By David Scott in Edinburgh
06 August 2009
More needs to be done in Scotland to plan for civil emergencies such as the swine flu pandemic and flooding, Audit Scotland has said.
In a report published on August 6, the public spending watchdog said performance management for civil contingencies planning was limited and inconsistent across all sectors.
Governance and accountability arrangements for multi-agency working were unclear and mutual arrangements for sharing resources between different parts of Scotland during emergencies were often too informal, it added.
Auditor general Bob Black said recent events in Scotland ranged from the terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport on June 30, 2007 through to risks to fuel supplies caused by industrial action, flooding as a result of severe weather and, most recently, the swine flu pandemic.
Scotland had the first confirmed cases in the UK.
He added: ‘These have all highlighted the importance of having effective emergency planning and response systems in place. Public bodies in Scotland are working well together, but there is scope for further improvement.’
The report, Improving civil contingencies planning, looked at what progress had been made since the Contingency Planning (Scotland) Regulations 2005 came into force.
While it concluded that the main organisations worked well together, particularly through strategic co-ordinating groups, it pointed out that ‘barriers to joint working exist’.
A more standard approach to the handling of sensitive information was needed along with greater clarity on leadership, roles, responsibilities and priorities, the report emphasised.
It also highlighted the need for better communications with local communities to ensure the public is better informed.
Black said: ‘The Scottish Government has been very active in supporting civil contingencies work and has ensured that progress has been made.
‘More could be done to share the lessons learned from actual emergencies and to share good practice.’
06 August 2009
More needs to be done in Scotland to plan for civil emergencies such as the swine flu pandemic and flooding, Audit Scotland has said.
In a report published on August 6, the public spending watchdog said performance management for civil contingencies planning was limited and inconsistent across all sectors.
Governance and accountability arrangements for multi-agency working were unclear and mutual arrangements for sharing resources between different parts of Scotland during emergencies were often too informal, it added.
Auditor general Bob Black said recent events in Scotland ranged from the terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport on June 30, 2007 through to risks to fuel supplies caused by industrial action, flooding as a result of severe weather and, most recently, the swine flu pandemic.
Scotland had the first confirmed cases in the UK.
He added: ‘These have all highlighted the importance of having effective emergency planning and response systems in place. Public bodies in Scotland are working well together, but there is scope for further improvement.’
The report, Improving civil contingencies planning, looked at what progress had been made since the Contingency Planning (Scotland) Regulations 2005 came into force.
While it concluded that the main organisations worked well together, particularly through strategic co-ordinating groups, it pointed out that ‘barriers to joint working exist’.
A more standard approach to the handling of sensitive information was needed along with greater clarity on leadership, roles, responsibilities and priorities, the report emphasised.
It also highlighted the need for better communications with local communities to ensure the public is better informed.
Black said: ‘The Scottish Government has been very active in supporting civil contingencies work and has ensured that progress has been made.
‘More could be done to share the lessons learned from actual emergencies and to share good practice.’
