§ Mr. HendrickTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Departments will take the lead in the event of different kinds of emergency taking place in the UK. [729651]
§ Mr. BlunkettMost emergencies are handled at a local level by the emergency services and by the appropriate local authority or authorities with no direct involvement by central Government.
Where central Government do become involved because the incident is of such a scale or complexity to require central co-ordination or support, it is essential that we are clear in advance which Department will be in the lead.
The Civil Contingencies Committee has had an up-to-date list of pre-nominated leads produced in order to reflect the devolution settlement; the changes to the machinery of Government made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister since the general election; and incidents which were not covered in the earlier 'Dealing with Disaster' guidance document.
I am placing in the Library a paper explaining the respective roles of lead Government Departments and the Civil Contingencies Secretariat and a table summarising which Departments will have the lead for different categories of emergency.
The table shows the position that holds within the devolved Administrations and arrangements are being made to place the material in the Libraries of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Arrangements are also being made for this material to be made available to the local authority and emergency services associations and to be placed on the internet at www.ukresilience.info that will be updated whenever necessary and should be consulted for the latest information on pre-designated lead Departments.