Our partners
Birmingham is rapidly developing a reputation for being at the cutting edge for emergency planning and response. A published report by the Reader’s Digest ranked the city first for preparedness amongst ten high-risk urban areas in the UK.
As a city, our success in dealing with emergencies has always depended on working effectively with our emergency planning and response partners:
- Emergency services (the police, fire and ambulance services)
- Health agencies of the NHS including Primary Care and Hospital Trusts
- Other government agencies such as the Environment Agency and the Health Protection Agency
- Utility bodies and other organisations that supply services such as water, power, communications and transport.
- The City Council.
However, we also recognise that Birmingham is in the centre of a major Conurbation surrounded by Coventry, Solihull and the Black Country areas of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell. Our planning for emergencies will impact on these areas and vice versa. Consequently, we work closely with these other local authorities, to ensure planning and response arrangements are fit for purpose across the entire area of the Conurbation. This work includes joint risk assessment and training and exercising, and is conducted through the West Midlands Conurbation Resilience Forum.
Working in partnership with our Communities and Neighbourhoods
We are very aware that any emergency, however short-lived, can have a long term and potentially devastating effect on individuals, families and communities. To minimise this impact it is important that the public are aware of the threats and hazards the City faces and how they can prepare and help themselves when emergencies happen.
Birmingham Communities and Neighbourhoods Resilience Group
In July 2008 the Birmingham Communities and Neighbourhoods Resilience Group was launched. This group provides a forum to communicate with existing and established community and faith groups, the emergency services (fire, police and ambulance) and voluntary organisations to ensure that emergency planning arrangements and response activities meet the needs of the wide range of diverse communities and organisations. This group meets approximately 3 times per year but various sub groups have been formalised where workshops have been arranged on behalf of local authority and external statutory organisations to focus on specific areas. These include; flooding, climate change, city centre residents, and swine flu.
Is your community group/organisation represented at the Birmingham Communities and Neighbourhoods Resiience Group? If not then contact us.
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