Local Resilience Forum (ASLRF) Steve Pope ASLRF Coordinator Avon and Somerset Local Resilience Forum (ASLRF) Steve Pope ASLRF Coordinator

The Local Resilience Forum and Climate Change

What is a Local Resilience Forum? Established under the Civil Contingencies (CCA) Act 2004; Based on police force boundaries; Around 40 in England and Wales; Different arrangements in Scotland and NI.

What is an LRF? (cont’d) A multi-agency partnership made up of police, fire, ambulance, local authorities NHS, Public Health England, Environment Agency and others – known as Category 1 responders, with duties under the CCA and; Utilities, transport operators, airports – known as Category 2 responders; Not an “organisation” – but a process for assisting responders to discharge their duties under the CCA, especially that of cooperation; Each is wholly independent – receive guidance from Central government but set own priorities.

5 LRFs in the SW, each with a Coordinator as the first point of contact: Avon and Somerset – me; Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole – Jen Cutler; Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – Neil Hamlyn; Gloucestershire – Matt Steele; Wiltshire and Swindon – Paul Williams.

So, what do LRFs do about climate change…??? The clue is in our title – we cannot prevent climate change – we focus on developing resilience to its impacts at the local level by: Identifying risk and potential impacts on our area; Assessing the risk; Building capability to mitigate risk, including an ability to coordinate a response; Planning; Warning and Informing; Training and exercising to sharpen our capabilities; Supporting Business Continuity; In the worst case, mounting a multi-agency response, and; Supporting recovery.

Key to all of this is community engagement LRFs now work closely with communities of all descriptions under the banner of “Community Resilience” National strategy, delivered locally; A duty under the Climate Adaptation Plan; Aim to build local engagement and capability by supporting communities to plan for and address all impacts with our multi-agency partners; Complements the response of the emergency services; Builds local understanding of what could happen and what to do about it; No single model – it’s whatever suits the community. Potential role for LEPs? And, of course, it’s not just flooding!!