Business Continuity Planning at LFR and for Businesses
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service (a category 1 responder) is required by the Civil Contingences Act 2004 to formulate business continuity plans that ensure the continuation of its critical functions in the event of an emergency (an event or situation that threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK). Ideally, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue would be able to continue all its functions at ordinary service levels. In practice, this may not prove possible, and therefore our focus is on ensuring that our critical functions can be delivered so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Responding to 999 emergencies;
- Delivering community & statutory fire safety;
- Supporting national resilience;
- All support functions that enable the above.
We are following the British Standard 25999 to develop, implement and embed business continuity within our organisation. Plans have been formulated for severe weather, staff shortage and fuel shortage, in addition to plans for individual fire stations and departments. Guidance and information is also available with reference to our people, premises and resources (including IT, telecommunications and suppliers/contractors). Training and awareness is provided for all staff and a programme of table-top and ‘live’ exercising has been developed to test plan resilience.
The Business Community is not required to have business continuity plans in place, but it is our responsibility (Local Authority) under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to promote Business Continuity to businesses and the voluntary sector. Therefore, what would happen if your business, organisation or association was involved in an emergency or disaster?
Business Continuity provides a planned response - combined with effective measures to reduce interruption and minimise losses. Without effective business planning, a natural or man-made disaster or an internal or external service disruption could result in:
- A complete failure to your business
- Loss of reputation and/or loss of customers
- Financial, legal and regulatory penalties
- Human resource issues
- An impact on insurance premiums
If you do not have a Business Continuity Plan, the quick 10 minute assessment (found in downloads) will outline the criteria you need to consider in order to help enable you to prepare for an emergency (internal or external) that may disrupt your business/organisation. It will also assist you in evaluating how far you have gone down the process of business continuity planning.
A variety of information has been put together for you to view in downloads and websites. Please take the time to click onto some of these as they have been chosen to aid your knowledge and to expand your planning.
