Message from London Branch Chair Welcome to the May issue of London Calling!

You might notice a bit of a new look to this issue and as always, we’re happy to

hear your thoughts and feedback.

This comes at quite a good time as the society moves closer to launching the

new website and aligning the branch communication channels to enhance our

reputation and promote what we do and what more we can do for the industry.

As much as we need to adapt and move with the times, embrace advances in

technology and meet the growing expectations of the world around us, there are

familiar elements to recent events which emphasise the difference between

lessons identified and lessons learned.

The knife attack in Germany reminds us once again of how transport networks

can often be seen as vulnerable targets; with the Stade de France being one of

the sites attacked in Paris last November and the conclusion of the Hillsborough

Inquests last month, this month has seen Old Trafford evacuated without

incident; and another situation has put EgyptAir under the media microscope with

the loss of flight MS804 less than two months after MS181 was hijacked by a

passenger.

The ‘take home’ message from these was also raised at a workshop hosted by

the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, during a

presentation on the implications of the Hillsborough verdicts, and so I pose a

question to you, has your organisation done everything possible to implement

learning from past experiences?

As the threat level from Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Britain is raised from

‘moderate’ to ‘substantial,’ we are also reminded of the importance of raising

awareness of the continued counterterrorism efforts across the country. This

issue remains the core objective of the London branch for the year.

However, despite the ‘doom & gloom’ we carry on regardless.

The 'Run Hide Tell' message has now been seen over 210,000 times on youtube

alone.

We continue as a branch to expand our network, having made the first steps to join

health colleagues in a regional business continuity forum.

And finally, we still find time to have a little fun; we’re putting together a social event

for you with initial details later in the issue.

For now, do let us know what you think of the new newsletter format; make sure

you save the date and join us at our social event in the summer; and enjoy the

upcoming bank holiday weekend.

Northern Ireland Threat Level

On 11th May, the threat level for Northern Ireland - related terrorism in Britain was raised from ‘moderate’ to

‘substantial’ for the first time since 2010.

While no specific reason was given, the Home Secretary advised that “the continuing threat from dissident

republican activity” had been the prompt. Police and security services have maintained that the motivation of these groups to attack outside Northern Ireland has been considerable for some time, but now, their

capabilities are also thought to be developing further. The discovery of two separate weapons caches in

Northern Ireland in the past few months, seems to corroborate the theory.

As with much of th e work being carried out across the country in terms of raising awareness of the threat

we face and the efforts being made to mitigate this, the raised threat level was explained by Assistant Chief

Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland as bei ng about “increasing awareness and encouraging

vigilance.”

The sentiment appears consistent with that of the Home Secretary who stated that this “should not affect

how we go about our daily lives.”

Your Thoughts Please

We all interact with a variety of industry stakeholders on a daily basis; how well we engage with them will

we feel to do our job. have an impact on the pressure

So I pose some questions for you to think about:

At what stage should we engage with our sta keholders?

What barriers do you regularly face when trying to engage and work with stakeholders?

What works well for you when you have to engage?

How can we engage more effectively?

I’m sure many of us face the same challenges on a regular basis, trying to get managers, colleagues,

organisations, or the general public to understand why we do what we do and how it impacts on them. For

many, ‘stick’ normally has to be used in favour of ‘carrot.’ Variations on being required by “management,”

“the law,” or some other ambiguous, unforgiving enforcer is often what drives those who need to complete

a risk assessment, endorse a plan, attend a training session or whatever else it may be, that is our bread

and butter.

Or is it just when things go a little bit awry th at someone remembers something was mentioned at a meeting

sometime about somebody working on some policy that might help?

In all of these scenarios, the same two questions come to my mind. At what points do we need to engage

better? And, how do we engage the right stakeholders at those points?

In some cases, “sign it because you have to” might be all that is needed but, can we work smarter than

that? That works for the Society too; if you only want us to focus on key areas for you, then tell us so we

can give you more benefit for your buck!

Quite often people look to “London” to lead the way, but not everyone is taken with city life; UK life; western

life. Many have tried to start careers or settle down in “The Big Smoke” with various results. Regardless of

what anyone says, does, or thinks about The Capital though, we play a massive role on the national and

international stages and as well as the good old clichéd responsibility, that comes with a whole lot of

pressure!

So have a think about the considerations for yourself and your situation, discuss with your colleagues for

your organisation and environment, or take it all the way - get in touch with us and let's engage as a branch

and an industry.

Send us an email with your thoughts and if there's enough engagement, we'll start up a discussion forum or

get a workshop set up and see if we can take it to the next level.

Engage. Engage. Engage.

Last Cities to Join Rockefeller Foundation's

RC100 Project

Michael Berkowitz was interviewed by CNBC African TV ahead of the final cities announcement.

Listen to this in - depth review of the programme aims and how he draws on case studies to emphasise the

lessons to be learned and how the final 100 cities can now start to work together to seek out effective city

resilience:

You can read the announcement on 100 Resilient Cities' website here.

One very important point Michael made in this interview was:

“Shifting macro-economic trends that are plaguing the US city of Detroit. It was over exposed to a single

industry, the American automobile industry. That industry has become less competitive over the decades,

and Detroit has become less and less resilient over time.”

Listening to Michael talk about Detroit highlights the similar challenges our UK cities now face in respect to

the shrinking steel industry, and lessons of any positive outcomes from cities like Detroit should be better

understood by UK Government agencies to see how they could be applied to similar cities here in the UK.

Two key statements also stand out for me in the interview which are:

“They have cohesive communities where neighbours check on neighbours; they have strong institutions

where people know each other,”

“Strong stakeholders at the table and a long term plan”.

I agree in that people power can build resilience from the ground up, but to do that, our cities need strong

leaders who are willing to listen, willing to fight for the development of resilience policy, willing to support

culture building and the investment in the engineering of resilient systems, of systems over the long term

and not just in the lead up to an election. The leaders and key stakeholders have to be committed and

passionate and the people will then follow and get involved. The former Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson

was a clear example of how that can work.

The last cohort of the Rockefeller Foundation RC100 Project has now been announced this morning in

Nairobi, Kenya and two further UK cities have been accepted into the Club:

to go Congratulations Belfast and Manchester .

Along with others I was challenged to pose questions covering Past, Present and Future for city resilience,

which I accepted, and these questions were posted to the Rockefeller Foundation in anticipation of the

session to be held in New York at formal Q&A th. 25 May GMT, 17:30

3 Here posed: I is a summary of the questions

PAST Q1. Would the RC100 campaign be willing to champion the work of people like Ebenezer Howard, to

celebrate their existence and the contribution of people like him, so that commu nities in the future do not

forget and are regularly reminded why it's essential to provide affordable homes for all, eliminate fuel

poverty, create sustainable communities were all are proud and happy and have governance that cares for

all in the communit y to ensure the needs of the people are regularly understood to engender personal and

community wellbeing for all?

PRESENT Q2. Is the RC100 project willing to collaborate with all other interested parties to seek out guiding principles

to come up with an international standard for City Resilience?

FUTURE Q3. How, in the future, will we ensure we care enough and are willing to share enough to ensure all other

cities from around the world who are not lucky enough to win a "golden ticket," keep their lights on as well

when the worst happens?

If you want to see the detail behind these questions please reference her e .

What is really exciting to hear is Mich ael state “we are using this 100 as a test bed to spread to all 10,000

cities around the world”. Let’s hope that can be achieved one day.

Rail Care Teams - Supporting the Response

There are a multitude of volunteer resources available to lend their expertise to an incident response and

from time to time, the effectiveness of a response can actually be impeded by an overwhelming influx of

well - meaning individuals. However, one of the lesser - known category two volunteer groups keen to raise

awareness of their function and capability, is the Rail Care Team (RCT).

A group of specially trained volunteers within each Train Operating Company (TOC), individuals respond to

rail - related incide nts with the aim of enhancing the humanitarian support offered by other agencies. As such,

you will normally find RCT individuals in their blue, high - vis vests arriving at rest centres, humanitarian

assistance centres, or hospitals, but would your staff re cognise the RCT photo ID badge if it was presented

to them?

As important as understanding that this representative face of the TOCs can assist with accommodation,

food, travel, and liaise closely with local authorities and social services, is understanding what they don’t do. A common misconception of the RCT is th at they will be able to assist with Disaster Victim Identification,

which isn’t the case; the RCT is not an ‘open cheque book’ on behalf of the TOC; and able to provide emotional support to victims, family and friends, RCT volunteers are not trained counse llors.

How can your organisation reap the benefits of this additional resource, should the need arise? Awareness.

It’s as simple as that.

Make sure that the RCTs are incorporated into your response plans and expected where incident survivors

may congregate . Consider also if there would be any benefit to establishing a relationship with the teams

that operate in your area, before your plans need to be activated. Countless debriefs cite the benefits of

knowing the people that you could be responding with befo re the need arises, and you may wish to consider

the multitude of volunteer groups on the same principle.

National Society Update

EPS Annual General Meeting

As you will have seen, due to circumstances beyond the society’s control, the AGM and Awards Dinner have been rescheduled to Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th September. The location remains unchanged,

the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff. Look out for further details and updated schedule to come.

Hillsborough Inquests: Lessons for the Professionals

The workshop is taking place tomorrow at Nottingham Forest Football Club, to consider the implications for

the industry, of the inquest concluding last month. 27 years af ter the incident, the workshop will be looking

at learnings and issues relevant to today’s emergency planners, and not just for those with a sporting focus. We look forward to some interesting findings.

Publicity Matters – Updated EPS Website Coming Soon

Publicity Matters from Bristol are currently working with Membership and Development Director, Matt Roy,

to revamp the EPS website with a view to finishing by the end of the month. Following that, a number of

members have volunteered to test the new site a nd then it won’t be too much longer before it goes live. Exciting times ahead!

London Branch Update

Review of the London Branch Manifesto (aka Terms of Reference)

In 2011, the then Executive of the London Branch created a document titled “Branch Manifesto”. The aim of this document was to outline both the objectives of the Branch and the role of the Executive and how it

would support and add value to your membership . It was also designed to enable you to hold members of

the Executive to account for their actions.

To bring this document up - to - date, the Manifesto will be reviewed against EPS National Strategy and

Objectives and other Branches’ manifestos. Over the su mmer you will have the opportunity to comment on

the revised document, and then at the AGM in the Autumn you will be asked to ratify the new document.

Should you have any questions or comments in the meantime, please contact

eps.londonbranch@gmail.com .

UPDATE YOUR DETAILS

Log - in to the EPS website her e , click on ‘My Account,’ take a moment to check your

contact details and update if necessary. Make sure you have added our email

address to your safe list so that we can ensure you are kept up to date with Society

news and events.

Summer Social!!

We are currently finalising details for a London branch social event, to be held on the evening of Tuesday

th July, 2016. We’ve had a great offer from 12 Souk Medina Covent Garden and look forward to enjoying in

their Feast Menu Casablanca per person. a long with a welcome drink for just £20 Our special guest speaker will say a few words of welco me and the Branch Executive will be on hand for

any burning questions you may have as you relax, enjoy and put the world to rights with fellow branch

colleagues. We would also like to extend the invitation to any prospective new members so spread to word t o colleagues

in the industry who may be interested in joining the EPS.

Make sure you save the date for now, and look out for your Eventbrite invitation coming soon.

BCAW 2016 - ICPEM Workshop

As part of Business Continuity Awareness Week (BCAW), which finished on Friday, a variety of events were

held across the industry including a workshop arranged by the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency

Management ( ICPEM ). Great discussion and enga gement around the variety of topics meant that the final presentation on the

subject of ‘Pracademia: a challenging role for the Institute’ from ICPEM Fellow, Tom Pine, actually had to

be postponed for a future date. There was time however, to cover the current issues of the “Run, Hide, Tell”

initiative, Exercise Unified Response, and the Hillsborough verdicts.

The “Run, Hide, Tell” Public Information Initiative – Chris Bancroft, National Counter Terrorism

Security Office (NaCTSO)

Chris discussed the ongoing, yet ever-evolving threat of terrorism being faced by the UK. As quickly counter

terrorism strategies are formed and implemented, the instigators have adapted. Their divergent approach

has terrorist groups using media strategies to their fullest potential to push their message and recruit, while

their front line agents are making use of “low tech,” familiar, accessible items such as knives and vehicles

to inflict as much damage as possible on law enforcement and crowds in public places.

Despite the public’s desensitisation or “threat fatigue,” coupled with their overriding desire to capture photos

and videos to upload onto social media, as though their mobile device will protect them from the threat at

the site of an incident, the police and security services, in all guises, persist in doing their utmost to allow

us to carry on and Stay Safe.

Remember still, you know your environment so, if you see something that you aren’t sure about, contact the

Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

Exercise Unified Response – Matt Hogan, London Fire Brigade (LFB)

Fellow London branch executive member, Matt presented an interesting and informative background to

Exercise Unified Response (EUR). Building on the experience of Exercise Teal in early 2014, EUR added

an international aspect to a multi-agency response to a major incident in London, and then went further still

to also exercise our recovery mechanisms.

With video footage still being reviewed and feedback still being consolidated, first reports are expected to

be released to the industry around October time. Until then, Matt gave a few insightful stats to help us

appreciate the massive scale of EUR:

The Long Shadow of Crisis: thoughts on the wider implications of the Hillsborough verdicts – Philip

Trendall, ICPEM Fellow and Secretary of ICPEM Blue Light Special Interest Group An interesting discussion in advance of the EPS workshop taking place later this week, Philip posed a

number of questions to the group giving great cause for thought. On reflection, the issue of desensitisation

and “threat fatigue” raised by Chris in the first session of the afternoon, has actually carried through to this di final scussion.

Asking why the industry has been so quiet on the subject, answers proposed and discussed could be

categorised as ‘excuses’ including the relevance given the amount of time that has elapsed, the assumption and improved have things that of lack the responsibility. around clarification

Following through the process, the legacy of the verdicts and indeed the incident itself, included proposals

around a longitudinal approach to learning from incidents, the skills required of individuals leading a

respo nse, and the array of expectations of the general public. An apt parting message from Philip, for

numerous reasons, “Remember Hillsborough.”

Peter Joyce

What was your first job? Paper round as a young lad.

What sparked your interest in emergency planning?

I managed the European TSG (Technology Support Group) for several years at Goldman Sachs in Fleet

St responding to and recovering from technology based DR incidents across all European offices. During my t ime there I studied for an MBA and used the opportunity to look at all operational silos during

studies. After graduation I was asked to take on the goal to build a global business continuity programme

for the firm’s investment banking arm leading up to Y2 K. We joined the dots and my interest was sparked.

What has been the highlight of your Emergency Planning experience?

Being asked to build the first business continuity and quality programme at my home football club

Liverpool Football Club has to be the h ighlight.

Has there been a ‘lowlight’ of your experience?

Seeing many resilience professionals in all areas of the public sector and emergency services working

hard but not getting the investment or recognition they deserve for the job they do.

What do you think the emergency planning sector needs, right now?

Government backed national resilience strategy that forces action from all, not just a few

Upgrade CCA2004 to CCA2017

Accountability for city leaders to take ownership of resilience needs

National City Resilience forum with diverse representation from all city leadership groups

Real financial incentives to encourage all to take resilience seriously

New City Resilience British guidance standard to join all city initiatives to help them better understand how

they could work as one

Technologies integrated and standardised nationally to help people work faster and reduce stress

UK to be a leading light in resilience to not only create a new national industry but to also invest in children

coming through so that we ultimately start to export our UK services internationally.

What has been the biggest influence in the growth of emergency planning?

Three key influences globally over the last 5 years have been the work of UNISDR, ICLEI and the

Rockefeller Foundation.

What would you, as a member, like to get from the EPS?

Opportunity to be part of a national group of likeminded people who want to influence positive change on

the UK resilience industry.

Putting back, doing positive things and something to be proud of.

Networking to make new friends and also open up new opportunities.

Favourites Favourite colour?

Green (red for a football team)

Favourite food?

Scouse (of course, what else is there?)

Favourite city?

Liverpool, London and Reykjavik

Favourite book?

The Gruffalo (I could be serious but let’s not forget, there is a time for resilience and then there is a time

for laughter). My kids love this book and it always made us all smile (Shame they have to grow up)!

Favourite movie?

Dead Poets Society (make your lives extraordinary – carpe diem)

Favourite musician / artist / group?

Adele, Michelangelo (The Creation of Adam), Genesis and The Beatles

Favourite sport? Football and rugby

Favourite Cat 1 agency?

No favourite as they all equall y do an amazing job. Too many people take them for granted and without a

strong set of effective cat 1 agencies, the UK would be in chaos.

As always, if you would like to submit an article or suggest a topic, would like to

introduce someone you know in the industry by grilling them with the 60 Seconds

interview and Favourites, or if you want to introduce a friend, colleague or

organisation to the Society, just drop us a line to eps.londonbranch@gmail.com

Hopefully you like the fresh look with this issue and you're looking forward to all the

changes across the society in the coming months. The social event invites are also

coming soon, so make sure you keep your diary clear on the evening of 12th July

and we look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces as well as some new recruits.

It definitely feels like summer is on the way so keep the wate r handy, sun cream on

and STAY SAFE!

Keith Donnelly, Branch Chair and Head of Communication

On behalf of Emergency Planning Society, London Branch Executive

EPS Nationa l

London Branc h

Emergency Planning Society Easingwold, York

YO61 3EG

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