Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) Regulations 2005

This came up in the debate on the Bill. We already have in place effective arrangements for ensuring that the MoD is actively involved and informed—that it is there when it needs to be. The MoD has a clearly defined role in terms of supporting civil authorities during emergencies. The MoD is also closely engaged in civil resilience arrangements. We recognise and have always made it plain that the Armed Forces’ organisation, skills, equipment, talent and training make them an extremely valuable national resource. There is nothing in the regulations that takes away from that; far to the contrary. They have a well established, flexible command-and-control structure, and are well integrated in our planning and thinking. Emergency regulations can authorise the Defence Council to deploy the Armed Forces, which enables emergency regulations clearly to delineate the uses to which the Armed Forces can be put in any emergency. Perhaps it is worth saying that it might be necessary to confer additional powers on members of the Armed Forces where their use in an emergency was considered appropriate. The system works well. The military understands its role and when it is required, and we already have in place well honed arrangements for that involvement.