Annex A: The Eighteen Capability Workstreams
The Three Structural Workstreams
1. Central Response
Lead Department: Cabinet
Office [Department website]
Aim: to enhance, improve the resilience of and, where necessary, further
integrate central Government's crisis management arrangements.
2. Regional Response
Lead Department: Department for Communities and Local
Government [Department website]
Aims: to ensure that the current state of resilience in each of the English
regions is fully understood; to identify gaps in resilience; and to put
work plans in place to ensure that such gaps are filled.
3. Local Response
Lead Department: Cabinet
Office [Department website]
Aim: to ensure sound structures are in place to support a local response to
emergencies and disruptive challenges. The Capabilities Programme is the
core framework through which the Government is seeking to build resilience
across all parts of the United Kingdom.
The Ten Functional Workstreams
4. Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)
Resilience
Lead Department: Home Office [Department
website]
Aim: to ensure that the country is capable of responding quickly and
effectively to deal with and recover from the consequences of incidents
involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear material,
particularly those caused by terrorism.
5. Site Clearance
Lead Department: Department for Communities and Local
Government [Department website]
Aim: clearance, removal and disposal of large volumes of rubble and other
debris after a catastrophic disaster.
6. Infectious Diseases - Human
Lead Department: Department of
Health [Department website]
Aim: to build an effective capability to vaccinate and treat people as part
of an emergency response to an infectious disease such as smallpox or a
'flu epidemic.
7. Infectious Diseases - Animal and Plant
Lead Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs [Department website]
Aim: to ensure that plans exist and are regularly tested to respond to and
minimise the impact of the spread of infectious animal and plant diseases.
8. Mass Casualties
Lead Department: Department of
Health [Department website]
Aim: to build on the current preparedness and response arrangements already
in place for dealing with major incidents and mass casualty incidents
through the establishment of appropriate UK doctrine and an associated
operational framework for the NHS.
9.
Evacuation and Shelter [More information]
Lead Department: Cabinet
Office [Department website]
Aim: to ensure UK-wide evacuation arrangements are in place in the event of
a major disruption following a CBRN or other catastrophic incident.
10.
Warning and Informing the Public [More information]
Lead Department: Cabinet
Office [Department website]
Aims: to educate the public about how to behave in the event of a
catastrophic incident; to develop a package of mechanisms to alert members
of the public of the need to take action, and to ensure that broadcasters
can get timely, accurate and authoritative information to the public, in
the event of an incident.
11. Mass Fatalities
Lead Department: Home Office [Department
website]
Aim: to deal with fatalities resulting from a major or catastrophic
incident; to identify the dead, to investigate causes of death and to
dispose of bodies and body parts in a safe and decent manner.
12.
Humanitarian Assistance in Emergencies [More
information]
Lead Department: Department for Culture, Media and
Sport [Department website]
Aim: to ensure that the needs of British people affected by emergencies at
home and overseas, are understood and properly considered within Government
in building preparedness for, responding to and recovering from
emergencies.
13. Flooding
Lead Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs [Department website] and Environment
Agency [Agency website]
Aim: To ensure that plans exist to maintain provision of flood and coastal
defences in England in the event of a catastrophic incident.
The Five Essential Services Workstreams
14. Health Services
Lead Department: Department of
Health [Department website]
Aim: To ensure that plans exist to maintain continued Health Services in
England in the event of a catastrophic incident.
15. Food and Water
Lead Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs [Department website]
Aim: To ensure that plans exist to maintain continued provision of water
and food supplies in England in the event of a catastrophic incident.
16. Transport
Lead Department: Department for
Transport [Department website]
Aim: To ensure that plans exist to maintain continued provision of
transport services, including public transport and supply chains and
freight haulage capacity in England in the event of a catastrophic incident
17. Utilities
Lead Department: Department for Business, Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform [Department website]
Scope: To ensure that plans exist to maintain continued provision of
utilities (e.g. gas, telecommunications, and postal services among others)
in England in the event of a catastrophic incident
18. Financial Services
Lead Department: HM Treasury [Department
website]
Scope: To ensure that plans exist to maintain continued provision of
financial services (information clearing house; market information;
telecommunications; physical infrastructure; back-up arrangements (private
sector); authorities' contingency response) in England in the event of
a catastrophic incident.
[return to top]
