Civil Protection 2006 – Building Resilience Through Communication and Co-operation

Having battled through massive delays and closures on the London Underground, delegates, speakers and exhibitors arrived for a busy day of insight and discussion at Civil Protection 06, the Public Service Event for the resilience and emergency preparedness sector. The day started on a topical note, with Richard Barnes AM, Chair of the 7/7 Review Committee, noting that the transport problems, caused by a fatality on the Central Line, experienced by delegates on the way to the conference illustrated the fragility of the capital's transit systems. Controversially, he argued that the emergency services had failed to act on the recommendations of the Fennell Investigation into the 1987 Kings Cross, and that this had a direct bearing on London's readiness to respond effectively on 7/7. John Anthony, Assistant Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade was quick to respond to Barnes' criticisms of the emergency services, defending in particular the record of their communications systems on the day, before examining the new projects underway to enhance communications interoperability between the different emergency services, and to extend the reach of communications into the Underground system.


Examining another important element of the country's response mechanism, Ian Cameron, Newsgathering Editor at the BBC gave an in-depth presentation on the important role that the news media can play both in providing a robust communications network in emergency zones, and in reassuring the general public in times of crisis. Using the Boscastle floods and 7/7 as reference points, and showing 2 short films on the subject, Cameron had the audience gripped throughout.


After two workshop sessions and a hearty lunch in the exhibition hall, delegates reconvened for the afternoon plenary, which took a look at the organisational aspect of preparedness - business continuity. Carolyn Halpin, Vice Chair, Alarm and Nicki Dennis, Head of Market Development at the British Standards Institute took turns to underline the critical importance of building a culture of resilience and continuity in the workplace. The new BS25999 standard for business continuity was also appraised and welcomed, both by speakers and delegates.


Civil Protection 06 brought together a diverse range of experts with a single aim - to ensure that the UK is ready to respond in emergencies, and delegates were delighted with what they had taken from the day, with comments including:
"Excellent"
"Both informed and informative, a very useful function to have been able to attend"
"You got it right"
"Fascinating and well delivered"

Click here for an independent review of the event from one of our exhibitors:
www.247outdoor.com/display.php?id=41

For any information about the speakers, exhibitors and workshops at Civil Protection 06, please contact our Event Manager, Louise Waters on 0161 832 7387 or