The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 establishes a consistent level of civil
protection activity across the UK. The Act provides a basic framework defining
what tasks should be performed and how co-operation should be conducted.
The Act lists organisations to be included in two categories. Category 1 responders have duties placed on them to assess risk, plan for emergencies,
maintain public awareness, arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public
and business continuity arrangements. They include the emergency services, NHS
organisations, local authorities and the Environment Agency.
Category 2 responders have lesser duties but are likely to be heavily involved in some
emergencies e.g. transport companies, utilities.
One of the key requirements of the Act is for Category 1 and Category 2
responders to form a 'Local Resilience Forum' based on Police areas. The Lancashire Resilience Forum (LRF) allows responders a forum to consult,
collaborate and disclose information with each other to facilitate planning and
response to emergencies, and produce the Community Risk Register
The LRF is chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary.
The LRF meets twice a year and senior representatives of all Category 1 and
Category 2 Responders are invited to attend. The main work of the LRF is carried
out by various thematic sub-groups, who report to the LRF General Purposes
Group.
Although the LRF was established in January 2006, the concept of co-operation
between responders in Lancashire is long established. In 1994, LANMIC
(Lancashire Major Incident Co-ordinating Group) was formed to co-ordinate the
county's response to major incidents and this proved a valuable foundation for
the creation of the LRF.