Agenda item

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Contact Officer, telephone number and email: Alison Sayer, Resilience Manager, 01263 516269, alison.sayer@north-norfolk.gov.uk.

The RM introduced the report and noted that it had been an exceptionally busy year for the Team with multiple incidents, in addition to the continued response to Covid-19. It was reported that the Council remained an active member of the Norfolk Resilience Forum (NRF), with annual contributions paid to facilitate the Council’s response to incidents as a category one first responder, under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The RM noted that the Council’s annual contribution remained at £2386, in addition to a £1200 contribution made to the British Red Cross (BRC), which allowed reserve staff to be called upon when required. She added that there had been a recent amendment to the BRC memorandum of understanding, known as the Emergency Response Cooperation Agreement, though this had not impacted the Council’s contribution.

The RM reported that there had been a reinvigoration of the Sea Palling Flood Warden Liaison Group, and also that the Environment Agency (EA) had recently confirmed that information provided by the river and coastal Senior Flood Wardens had been valuable. It was noted that the EA would be reviewing their alert thresholds in Bacton and Walcott as a result of the impact of the Sandscaping Scheme.

In relation to the EU exit transition, it was reported that the Council had appointed the Head of Economic and Community Development as lead officer. On Covid-19 the RM noted that Gold and Silver command meetings continued, with information provided to and from the NRF. In addition to these key issues, there had been a significant increase in severe weather incidents, in a trend that could be set to continue as a result of the effects of climate change. It was noted that the EA had reduced its flood alerts on Norfolk rivers as a response to the increased demands of Covid-19, though these had now been reinstated at the request of the Council.

On business continuity plans, the RM reported that the Council had 28 in total, of which 14 were for teams undertaking NNDC critical activities, with a recovery time objective of 48 hours or less. It was noted that these plans were considered current, if they had been reviewed within the last 12 months. The RM stated that GRAC had agreed a target for at least 85% of these plans be up to date, though it was noteworthy that 100% of the critical plans had been reviewed within the last 12 months. It was reported that there was no target for non-critical plans, but 79% of plans were up to date overall, and it was expected that reviews following completion of the management restructure would increase this percentage.

In conclusion, the RM stated that Covid-19, the transition of exiting the EU and increased severe weather events would continue to test the Council resources, but the Team continued to work hard to meet demands.

Questions and Discussion

   i.          Cllr C Cushing asked whether there had been any specific lessons learnt from the events of the year, to which the RM replied that communications could always be improved, and having the Council Leader on the Gold command group had facilitated excellent Member involvement in decision making.

  ii.          Cllr H Blathwayt referred to a recent press article on the overtopping of riverbanks, and asked whether the RM had any comment. The RM replied that she was in communication with the EA on the issue who were working hard to find a solution to telemetry on the River Thurne, though the Council was to some extent reliant on information from the network of senior flood wardens to provide frequent updates in specific areas.

iii.          Cllr P Butikofer referred to the memorandum of understanding with the BRC and asked whether the new agreement had been signed. He then asked whether representatives from the Norfolk Rivers and Internal Drainage Boards could be invited to NRF meetings, and whether the sand spread at Walcott had been mentioned in the report. The RM replied that on the memorandum, the BRC had recently changed its working practices, and it was anticipated that the agreement would be signed once it was confirmed that support would still be provided for severe weather events. In respect of inviting further representatives NRF meetings, it was suggested that this could be explored if they were not already represented. On the sand spread issues at Walcott, it was noted that this was mentioned briefly in the report, and there had been a full NRF debrief as a result of the incident, though a report was still forthcoming.

iv.          The Chairman referred to a flood warning on the river Wensum in Fakenham, and suggested that this was likely the result of leaves causing drainage issues, and asked whether there had been any discussion with NCC to have this resolved. The RM replied that she was not aware of any such drainage investigations taking place in that area. The Chairman replied that he had been informed of the issue by the Fire Service, and asked whether the matter could be followed-up. Cllr L Withington stated that Sheringham had suffered similar drainage issues, and noted that it had taken considerable effort to have them cleared. The RM noted that there had been a change in the way highways services were run which had caused some issues, and stated that she would speak to Highways to try and ensure future incidents were avoided.

RESOLVED

To note the report.