Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Amendment of List of Responders) Order 2005

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 14 June be approved [First Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: My Lords, before I begin, I shall take the opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding way in which the emergency services and the general public responded to the tragic events of last week. I am sure that all noble Lords would agree that the response was truly exemplary. It demonstrated not only the value of years of detailed contingency planning, investment, training and exercising but the remarkable personal commitment of emergency services personnel and the resilience of the general public. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and supporting regulations and guidance establish a single framework for civil protection in the United Kingdom. It will enhance further the resilience of the United Kingdom by setting out a clear set of responsibilities for organisations with a role in preparing for and responding to emergencies at a local level; delivering greater consistency in local civil protection activity; and establishing the basis for robust performance management. Schedule 1 to the Act lists the organisations that are subject to its provisions. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Amendment of List of Responders) Order 2005 will amend that list to ensure that the legal framework captures all relevant bodies that have a role to play in local multi-agency civil protection work and to ensure that it appropriately reflects the devolution settlement. The order will achieve that by doing two specific things. First, it would bring strategic health authorities within the legal framework. It should be remembered that strategic health authorities play a crucial co-ordinating role in emergency planning and response. The order will enable them to play a full and active role in the regime established by the Act. Secondly, it will correct a defect in Schedule 1 by providing that the Act applies to the Health Protection Agency only so far as its functions relate to Great Britain. The proposal to bring strategic health authorities within the scope of the legislation was developed in close consultation with and commands the full support of the strategic health authorities themselves and a range of other health bodies. Furthermore, the public consultation on the draft Civil Contingencies Act regulations and guidance, which included a series of   11   road show events in England and Wales, demonstrated clear support for the measure across the civil protection community. The proposal to amend the territorial extent of the HPA’s duties under the Civil Contingencies Act has been discussed and agreed with the Northern Ireland Administration. All that remains for me to say before I sit down is that I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, to the Dispatch Box for the first time on this subject. I look forward to—I was going to say ““locking horns with her””, but that would be unnecessarily conflictual—engaging with her. I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 14 June be approved [First Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Bassam of Brighton.)