UK National Leadership for Risk Identification, Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery
It is important for all levels of government to be clear, in advance, which department will lead on main potential challenges.
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Most emergencies in the UK are handled at the local level by the emergency services, local authorities and other relevant organisations such as utility companies and transport operators. However, because of scale or complexity, some emergencies need a degree of government coordination or support, with UK government departments, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive taking the lead as appropriate in accordance with devolution agreements. This approach is called the ‘Lead Government Department’ (LGD) model. Designated leads are responsible for identifying serious risks and ensuring that the right planning, response and recovery arrangements are in place with support from other departments, agencies and local partners and a coordinating role from Cabinet Office, as required.
The 2022 UK Government Resilience Framework (UKGRF) committed to clarifying ownership of risks, from identification through to recovery management. This document sets out which UK government department, devolved administrations or other public body leads for different types of emergency, at different stages.
You can read this document alongside the 2023 UK National Risk Register, which outlines the most serious risks facing the UK.
Updates to this page
Last updated 18 August 2023 + show all updates
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Added the document: The Roles of Lead Government Departments, Devolved Administrations and Other Public Bodies (PDF)
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Changed the page title and also added the document: UK National Leadership for Risk Identification, Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery: The Roles of Lead Government Departments, Devolved Governments and Other Public Bodies
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First published.