Community safety

All councils are required to have emergency plans by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Act also places a large number of other requirements on them. The council is affected by other legislation that requires it to carry out an emergency planning role, such as the Housing Act 1996 (www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1996/1996052.htm). Medway Council supports the emergency services in the event of a major incident through close working partnerships and membership of the Kent Resilience Forum and Medway Partners Emergency Group. Medway Council's Emergency Planning Team is part of the Frontline Taskforce and is a member of the Community Safety Partnership. What does Medway Council plan for? As part of the Kent Resilience Forum, Medway Council has helped to create the Kent Community Risk Register. This register determines the greatest risk to the whole of Kent and is the focus for the Forum's activities aimed at reducing risks.

Medway Council also plans for other threats to the community. Under the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations (COMAH) 1999, it is required to produce an off-site emergency plan and to co-ordinate the response for an emergency that could affect the community beyond the boundaries of a particular site.

How Medway Council responds to emergencies

Medway Council responds in a number of different ways, depending on the nature of the incident. For example:

• rest centres to provide temporary accommodation for people evacuated from a specific area or for people in transit: these centres often require help from voluntary agencies and contractors who can provide food, clothing and counselling to support those affected by the incident - an abridged version of the Medway Council Rest Centre Guidelines (pdf 379KB) is available for download.
• alternative accommodation for those evacuated for prolonged periods of time;
• survivor reception centres;
• humanitarian assistance centres;
• additional plant and equipment;
• advice and guidance;
• monitoring the situation;
• advice on dangerous structures;
• a control centre to co-ordinate the response.

An abridged version of Medway Council Major Emergency Plan (pdf 1,260KB) is available for download. To use the pdf files on this page, you will need Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this on your computer, please visit our advice page.

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