§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what role will be played by local authorities in the South East of England in the event of the mass evacuation of London; and what recent discussions he has had with them on contingency plans for the mass evacuation of London; [147284]
(2) what plans there are to use towns in the South East of England in the event of the mass evacuation of London; [147285]
(3) what role the A23 would play in the event of the mass evacuation of London; [147286]
(4) what plans are in place for the mass evacuation of London in the event of a major emergency; [147287]
(5) what plans are in place for the evacuation of hospitals and prisons in the event of the mass evacuation of London. [147288]
§ Mr. RaynsfordMass evacuation of parts of London, or any other area, would be very much a last resort.
However, as part of its role in making sure London is as well prepared as possible to cope with any emergency situation, the London Resilience partnership has been carrying out generic planning for the temporary evacuation of areas of London in the event of this being necessary. The local authorities and emergency services in the surrounding counties, including the South East of England, have been actively involved in this work and have had detailed discussions over the past year with officials in the London Resilience Team and the Regional Resilience Team based in the Government Office for the South East.
The principal role of local authorities in the event of any serious emergency, whether or not it necessitates mass evacuation, is to provide support for the people in their area; in general this will involve close co-operation with the emergency services. In the event of mass evacuation of areas of London being required, the local authorities in the surrounding counties—including those in the South East of England as need be—would be involved in providing initial rest and reception facilities for evacuees.
We do not make publicly available detailed contingency plans for meeting specific needs on responding to particular types of incident.