Business Continuity
Under the Civil Contingencies Act, all Category 1 responders including Liverpool City Council must write, develop, maintain and test their own Business Continuity Management (BCM) plans. This means that the Police, Fire, Ambulance and Local Councils all have to have BCM plans for their own organisations. The Civil Contingencies Act also gives local authorities the responsibility to promote Business Continuity Management to local businesses in their areas, where possible working with other organisations to deliver this in an effective way.
Within Liverpool City Council there is an Emergency Planning Unit who, in addition to their Emergency Planning duties, are also responsible for co-ordinating and facilitating the five portfolios of Liverpool City Council in developing their own Business Continuity plans. The unit is based in Brougham Terrace and provides a duty officer, out of hours, seven days per week to respond to major emergencies as part of the council's response arrangements.
Business Continuity Management - what does it mean for me?
BCM is about identifying what aspects of your organisations activities and resources are essential and planning how your business would continue in the event of an emergency. Liverpool City Council already has a number of BCM plans and procedures and is further developing plans to cover all areas of Council activity. This will help to ensure that during any interruptions to its business, important activities can continue. An example is if a council building is damaged and cannot be used, perhaps due to internal flooding? If the offices were to be out of action for a number of days then the team occupying the building would start their particular Business Continuity Plan, which would plan in advance a situation where they could not use their workplace. The plan would aim to get key services back up and operating with the minimum of delay. For instance, if the service dealt with the care of the elderly and/or vulnerable people, it is very important that the service be fully restored as soon as possible. Fallen trees that may block roads during periods of high winds or road gritting when temperatures drop to freezing are also examples that would benefit from a well thought out Business Continuity Plan.
In essence BCM allows any organisation to manage risks and ensure that it can continue to deliver its essential services during periods when normal day to day activities may be disrupted. The Civil Contingencies Act promotes all organisations to be more resilient; Business Continuity Management is part of the overall risk management framework that the organisations can use to reduce "operational risk".
Do you know what would happen if your business suffered a major interuption of its service delivery? You may have contingency plans in place but have you written them down in a plan and tested them? In these uncertain times it makes good business sense for companies big or small to plan and prepare for the unexpected. The five Merseyside Local Authorities have jointly produced a booklet called Business Continuity Management : A Guide for Businesses and Volountary Organisations![(PDF [864.7Kb] opens in new window)](/images/PDF.gif)
, which may assist you.
As Business Continuity becomes more common, some companies that already have well developed contingency plans in place may ask whether you, as one of their key suppliers also have Business Continuity Plans. Did you know that 80% of businesses affected by a major incident close within eighteen months? If you are a business and do not have any form of BCM plan then you should give serious consideration to developing one.
If you have any queries relating to Business Continuity Management you can contact the Emergency Planning Unit at: emergency.planning@liverpool.gov.uk .
You can also contact us on:
Telephone number: (0151) 233 3000
Fax: (0151) 225 4997
Useful Links
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce
Self Assessment Tool
One of the first things you should do is find out the vulnerability of your business. This link to the London Prepared website will enable you to carry out a ten minute self assessment and establish the level of vulnerability.
Business Continuity Institute
This link will provide you with accredited training and the latest news on BCM issues.
UK Resilience
Here you can determine how resilient your business is.
Preparing for Emergency
This site offers excellent guidance and takes you through the BCM process.
Cabinet Office Pandemic Influenza Checklist for Businesses
Case Studies
One of the best ways we can learn is from other organisations' experiences. This link lists a number of Business Case studies relating to BCM.