National Recovery Guidance
Guidance primarily aimed at local responders and developed in line with the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) on recovering from an emergency in the UK.
The National Recovery Guidance was produced in 2007 by the National Recovery Working Group (NRWG), as commissioned by ministers. New material is added to it regularly, as new information and guidance is produced and new case studies and lessons are identified.
Definitions
The National Recovery Guidance has been developed in line with the following Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) definitions.
Emergency
An event or situation that threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK or the environment of a place in the UK, or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK. To constitute an emergency, an event or situation must additionally require the implementation of special arrangements by one or more Category 1 responder.
Response
Response encompasses the actions taken to deal with the immediate effects of an emergency. In many scenarios, it is likely to be relatively short and to last for a matter of hours or days – rapid implementation of arrangements for collaboration, co-ordination and communication are, therefore, vital. Response encompasses the effort to deal not only with the direct effects of the emergency itself (eg fighting fires, rescuing individuals) but also the indirect effects (eg disruption, media interest).
Recovery
The process of rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitating the community following an emergency.
Find out more about Emergency Response and Recovery guidance.
Updates
| Date | Update | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 31 January 2015 | Strategic National Guidance: The decontamination of buildings, infrastructure and open environment exposed to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials | This guidance has been revised following a consultation between February and March 2013. All links have been updated, recent changes to the names and structures of organisations have been reflected and various other changes have been made to improve the information. |
| 25 March 2013 | Gold officer recovery workshop | Post-event report from the Somerset Local Authorities Civil Contingencies Partnership’s one day workshop for gold officers |
| 30 November 2012 | 2012 Voluntary Sector Civil Protection Forum | Report and associated papers from the forum |
| 21 November 2012 | UK Recovery Handbook for Biological Incidents | Guidance from HPA added |
| 21 November 2012 | Exercising Recovery (Staffordshire CCU – Exercise DARNAY and Exercise RAVEN recovery) | Case study discussing the issues relating to the challenges of carrying out a recovery exercise |
| 4 October 2012 | Topic sheet on social media | A new topic sheet which provides some background, policy and guidance on this developing area |
| 12 September 2012 | Topic sheet on recovery from a CBRN incident | Following a number of requests, Defra - the lead government department for CBRN recovery - have produced a topic sheet which brings together the range of information available on recovering from a CBRN incident. |
| 4 September 2012 | Topic sheet on site clearance | The topic sheet has been updated to take account of the updated Annex A of Guidance on Development of a Site Clearance Capability in England and Wales and also the publication of the London Structural Collapse Response and Recovery Plan. |
| 7 August 2012 | Summer floods 2012 | LRFs should be aware of the insurance industry’s request to be involved in relevant meetings and conference calls relating to flooding incidents. |
| 26 July 2012 | Strategic National Guidance: The decontamination of buildings, infrastructure and open environment exposed to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials | This guidance gives basic information on the decontamination and remediation that may be required following a deliberate or accidental release in the UK. The guidance has been revised and updated following a consultation in December 2011. |
| 7 June 2012 | UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents | Guidance from Public Health England added |
| 7 June 2013 | UK Recovery Handbook for Radiation Incidents | Guidance from Public Health England added |
| 12 March 2012 | Voluntary sector | New topic sheet added |
| 20 February 2012 | Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group guidance | Guidance from DECC added – see chapters 16 and 17 on recovery |
| 16 January 2012 | Cornwall Council incident impact assessment: decision making tool | Cornwall Council is happy to share this tool with other councils or organisations who might find it helpful |
| 16 January 2012 | Cornwall Council Impact Assessment Completion Guidelines | As above |
Publication of the guidance
During the period in which the National Recovery Guidance has been produced, there have been a number of emergencies that have involved extensive recovery operations and deepened our understanding of the topic. In particular, the lessons identified from the summer 2007 flooding and which resulted in the Pitt Review (published in June 2008), following which case studies were provided.
Updates
On publication, the information included in the guidance is accurate and up-to-date to the best of our knowledge, but if you spot something you believe to be an error, please contact Nick Brown (nick.brown@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk).
The National Recovery Guidance will be updated as necessary. Additional case studies will be added as and when they are produced.
If there are any issues that you would like to be included in the guidance, or if you think that you could provide a relevant recovery case study, please email Nick Brown (nick.brown@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk).
National Recovery guidance: case studies
Please note that these case studies express the viewpoint of one organisation only and have not been independently audited. Government funding to deal with emergencies is determined on a case by case basis, therefore, the funding outlined in these case studies is not a guarantee that similar funding will be available to deal with emergencies in the future.
Additional case studies are gratefully received. If you think that you could provide a relevant recovery case study, please use the revised which provides a structure for you to record the information. Please do not feel you have to populate every section - they are suggested headings only. To help you with the process we have developed . When finalised please email to Nick Brown.