Improving London’s resilience – what role do local authorities play?
Sixteen homes were destroyed in Havering on July 19 last year when a wildfire spread to the village of Wennington, forcing people to evacuate their homes while roughly 100 firefighters tackled the blaze.
Video footage captured the fire ripping through homes in Wennington, on the day that London recorded record-breaking 40C temperatures.
How did the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and Havering Council respond to this major incident? How did London’s Resilience Forum support the Council? And what lessons have been learned?
For the second of two meetings on London’s resilience and emergency planning, the London Assembly Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee will meet tomorrow to examine the role of local boroughs in London’s resilience.
It will also examine the government’s response to recommendations made by the Manchester Arena Inquiry and proposals for legislative change to the Civil Contingences Act 2004, which sets out a framework for emergency preparedness in the UK.
The guests are:
Panel One – Legislative and guidance change
- Baroness Twycross, Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience
- Toby Gould, Interim Head of London Resilience Group
- Jo Gillespie, Deputy Director, Resilience and Emergency Division, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
- Colin Payne, Head of Strategy, Resilience and Recovery, DLUHC
- Jonathan Smith, Deputy Commissioner, LFB
Panel Two – Local authority role in London’s resilience and emergency planning
- Baroness Twycross, Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience
- Toby Gould, Interim Head of London Resilience Group
- Jonathan Smith, Deputy Commissioner, LFB
- Stuart Love, Chief Executive Officer of Westminster Council, Co-Chair Local Authority Panel, London Resilience Forum
- Andrew Blake-Herbert, Chief Executive Officer, Havering Council
The meeting will take place on Tuesday 7 March 2023 from 10am, in The Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
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Notes to editors
- Read the agenda papers.
- Anne Clarke AM, Chair of the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee, is available for interview.
- Find out more about the work of the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more information, please contact Emma Bowden in the Assembly Media Office on 07849 303897. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer.