Emergency Response in the United Kingdom - Assignment Example

Name Tutor Course Date Emergency Response in the United Kingdom (UK) Introduction The UK.s Emergency arrangements are fundamentally flawed because of the failure to make government departments, category one responders. Although government agencies and other non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are among responsible agencies that respond to emergencies in the UK emergency planning arrangement, they are not considered the first responders to such emergencies. This has benefits to the efficiency and effectiveness of U.K.’s emergency planning arrangements and has also resulted to its fundamental defects. Consideration and failure to acknowledge government departments as key responders mean government intervention in the emergency response industry. Effective response and recovery is also outlined in the principles stated by the UK emergency arrangements through the central government outlines principles that agencies and responders need to consider Cabinet Office (2013). Effectiveness of the government on emergency According to Wilkinson (2007), the central government considered necessary to intervene, support and co-ordinate to certain levels in case of a complex or large scale emergency. Local responders are the key agents and responders to emergencies as acknowledged by the emergency arrangements. This paper illustrates support that the UK emergency plan arrangements are fundamentally flawed as a result of falling to make the government departments category one responders and also argue against this statement with respect to effectiveness of the programs and planning. Category one responders is discussed as full government intervention in the industry, its benefits and also costs involved. Subsidiarity One of the principles for effective emergency response and recovery is subsidiarity. The provision requires that decision making is disintegrated to all suitable levels at the lowest hierarchy and high level of co-ordination be ensured at the highest possible level. This coordination and application of decisions to the lowest applicable level is attainable by the government as a response agency. The UK government has a wide variety of response departments which are coordinated by the Cabinet office’s Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS). Therefore the government as an agent for emergency response displays organization and therefore reliability in carrying out emergency response tasks. CCS ensures that all doubts are cleared and a specific department is chosen as the lead department. Terrorism associated incidents are directed to the home office terrorism and protection unit which is in charge of such cases Cabinet Office (Feb 2013). The cabinet office also has the responsibility of documenting the selected leading departments of the government to participate in planning process, response to emergency and recovery procedures in a variety of circumstances. Since most emergencies are dealt with at the local authorities level, bureaucracy is limited if it were rather to be dealt with from the central government. Appropriate management system Another principle for an effective emergency response is an appropriate information management system for an agency of response or responder. Emergency response and recovery requires information as a vital element so as to execute control plans. The information acquired is then assembled and verified before it is circulated through a suitable information system (The Civil Service Year Book, 1974). Government departments involve broad levels of engagement to the emergency responses and restoration. The minister in charge of the lead government department is in charge of the response to a crisis from the department while employing the proper emergency facilities where and when the CCS advises that they are employed. However, some issues that are directly organized from the cabinet office at the briefing rooms. Cooperation of departments Another level of engagement involves issues that are handled by the Lead Government Department (LGD) from the cabinet office. Cases like terrorism and other emergencies that the LGD establishes to require disposition of a higher degree of resources from the government are catered for from the cabinet office. Terrorism response commences with Home office at the lead while activation of the Cabinet office briefing room (COBR) is entrusted to the defense and overseas secretariat in the Cabinet office (ODSec). The third level is the civil contingencies committee and the COBR. The prime minister or secretary of the state (Nominated) heads in the response and recovery in case of a tragedy that requires contribution of the central government. This ensures that the response activities to emergency and petition of emergency powers observe efficiency. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is one of the incidences indicating defects in the UK emergency planning arrangements. This raised questions and fears concerning the UK nuclear emergency planning. Inadequate preplanning was identified as one of the main causes that resulted to the tragedy. Poor preparedness for emergency and poor response was major failures in the scenario before the incident. This has led to doubts in the nuclear industry in UK. Intervention of the UK government and other nuclear emergency groups was necessary after an analysis of Fukushima case by the Office for Nuclear regulations so as to review the emergency response arrangements. Government involvement in society A capitalistic society requires that government participation in the market should be very minimal. Those who supported this emphasized the need to leave the allocation of resources to market forces of demand and supply so that if demand is greater than supply the prices would rise and vice versa. This process would clear the market. However, over the years many changes took place, political ideology evolved hence leading to establishment of socialistic states whose size of the public sector was larger than private sector. Despite the different ideologies the need for government participation in economic, social and restoration or recovery activities in the country is important. According to the contingencies Act of 2004, the civil protection duties of the government include sharing information with local responders to enhance coordination The public sector, which is government, provides goods and services that cannot be provided through the market owing to problem of externalities which lead to market failure. Provision of national security is among the services that cannot be provided by other agencies. You cannot bar anybody from enjoying it. Some emergency responses require a large outlay that cannot be provided by other agencies like the private sector. According to Government of UK (2011), some emergencies cannot be handled by single departments of the government leave alone the private sector and therefore the central government has to the contact agency to respond to such wide ranging disaster. UK emergency response arrangements include waste control programs resulting from different emergency recovery stage. The government is in a better position to handle such wastes compared to other agencies due to diverse resources for handling such wastes. Private sectors and agencies invest where returns are high while public sectors look at overall benefits of a project to the community even if returns are low. For example, the Government provides immigration schemes, schools, hospitals etc. Such projects involve an outlay of heavy resources with no high rate of return on investment but have greater benefits to the community. Owing to low rate of return on such projects, the private sector would not invest in them. In case of floods, spills in marine oil or disease outbreaks of plants and animals, wastes are created which can also result to other emergencies. The government is in a better position to deal such wastes in terms of collection, deposits and minimization of hazards. Cabinet office (2013), states that waste management service might breakdown like the winter of discontent foray. This will result to municipal wastes being uncollected and accumulation of such wastes. The main aim for government or public sector operation is to ensure that the public is protected and that their interests are attended to. Considering the government as category one responders will ensure that the provisions of the licensing arrangements by the UK emergency planning arrangements are adhered to. Licensing requires that all wastes are managed to avoid and minimize pollution of the environment and damage to human health. Waste is therefore stored in approved sites where it is treated and recuperated or disposed at certified sites. Continuity The UK government as agents of emergency response arrangements observes continuity. The response responsibilities are based on functions that exist within the departments or organization. This include obligating each department with responsibilities that are familiar with respect to nature of work more testing situations, although considering a larger scale. The cabinet office is entrusted with emergencies that require a wide level of intervention due to its scope and resource allocation. This also illustrates the coordination and cooperation that is required in the UK emergency planning arrangements where the government departments share information among the departments and with other agencies. Flexibility The government departments observe flexibility that enhances effectiveness through affirmative engagement and information sharing at all hierarchies. Where the local response is inadequate and unable to cater for large level of crisis, the central government is required to take over. Local and national coordination in the government is therefore ensured thus effectiveness. One of the reasons why the government intervenes in any sector of the economy is to provide pure public goods. These are goods to which the principle of exclusion does not apply because they are indivisible and their benefit cannot be priced. The suppliers are faced with the free riders problem since the users cannot be forced to reveal their demand preferences. The government must provide for such. Another reason is correction of externalities. Suppose a particular public good has external economies which cannot be measured and therefore cannot be priced. The spills over gains are there in the society, but the supplier cannot charge for it. Hence the price much is lower than the social margin of benefit that determines his supply on the basis of the price he gets. Hence he produces less than what could be the optimum quantity from the society’s point of view. The government must provide for such. Diversification of government response agency into departments allows it to practice preparedness. Each department is assigned a set of roles and area of appropriate response and recovery. This enables the departments to adequately prepare. The government also ensures that the roles and responsibilities of the departments are clarified especially what department becomes the lead department in case of a crisis (The Civil Service Year Book, 1974). Weaknesses of government response agent Although consideration of the government as category one responder has benefits and failure to consider it as such has led to basic defects of the UK emergency response arrangements, part of its success is also based on the decision to consider other agents before the government departments. Due to the many departments of the government and a wider involvement of parties, anticipation might be affected by aspects of quality and therefore lead to inefficiency compared to analysis conducted .by the private sector or other minor agents. It is vital that risk identification and analysis is conducted to forestall any consequences arising from emergencies both directly, indirectly and costs that are interdependent. Direction might also be compromised when the government is considered as category one responder thus affecting the effectiveness of UK emergency response arrangements. Direction principle requires that the purpose is based on a set of objectives aiming at specific strategies which should be supported by all parties involved. An extension of the principle provides that, adherence to this will ensure that prioritization is observed and more focus is directed towards the recovery and response initiatives (Wilkinson, 2007). Prioritization and specification might be a challenge in case of the government agencies since the government aims at reaching the society in general and might fail to prioritize by working to solve all issues at once. This will affect quality of response service and thus efficiency. The government intervenes in all sectors of a country to ensure that the society is satisfied. It tries to ensure that all areas are attended to equally. This can be through adjustment of social values to manage distribution of income and wealth which results from the market systems and from the transmission of property rights through inheritance. This means reducing gap between rich and poor which is as a result of market mechanism. In capitalistic state, the rich will continue becoming richer and poor, poorer. So something needs to be done to tax more from rich and provide services which the poor cannot afford at a subsidized rate. Conclusion It is true that defects in the UK emergency response arrangements are caused by failure of the program to consider the government departments as category one responders to crisis. This therefore affects their efficiency in services delivered. However, it is also not true. Government departments observe the principles set by these programs which ensure efficiency such as co-ordination, cooperation and clarification of roles to parties involved. Some principles are also not considered and quality compromised when the government is involved. In this case, the effectiveness is compromised. Works cited A Robust Grid for 21st Century Scotland: First Report of Session 2012-13 : Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence. London: Stationery Office, 2012. Print. The Civil Service Year Book. London: H.M.S.O, 1974. Print. Chapter 12 Northern Ireland Revision to Emergency Preparedness. Cabinet office UK, 2011.Government of UK. List of lead government departments' responsibilities for planning, response, and recovery from emergencies. Government of UK, Government of UK, 2011. Wilkinson, P. Homeland Security in the UK: Future Preparedness for Terrorist Attack since 9/11 Political Violence. Routledge, 2007. National Recovery Guidance: environmental issues, Cabinet office. UK. Feb. 2013, Government of UK Cabinet Office UK. Emergency response and recovery: Guidance for staff of responder agencies, particularly senior officers or managers who may get involved in emergency response and recovery work. Cabinet Office UK Feb 2013. Read More