There are currently over 20 emergency plans in place in County Durham and Darlington for which the Civil Contingencies Unit has direct responsibility. These include generic, site-specific, and consequence-specific emergency plans, covering a range of emergencies from localised flooding incidents to Lockerbie-type major disasters. 

Further information on each type of emergency plan is available by using the following links:

• Generic
• Consequence-Specific
• Site-Specific

The unit also holds copies of partner organisations’ plans as an aid to better understanding/co-ordination of joint efforts in day-to-day activities, exercises, and emergency incidents.

Although some of our plans are currently in draft form, we update plans on a regular basis and responders are given training to ensure procedures and arrangements are kept robust.

Emergency Plan Validation

Once published, emergency plans are validated by conducting training events and exercises.

Lessons learnt from exercising must be incorporated into post exercise reports. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 states that post exercise reports must contain recommendations for improvement, and that these recommendations must be carried out within a given time period.