Forum since the Government’s Resilience Strategy was published
• Executives from the National Police Chiefs Council and the National Fire Chiefs Council, as well as energy, transportation and business executives attended the meeting

Leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including the emergency services, have come together today to further strengthen the UK’s resilience. Examining future threats and discussing ongoing work under the Government’s new Resilience Framework.

Chaired for the first time by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Lead Minister for Resilience, Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP, it is the first meeting of the UK Resilience Forum since the release of the Government’s new Resilience Strategy, which officially makes resilience a national responsibility .

At the meeting the minister said:

I am pleased to chair today’s Resilience Forum, which brings together leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors, including our dedicated emergency services, to build our national resilience; Scanning future threats and discussing the important work already underway as part of our ambitious resilience framework.

Attendees included the Chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Head of the National Police Chiefs Council, leaders from the energy, transportation, water and telecommunications sectors, as well as representatives from the business, volunteer and community sectors.

The Forum emphasized the importance of a whole-of-society approach to resilience, as outlined in the framework, to empower individuals, businesses and other organizations to play their part in building resilience across the UK. They also welcomed the ongoing work to fulfill the commitments set out in the framework, including:

• Delivering a new UK Resilience Academy, making world-class professional training available to all who need it
• Appointed a new Head of Resilience to lead best practices and promote compliance; make government more transparent and accountable
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities in the UK Government for each national security risk assessment risk to drive activity across the risk lifecycle
• Significant strengthening of local resilience forums in England
• Developing a measure of social vulnerability as an indicator of socioeconomic resilience and how risks impact communities and vulnerable groups

Deputy Chief of Police Owen Weatherill, who is run by the National Police Chiefs Council, said:

We support the government’s drive to build more resilience through a national approach, and we recognize the benefits of resilient communities being able to support themselves as much as possible during a crisis – enabling the emergency services to focus their response on the most vulnerable people in society.

Police play a key role in resilience planning, both locally and nationally, and we will work closely with the resilience forums to ensure the new framework is successful and helps those most in need.

National Emergencies Trust CEO Mhairi Sharp said:

The UK Resilience Forum brings together the public, private and third sectors to compare perspectives and formulate plans in the round to strengthen the UK’s resilience. It is a valuable opportunity for the National Emergencies Trust to share the lived experiences and insights of UK emergency survivors.

The Environment Agency’s Executive Director, Caroline Douglass, commented:

I am delighted to represent the Environment Agency on the UK Resilience Framework – it is important that we work with partners to strengthen our resilience to risks, including extreme weather, caused by changing climate change. With at least one in six people in England at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea, it is crucial that we create climate resilient communities.