Purpose of presentation

The Plan sets out the arrangements for the Pan-Wales level of Welsh response to a major emergency in or affecting Wales.   Although each service has its own operational procedures, the Pan-Wales Response Plan is intended not to override but compliment these arrangements together with the existing joint agency procedures agreed in each Local Resilience Forum area. An important aspect of the plan is creating the ability to analyse the impact on Wales of any emergency or incident, and to provide coherent advice from the centre.  The arrangements provide for this by allowing the Emergency Co-ordination Centre (Wales) (ECC(W)) to act as a conduit to/from the UK Government when appropriate

It must be stressed that some individual agencies will still maintain direct reporting lines to UK Departments. These will not be overridden by this plan. In those instances, agencies will share information with the ECC(W) as appropriate.

In order to achieve a combined and coordinated response to an incident or emergency through appropriate command, control and coordination arrangements are required During an emergency the Welsh Government may activate the Emergency Co-ordination Centre (Wales) which is able to link with all Strategic Co-ordination Groups and the central government crisis management machinery facilitated by the Cabinet Office. ECCW aims to together information regarding the strategic response across wales, gather information from wider sources relating to the incident and make sure information flows efficiently through the chain of command and to partner organisations. The ECC(W)’s role is primarily one of information gathering and keeping Ministers and the UK Government informed of the implications of emergencies in Wales. At the same time, it keeps Strategic Co-ordinating Groups and individual agencies informed about developments at the UK level which will affect them. On other occasions, the ECC(W) can be used as a means of co-ordinating a multi-agency response by including external partners whose presence in the Centre facilitates links with external agencies and draws experience and expertise into the assessment of information being gathered. The decision on whether to activate the ECC(W) will depend upon the nature and extent of any emergency in or affecting Wales. For example, in an emergency impacting primarily on a single Police area the Welsh Government will maintain a significant interest and will liaise with the Strategic Co-ordinating Group to review whether the establishment of the ECC(W) could assist the response.

Further Information Wales Resilience Website- http://walesresilience.gov.uk/ Pan Wales Response Plan