This guide seeks to:
This guide is aimed at:
This guide seeks to:
This guide is aimed at:
Our new Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR) Strategic Framework seeks to build on the successes of ‘Secure and Resilient’ by expanding our focus from Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) to the resilience of the wider Critical Infrastructure (CI) affecting Scotland. Building the resilience of Scotland’s critical infrastructure is the responsibility of Government, Industry and the Responder Communities.
In recent years we have been reminded of the potential for disruption to our essential services through a whole range of events both malicious and natural.
In Scotland, our experience over many years has taught us the importance of Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR), whether the challenges we face include severe weather, pandemic disease, or man made threats from crime or terrorism.
I am pleased to say that since the publication of our CIR strategy ‘Secure and Resilient’ in 2011, we have come a very long way indeed. One of the key developments I would like to single out is the way in which we have become much more pro-active in our collaborative approach to mitigating the impacts of the challenges we face.
As well as physical impacts, major incidents can have a lasting psycho-social effect on communities and individuals. Some areas may not return to exactly how they were prior to the incident, and the transition to a new normality can be a difficult one. Decisions made early in the response process can have lasting ramifications in the months and years that follow and enable a good recovery. The Scottish Government is likely to take an early interest in the recovery, public reassurance and the support of continuity of essential services.
The PCG must be activated as early as possible following a major incident or emergency. The communication of alerts and public information is a critical element of the initial response, and RPs should ensure that their wider activation processes include the communications function at the earliest opportunity.
A first alert system for PCG members can be agreed to facilitate early communication.
The effective delivery of crisis communications relies heavily on good planning. Communications planning in advance of an incident should be informed both by the Principles outlined above and by the specific local risks outlined in the relevant Community Risk Registers.
Whether during the planning, response or recovery phase of an incident, certain common principles underpin all good crisis communications practice.
The identity of the lead responding organisation should be agreed where possible in advance of a particular type of incident, and if not then as quickly as possible after a situation develops.
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