§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what budget allocation his Department has made to support civil defence planning at national level. [45356]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions' civil emergency co-ordination unit has a budget in 2001–02 of £711,000 for administration and programme resources.
961WIn addition, the Fire Service Inspectorate have three officers working full time and other officers part time on issues as part of the "New Dimension" review following the events of 11 September. The Operational Practices section of the Inspectorate deals with civil defence planning as part of its references. The approximate costs of providing the above support are:
- Salaries—£140,000 pa.
- Expenses—£20,000 pa.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the Department has been involved in updating contingency plans to deal with a major civil emergency since 11 September. [45355]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Department's contingency plans for dealing with a major civil emergency have been reviewed in light of the events which took place on 11 September. In addition, the Department is actively involved in the Government wide post 11 September review of Civil Contingency arrangements.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the organisations which have responsibility for civil defence planning in the UK. [45352]
§ Mr. Christopher LeslieI have been asked to reply.
Local authorities have the main responsibility for preparing civil defence plans. They will need to include others with a role to play such as the emergency services, health authorities, utilities, transport operators, voluntary organisations and government departments and agencies.
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat at the Cabinet Office was established in 2001 in order to aid coordination of civil defence matters at a national strategic level.