Business/service continuity management

Aims:	a) the authority can continue to provide normal or (in certain circumstances) critical services during and following an emergency while responding to the emergency itself;
	b) the authority can support individual victims and the local community in recovering from the impact of emergencies.

The Civil Contingencies Act requires authorities to have arrangements to maintain services in the event of major emergencies. Business continuity management (BCM) assesses all the risks that might affect an organisation’s ability to deliver a service and considers how services can be maintained, regardless of the cause of the disruption. Plans developed on this basis should complement authorities’ overall risk arrangements, help authorities maintain critical services during and after any major emergency or catastrophic incident and promote recovery.

Responsibility for maintaining services is primarily the responsibility of the relevant section/service. An authority may decide to locate specialist knowledge or a co-ordinating role on business continuity within an emergency planning section, but this can equally be located elsewhere, for example with risk management. Every authority is responsible for ensuring the continuity of its own services, whether or not it has lead responsibility for emergency planning. Where a service is contracted out, or is dependent on external suppliers, it is still the responsibility of the authority to ensure continuity, and so authorities need to know that suppliers and contractors have continuity arrangements. This is an issue for procurement strategies.

Wherever business continuity plans are co-ordinated, emergency and business continuity plans and management arrangements must be complementary. It must be possible to implement both at the same time. An emergency may trigger a continuity plan because the emergency affects the service directly (for example, by damaging/preventing access to offices, computers or plant/equipment) or because responding to the emergency affects the service and triggers the plan (for example, transport staff and equipment redirected; school buildings required for rest centres or health usage.) If the same staff and/or resources have different roles in both plans there must be priority and contingency arrangements.

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7.1 Awareness and commitment (link to corporate arrangements)
7.1a Have the senior management team and Members considered the effects of a major disruption on services?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.1b Are service emergency management arrangements for any service disruption clearly set out and tested through exercises?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.1c Is it clear who is responsible for ensuring that each section/department or site has a plan for service continuity in the face of serious disruption?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

7.2 Business/service impact analysis, risk assessment and priorities
7.2a Have all services assessed the potential for disruption by a structured process such as a 'business impact analysis' that identifies risks and their potential impact on services, critical activities and dependencies?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.2b Does your business continuity plan(s) prioritise between services and activities?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.2c Have countermeasures to minimise risk been identified and taken, including measures to combat potential information loss?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.2d Have you reviewed the security of critical information, whether held electronically or on paper, and taken steps to minimise the danger of losing the information, or losing access to the information, during an emergency?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

7.3 Response and restoration plans developed
7.3a Are prioritised response plans clear, unambiguous and easy to use?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.3b Are there procedures to ensure responsible staff would know what to do in an emergency?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.3c Do contingency arrangements cover alternative premises²³ & communications arrangements?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.3d Is there a short term recovery strategy for every major service/department?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

7.4 Integrated planning arrangements include contractors
7.4a Does the council have quality assurance arrangements over continuity for contracted services?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.4b Are there arrangements to ensure consistency and integration between sites, units and departments, and between business continuity plans and emergency plans?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

7.5 Tailored plans
7.5a Do your plans cover the special needs of those who are likely to be most vulnerable, for example through age or disability?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

7.6 Plan validation, maintenance and review
7.6a Are business continuity plans and procedures, including those for out of hours emergencies, validated through regular tests and exercises?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.6b Are plans reviewed and updated regularly in the light of lessons learned from any exercises or incidents and research?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.6c Is there occasional external involvement/challenge in your review arrangements?
Self assessment:		Example evidence
7.6d Are there procedures for version control?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

7.7 Specific arrangements in areas of joint provision
7.7a Are client authority business continuity plans integrated with emergency plans?
Self assessment:		Example evidence

Footnotes

23. For example if a major work centre suddenly cannot be used (e.g. town hall, main depot for labour force, large secondary school);arrangements could include specific short term mutual aid agreement with a neighbouring authority.

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