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​​Resilience​​​​​​​​​​​

Ensuring that the country is prepared to detect, prevent and respond with speed and certainty to major emergencies, including terrorist attacks, has become of the highest importance in recent years.

Recent events have prompted the Government to review and improve upon the UK's ability to respond to increased risks. This work involved a reappraisal of the response capacity and capabilities of the UK's emergency services. 

The Civil Resilience Directorate​ (CRD) was established in June 2003 to co-ordinate  resilience programmes. They work to ensure that the Fire and Rescue Service is equipped and trained for disaster of all kinds, and that locally and regionally all stakeholders are able to deal with speed and certainty to any live emergency.
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Protecting the communities and preparing for emergencies is an extremely important function of the Fire Service. To enable us to engage fully with all key organisations and industries, the Service is a key player in two Local Resilience Forums, Dyfed Powys and South Wales.



  • Dyfed-Powys Local Resilience Forum - Local Reslience Forums are co-terminus with police force boundaries. They are actively engaged with statutory bodies and volunteers throughout Wales to meet the challenges of the future through partnership and collaboration. For more information on the Police's local resilience forum. please click here​ 

  • ​​South Wales Local Resilience Forum - The South Wales Local Resilience Forum (LRF) ,chaired by the Chief Constable of South Wales Police, was established in 2004 as a requirement of the Civil Contingencies Act. The group had been operating since 1994 as the ​​​​South Wales Emergency Services Liaison Committee (SILVER & GOLD Groups). The original groups were established in recognition of the need for integrated emergency management procedures.

Risk assessments have been carried out to accommodate all possible scenarios which might warrant the need for a multi agency emergency response. Work has been undertaken to reduce and eliminate the risks and plans have been implemented for a response should the need arise.

The value of work carried out by the forums has been tested over the past year with some challenging exercises and significant incidents, including the Fforestfach fire, the Chevron explosion in Pembrokeshire and the Gleison mine incident in Neath.

The Welsh Assembly is represented within the UK Government in relation to civil protection. Both departments work closely together to ensure that UK civil protection policy and planning is tailored to Welsh needs. A dedicated team in the Welsh Assembly Government supports multi-agency co-operation in Wales on issues relating to civil protection and emergency preparedness.

As in England, Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) are the principle mechanism for multi-agency co-operation on civil protection issues. The respective Chief Constables presently chair the LRFs in Wales.

The Welsh Resilience Forum (WRF) provides a national forum for multi-agency strategic advice on civil protection and emergency planning. The forum meets quarterly and is chaired by the First Minister or the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration. Risk assessment at a pan-Wales level is undertaken by the Wales Risk Assessment Group reporting to the WRF.

A number of other groups in Wales provide forums for discussion and co-ordination on civil protection, including:

  •  Joint Emergency Services Group 

  •  Wales Media Emergency Forum

  •  Welsh Borders Resilience Group.

The following diagram illustrates the structure for resilience in Wales


​The events of September 11th led to a transformation in how UK Emergency Services and Agencies respond to large scale emergencies. New Dimension was designed to enable the Fire and Rescue Services in England to provide an effective response to large scale incidents of an international terrorist nature and to other challenges such as climate change and flooding.

In July 2001, the Government established the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS). The aim of the CCS was to ensure the UK's resilience on every level against disruptive challenges through working with other stakeholders to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond, and recover. This is achieved through effective partnership engagement with key organisations and across regions. A well equipped, well trained and well motivated Fire and Rescue Service is essential to the success of delivering resilience in England and Wales.​