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Minister Oppong-Asare met with Local Resilience Forum chairs from 11 regions across Northern England at the Emergency Planning College last Thursday (26th September 2024)
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Meeting forms part of ongoing review of UK’s resilience launched in July 2024
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The Minister also attended an emergency exercise in Wakefield and met with Cabinet Office employees based in York
Minister Oppong-Asare convened local resilience leaders from 11 regions across Northern England to hear about their experiences protecting communities from risks like extreme weather or infectious diseases. The meeting formed part of the Government’s ongoing review of the UK’s long term resilience.
The local leaders that met the Minister all represented Local Resilience Forums. These groups are responsible for coordinating emergency services, local authorities, and other organisations during the response to local incidents.
Minister Oppong-Asare began the day observing the West Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum undertake an emergency exercise in Wakefield. The tabletop simulation is part of the National Exercising Programme, which tests communities’ readiness to respond to risks.
The Minister then travelled to the Emergency Planning College outside York to meet with Local Resilience Forum representatives. The facility has served as the UK Government’s centre for resilience expertise since its foundation 80 years ago. In the last 12 months, it has delivered 400 training sessions, reaching a total of 4,000 delegates from around the world.
Lessons learnt during the meeting with resilience leaders will feed directly into the review of resilience launched by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in response to the Covid-19 Inquiry’s first report and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report.
The response to the Covid-19 Inquiry will be delivered in the New Year, within the six month deadline set by Baroness Hallett, Chair of the Covid-19 Inquiry.
The visit comes as the Cabinet Office prepares to launch the UK Resilience Academy at the Emergency Planning College from Spring 2025. The new Academy will ensure greater access to accredited learning, training, exercising, and development for first responders and resilience professionals in the public and private sector.
Minister Oppong-Asare concluded the day meeting Civil Servants at the Cabinet Office’s hub in York City Centre. The department employs more than 500 staff at the site.
Minister Oppong-Asare, Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, said:
“Our first duty is to keep people safe, which is why we’ve launched a review of the government’s long term approach to resilience. It’s clear we need to act on recent public inquiries that have called for reform following events like the Covid-19 pandemic and Grenfell Tower tragedy.
“As part of our review, I’m pleased to be meeting with people on the front line of our resilience, to listen to their experiences. By working together at a local and national level we can protect the whole of society from shared risks like extreme weather or future infectious diseases.”
