Commentary on Sections Section 2: Duty to assess, plan and advise
16.Subsection (1) imposes a series of duties on Category 1 responders in relation to contingency planning. In broad terms, these duties require Category 1 responders to assess the risk of an emergency occurring, to maintain plans to respond to an emergency, to publish the assessments and plans in so far as this is necessary or desirable to deal with an emergency and to maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise members of the public in the event of an emergency.
17.Subsection (2) provides that the duties under subsection (1) only apply in relation to an emergency if the emergency would be likely seriously to obstruct a Category 1 responder in the performance of its functions or the responder would be unable to take action in relation to the emergency without changing the deployment of its resources or acquiring additional responses. One effect of this provision is that whether the contingency planning duties of a Category 1 responder apply in relation to an emergency of a particular kind will depend upon the functions of the particular Category 1 responder and the way in which the responder exercises those functions.
18.Subsections (3) and (4) enable the Minister of the Crown and, in relation to certain Category 1 responders in Scotland (those listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 – “Scottish Category 1 responders”), the Scottish Ministers, to make regulations about the extent of a duty under subsection (1) and the manner in which such a duty is to be performed.
19.Subsection (5) specifies particular provisions which may be included in regulations under subsection (3). The list of provisions is not exhaustive. In particular, the effect of paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (5) is that regulations under subsection (3) may cut back the extent of a duty imposed by subsection (1). Paragraphs (h) and (i) enable regulations to impose duties on Category 2 responders to co-operate with, or to provide information to, Category 1 responders in connection with the performance of a duty under subsection (1). Paragraph (k) enables regulations to be made which require Category 1 responders to have regard to the activities of voluntary organisations when performing their duty to maintain plans.
20.Subsection (6) provides that subsection (5) has effect in relation to subsection (4) (regulations made by Scottish Ministers), subject to certain modifications.