Cumbria Local Resilience Forum
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| Cumbria Local Resilience Forum | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cumbria Local Resilience Forum |
| Formation | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Carlisle |
| Region served | Cumbria |
| Membership | Emergency services; local authorities; National Health Service; utility companies; transport operators |
Cumbria Local Resilience Forum The Cumbria Local Resilience Forum is a statutory multi-agency forum coordinating emergency preparedness, response and recovery across Cumbria (county), including urban and rural areas such as Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal and Whitehaven. It brings together principal responding bodies including Cumbria Constabulary, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, representatives from NHS England, and local authorities like Cumbria County Council to plan for risks such as coastal flooding from the Irish Sea, severe weather linked to systems like Storm Desmond, transport incidents on corridors such as the M6 motorway (Great Britain) and infrastructure failure affecting assets including the Sellafield site.
Overview
The forum operates within the legal framework set by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and aligns with national arrangements such as the Cabinet Office emergency planning guidance and the National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies. It provides strategic coordination among statutory responders, Category 1 and Category 2 responders listed under the Act, and mirrors multilateral bodies like the Gold–Silver–Bronze command structure used in major incidents such as the Manchester Arena bombing response and international events like the 2012 Summer Olympics. The forum’s remit encompasses risk assessment, capability development, multi-agency exercise design and recovery coordination with partners including Environment Agency and Network Rail.
Membership and Structure
Membership includes chief officers and senior leads from organisations such as Cumbria Constabulary, North West Ambulance Service, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, NHS England, unitary authorities like Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland (unitary authority), and infrastructure bodies including United Utilities and National Grid (Great Britain). Strategic oversight typically involves a chair drawn from senior local authority or emergency services leadership akin to structures in forums across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Sub-groups mirror functional cells seen in Gold (command) arrangements and cover areas such as logistics, welfare, information management and business continuity with liaison from agencies like the Met Office and Ministry of Defence when required.
Roles and Responsibilities
The forum’s responsibilities include developing multi-agency risk assessments similar to those underpinning responses to UK floods, coordinating strategic communications alongside partners such as the BBC and ITV regional services, and ensuring continuity of critical services provided by entities like NHS Foundation Trusts and water companies. It endorses contingency plans for hazards including coastal erosion affecting sites along the Cumbrian coast, railway accidents on lines such as the Settle–Carlisle line, and industrial incidents at licensed sites comparable to Sellafield. The forum also supports legislative compliance for Category 1 responders and interfaces with national resilience bodies like Public Health England (now integrated into UK Health Security Agency structures) for health emergencies.
Incident Management and Operations
Operational coordination follows the multi-agency command models deployed in incidents such as Storm Desmond and the 2015 Cumbria floods, with tactical and operational management arranged through category responder control rooms analogous to those used by Greater London Authority during the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The forum facilitates activation of multi-agency coordination centres, mutual aid requests between neighbouring resilience forums like Northumbria Local Resilience Forum and Lancashire Local Resilience Forum, and liaison with transport operators including Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains for rail disruption. It provides situational awareness through shared information systems resembling those used by Police National Computer and regional resilience portals.
Preparedness, Planning and Training
Planning activity includes multi-agency exercises modeled on national exercises such as Exercise Unified Response and sector-specific drills employed at infrastructure sites like Sellafield and ports at Barrow-in-Furness. Training spans command and control competencies comparable to the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles doctrine and specialist courses delivered by organisations like the Emergency Planning College. Business continuity planning is coordinated with bodies such as Network Rail and Highways England to protect transport corridors like the A66 road and M6 motorway (Great Britain). Risk registers and community risk plans draw on hazard data from the Environment Agency and meteorological forecasts from the Met Office.
Partnerships and Community Engagement
The forum partners with voluntary sector organisations including Royal Voluntary Service, Samaritans, St John Ambulance and local branches of British Red Cross to provide welfare and survivor support during major incidents. Engagement extends to town councils across Lake District communities, business groups such as local chambers of commerce, and infrastructure stakeholders including United Utilities and port operators. Community resilience initiatives mirror national programmes like Community Resilience Forum pilots and involve promoting Silver Command-level planning within parish councils, mutual aid arrangements similar to those between neighboring resilience forums and public information campaigns coordinated with broadcasters like BBC North West.
Notable Incidents and Responses
Notable activations include responses to the 2015 Cumbria floods and Storm Desmond where multi-agency coordination addressed riverine flooding in river systems such as the River Eden and infrastructure damage to towns including Keswick. The forum coordinated health and social care recovery with NHS Foundation Trusts and welfare provision via voluntary sector partners during evacuations influenced by severe weather events comparable to the 2013–14 United Kingdom winter floods. It has also overseen contingency responses for transport incidents on the Settle–Carlisle line and major road collisions on the M6 motorway (Great Britain), liaising with national bodies such as Department for Transport (United Kingdom) and Health and Safety Executive where necessary.