Preparing for the worst
Established to improve Scotland’s response to a major incident, the
Civil Contingencies Unit within the Scottish Executive understands
that good communication is vital.
Earlier this year Barkers was asked to review communications and current relationships to ensure that any issues were identified now rather than during a major incident.
A thorough review of the plans, a consideration of possible risks, alongside discussions with key stakeholders allowed us to identify a number of potential issues. This research has formed the basis of further discussion and a number of new communication initiatives.
With increasingly extreme weather, the potential outbreak of an influenza pandemic and new terrorist threats, the Government has a key role in supporting local responders. Our earlier work and the growing importance of preparing for emergencies has led to the secondment of a senior member of the Barkers Public Relations team to work with the Scottish Executive for an 18-month period.
They will work on a range of projects looking at how the Scottish Executive can improve its own processes but also how the various agencies can work together to meet the new obligations under the Civil Contingencies Act.