Membership
The Local Resilience Forum (LRF) consists of a wide variety of members (also referred to as partners), these are categorised into 4 distinct groups.
Category 1 - Are core to the emergency response and are subject to the full set of civil protection duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
Category 2 - Are required to co-operate and share information with other Category 1 and 2 responders and must be well integrated with all other partners around emergency planning, response and recovery
Other - Are a small group of partners that although do not sit as a Category 1 or 2 responder are still pivotal to the make up and workings of the Local Resilience Forums.
Voluntary Agencies - A crucial part of all LRF's, these partners assist and support the response and recovery of all the above agencies and are well imbedded in the multi-agency landscape.
LRF Members
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross provides humanitarian assistance to people in crisis and reduce the chance of people falling through gaps in the health and social care system. They support not just people affected by emergencies but also, vulnerable people returning home from hospital and refugees/asylum seekers who are living within our communities.
British Transport Police (BTP)
BTP is the specialist police force that policies the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland. Their responsibilities include the safeguarding of passengers and staff, the management of incidents and the investigation of crime on the railway.
Diocese of Bristol (Church of England)
The Diocese of Bristol covers the more northern area of Wiltshire and provide spiritual, emotional and physical welfare to the population in an emergency.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is one of the largest Fire and Rescue Services in England with a total of 50 fire stations. The Fire and Rescue service is a pivotal part of incident response and as they have a huge skill set they attend almost all incidents including those that have little to no 'Fire' aspects.
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency although widely recognised for its role in flooding, does in fact have a huge number of responsibilities. These include water quality, treatment of contaminated land, conservation and fisheries. Most incidents have an environmental impact and therefore the environment agency are usually part of the core group of responders.
Mendip Cave Rescue
Mendip Cave Rescue has responsibility for search and rescue underground in the caves and mines of Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset.
Met Office
The Met Office provide not only the weather forecasts you see on your phones and TV's but they also provide extremely valuable meteorological information for responding agencies in an incident. Knowing what weather is incoming, how long it will last or which way the wind might blow a smoke plume is crucial when dealing with many incidents we might have.
Ministry of Defence
The MOD is a huge department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government. It comprises of some well known elements such as the Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army. Wiltshire has a large MOD footprint and therefore the MOD are a vital part of the LRF.
NHS England
The NHS is the largest employer in the UK and the 5th largest in the world. They are a pivotal part in emergency preparedness and response as they need to be able to respond to a wide variety or incidents that might affect patient care.
NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB)
BSW NHS ICB stands for Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire National Health Service Integrated Care Board. It was previously known as the NHS CCG and since 2022 has been given greater responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act, with the organisation now operating as a Category 1 responder.