Emergency Plan

CREWE TOWN COUNCIL

EMERGENCY PLAN

Adopted by Council: 29^th September 2020

Planned Review Date: July 2024

INTRODUCTION

This is the Emergency Plan for the town of Crewe, prepared by Crewe Town Council. It is intended to support at local level, the statutory plans developed by Cheshire East Council.

Crewe Town Council commit to working closely with Cheshire East Council and through them the Cheshire Resilience Forum (CRF) to protect our communities and if necessary, help them recover.

The Town Council recognises that should an emergency occur, resources of the response and statutory agencies may be stretched and that it is important to put our local resources to optimum use to support our residents, businesses and voluntary groups. This, our first Emergency Plan concentrates on Crewe Town Council’s role and will be developed over time to maximise the available capacity from the wider community.

Emergency planning is an important role for all Cheshire’s public authorities, supported and coordinated by the Cheshire Resilience Forum, a multi-agency group that provides strategic/tactical and operational guidance and support on the planning for the multi-agency response to a major incident. The CRF is the principal mechanism for multi-agency cooperation under the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004 and its boundaries are based on local policing boundaries. Its aims are:

The CRF also has close working relationships with other bodies that deliver vital services, whether in the public (such as the army and government departments), private (gas, water and telecoms suppliers) or voluntary sectors. Among the many areas included in the CRF’s remit is planning in the event of:-

• Pandemic infectious disease
• Flooding
• Severe weather
• Loss of Critical National Infrastructure
• Animal Diseases
• Environmental Incidents
• Industrial Incidents
• Transport Incidents
• Terrorist Threats

Category 1 (as defined in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004) commonly referred to as Cat 1, include all Cheshire principal (unitary) Councils (Cheshire East, Halton, Warrington and Cheshire West and Chester), the Police, Fire and Ambulance Services, hospitals, NHS primary care trusts and the Environment Agency.  All may have a vital role to play in an emergency and have a seat at CRF meetings.

Category 2 responders include utility companies, transport providers, such as the Highways England and Network rail and Government bodies, including the Health and Safety Executive.

Cheshire East Council, as part of the CRF, work to be ready to help the emergency services deal with major emergencies that affect communities. They also plan how they will help communities to recover from emergencies and get back to normal. The aim is to ensure mutual support for each authority in case of emergency. They work with emergency services partners to plan for a wide range of emergencies and they test their plans during exercises to make sure they are as well prepared as possible.

The Town Council does not have such a duty but has resolved to support the principal Council by identifying resources which they can deploy, if necessary, during an incident, which may range from a minor, locally contained incident to a major emergency crossing town and even district/county boundaries.

In the case of a civil emergency (including health related emergency), all powers (except those reserved to Council by legislation), limited to £10,000 expenditure in accordance with Financial Regulations are delegated to the Town Clerk in consultation with two of: Leader of Council, Deputy Leader, Mayor, Deputy Leader or Committee Chairs.

In cases where a civil emergency is over an extended period and which hinders the holding of normal meetings, non-urgent decisions will be taken in consultation with all members of committee or Council. In these cases, the opinions of relevant members and indeed debate will take place by email or video prior to the decision being taken by the Town Clerk and subject to ratification at the next Council meeting. This was the case in the early stages of the Pandemic, prior to legislation allowing remote meetings.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

 AIM OF THIS PLAN To provide a framework plan that will assist in the local response to an emergency, when assistance from the Emergency Services and other responders is delayed or requires supplementing.

OBJECTIVES OF THIS PLAN

• To establish a local emergency management structure which can assist Category 1 responders as necessary
• To coordinate community response and resources- personnel, equipment and emergency accommodation
• To help the community recover following an incident.

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY

The formal definition is “An incident arising, with or without warning, threatening or causing death or serious disruption to significant numbers of people, property or the environment, in excess of that which can be dealt with by the public services operating under normal conditions and requiring the special mobilisation and organisation of those services and the deployment of local authority staff and resources”.

Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 an emergency is defined as an event or situation which threatens serious damage to:-

• Human welfare
• The environment
• Security of the United Kingdom

The definition of a Major Incident was amended by the Cabinet Office in July 2016. “An event or situation, with a range of serious consequences, which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder agencies.” The new wording has been simplified and is accompanied by notes which confirm that “emergency responder agencies” can mean any Category 1 or 2 responder and that the incident is one that is beyond the scope of business-as-usual operations.

From initial research it has been established that there are three recognised levels of emergency:-

1. A major catastrophic event in the County or Region, requiring large capacity shelters and support. Such incidents would require very large premises to accommodate and manage large numbers of temporary “refugees”. In this type of incident, the Town Council would be approached as part of a measured, coordinated scheme initiated by a higher tier authority and would play a minor supporting role.
2. A major emergency at County or District level, or beyond, where the management of the event would be undertaken at that level. Town venues could well be a receiving station for dispersed persons, and selected local people involved in support. If the incident was actually in Crewe, the command centre may well be located here.
3. A local emergency within the Town which, though inevitably involving the higher levels of Government for support), needs a high level of local involvement by local people as its they who are most likely to know who is likely to be at risk and/or in need.

This Plan concentrates mainly on the second and third categories.

INSURANCES

Crewe Town Council’s public and professional liability insurance covers Council members and officers and also volunteers working directly under their control against accidents or any damage they may cause in responding.

The use of motor vehicles is not covered by the local authority’s insurance and it is the responsibility of the individual to ensure that they have adequate and appropriate cover.

Community resilience group volunteers may be covered by Cheshire East Council insurance under the following circumstances but this must always be confirmed;

• They are a member of and acting on behalf of an authorised Community Resilience Group.
• They have been authorised to act on behalf of the local authority and are under the direction of a local authority member of staff (This can be remotely).
• They only carry out the actions / activities that they have been authorised to do or agreed by the local authority.

RISKS

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM

In the event of the plan being triggered, the following members of the Town Council have agreed to form part of the emergency team who will help to reduce the effects on the community in the event of an incident:-

• Town Clerk
• Finance and Engagement Manager
• Regeneration Manager
• Events and Communications Manager
• Crewe Rangers

N.B. Additional members from within the community will be added as necessary.

These officers liaise with the Councillors which are to be consulted by the Town Clerk when using emergency powers.

Names, contact details and availability of the Emergency Management Team (EMT) will be available to all staff, Councillors and key community leaders.

The role of the Emergency Team is to co-ordinate the activities of your Community during an emergency by assessing the situation, mobilising the appropriate local resources to support the community and maintaining links with the emergency services, Cheshire East Council and other responding organisations.

The contact numbers will be held by Cheshire East Council on a secure part of the Cheshire Resilience Forum Website, which the Emergency Services and Local Authorities have access to.

Emergency Community Coordinators

These are members of the community willing to assist during an emergency, doing tasks such as door knocking, snow clearance or shopping for vulnerable people, helping in a rest centre for example.  Their names and contact details will be kept securely by members of EMT

DATA PROTECTION 1998

Crewe Town Council is registered with the Information Commissioner and operate

in accordance with their Information and Data Protection Policy.

Privacy notices are available on the Website.

 INCIDENT ROOM

If the EMT is brought together in the case of an incident, their incident room will be the Crewe Town Council Offices, 1 Chantry Court, Forge Street, Crewe CW1 2DL.

 In the case of an infectious disease emergency, the incident room may be “virtual” as most staff may be working from home

 An incident room is simply a location where the emergency team can meet and manage the community’s response to the emergency.  The venue will have access to a phone and kitchen facilities.

Contact details for accessing the venues during an emergency are held by EMT members.

REST CENTRES

Rest Centres may be established at the Crewe Town Council Offices, 1 Chantry Court, Forge Street, Crewe CW1 2DL or other locations made available by other partners.

These are locations where people can go when there is an emergency; whether it is to keep them warm and dry or somewhere to discuss actions that need to be taken. Provision is available for preparing food and overnight accommodation is possible if needed.

Contact details for accessing the venues during an emergency are held by EMT members.

Emergency Box

An emergency box will be kept by the Council at the Council Offices, which will contain essential information and equipment for an emergency.

EMERGENCY INFORMATION POINTS

The Town Council will establish a number of locations to pass information to the community during an emergency which will include the Town Council noticeboard.  The Town Council website and social media sites will be used to keep people informed of the latest situation.

THE EMERGENCY PLAN

The Emergency Plan will be regularly updated and developed so it is relevant when an emergency occurs. It will be reviewed at least annually and at other times when information changes.

A public copy will be available on the website

Printed copies will be available in the Town Council office, to EMT members and to Cheshire East Emergency Planning Officer

Councillors will have a copy via the Constitution.

Contact details will be available to EMT, other staff and Councillors. For Data Protection reasons, only these people will hold versions which contain contact or personal details.

EMERGENCY ROLE AND PROCEDURE

The role of the Town Council assisted by the community would vary depending on the scale and nature of the incident, but may include:-

• Local town control of certain operations, or provision of a local emergency control centre at the request of the principal Council.
• Use of the Council venue as a rest centre.
• Staff to help in the Local Control Centre if a shift system became necessary.
• Help with Public Relations and keeping the community informed.
• Counselling and leading the community in times of high trauma
• Use of Council vehicles and equipment to supplement other resources.
• Monitoring the local situation e.g. flooding and identifying people in particular need or at risk.
• Providing Sandbags and sand at times of flooding if CEC request.
• Providing Grit and salt for inclement for use in snow and ice.
• Take a lead in the recovery phase.

On discovering or being advised of a civil a major civil emergency, the Town Clerk or other member of EMT will initially contact all persons listed that are needed at any stage.

The Town Clerk, or nominated member of staff or Councillor will:-

• Ensure all relevant persons are contacted by phone and/or email, advised of the situation and either put on standby or advised of the action required.
• Make contact with Cheshire East Council to offer help and await instructions. Advise them whether operating from own homes or somewhere else.
• Convene any necessary meetings of the EMT, Town Council/Committee and volunteers
• Consider welfare issues and take necessary action
• Deploy Officers/Volunteers/Rangers in non-critical service areas as required.
• Undertake health and safety risk assessments on the actions to be taken so that risk is minimised.
• Advise statutory authorities (e.g. emergency services, HSE etc) and insurance company as necessary.
• Keep everyone informed.
• Invoke process of determining loss or damage, and minimising it.
• Take an active role in any recovery process.

Elected Members have an important role in keeping local communities informed, supporting and counselling them and representing their views and concerns back to statutory authorities and helping to keep calm.

In preparation, we will:-

• Review our Emergency Plan regularly
• Liaise with the Cheshire East Council and other responder organisations
• Provide information on being prepared for emergency situations to our communities
• Store sharp sand, sandbags and polythene for use in times of flood if requested by Cheshire East Council.

 ACTIVATION OF THE EMERGENCY PLAN

In the event of any local emergency, the following principle MUST be first and foremost:-

• if there is ANY threat to life, dial 999 and alert the emergency services (Police, Fire, or Ambulance)
• If there is no perceived threat to life, but you have information that may help the emergency services, please dial 101.

The Plan may be activated in one of two ways:-

The Council may decide to activate the Plan, for example in response to a request from a member of the public or because of an event such as severe weather or the Plan may be activated, in case of a major incident, as the result of a call from Cheshire East Council, Cheshire Resilience Forum (CRF) or the Emergency Services (i.e. A Responding Agency)

Activation by Community Emergency Groups

In the event that the Council determines to activate the plan, without a request from the Emergency Services, or an Emergency Planning Officer, then the Council are always acting under either the Town Council’s insurance policy or partners under that of their own organisation.  Self-activation may be in response to events like snow and ice.  Where this is the case, the Council will contact your Cheshire East Council at the earliest opportunity.

Activation by a Responding Agency

For more serious or wide spread emergencies, the Town Council will normally be coordinated by Cheshire East Council in response to a request for support from the emergency services.

If the Council receive a call for assistance from an Emergency Planning Officer or the Emergency Services, any activities that you will be asked to carry out will be designed to help support the local authority part of that response.  This will usually take the form of welfare/shelter arrangements away from the direct scene of the emergency. It could also include things like local knowledge, or the location of known vulnerable persons. In this scenario, it is likely that the Council will be working alongside other voluntary organisations that also assist during the response. e.g. the Royal Voluntary Service (formerly the WRVS), British Red Cross, etc.

Any information received must be given out and communicated to people in a coordinated and controlled manner via the local authority’s Emergency Call Handlers.  It must not be given at the scene in a way that will impede the work of the emergency services.

Responsibility for activating the Plan will be the Town Clerk or other member of EMT

The Plan will be activated when it is necessary to take action and that action cannot be taken without triggering the plan

FLOOD SPECIFIC ACTIONS

AFTER AN EMERGENCY

The Council need to keep up its activities, bringing in additional resources as necessary, until either it is stood down by the Emergency Services or Cheshire East Council, or the Town Council decide that assistance is no longer necessary

Debrief

“Debriefing” is a conversation that revolves around the sharing and examining of information after a specific event has taken place.  A ‘Hot Debrief’ should take place by the key people involved in an incident immediately after the incident has passed and a ‘cold debrief’ should be held after the dust has settled and things are getting back to normal.  This should be open to anyone involved in the incident.  It enables you to record what went well, what could have been better and what you can do to learn from this experience to improve things next time.  It is not about who is at fault.  This is where notes made during the emergency prove really useful.

EMT will hold de-briefs as soon as possible after the event and pass on information to Cheshire East Council or CRF as required.

TYPICAL DEBRIEF AGENDA

1. Notification/Alerting Issues.
2. Warning – Responding Agency and Public Issues.
3. Command and Control Issues.
4. Training.
5. Capability.
6. Equipment.
7. Communications Issues.
8. Media Response Issues.
9. Recovery Issues
10. Recommendations

RECOVERY AFTER AN INCIDENT

Although most activity by a community in an emergency occurs in support of the emergency services and other agencies that assist in the response, the community has an important role to play in the recovery phase.

It is not possible to define precisely the extent and nature of post-incident community activity, since this will vary with the severity and nature of the emergency.  It is likely, however, that community activity will be in one or more of the following categories:-

• Looking after the welfare of the emergency services and agency workers e.g. feeding, sleeping, laundry, rest facilities etc.
• Caring for and supporting the on-going needs of those local people affected by the emergency.
• Memorial services, memorials, gardens of remembrance.
• Management of donations
• News sheets, information boards, website and social media information.

The above will be co-ordinated by Cheshire East Council.

It is important that the community considers these activities in advance and decides/agrees the need for community involvement and whether a member or section of the community should be tasked with preparing and inserting guidance in this Plan.

Recovery Process

It may be necessary following a major civil emergency to work with the principal Council in aiding recovery. After a very serious incident, Cheshire East Council may establish a Community Recovery Committee, which is a group drawn from the local community to reflect community concerns, and assist in informing the community. It will most likely assist in Impact Assessment of the affected community. Town Council elected representatives would be included in the membership. Its role would be non-executive.

An important role would be engaging with the Business Community and taking their concerns to the principal Council’s main Recovery Coordinating Group.

Town Councillors, as well as other community leaders have an important role to play in assisting the recovery process:-

• A focus for community concerns
• Identifying problems and vulnerabilities of their community
• Knowledge of local personalities and resources
• Enhancing local community liaison
• Visiting people affected and giving reassurance
• Consultation on re-builds or modernisation
• Assisting with the media in getting messages to the community (following established policy guidelines)
• Assisting with VIP visits
• Liaising with elected representatives (Cheshire East Councillors, MP, MEP)

Recovery may take months or even years and these roles may be a long-term priority.

The Town Council will need not only to help with damage assessment but use local knowledge to draw up a Recovery Action Plan and to give each action a priority rating of essential, important or desirable.

This will need to be done with the myriad of partners who will be involved in the recovery process.

Town Clerk to update contact information and amendments to the Plans in liaison with Cheshire East Council and review the Emergency Plan following the Debrief.

TOWN COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES

In addition to Councillors and Officers on the EMT, the Council will make available the all other members of staff as necessary.

The Town Council will make available its van and any appropriate equipment.

Appendix 1

Where to get information

UK weather warnings (Met Office)

• Cold weather alert (Met Office)(1^st November to 31^st March)
• Flood alerts and warnings (Environment Agency)
• Winter weather from Cheshire East Council.

Winter weather advice

• Get ready for winter (Met Office)
• Highways – salting, gritting and snow clearing (Cheshire East Council)
• School closures (Cheshire East Council)

Flooding advice

• Flooding – (Cheshire Resilience)
• Flood information and advice (Environment Agency)
• Free flood warning service (Environment Agency)
• Ground water status and current flood risk (Environment Agency)

Power cut enquiries

• Contact UK Power Networks 24 hours a day: Phone 0800 31 63 105 or 0333 32 32 105 if calling from a mobile
• Visit powernetworks.co.uk for the latest update

Heatwaves and drought advice

• Drought (Cheshire Resilience Forum)
• Environment Agency – Drought management for England
• Health advice during a heatwave (NHS)
• Heat-health watch (Met Office) (1 June to 15 September)

Appendix 2

External Contact Details (non-emergency)

• Fire, Police, Ambulance and Coastguard (non-emergency numbers)
• Cheshire East Council Information line 0300 123 5500. For emergencies out of hours call our Emergency Control Centre on 0300 123 5025. For Social Care emergencies, contact our Social Care Out of Hours team on 0300 123 5022.
• Cheshire Resilience Forum
• UK Power Network 0800 3163 105
• Highways Agency – A14, A12 (Trunk Roads Only) 0300 123 5000
• Environment Agency 03708 506 506 Floodline (24/7) 0345 988 1188 or 0845 988 1188 or email [email protected] or visit the website environment-agency.gov.uk
• BBC Radio Stoke 01782 208080. Email [email protected]
• Cat Radio. Call 01270 447515. Text 01270 266877. Email [email protected]
• metoffice.gov.uk
• Gas
• Water

Appendix 3

Before an Emergency (general advice)

 Help the Community Prepare

We will help our community be prepared for an emergency by encouraging them to follow the advice contained below and to complete the telephone numbers that they may need in the event of an emergency.  In particular we will:-

• Encourage all members of your community to make sure they are adequately insured and that they review their insurance
• Make sure that people are signed up to the Environment Agency Flood Warning Direct Service if their community is in a flood risk area. Point them in the direction of the National Flood Forum for more information on flood defence products and to local surveyors and architects for advice on their effectiveness.
• Encourage people to prepare a Go Bag including:-
• Key documents (such as passport, driving licence, your personal emergency contact list and insurance details).
• First aid kit including any medication.
• Wet wipes and/or antibacterial hand gel.
• Battery operated radio with spare batteries or wind up radio.
• Notebook and pencil/pen.
• Mobile phone/charger.
• Glasses/contact lenses.
• Toiletries (including nappies/sanitary supplies).
• Any special items for babies, children, elderly and disabled people.
• Spare set of keys (home/car/office).
• Bottled water/energy bars.
• Coins/cash (small denominations) and credit/debit cards.
• Change of clothes and blankets and sensible footwear (if necessary, waterproofs).
• A torch and batteries or a wind up torch.
• Encourage people to complete a household emergency plan which can be found on the Environment Agency website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-flood-plan
• Encourage people to make a “Community Friend” – this is someone, or some people, that can be called during an emergency to provide practical support – such as helping move furniture, look after pets, share house keys to look after each other’s properties and maybe know which valuable and sentimental items should be moved upstairs, check on you if you are poorly and go to the shops and chemists on your behalf.
• Make sure people know how to respond. In an emergency, people should go in, stay in and tune in to their local radio station for further instructions and updates – unless there is a fire, or any other threat to staying in the property, or unless they have been advised otherwise by the Emergency Services.
• Check that our community are ready for an emergency – ask them the following questions:-
  • Do you have a household emergency plan?
  • Have you discussed your plan with family and friends?
  • Do you know the emergency plan for your children’s school/nursery/college?
  • Do you know the emergency plan for your place of work?
  • Have you completed a personal emergency contact list?
  • Have you prepared a check list for your ‘go bag’, or packed it ready to go?
  • Do you have family contact(s) in your phone, wallet or purse?
  • Do you have a contact person – someone unlikely to be affected by the same emergency – who can keep family and friends informed?
  • Do you have a wind up or battery-operated portable FM/AM radio?
  • Do you have alternative, agreed meeting points?
  • Do you have working smoke alarms in your home?
  • Do you have adequate contents and buildings insurance?
  • Do you have copies of your most important documents stored somewhere other than at home?
  • Do you have a written list of your valuables, plus photographs or DVD/ ?
  • Have you checked if your property is in a flood risk area?
  • Have you thought about arrangements for pets if you need to leave your home?
  • Have you identified possible exit routes from every room in your home?
  • Do you know how to turn off water, gas and electricity supplies in your home?
  • Do you have elderly or vulnerable neighbours who might need help?
  • Do you know how to tune in to your local radio station?

The Environment Agency has flooding specific information for communities in flood risk areas.  Call 0845 988 1188 for more information.