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This page provides information about the Council's role in planning for emergencies in Mid Sussex.

Click here for more specific information on Planning for Severe Weather.

The District Council has a duty under the Civil Contingencies Act to provide assistance to the emergency services, should a major incident be declared in Mid Sussex. 

Whilst the police, fire and ambulance services deal with day-today emergencies as a matter of routine, the District Council must be prepared to respond to a call for assistance from the emergency services in the event of a major emergency incident. 

Through the Local Resilience Forum, we work closely with all local responders to prepare for emergencies in Sussex. We would recommend you visit the Sussex Resilience Forum Website for more details.

What is a major emergency?

A major emergency is defined in the Civil Contingencies Act as:

  • an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in the United Kingdom
  • an event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment in the United Kingdom
  • war, or terrorism, which threatens serious damage to the security of the United Kingdom.          

Examples of recent major emergencies in the UK would be flooding in Cumbria/Gloucestershire, the Buncefield fuel depot fire, or the terrorist bombings in London on 7th July 2005. All of these incidents had extemely serious repercussions for a large number of people and therefore a multi-agency response was required.

The Civil Contingencies Act

In 2004, the Government introduced new legislation to help provide better integrated emergency management, brought about through the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA). 

The aim of the CCA is to improve the UK's resilience through the relevant authorities working together to anticipate emergencies, assess their impact and likelihood, prevent them if at all possible, prepare for the ones that cannot be prevented, respond to them efficiently should they happen and recover from them as quickly as possible.

Risk Management

Risk management is a systematic process which identifies hazards or threats and establishes a range of measures in order to minimise their impact. 

Risks are assessed on the likelihood that they will occur and the impact they would have if they did. The National Risk Register identifies the main hazards and threats in the UK as:

  • Flooding
  • Severe Weather (Snow, Storms, Drought etc.) 
  • Large Fires or Explosions
  • Pandemic Flu 
  • Animal Disease 
  • Major transport accidents 
  • Fuel Shortage
  • Loss of Infrastructure (Fuel, Utilities, Communications Network) 
  • Terrorist Attacks 

For the most part, there is a relatively low risk of these incidents happening, however they would have a large impact on the community if they did happen and so they must be planned for.

Sussex based organisations including the emergency services and local authorities work together as a multi-agency partnership known as the Sussex Local Resilience Forum. The main purpose of the Sussex Local Resilience Forum is to ensure that events or situations which threaten serious damage to human welfare, the environment or national security are identified and controlled.

The Sussex Community Risk Register is created by the Sussex Local Resilience Forum for two primary reasons. Firstly, to reassure the local community that an assessment of potential hazards and threats has been made. Secondly, to satisfy the requirement outlined in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and its associated Statutory Guidance (Emergency Preparedness) all of which can be accessed through UK Resilience.

The Sussex Resilience Forum have produced a booklet entitled 'Community Information on Risks in Sussex'. Click here to download the Community Risks booklet (pdf 3MB) or click here to be taken to the Sussex Resilience Forum's website to view all the related information. 

In the past few years the District Council has been required to assist the emergency services with several incidents such as those involving, large fires, unexploded bombs, severe weather and traffic accidents.   

Local Authority Responsibilities

Local authorities are Category 1 Responders under the CCA, this means that the District Council (as part of a multi-agency group) must:

  • Assess the risk of an emergency occurring - identify local hazards and threats and ass the impact they would have if they occurred 
  • Create and maintain plans to manage the risks and specify actions in the event of an emergency
  • Make arrangements to ensure the critical functions of the Council could continue should an emergency occur 
  • Warn and inform the public
  • Co-operate with other agencies in emergency planning
  • Share information with other agencies        

The Act also gives the local authority a duty to promote business continuity to the wider community. Click here to go to the Council's Business Continuity web page.  

What is the role of Mid Sussex District Council?

Should a major incident occur in Mid Sussex, it would be the role of the District Council to:

  • Support the emergency services
  • Assistance to people in distress
  • Co-ordinate the response and recovery
  • In consultation with the Police, release of information to the media and advise to the public
  • Maintenance and restoration of local authority services         

In order to carry out these roles, it is necessary for the Council to have in place a robust set of plans.

What does the Council provide?

The Council can provide assistance in a number of ways depending on the nature of the emergency. 

The Council can provide:   

A Rest Centre to provide a temporary accommodation of people evacuated from a specific area.

These are normally set up with the assistance of other voluntary agencies to give support to those affected by the emergency offering food, shelter and where appropriate, counselling. If an emergency requires people to be evacuated from their homes for a prolonged period of time, the Council can also assist in finding alternative accommodation.

A Survivor Reception Centre, which is a secure area to which uninjured survivors involved in a major emergency, can be taken for shelter. 

A Humanitarian Assistance Centre, a 'one-stop shop' providing comprehensive information to the community affected by an incident.

Additional plant, equipment and staffing, to assist with the response and clean-up operation 

Advice, guidance, and monitoring with regard to any environmental aspect of the emergency.

Advice on dangerous structures.

Information to the general public.

An Emergency Control Centre to coordinate the response and where possible mitigate the impact of the event.           

MSDC Emergency Plan 

The Council produces and maintains its Emergency Plan to specify the roles and responsibilities of personnel and the resources required when assisting the emergency services in responding to a major emergency.

The Mid Sussex District Council Emergency Plan is available to view or download below.

Mid Sussex Emergency Plan 2011 (pdf 326kb)

For further information on preparing for and responding to emergencies, please visit the following websites:

For further information on the Council's emergency planning arrangements please contact:

Emergency Planning
Mid Sussex District Council
Oaklands
Oaklands Road
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 1SS

Tel: 01444 458166

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