User:Robevans123/sandbox/Gwent Local Resilience Forum

The Gwent Local Resilience Forum (GLRF), also known as Gwent LRF, is the Local Resilience Forum for the Gwent Police police area; a partnership of agencies responsible for coordinating emergency planning and response for the area, in south-east Wales, as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

The forum is made up of the local authority councils, emergency services, health authorities, the Welsh Government and national agencies with responsibilities in the area. The forum also includes utility and transport agencies and companies, and works closely with voluntary organisations.

Formation
Gwent LRF was formed in October 2004, as required by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, and was based on the Gwent Authorities Emergency Planning and Liaison Group (silver and gold groups) which were formed in 1994.

The forum was chaired by the Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Carmel Napier, from 2011 to 2013, and is now chaired by the current Chief Constable, Jeff Farrar. The headquarters of the forum are at Gwent Police Headquarters in Croesyceiliog in Torfaen.

Area covered
The Gwent police area covers the areas of five principal (local authority) councils: Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly County Borough, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen, in south-east Wales.

The area includes:
 * a number of major transport routes and locations including the M4 and M48 motorways, the A449 and A465 major roads, Newport Docks, and the South Wales and Marches railway lines
 * a variety of industries including steelworks and chemical plants
 * the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels, areas of low lying land on the north bank of the Severn Estuary

Responsibilities
Every Local Resilience Forum has a duty, under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to:
 * assess the risk of major emergencies and maintain a community risk register
 * maintain emergency plans, including reducing and mitigating emergencies, and planning response and recovery when emergencies occur
 * develop and maintain business continuity plans to ensure that businesses can continue to function in the event of an emergency
 * communicate with the public
 * promote business continuity
 * share information between the different partners of the forum
 * co-operate between the different public, private and voluntary agencies or organisations involved

The latest version of the UK National Risk Register (2015) identified three classes of risk that should be assessed and, if necessary, planned for:
 * Natural hazards - including human diseases, flooding, poor air quality events, volcanic hazards, severe space weather, severe weather, severe wildfires, and animal diseases
 * Major accidents including - major industrial accidents, widespread electricity failure, major transport accidents, disruptive industrial action, and widespread public disorder
 * Terrorist and other malicious attacks - including attacks on crowded places, attacks on infrastructure, attacks on transport systems, unconventional terrorist attacks, and cyber attacks.