Know your risks
The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) requires the Staffordshire Resilience Forum to produce a local Community Risk Register SRF Community Risk Register to allow you, as an individual and as part of the community and within your business, to be aware of local risks and thus prepare for emergencies.
To produce the Community Risk Register the Staffordshire Resilience Forum assesses and prioritises the local impacts of national risks identified through the UK’s National Risk Register, and other risks identified by partner organisations through incidents and exercises.
We do this on a quarterly basis, and will update the community risk register and the risk matrix (a colour-coded visual representation of the risks) as new risks are identified and assessed, and existing ones reviewed. You can read the current version of both by clicking on the links below:
The Community Risk Register covers all types of threats and hazards – it’s closely aligned to the UK National Risk Register, and identifies the plans and controls we have in place to protect the communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
There are also a number of nationally identified risks which, by their very nature, don’t directly related to Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and are therefore not included in the register. A good example of this is the risk of coastal flooding.
The risk rating process works as follows:
a. An assessment of the likelihood of an event occurring in Staffordshire over the next two years is given a score of one to five; one being the lowest (negligible) and five being the highest (probable).
b. The impact of an event occurring in the area is mapped against the impact on the health, social, economic and environmental aspects of our community. The scoring values are also one to five, with one being the lowest (limited) and five the highest (catastrophic).
Definitions
Hazard - an accidental or naturally occurring event or situation with the potential to cause physical (or psychological) harm to members of the community (including loss of life), damage or losses to property and/or disruption to the environment or to structures (economic, social, or political) upon which the community's way of life depends.
Threat - the deliberate / malicious intent to cause loss of life or create adverse consequences to human welfare, the environment or security of a place or the UK. (This includes causing disruption.)
Risk - measures the significance of potential emergencies, in terms of likelihood and impact in the context of the CCA.
Impact -measures the consequence of the event.
Likelihood - measures the probability and frequency of the event occurring in the next 5 years.The table below sets out the definitions of each level of risk and enables the reader to understand how the likelihood scoring has been assessed.
|
Score
|
Descriptor
|
Stated Chance in five years
|
Likelihood
|
|
1
|
Low
|
Between 1 in 20,000 and 1 in 2000
|
Negligible
|
|
2
|
Medium-low
|
Between 1 in 2000 and 1 in 200
|
Unlikely
|
|
3
|
Medium
|
Between 1 in 200 and 1 in 20
|
Possible
|
|
4
|
Medium-high
|
Between 1 in 20 and 1 in 2
|
Likely
|
|
5
|
High
|
1 in 2 or more
|
Probable
|
Using the 6 stage process as follows:
1. Contextualisation
This involves defining the nature and scope of the risk and agreeing how the risk management process will be undertaken.
2. Identify hazards & threats
- Physical-mechanical failings of structures.
- Environmental / natural-severe weather.
- Organisational / infrastructure - staff illness or loss of building.
- Social / community-loss of homes.
- Health (human & animal) -pandemics, foot & mouth.
- Technological-dam collapse, system failures.
3. Risk analysis
Assessing the likelihood of hazards occurring within the next five years, which is the timescale adopted nationally. This is done by considering the description of an outcome of an incident before assessing how likely an occurrence would be within this timescale. These assessments have been carried out by a small team of professionals from the Emergency Services, Environment Agency, Local Authorities, NHS and Civil Contingencies Unit in Staffordshire based on their experience and knowledge.
4. Risk evaluation
- Identify hazards & threats.
- Analyse the risks (evaluate them).
- Consider Historical data, national and regional risk assessments, statistical information, experience, enquiry reports and lessons learned.
View the Risk Matrix populated with the Staffordshire Risks.
5. Risk treatment
- Recognise/ develop plans for unacceptable risks.
- Test individual and multi agency plans and capabilities.
6. Monitoring and reviewing
In Staffordshire, the Community Risk Register is reviewed regularly and formally at least once every year. This ongoing process makes the Community Risk Register a living document and an ongoing project.
The risk process is used by the Staffordshire Resilience Forum to inform its multi-agency planning, training and exercise activity uses the risk process. This ensures partners can work together in the event of a risk being realised in an incident.