§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responsibilities he has for emergency planning and the co-ordination of the work of emergency planning authorities; and how his exercise of such responsibilities in London differs from that elsewhere in(a) England and (b) the UK. [84605]
§ Mr. DenhamAs my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister (Mr. Blair) made clear to the House on 20 November, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (Mr. Blunkett) has responsibility for ensuring effective arrangements are in place to co-ordinate the Government's response to major emergencies.
The Home Secretary chairs three Cabinet Committees which co-ordinate this work: DOP (IT) (T) which oversees the work to strengthen the UK's defences against terrorism, DOP (IT) (R) which works to build the UK's resilience and ability to manage the consequences of major emergencies; and the Civil Contingencies Committee which meets to oversee lead department's management of major emergencies and manage their wider effects. The devolved Administrations are represented on the relevant committees.
The Cabinet Office provide the Home Secretary with direct support headed at official level by Sir David Omand, who is the Permanent Secretary in charge of security and intelligence co-ordination. All Departments have a responsibility to plan, prepare, train and exercise for handling major incidents and emergencies that might occur within their field of responsibility. It is their Ministers' responsibility to ensure that they are ready to take the leading role on behalf of central Government in managing the initial response to a major emergency, mitigating its immediate effects, and organising the development of a recovery plan.
My right hon. Friend, the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Prescott) is replying to you on his responsibilities in this area, and on the specific arrangements for London. My right hon. Noble Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Lord McDonald) has responsibility for the work of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, including the payment of the Civil Defence Grant.
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§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local agreements have been established between fire authorities and health authorities at local level in relation to the handling of an NBC attack. [85424]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 5 December 2002]: A national Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate and the Department of Health for the mass decontamination of casualties following a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident was drawn up in December 2001. The MoU is intended to provide a national framework for locally agreed plans and procedures for mass decontamination.
Agreements have already been established to cover the fire authorities in 19 of the 28 strategic health authorities in England. In all other areas, agreements are being finalised for adoption.
The Devolved Administrations have adopted the approach of agreeing a single Memorandum of Understanding to cover all fire and health authorities.
§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions Ministers have met under his chairmanship in the past six months to discuss civil protection. [85426]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 5 December 2002]: In line with Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, information on the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees is not disclosed. However, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, has regular contact with his colleagues in relation to his responsibilities for counter terrorism and civil contingency.