Business continuity and emergency planning
Ready to support our residents and communities in a crisis
It's important that we are ready to support our residents and communities in the event of a crisis or emergency - and that we can continue to deliver critical services, as far as possible, in the event of a disruption.
Business continuity
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires all local authorities to maintain plans for business continuity arrangements - and these plans are regularly reviewed, to make sure they are up-to-date.
Our Business Continuity Plan contains many pre-planned responses to anticipated events. It informs staff about what actions are appropriate to take, depending on the situation.
Business continuity involves thinking about what could go wrong, and:
- making plans to prevent problems occurring in the first place or
- reducing the impact, if problems do occur
It is much easier to plan ahead before a crisis develops, than it is to wait until something goes wrong - and then try to cope with the aftermath.
Emergency planning
We regularly assess the risk of emergencies occurring, and put emergency plans in place to respond to them. This is also in line with our responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
The Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Unit is a shared unit which focusses on emergency planning and business continuity. It is owned by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, Suffolk County Council, East Suffolk Council, West Suffolk Council and Ipswich Borough Council.
We are also part of the Suffolk Resilience Forum, which helps to coordinate all multi-agency activity that enables our county to plan, prepare and respond to major incidents.
Learn more about the Suffolk Resilience Forum
Are you ready for an emergency?
Whether you are a resident, a business, or a community leader - we can help you prepare too.
It is important that all organisations (including private businesses) have business continuity plans.
Learn more about how to prepare your business
Through our work as part of the Suffolk Resilience Forum, we also encourage every household to prepare for emergencies. For more information about how to prepare yourself and your household - such as signing up for flood warnings, packing a 'Get prepared' bag, and developing a Household Plan - please visit the Prepare yourself webpage.
There is also information and advice about how to prepare for specific risks, including flooding.
For information on how to prepare your community through the development of a Community Emergency Plan, please visit the Prepare your community webpage.
Contact us
If you are interested in finding out more about Community Emergency Planning - or already have a plan that you would like to review - please contact emergencyplanning@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk