PlanningforEmergencies

www.leeds.gov.uk/prepared

@leedsemergency

Cover photo and others in this document are reproduced with the kind permission of Eric Ambler. Additional photography by WYFRS, the Environment Agency, Graham Fotherby and Andy Wood.

Contents page

Foreword 1Introduction 2Objectives of this Booklet 2Profile of Leeds City Centre 3 Emergency Response in Leeds 3 Overview of the Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan 6Leeds Alert 9Summary Diagram of the Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan 10Business Continuity Advice and Assistanceand the Leeds Business Continuity Planning Network 11Responsibilities of Businesses, Premise Owners and Tenants 12 Planning for Emergencies and Disruption 12 Evacuation 16Terrorism 19Flooding 20Business Against Crime In Leeds – BACIL 28Further Information 22Assistance 22Definition of a Major Incident 24Acknowledgement 25Evacuation zone map 26 - 27

This product includes mapping data licensed from Ordnance Survey with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown copyright and/or database right 2012. All rights reserved. Licence number 100019567.

The Ordnance Survey mapping included within this publication is provided by Leeds City Council under licence from the Ordnance Survey in order to fulfil its public function to act as a planning authority. Persons viewing this mapping should contact Ordnance Survey copyright for advice where they wish to

license Ordnance Survey mapping for their own use. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.

Foreword

By Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council

“Leeds City Council has always taken seriously its responsibility to plan and prepare for incidents that impact on local people and businesses. The city centre continues to develop and the number of city centre residents increases. Leeds City Council continues to work closely with the emergency services, key partner agencies and the business community to ensure a quick and effective response to any incidents that affect the day to day business of the city centre.

Leeds City Council’s Peace and Emergency Planning Unit, along with West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services and other agencies, has developed this booklet to make sure the City Centre Evacuation Plan, and the information and guidance it contains, is available to those who would be affected by disruption to the city centre.

The booklet will help businesses to make their own emergency plans to protect their staff and continue their business. It will reassure city centre residents that there will be a coordinated multi-agency response to any major incident, regardless of the nature or cause.

I hope that we will never have to activate the City Centre Evacuation Plan in full, but I am confident that the information and guidance it contains and the planned multi-agency response will make the city a more resilient place.”

By Steve Beckley, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Director of Operations, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

“West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service fully supports the publication and issue of the Leeds City Centre guidance for residents and businesses in planning for evacuations and incidents within the city.

Following various disruptive events that have occurred in the United kingdom and around the world, Leeds City Council, in partnership with the Emergency Services and other key agencies, has produced this guidance that emphasises the importance of planning evacuation procedures for part of or all of the city centre.

Your familiarisation with the content of this guidance will undoubtedly help the Fire & Rescue Service and the other key partner organisations to deal effectively with an emergency incident within the city.”

By Craig Guildford, Assistant Chief Constable, Specialist Operations West Yorkshire Police

“The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires the emergency services, Local Authorities and others to prepare plans to deal with emergency situations. The response to such situations may necessitate evacuating part or the whole of Leeds city centre. West Yorkshire Police is therefore fully supportive of this initiative to publish and issue guidance to businesses which will help them to plan for evacuations in the event of an incident.

We have all witnessed events locally, nationally and internationally that have reinforced the need for communities, including businesses, to be prepared to deal with incidents that range from natural disasters to criminal acts. Therefore, West Yorkshire Police, the emergency services and other key agencies have worked in partnership with Leeds City Council to produce this booklet.

I would strongly urge you to familiarise yourself with the contents of this booklet and ensure that you have the necessary plans in place. This will help to ensure that West Yorkshire Police and the other emergency services will be able to work effectively with other agencies in order to ensure that there is an effective response to any emergency situation.”

Thank you for your support.

Tom Riordan, Steve Beckley and Craig Guildford

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Introduction The Civil Contingencies Act of 2004 designated certain agencies, the Emergency Services and Local Authorities as Category 1 Responders. The legislation states that Local Authorities should assess potential risks and possible emergencies, and plan and exercise the response to the incident. The local Authority should also advise local businesses on how to prepare Business Continuity Plans.

To enable as much information as possible to reach as many businesses and city centre residents as possible, Leeds City Council Peace and Emergency Planning Unit, along with West Yorkshire Police Contingency Planning Unit and The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Contingency Planning Section, has produced this booklet.

First produced in 2007 and updated in 2012 to assist those who live and work in the city centre of Leeds, it will help businesses and city centre residents to understand the process and principles of the multi-agency Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan.

The Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan coordinates the actions of the Emergency Responders who would be involved in a major incident or evacuation affecting the city centre. This booklet explains how to minimise disruption. The plan splits the city centre into 19 named and numbered zones, which will be used in the event of an incident to identify those zones requiring evacuation and those which are safe.

The booklet offers advice on:

how to plan and prepare for emergencies how to deal with the incident and how to return to normal following the incident.

The practical advice contained in the booklet will assist business and residents alike to protect their premises, themselves and ultimately the people of Leeds in the event of an emergency.

Businesses and the city centre population are encouraged to use this booklet to help them prepare contingency plans for a city centre emergency. Elements of the plan go further than evacuation alone. In fact several elements of the plan are used frequently for communicating severe weather, demonstrations and disruption.

Objectives of this Booklet The objectives of this guidance are to:

provide information to the city centre community on how and why the city centre is divided into zones enable businesses and residents to identify the zone where their property is located inform businesses and residents how to access timely and accurate information on events, alerts and

emergency incidents outline the communication methods used by emergency responders to warn and inform members of the

public affected by an emergency incident assist businesses and residents to implement good practice in their contingency planning for emergency advise businesses and residents of the actions to take to protect their property, staff and visitors in the

event of a emergency ensure that following any emergency, the return to the new normality can be achieved as soon as

possible.

These objectives are complemented by a number of other multi-agency initiatives and schemes. West Yorkshire Police and the Counter Terrorism Unit hold Project Griffin and

Project Argus seminars to promote counter terrorism awareness. Leeds City Council coordinate and manage the Leeds Business Continuity Planning Network.

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This booklet encourages businesses to consider signing up to the Leeds Alert system, the Businesses Against Crime in Leeds (BACIL) radio system and the Environment Agency’s Floodlines Warnings Direct system amongst others. Contact details for all of these initiatives can be found in the separate appendix document, ‘Our Plan’.

A Profile of Leeds City CentreLeeds city centre continues to thrive. The 10th Leeds City Centre Audit calculates that:

1) Leeds is the 7th largest shopping centre in the UK with the annual spend of over £1.5 billion pounds. The new Trinity Leeds scheme, is forecast to move Leeds three places up the UK Retail Rankings to become the 4th largest.

2) On average over 1.15million people visited the pedestrianised shopping quarter of the city centre every week during 2010. Saturdays are the busiest day of the week with an estimated 250,000 shoppers to the area. There are over 28,000 visitors to the city’s museums and theatres every week.

3) In March of 2011 there were 273 licensed premises in the city centre, 25 hotels with over 3800 rooms between them and some 11 serviced apartment operators with over 384 apartments. The sector employs over 7000 people in the city centre.

4) Over 130,000 people work in the city centre. Between 7am and 10am an average of over 93,000 cars and 116,000 people enter the city centre, where there is parking space for over 20,000 cars. The train station and bus station are some of the busiest in the country. Over 100,000 people a day travel through Leeds train station.

5) Leeds is one of the largest business and financial centres outside of London, around 40% or 51,000 people who work in the city centre, work in this sector. The Head Office of the Department for Works and Pensions is located at Quarry House and Leeds is home to the only subsidiary office of the Bank of England.

6) The number of city centre residents continues to increase, there has been a three fold increase since 1996. The City Centre Audit estimates that nearly 21,000 people now permanently live in the city centre.

Boundary of the City Centre

For the purposes of the Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan, and for consistency between the responders who are likely to participate in a city centre evacuation or incident, it has been agreed that the “city centre” is defined as an area with its boundaries formed by:

the Inner Ring Road to the west and the north Marsh Lane and Crown Point Road to the south Globe Road and Great Wilson Street to the east. A map of the city centre as defined

for use in the Leeds City Centre Evacuation plan can be found on pages 26 - 27.

Emergency Response in Leeds There are many agencies and organisations who work together to contribute to emergency planning. These are the same agencies who would have a part to play in the event of an emergency incident taking place in the city centre. The local responders include among others:

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West Yorkshire Police West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Yorkshire Ambulance Service Leeds City Council British Transport Police Environment Agency Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust METRO (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport executive) Network Rail.

West Yorkshire Police

The policing of Leeds is the responsibility of West Yorkshire Police. City and Holbeck division have responsibility of the major part of Leeds city centre. The area to the north west of the city centre, including Leeds University is the responsibility of The North West Leeds Division, whilst the area to the north east, including the Halifax Bank of Scotland Headquarters is the responsibility of the North East Leeds Division.

British Transport Police

British Transport Police are responsible for the policing of the Leeds Train Station.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service provide an emergency response for the Leeds district. The fire station situated on Kirkstall Road is closest to the city centre, however there are several other fire stations around the city should an additional or specialist response be required in the city centre.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service provides an emergency response for the Leeds district. The central ambulance station covers the city centre. Health centres and clinics are provided by the NHS Health Organisation.

Leeds City Council

The main role of the local authority is to support and ensure coordination with the other Category 1 responders. In the event of an evacuation of the city centre, many of the council’s services will be called upon to provide resources to ensure a swift and safe evacuation. Many council staff will assist the police in the actual evacuation by focusing on those individuals who are vulnerable by way of disability or age ensuring that their needs are met.

Leeds City Council have an Emergency Control Centre which can be activated and used to coordinate the council’s response to the evacuation. This might be by way of:

implementing traffic re-routing and transport management monitoring close circuit television (CCTV) cameras in and around

the city centre ensuring that peoples humanitarian needs are catered for setting up and equiping places of refuge and shelter, also known

as Rest Centres.

Another main responsibility of the Local Authority is that of warning

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and informing. Leeds City Council will, along with the other responders, pass regular accurate updates to members of the public, keeping them as up to date as possible with the developing situation.

After an incident has taken place and where there is damage to property or the environment the council will take the lead in two key areas – initiating its Strategic Recovery Plan and establishing an Emergency Assistance Centre as a one stop service for all those affected by the incident.

Environment Agency (EA)

If flooding is the reason for the evacuation, the Environment Agency will take the lead in dealing with the incident but the police will still lead the evacuation.

The Environment Agency (EA) has a statutory duty for providing and operating flood warnings to the public and partner agencies. In Leeds, it issues flood warnings to these groups through a Flood Warning Direct (FWD) system for potential floods on the River Aire which runs through Leeds City Centre. See Flooding Advice on page 20 for contact details for the Environment Agency.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

There are two major hospitals in the city operated by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – the city centre based Leeds General Infirmary (LGI); and St James’s University Hospital, which is situated 2 miles from the city centre. The Leeds General Infirmary has a major incident plan that can be activated in the event of a city centre evacuation. If required St. James’s hospital can also be used.

METRO (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport executive)

Metro supports the Police in evacuations through its co-ordinating role in the joint Bus Re-routing Procedures.

Metro operates Leeds City Bus Station on behalf of the bus companies operating in Leeds. It is also responsible for overseeing bus and train routes and providing information to the public on services.

Metro is one of the main outlets for providing information on public transport, primarily through its ‘Metroline’ service.

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Overview of the Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan. The Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan has been produced by Leeds City Council’s Peace and Emergency Planning Unit (PEPU), in consultation with the emergency services and partner agencies likely to be involved in the evacuation of Leeds city centre.

The plan covers the evacuation procedure and principles and it does not attempt to cover the specifics of the incident that has caused the implementation of the evacuation plan.

There are many different types of incident that may require an evacuation of part, or all, of the city centre. The more likely causes requiring evacuation are:

severe weather incidents flooding fire gas leak or similar.

Acts of terrorism, although still rare on the UK mainland have to be planned for, and are covered by the evacuation plan. It is recognised within the plan that evacuation may not always be the appropriate course of action.

The perceived risks are contained and assessed in the West Yorkshire Community Risk Register, for more information visit www.leeds.gov.uk/prepared

Much of the specific detail of the plan is confidential for reasons of security. The outline given in this booklet is to allow the city centre community to have an understanding of how the City Centre Evacuation Plan would work, the terminology used and how the emergency services would interact.

The Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan is one of a number of plans covering various emergencies and critical city centre services.

These plans will be used alongside the Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan should they be relevant to the incident.

The plan does not rely on the majority of businesses being part the Leeds Alert scheme or members of Businesses Against Crime in Leeds (BACIL).

To minimise disruption and to be able to accurately report the location of the incident, the city centre has been divided into 19 evacuation zones. (see map on pages 26 - 27)

There are Help Points which will be used to convey information to the public about emergency diversion routes and bus turnaround points located at:

Leeds City Bus Station Infirmary Street Corn Exchange and the Leeds City Rail Station’s Bus Interchange.

Many bus stops in the city centre also have real-time information on bus availability, these message boards are used to inform the public if bus services have to be curtailed.

Network Rail

Network Rail is responsible for the management of Leeds City Railway Station and the maintenance of infrastructure and track in the Leeds district.

A range of Train Operating Companies operate in Leeds and are responsible for train services and passengers. Northern Rail are also responsible for the provision of public train information services at the station and for ticketing enquiries at Leeds Station.

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How the plan works

West Yorkshire Police will take charge of a city centre evacuation regardless of the type of incident causing it. The majority of the decisions taken during the process will be made in full consultation with partner agencies.

Activation of the Plan

In the event of an evacuation being ordered the police will use all possible methods of communication to get the message out to businesses and residents in the city centre, including:

Leeds Alert (from either West Yorkshire Police or Leeds City Council) the BACIL radio system local radio emergency websites Police helicopter – sky shout.

Officers and staff from the responding agencies will also call at premises in order to get the message out.

Stand by

If information is received by the police that an evacuation may be likely in the near future (a severe weather incident is a good example of this) they will issue a standby message. This message means that you should make preparations to evacuate when you are told to do so.

Shelter in situ

In certain circumstances the message sent from the police may be to shelter in situ, or ‘go in, stay in and tune in’. An example of the type of incident where this could apply would be, a fire affecting city centre zones and it was not known if the smoke, was toxic. When planning an area to use as a shelter it is important to have access to a radio, TV or computer, as the emergency services will provide information updates to those sheltering via the local radio, TV channels and BBC emergency websites, and in particular Leeds Alert and Twitter. Detailed guidance for safe areas of buildings can be found on page 9.

The Evacuation Process

When the message to evacuate is sent by the Leeds Alert scheme it will contain the following information:

The nature and location of the incident The city centre zones affected The route to be used for the evacuation, if appropriate Other important relative information.

The message may also contain the location of assembly points. These points will be staffed by uniformed officers who will update you with the latest information.

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It is important to note that at this stage, you should follow the instructions you have received from the police, which may be contrary to your own plans. If you have been advised to evacuate in a certain direction, follow the instructions given, despite the fact that this may send you and your staff in the opposite direction to your own plans and procedures. These instructions will have been given for a reason. You should head for the assembly points that have been identified in the messages from the police.

The evacuation will take place on foot and every assistance will be provided to vulnerable people. As well as officers from the Emergency Services, many of the uniformed city centre staff will have been trained in the evacuation plan process and the majority of these staff will carry a radio. They will be aware of the instructions given by the police and will be advising members of the public on how to proceed. These staff include, but are not restricted to, City Centre Wardens, Civil Enforcement Officers, shopping centre and venue security staff, Street Angels and many others; it is advisable to follow their guidance.

As much information as possible will be provided using any available method. These will include:

traffic matrix boards the real time message boards at bus stops Radio Leeds, Radio Aire both BBC and ITV local news programmes BBC’s emergency website at www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/emergency_information/index.shtml Twitter: @leedsemergency Leeds Alert.

Traffic Control

The majority of public car parks will be locked when the order to evacuate is given. Traffic heading towards the city centre will be turned away.

Buses will have been ordered to leave the city centre without dropping off or picking up passengers.

There is an emergency plan and procedure in place to amend the bus routes to avoid the city centre.

The train station may also be closed and trains diverted around Leeds.

The affected areas will be cordoned off by the police and only those responding to the incident will be allowed through the cordon.

Humanitarian Support

If the evacuation is expected to last for some time there will be Rest Centres set up by Leeds City Council, to provide welfare facilities to those affected by the evacuation, these centres will provide overnight sleeping accommodation should the circumstances require it.

The All Clear

Once the incident has been dealt with and the all clear given, there will be a phased, controlled return into the city centre.

At the point of the all clear the responsibility will be passed to Leeds City Council, who will lead and coordinate the return to normality.

For further information on evacuation please see page 16..

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Leeds Alert West Yorkshire Police and Leeds City Council’s Peace and Emergency Planning Unit have recently updated the alert system known as the Leeds Alert. This system allows the police to send out alerts to those businesses or individuals registered in the scheme; messages can be received on pagers, mobile phones, as an SMS text message, landline or email. The system will only be used in an emergency situation and will provide instructions on how to respond to the incident as well as details of the incident itself. The system allows for messages to be sent to all those registered or by individual or multiple zones. If there is specific intelligence, the message can be sent to a specific type of organisation; pubs and clubs, hotels, shopping centres etc. Messages can be sent to all members in a particular postcode or a particular organisation.

It is up to the participating organisation to decide who are the most appropriate staff to receive the initial messages. Those identified should be in a senior position to make the decisions and be in a position to action the instructions received. Key members of staff and those identified as evacuation wardens should also receive the initial message.

You can find out more about joining Leeds Alert by visiting our website.

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Policeor LCC

General Warnings (suspicious package found, device explodes etc.)

Met Office severe weather warning

Environment Agency severe flood warning

Use all available methods of

communication

Police Incident Control

• Determines zones to be evacuated

• Sends the alert messages

• Initiates the evacuation

• Sets up the cordon and road closures

• Sets up Special Operations Room

Evacuate

Leeds City Council

Summary Diagram of The Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan

Alert

Stand down

Standby

• Activate Emergency Procedure

• Buildings on Standby

• Liaison with Police

• Initiate evacuation of Council Buildings

• Assist police with road closures and the evacuation

• Liaise with Metro to initiate bus turn around points

• Close car parks• Provide the public

with information at the assembly points

• Send Representative to SOR

EnvironmentAgency

City Centre Organisations

Action

• Provides Information to Partners on flooding

• Attends at SOR

• Evacuate the Station• Liaise with TOC• Attend SOR

• Evacuate the bus station

• Implement Bus Re-routing Plan

• Attend SOR

Network Rail

Metro

Media

• Broadcast evacuation alerts and information

• Activate BBC Emergency webpage

If in an affected zone• Evacuate the building • Direct staff to a

notified assembly point

• Pass instructions to staff and customers

• Await further instructions from the police

Police

Use all available methods of communication

• Alerts to Floodline Subscribers

• Update Agencies

• Implements Comms Procedure

• Consult Train Companies

• Place Station and staff on alert

• Liaise with Network Rail

• Place Re routing Plan on Standby

• Informs Joint Council of Taxi’s

• Place Bus Companies on standby

Broadcast Information to the public when requested by the emergency services or LCC

• Activate emergency procedures

• Place buildings on standby

• Await further instructions

EnvironmentAgency

City Centre Organisations

Network Rail

Metro

Media

The All-Clear • Leeds City Council leads the recovery process • Organisations return to buildings • Resume normal operations where possible

Leeds City Council

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Business Continuity Advice and Assistance and the Leeds BCP NetworkBusiness Continuity Management

Business continuity management is the strategic and tactical capability of the organisation to plan for and respond to incidents and business disruptions in order to continue key business operations at an acceptable predefined level. It assists organisations to anticipate, prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from disruptions, whatever their source and whatever aspect of the business they affect. It improves an organisation’s resilience to interruption.

Business continuity management is valid across the public, private and voluntary sectors. The British and International Standard for business continuity (ISO 22301) provides a generic framework and best practice guidance applicable across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Further information on ISO 22301 is available fromwww.bsigroup.com/standards

If your business or organisation would like further advice on business continuity management please email bcp@leeds.gov.uk

Advice and Assistance : The Leeds BCP NetworkThe Civil Contingencies Act requires local authorities to provide advice and assistance to those undertaking commercial activities and voluntary organisations in relation to business continuity management.

In order for Leeds City Council to comply with this duty, a Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Network has been established since 2001. The BCP Network arranges events for businesses and organisations in the Leeds area to provide best practice and latest news on business continuity and emergency planning issues.

The BCP Network meets twice a year.

Leeds City Council also provide a warning and informing service by emailing BCP Network contacts with information relating to events and incidents which have the potential to disrupt the operational activities of organisations and businesses in the Leeds area.

If your business or organisation would like to join the BCP Network and receive invitations to events and warning and informing messages, then please visit our website or email bcp@leeds.gov.uk to register. It’s free.

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Responsibilities of Businesses, Premises Owners and Tenants The following is an extract from Article 8 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which covers procedures for serious and imminent danger:

Every employer shall —

(1)(a) establish appropriate procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to persons at work in his undertaking;

(1)(b) nominate a sufficient number of competent persons to implement those procedures in so far as they relate to the evacuation from premises of persons at work in his undertaking.

A person shall be regarded as competent for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly to implement the evacuation procedures referred to in that sub-paragraph.

It is clear from the legislation that, the emphasis is placed on businesses, premises owners and their tenants to have appropriate evacuation plans in place to minimise the risk of harm to employees, visitors and their premises.

The legislation takes this further and clearly states that the evacuation plan should form part of staff training and those delegated to implement the procedures should be suitably trained to carry out those duties.

Planning for Emergencies and Disruption

Know your Business

Before you can start and plan for emergency incidents that are likely to affect your business continuity, you need to identify those areas of the business that are a priority to your ability to operate. Once these areas are identified as a priority to the operation, the emergency plan should highlight and prioritise the actions required, in order for the business to function again as soon as possible after the interruption.

Following a business disruption it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get everything back to a normal level immediately. When identifying your priority functions, consider the minimum acceptable level you can operate at, so that your business gets up and running as soon as possible.

You should identify the minimum resources your business would need to deliver the priority functions, you should consider:

Staff Utilities

Suppliers Premises

Data etc.

Plan for and recognise the fact that disruption could impact on your business by:

Loss of revenu Loss of reputation Subjecting your business to legal action.

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Identify other businesses, organisations and suppliers that your own business is dependant on. You should analyse what the impact would be on your operation if any of these were unavailable to you for some reason. Contingencies for this scenario also need to be included in your emergency plan.

When planning for emergencies remember to consider the needs of staff, customers and service users who are impaired. Plans should ensure that people are treated fairly, with dignity and respect.

Structuring your plan

Introduction

When writing the introduction to your plan it is important that the purpose of the plan is clearly stated. In many cases comments or foreword by a senior manager will reinforce the importance placed on the plan by management to staff.

Describe the premises, resources and operations covered by the plan and identify the main risks to your organisation and the impact that these could have on your business.

Outline how the plan fits into or differs from other policy documents or plans.

How to manage the incident

Here you should outline the planned procedures for managing the incident or disruption. It helps to nominate who would be responsible for the response to an incident affecting business continuity, this might be any number of people depending on the size of the business and the available skills of the workforce. An alternative site or location may also have to be considered in the event that your regular place of work might not be useable, along with the necessary means of communications and IT systems.

Activation and implementation

It is important to state clearly:

at what point the plan or procedures would be activated who can authorise the activation once activated, how the activation is communicated to the workforce, particularly to key members of the

response team and senior managers the duties of key members of staff what the key staff are authorised to do or spend to enable the incident to be dealt with.

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Key procedures

The procedure and plan should focus on the impact of, rather that the specific risks. Outlined below are some of the key impacts you may want to plan for.

Loss of premises (relocation)

The loss of the use of premises can have a devastating effect on most businesses, especially those who also use specialist equipment. However unlikely you consider this scenario to be, it is important to plan for this event.

There are a few options available but many of them are expensive.

If you are a large company with specialist equipment, you may be in a position to purchase or lease a standby facility, this should allow you to be operating again very quickly after an incident and should be beneficial to cash flow, but may be cost prohibitive in the first place.

Enter into an arrangement with a specialist business continuity facilities company. This has the advantage of providing a facility without any of the administrative problems. It is not a cheap solution but is popular and cost effective in comparison with purchase/lease options above.

As a cheaper, more cost effective option, consider ‘buddying up’ with a similar business. This is especially beneficial when larger companies buddy up with smaller ones and cooperate with each other. The above principal of purchasing or leasing alternative standby facilities can also be carried out with a ‘buddy’ company, and this option is becoming popular among neighbouring businesses.

For businesses that have working from home arrangements and when it is not critical to be up and running immediately, an option would be to rely on the market place to provide the required space and resources. Again this may involve the cooperation between two similar businesses.

Loss of utilities

The possibility of utility loss such as gas, electricity, water or telecommunications, would be high up on the probability scale. The cause of this might be severe weather or accidental damage to the supply. Although most incidents of utility loss may be short term, we have seen over recent years that severe weather has led to some

lengthy periods when properties have been without power. A longer term of disruption could result in you having to

temporarily relocate your business. Your plan should contain the emergency contact numbers for your utility companies

Loss of IT

Today most of us take computers and IT for granted but your plan should have contingencies in place for

loss of computer systems. This might be due to loss of power or damage to the system through fire or flooding for example. If you

have IT contracts with a supplier, you should work with them to improve your

resilience. A suitable process to enable the effective backing up

of your computer systems should be part of the day to day process

and also part of your plan.

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Loss of staff

One of the most important assets to any business are the staff. To a small company, even the loss of one member of staff could have an impact on the company’s ability to function. A large company may be able to function perfectly well without a number of staff, but a single key member of staff missing could have a major impact on performance.

There are various reasons why staff may be absent from work, such as:

industrial action severe weather illness.

As part of the planning process it will be worth considering and identifying other locations where staff could work from, if they were unable to get into their usual place of work. It is important that your computer and IT systems can be used by staff to work from home.

Another consideration to improve resilience during staff shortages, would be to train a number of staff to carry out the priority roles in times of emergency, simply redeploying staff from one role to another may alleviate the problem for the short term.

Loss of supplier

It makes good business sense to have more than one supplier, identify the priority services and products that are supplied to you by other businesses, ask these businesses what emergency plans they have in place to be able to meet your business needs if their business suffered from an emergency incident. If it is possible to do so, do not store all critical stock etc in a single place.

Communication

In the communication section of your plan you should cover how you will communicate to staff, clients, customers, suppliers and shareholders in the event of an incident. Having the correct technology and procedures in place and identifying them in the emergency plan will be essential. Ideally you should be able to:

divert phone calls to a new location update your website remotely, away from the premises have an alternative plan, for if the mobile-phone system is restricted or goes

down get information to all staff if the disaster occurs outside normal working

hours (a cascade system from managers would be a way of effecting this) plan for handling calls from relatives if an incident occurs in business hours or when staff are travelling to

and from work.

Media

Your Emergency Plan should identify a key person or persons to deal with the media. It should be this person who issues or signs off the press releases and acts as Spokesperson. In the event of a large scale emergency involving a business, a number of the staff may first hear about the incident via the media. It is important that you manage as far as possible, the content of the messages released through the media.

If the emergency services are dealing with the incident, which may also involve a number of other businesses and organisations it is important to coordinate your messages with them. The accuracy and consistency of the press releases will go a long way to limiting any negative press reporting.

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This section of the plan should also contain guidelines for staff, who may be approached by the media, on how to handle the enquiry.

Version control

Your plan should be constantly updated with such details as new staff or supplier contact numbers etc. As a matter of course the plan should reviewed annually to ensure all the details are up to date and reflect the current identified risks and issues. When these amendments are made to the plan you should record the version number or date to ensure that the plans in circulation are always the latest version.

Other details to include

Identify the location of the emergency ‘grab bag’ and identify who is responsible for the contents and upkeep of the bag. More details of a grab bag can be found in the appendix document ‘Our Plan’.

Contact details and policy numbers for the insurance company. Contact details of all suppliers. Contact details for all staff. The business financial and banking details. Contact numbers for emergency boarders and builders.

Distribution

Record who should have copies of your plan.

Protective marking

Your plan is likely to contain private contact details for the key members of staff identified as having a role in the response. There could be other information which should not be made public, such as security details. If this is the case you may want to mark the plan as restricted and then ensure it is stored appropriately by those holding a copy.

Log keeping

Assign a person to accurately record the staff who hold copies of the plan. Once written the Emergency Plan is an important document and forms part of the business process. Any changes to the process outlined in the plan should have the reasons for the change clearly and accurately recorded, this is important should the plan form part of any inquiry into the handling of an emergency incident.

Evacuation

Most premises will have a well practiced plan in place for evacuation of the building in the event of fire, and will no doubt test this evacuation procedure from time to time. It is also usual for key employees to be given a specific role in the event of an evacuation due to fire, and as part of induction or basic staff training, most of the staff will have been told where the assembly points are for use in the event of a fire. It is important to consider and plan for evacuations that take place and are not fire related, there will be differences in certain aspect of the evacuation. There are three things to consider if you intend to use the fire alarm to evacuate the building for a non fire related incident. (e.g. a suspicious package or device).

If there is a suspect package in the building, there is a possibility that the fire alarm may trigger the device. In these incidents verbal instructions to staff, giving clear concise instructions of the exits and assembly

points to use would be the best method of evacuation. If the police are evacuating your building because it is in a cordon your staff

assembly point for a fire may still be inside the cordon. If the fire alarm is to be used to evacuate the building, it is essential that

someone is designated to call the Fire and Rescue Services to tell them that there is no fire and explain the reason for the evacuation.

The recommended minimum safe distances to be used for evacuation in cases of suspicious packages are:

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Type of Explosive Device Minimum Safe Distance/Restricted Zone - Metres

Up to Briefcase size device At least 100 m

Car/Light Vehicle Borne ‘Improvised Explosive Device’

At least 200 m

LGV Lorry Borne ‘Improvised Explosive Device’

At least 400 m

Where possible, when planning for evacuations resulting from a suspicious device identify possible staff assembly points at the above minimum distances from your building.

Your plan should include the names, or positions of staff who have the authority to order an evacuation of the building (other than when instructed to do so by the police).

As part of the planning process staff should be identified and trained to circulate the evacuation message to other members of the workforce and help the emergency services manage the evacuation of the premises.

The following tasks should be assigned to staff members to carry out in the event of an evacuation if it is safe to do so.

Alert the emergency services via a 999 call if it is appropriate to do so. Turn off the utilities Remove or secure valuable items Check that the premises have been evacuated Lock and secure the premises inserting a ‘premises evacuated’ notice in the window to assist the emergency

services Transfer telephone calls to pre-designated location Provide the key contact numbers for the emergency services and other agencies Collect the ‘Emergency Grab Bag’.

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Instruct staff to turn off computers and lock their desks and filing cabinets, take all their belongings with them, including laptops etc. At this point it would be unknown how long you are likely to be out of the building for. Staff would need house keys and money for bus fares to get home, their car may be parked within a cordon and they may be unable to move it. The lap top may help with business continuity should you be unable to return to the building for some length of time.

In the event of an evacuation of the city centre being initiated it is essential that those members of staff who receive the evacuate instructions from the police, listen carefully to the instructions given. The direction you are told to evacuate in, might be in a completely different direction to your own plans. It is essential that clear instructions are given to staff informing them of which direction to travel in.

It is also essential to make staff aware that they should proceed on foot and under no circumstances attempt to use their cars, even if they pass the vehicle on the evacuation route. This is imperative to ensure the emergency responders are not impeded and delayed in getting to where they need to be.

Shelter in Situ or Staged Evacuation

If there are incidents where chemical, biological, radiological nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) devices are suspected, or the police have intelligence to suggest that that there may be a potential suicide bomber or armed terrorist in the city centre, the advice may be to shelter in situ and not evacuate immediately. For dealing with this type of incident it is important to be able to lock down the building and have staff make their way to a designated safe area or assembly point. When the lead agency have a better understanding of the incident, you may be asked to perform a staged evacuation.

Staged Evacuation

A staged evacuation would involve the movement of personnel from an area of risk to a safe area. This may be to a different part of the building or to a different zone in the city centre. The movement to these secondary assembly points would be to move further away from the risk.

This process could also involve evacuating a zone one building at a time, or so many people at a time, again moving further away from the risk.

Safe Area

It is extremely important that businesses identify a safe area in advance of any incident. Ideally the area selected should:

be an area with full height masonry and no windows

have no external walls not have direct access to a stairwell or

lift shaft which open to the outside of the building, to avoid blast travel

not be on the ground or first floor, to avoid blast travel

be large enough to allow for the numbers of personnel likely to be involved

have the facilities to cater for those staff or visitors with special needs

have toilet and refreshment facilities, or at least bottled water

have access to a television and radio have first aid facilities and a list of

trained first aid staff.

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If in doubt about the suitability of the proposed area, consult a structural engineer.

Laminated ‘X’ signs.

Even with the best planning and professional responders, there is likely to be a level of chaos at the time of a major evacuation. It is essential that the emergency services are given every assistance possible by businesses and members of the public to enable them to concentrate their efforts where they are needed most.

If you have to evacuate your premises it is essential that all staff and visitors are accounted for before you secure and leave the building. To assist the emergency services it is recommended that you prominently place laminated “X” signs on the inside of windows and glass doors of evacuated buildings, signifying that they are empty. A suggested template for the “X” sign can be found in the Appendices.

Terrorism - If you Suspect it, Report ItThe terrorist threat remains real and there is no room for complacency. Encourage staff to remain alert and aware of their surrounding at all times. If something strikes you as suspicious and out of place then trust your instincts and call the police.

If you think you have seen something suspicious or you are unsure about somebody’s activities or behaviour, however insignificant it may seem at the time, call the police.

The Anti-Terrorist Hotline is staffed around the clock by specialist counter-terrorism police officers and staff, the number to call is 0800 789 321.

A textphone service is available for people with speech or hearing difficulties on 0800 032 45 39. Unfortunately text messages from mobiles are not accepted.

Any information passed to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline is treated in the strictest of confidence and is thoroughly analysed and researched before, and if, any police action is taken.

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Terrorists have a lot of work to do before they attack. They need to plan and prepare; buy and store materials; and fund their activities.

Terrorists live within our communities and blend in, however, behind closed doors they may be storing bomb making materials or meeting others to plan attacks. - Are you suspicious of a property where there is unusual activity or strange comings and goings that don’t fit day-to-day life? trust your instincts and call the police.

Terrorists use surveillance to help plan attacks. Have you seen anyone taking pictures or filming CCTV cameras or making notes about other security arrangements? Has it made you suspicious? If you have seen this or know someone who takes an unusual interest in security measures, we need to know, trust your instincts and call the police.

Terrorists need communication. They communicate with others to plan meetings or buy materials and chemicals. To avoid possible detection they use multiple anonymous pay-as-you go mobile phones and swap SIM cards and handsets. If you are suspicious about someone who uses phones in this way, we need to know, trust your instincts and call the police.

If you suspect it, report it. Call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321

Flooding Leeds, like many cities has had major problems with flooding in recent years. There have been several causes for these incidents including flooding from rivers, sewers, highway gullies and culverts, surface water run off from fields and open spaces. The city council has invested in a Flood Risk Management Team and developed a multi-agency approach to dealing with the flood risk to the city.

The River Aire runs from west to east through the city centre and there has been major development over recent years along its banks. Homes and businesses along the River Aire have been threatened by flooding on a number of occasions in the last 10 years.

The Environment Agency, who are the agency with responsibility for flooding from rivers, estimate that there are around 1500 homes and 500 businesses at risk of flooding in the Leeds area.

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Remember

Ensure your staff and customers do not put themselves at risk by walking or driving through fast moving flood water. Fifteen centimetres (six inches) of fast flowing water can knock over an adult and 60 cm (two feet) can lift and sweep away a small lorry or 4x4 vehicle.

You can prepare for flooding by making a flood plan to minimise the disruption to your business. The plan should detail ways to reduce the impact of flooding to your business. It is estimated that most businesses can save between 20 and 90 percent on the cost of lost stock and moveable equipment by preparing in advance for a flooding incident.

Find out if your property is in an area that is at risk of flooding from a river or tributary. To do this call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or enter your postcode on the website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood

Many properties at risk of flooding from rivers can receive the free flood warning service, which provides advance warning of flooding 24 hours a day by telephone, mobile, fax, text message, email or pager.

It is important that the first contact number given belongs to somebody who is English-speaking and can be contacted 24 hours a day.

Registering for this service will not affect your business insurance.

Other important things to consider include:

checking your insurance policy covers flooding knowing where and how to turn off your gas, electricity and water supplies (mark them with coloured tape

to remind you which one is which) preparing a flood kit with essential emergency items, such as insurance documents, blankets, wind-up

torch, medication, bottled water, etc. keeping a list of useful numbers in a safe place considering what things you would move first if you received a warning. Are there some things that are

more important to your business than others? finding out how to protect your business from flooding – see ‘Prepare your property for flooding’ on the

Environment Agency’s website.

Remember that flooding can happen from many sources, including surface water, sewers and drains, as well as rivers and the sea, so it is still important to have a flood plan.

For more information about flooding, and what you can do, call the Floodline service on 0845 988 1188 or visit the website www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood

BACILBusiness Against Crime In Leeds has an ever increasing membership. The members are linked by a digital radio system which enables them to talk to each other. In the event of a city centre evacuation being called, the BACIL radio system will be used alongside the Leeds Alert and other methods of communication to ensure as many people as possible receive instructions and information to assist the evacuation.

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Working in PartnershipWe work alongside Leedswatch, City Centre Liason, West Yorkshire Ambulance Service, West Yorkshire Police, City Centre Enforcement, ASB unit and the Street Marshalls.

RegularBriefingsThe briefings give members the opportunity to come together and meet

each other whilst getting updates on crime trends, crime hotspots and details of suspected offenders.

Digital Radio TechnologyMembers benefit from improved sound quality, voice recording and connection to a computer letting you know instantly which radios are connected.

ARM YOUR BUSINESSWITH THE ULTIMATEWEAPON IN THE FIGHTAGAINST CRIME

Rouges GalleryThe BACIL gallery is an amazing resource providing members with up to date photos of any known offenders so you can easily and conveniently identify city centre rogues. We work alongside Leedswatch, City Centre Liason, West Yorkshire Ambulance Service, West Yorkshire Police, City Centre Enforcement, ASB unit and the Street Marshalls.

Your Premise’s ExclusionsWith our gallery, members can identify and exclude offenders from their

premises in just a few clicks using anti-social behaviour orders.

Real-time News NotificationsBACIL business protection software gives members real time access to the latest news about crime in the area, BACIL training opportunities and additions to our services.

1st Floor Millgarth Police Station Leeds West Yorkshire LS2 7HX 0113 241 3012 www.bacil.org

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Further Information

There are a number of publications by the UK Cabinet office offering information and guidance on evacuation and emergency planning.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 sets out the statutory regulations and duties.

The UK Cabinet office regularly updates publications covering civil contingencies for the latest information visit the cabinet office website at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/topic/52

The Home office is the government department responsible for dealing with the threat of terrorism in the UK.

The document; Protecting Against Terrorism (Third Edition) is full of information and advice to protect you and your business against a terrorist attack. Visit https://update.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/protecting-against-terrorism-3rd-edition.pdf for more details

Further publications can be found at the resource library on the directgov website athttp://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/topic/167

NaCTSO – National Counter terrorism Security Office. Offers detailed advice to protect “crowded places from terrorist attack. Publications offering advice to bars and restaurants, hotels, theatres, cinemas and shopping centres can be found at http://www.nactso.gov.uk/Publications/CrowdedPlaces.aspx

Other websites offering Information and Advice

Preparing For Emergencies at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/Dealingwithemergencies/Preparingforemergencies/DG_177092

UK Resilience; http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience

MI5 at; http://www.mi5.gov.uk,

Business continuity Institute; – www.thebci.org

Leeds Chamber of Commerce; – www.leedschamber.co.uk

The Federation of Small Businesses; – www.fsb.org.uk

Leeds City Council Emergency Planning Unit; www.leeds.gov.uk/prepared

Assistance Leeds ‘Safe Place’ is a Leeds City Council Scheme.

A Safe Place is somewhere a person with a learning disability can go and ask for help if they are lost, frightened or in difficulty. People with a learning disability can apply to join the Safe Places scheme. They will get a Safe Places wristband to wear along

with a card to complete with 3 emergency contact telephone numbers.

If someone is having difficulty they look for the Safe Places logo being displayed in a nearby window. This is a Safe Place where there are staff who will be able to help. The

person shows their membership card to the Safe Place staff. They will look at the card and begin telephoning each of the emergency contact numbers listed until they are able to speak with someone who can assist.

To apply register or for more information email: safeplaces@leeds.gov.uk or phone: 0113 214 3446.

Rest Centres

During or following an incident, the emergency services may need to evacuate an area or building. Those evacuated and have nowhere else to go will initially be taken to a temporary place of safety, such as a community centre or sports centre.

If the incident is prolonged Leeds City Council may open a Rest Centre in a suitable building. The rest centres are managed by the council who will provide staff, accommodation and food for those affected by the incident. Other voluntary services will also be present to offer advice and support.

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Definition of a Major Incident Civil Contingencies Act

In order to put some of the above advice in this guidance booklet into context, it is useful to define what an ‘emergency’ is, in order for your business to consider contingency plans for it. The ‘Civil Contingencies Act 2004’ formally legislates for the national and local emergency planning response. Among the areas it has legislated for are, county risk assessments, the promotion of business continuity and developing warning and informing strategies to the wider community.

Definition

Under the Civil Contingencies Act, an emergency is defined as:

an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in location in the United Kingdom an event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment of a location in the United

Kingdom war or terrorism which seriously threatens the security of the United Kingdom.

An event or situation that threatens damage to human welfare can be further defined as follows, if it involves, causes or may cause:

loss of human life human illness or injury homelessness damage to property disruption of supply of money, food, water, energy or fuel disruption of an electronic or other system of communication disruption of facilities for transport disruption of services relating to health.

An event or situation that threatens damage to the environment can be further defined as follows, if it involves, causes or may cause contamination of land, water or air with, Harmful biological, chemical or radioactive matter, or Oil, or disruption or destruction of plant life or animal life.

Stages of a major incident

Most major incidents can be considered to have four stages:

The initial response The consolidation phase The recovery phase The restoration of normality.

Declaration of a major incident

A major incident may be declared by a senior incident commander of the emergency services, health services or local authority who considers that any of the criteria outlined in the definition above has been satisfied. It is generally the case that the Police coordinate the multi-agency response, unless it is a major fire.

Declaration of incident stand down

The order to stand down a major incident will be issued by the Police Incident Commander in consultation with all involved agencies. The Local Authority is likely to have a longer term response to an incident as they lead the recovery phase. If this is the case, overall co-ordination of the response will be handed from the

Police to the Local Authority at the appropriate time.

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AcknowledgementsLeeds City Centre Evacuation Plan

The Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan has evolved over the past 10 years and has been constantly updated to include the most recent good practices. The lessons learnt following actual incidents that have resulted in cities from various parts of the world being evacuated have been incorporated into the plan.

There is a considerable amount of time and effort invested by many people from the various partner agencies, gone into the preparation and publishing of both the Leeds City Centre Evacuation Plan and the accompanying Planning For Emergencies booklet and ‘Your Plan’ appendix. Leeds City Council would like to thank them all for their contributions.

The authors of this booklet would like to thank the members of the following organisations that took part in the Steering Group:

Leeds City Council West Yorkshire Police West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Yorkshire Ambulance Service British Transport Police Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Network Rail Leeds City Station Metro (West Yorkshire PTE) Leeds University Vocal Leeds Chamber of Commerce Victoria Quarter The Light Leeds Lloyds TSB Bank Halifax Bank of Scotland Continuity Systems Limited PwC Trinity Shopping Centre BACIL

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