Taking Centre Stage

As part of the overall provision of UK civil protection Local Authorities, Emergency Services and parts of the NHS (Category 1 responders) in England and Wales are now required by law to have established effective business continuity management. They must ensure they can continue to perform their functions in the event of an emergency.

This relates to all the functions of a Category 1 responder, not just its civil protection functions. In order to help others in the event of an emergency, they first need to be able to keep their own crisis response capabilities going.

However, Category 1 responders also need to be able to continue to deliver critical aspects of their day-to-day functions in law enforcement, care for vulnerable people and fire fighting in the event of an emergency, if the impact on the community is to be kept to a minimum. As the Asian tsunami is demonstrating, there is a clear need for an effective response from public bodies to cope with any emergency.

There are many questions raised by the Act. What must Category I responders do to prepare themselves to meet the requirements of the Act? Does the Act have consequences for others outside of Category 1 responders? Will there be demands on commercial and voluntary organisations to provide effective to business continuity management as a consequence?

The first action of any Category 1 responder must be to appoint an individual within the organisation to head business continuity management. This appointee will require the full and ongoing support of the Executive, and if appropriate elected members, as business continuity management must be driven from the top. Adequate resources must be made available to ensure business continuity management is ongoing; preparing continuity plans is not a 'one off' project.

The next step is to identify and agree those critical activities that must be maintained at the time of an emergency and what would be the impact, in terms of reputation and finance, upon the organisation if they are disrupted. Process mapping will identify how the critical activities are delivered, who is involved and what resources are utilised.

As Category 1 responders have become increasingly reliant upon other organisations to deliver their services, the roles these organisations play must be identified. Category 1 responders would have difficulty in operating without the utilities. Many activities have been outsourced, and voluntary organisations provide services for the vulnerable in the community as well as playing a key role in any emergency situation.

It will be essential therefore that these suppliers are able to maintain their elements of the critical services. This can only be achieved if the suppliers also establish effective business continuity management.
But what is effective business continuity management and how should it be measured? The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published a Guide to business continuity management, PAS 56. The business continuity management guidance for the Civil Contingencies Act has drawn heavily on this document. The BSI has declared their intention to turn PAS 56 into a full standard in 2005 and PAS 56 will prove its worth as a basis for establishing a uniform approach to effective business continuity management across public, private and voluntary organisations.

One of the key requirements of the Act is for Category 1 responders to rehearse their business continuity plans and to produce post exercise reports on what actions are required to improve business continuity management capability. Category 1 responders should request such reports from those suppliers identified as critical.

So the stage is set for a major push to establish business continuity management within key elements of public bodies in the UK. The Act will have consequences for organisations not covered directly by the legislation. Following the disasters in Asia the importance of providing effective civil protection will not be denied. It is now up to those given the responsibility under the Act to start work now so they will be able to deliver at our time of need.

The Continuity Forum is committed to building the resilience of organisations internationally, regardless of size or sector, through education and the promotion of best practice in Business Continuity Management and its related disciplines. The Forum is dedicated to aiding the growth and the development of the Continuity sector and appropriate standards.