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Interim Report - November 2001

Background to the establishment and work of the NSC

The Cardiff Judgement
Following severe flooding in Cardiff in 1979 Cardiff City Council and South Glamorgan County Council were successfully sued by property owners for failing to provide them with an adequate flood warning. This case raised serious issues regarding statutory responsibilities for providing public warnings, with many agencies being advised that if they had no clear responsibility they were at risk of litigation if they used their permissive powers to assume a responsibility. A subsequent out of court settlement on Humberside, it also led the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to question its policy in respect of the role of the police service in providing public warnings.

"A Cause For Alarm"
The spate of disasters experienced during the 1980's, the lessons emerging from these and the decision by the Government of the day to decommission the national wartime siren system led the Association of County Councils to commission a report entitled "A Cause For Alarm". One of the co-authors of this report is the current Chairman of the National Steering Committee. The report proposed the establishment of a multi-agency national working party with responsibility for co-ordinating its initiatives falling to either the Home Office or the Cabinet Office.

Incidents requiring the public to be warned
Over the years there have been numerous examples of incidents of which the public needed to be warned and then provided with more detailed information. A number of these are summarised in Appendix A. The summary is not intended to be an exhaustive list of incidents but is included to provide some examples of experiences in warning and informing the public.

1996 workshop and recommendations
Following a number of local incidents (see Appendix A), and in view of the lack of action in implementing the recommendations contained in "A Cause For Alarm", Hertfordshire County Council took the initiative of hosting a multi-agency technical workshop in February 1996. This workshop considered some 79 recommendations proposed by the participating agencies that were later consolidated by the working group into thirty-eight agreed recommendations.

The main recommendation was that:

• "A National Steering Committee should be established with appropriate terms of reference and consist of representatives from central and local government, the emergency services, the appropriate statutory undertakings, industry, professional bodies and the media." which led to the establishment of the National Steering Committee on Warning & Informing the Public under the chairmanship of David Moses who co-authored "A cause for Alarm" and chaired the 1996 technical workshop. The thirty-eight recommendations are listed in full in Appendix B.

Terms of Reference, aims/objectives of the NSC

Aim
The aim of the NSC is to encourage improvements in the arrangements for warning members of the public of an imminent or actual threat to life, health or property and to inform them of the appropriate action to take.

Objectives
Members of the NSC agreed that they should adopt the following objectives:

• identify what exists now, any possible improvements and potential developments to maximise the extent of the warning;

• clarify the responsibilities for initiating processes and issuing messages in a timely manner;

• identify statutory responsibilities and/or codes of practice;

• establish a mechanism to ensure that warnings and information are transmitted by the media in a timely manner;

• measure the effectiveness of the processes

Following the production of this interim report it would be appropriate to review the membership of the NSC.

Meetings, consultation and representations
The NSC met for the first time on the 2nd May 1997 and then held an action planning session on the 17th July 1997. The action plan identified the need to form four sub-groups and to delegate much of the NSC's activities to these groups.

The role of the main committee became one of oversight of the group's activities and therefore met on a six monthly or annual basis as appropriate.

Establishment of sub-groups
The four groups identified in the action plan were:

• Public Education

• New Technology

• Media Issues

• Siren & Public Address

The New Technology Group was the last to commence work due to a family bereavement and then a change of employment of the nominated group chairman that made it impossible for him to undertake this task.

More recently the chairman of the Siren & Public Address Group has experienced a similar career move which made him unavailable to continue as chair of that sub-group. Whilst inevitable and unavoidable these changes impact on the progress that can be made by the sub-groups.

At its most recent meeting on the 19th September 2001, the NSC agreed to merge both the Public Education & Media Groups and the New Technology and Siren & Public Address Groups.

International representation

European Union
In 2000, as part of the Community Action Plan, the European Commission sponsored three international workshops on various aspects of warning and informing the public. Through the Permanent Network of National Correspondents (PNNC), each member state could nominate two delegates for each workshop. The UK is represented on the PNNC by the Home Office Emergency Planning Division (EPD - now the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat)

EPD could see the value of the contribution that the NSC could make to the workshops, and the potential benefits that participation could bring to the work of the NSC. Therefore, as part of its support to the NSC, EPD nominated members of the NSC to participate in the workshops.

The workshop, "Psychological Aspects of the Information of the Public" was held on the 9th April 2000 at the German Academy for Emergency Planning and Civil Protection in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Mr Evan Morris, Community Affairs Manager for Cheshire Fire Brigade and Chairman of the Public Education Group (PEG) of the NSC, participated. Dr Gordon Walker, from the Division of Geography of Staffordshire University and a member of the NCS's Public Education Group (PEG), also participated on the recommendation of Mr Morris. This was because Dr Walker's research had supported the initiatives of the Public Education Group and was relevant to the theme of the workshop.

The Chairman of the NSC, Mr David Moses, participated in the workshop, "Training and Information of the Public" which was held at the College of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) at Rosersberg from 4th to 7th May 2000. The workshop focussed on the information that could be given to the public prior to an incident occurring. The third workshop was held at the Emergency Services College, Kuopio, Finland, from 27th September to 1st October 2000. Entitled "Workshop on Information of the Public - Warning and Alarm Systems, ('The Operation')", it focused on developments in technology and their possible application to warning and informing the public. Mr David Hay, Chairman of the New Technology Group of the NSC, participated.

NATO
EPD also represents the UK at the NATO Group of Experts on Warning & Detection Systems (GOEWDS). As part of that work EPD has informed the GOEWDS, as appropriate, of developments in the work of the NSC, e.g. the showing of the video "Go In - Stay In - Tune In" produced by the PEG of the NSC. Where appropriate, EPD has reported back to the NSC on the work of the GOEWDS.

Use of the Royal Mail
An early piece of work undertaken by the NSC was the publication of a paper detailing how the Royal Mail could be used to distribute information during a major emergency. A copy of this paper is contained within Appendix E.

Surveys and questionnaires
To help the NSC develop its work two questionnaires were distributed. This was done in two phases, the first to CIMAH (Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations) sites and the second to local authority emergency planning teams.

Returned questionnaires were collated by PC Mike Powell of British Transport Police, as part of his Masters Degree in Emergency Management. Information gained from the questionnaires is detailed in Appendix F.

The results from the questionnaires confirmed the views already formed by NSC members that there is no simple single solution to warning & informing the public within the UK. It is therefore accepted that a combined approach is required, utilising a number of warning methods, and that a tool kit of solutions should be developed.

Developments in other countries
The provision of timely public warning and information is not just an issue within the UK. Similar problems to those outlined above are experienced both in Europe and other parts of the world. Some examples of initiatives in these countries are contained within Appendix G.

The data in Appendix G has been collated from information readily available to members of the NSC. It does not purport to be a rigorously researched analysis of arrangements in other countries but is included as examples of what is known to be in place elsewhere.

It is interesting to note that attempts are currently being made within the USA to establish a National Emergency Warning and Public Notification Committee similar to the UK's National Steering Committee for Public Warning & Information.

Recent discussions with the Cabinet Office
Following the terrorist attacks on the USA on the 11th September, discussions between the Chairman & Chairman elect of the NSC and representatives of the Cabinet Office have identified the following four work themes that will assist in progressing many of the issues outlined in this report:

• a project with BBC Nations and Regions to develop a "tool-kit" to help the emergency services and BBC staff make the maximum possible use of the broadcast media to inform the public. Last year, BBC Radio York provided 24-hour news and advice on floods. The object would be to develop more of this, the essence of public broadcasting.

• development of a range of techniques other than electronic for communicating with the public. Less than half the population have access to the Internet, many people are likely to be in transit during an incident. The object would be to identify and promote more conventional methods.

• establishment of pilot studies to trial new technical solutions, such as systems able to handle large numbers of telephone enquiries from the public without overloading switchboards, transmitting warnings through electricity powerlines.

• building on the work of the NSC in the EU and NATO, to inform the issues set out above.

Recommendations from section 1
The NSC recommends that:

• Central Government should commit resources to assist the NSC take forward the issues outlined in this report.

• That the four work themes agreed with the Cabinet Office are fully supported by all member agencies and organisations of the NSC.