Civil contingencies unit

Managing emergencies

Local authorities have a legal duty to be able to manage emergencies that happen in their boundaries.

Darlington Borough Council works through the Civil Contingencies Unit to make sure risk assessments and emergency planning take place. If there is an emergency we inform the public. The council must also train for emergencies.

The unit also helps the council to make sure it can carry on its daily business in case of an emergency. It also offers this support to the wider business and voluntary sector in the borough.

The council works with the police, fire, ambulance and other health services, as well as Durham County Council, to form the County Durham and Darlington Local Resilience Forum.

This group is chaired by the Chief Constable and makes sure that effective multi-agency arrangements are in place to cover a wide range of scenarios.

Useful links

• Business continuity advice
• Emergencies in Darlington town centre: what to do [pdf document]
• Rain and flooding
• Severe weather – Met Office [external link]
• Pandemic influenza – Public Health England [external link]
• BBC News [external link]