The below statement has been provided in response to the recent and ongoing violence in several towns and cities across the country.
Alex Woodman – Executive Director and Chief Fire Officer, Community Protection
Hertfordshire County Council
Dear colleagues,
Yesterday afternoon, in response to the recent and ongoing violence in several towns and cities across the country, I stood up our Strategic Coordination Group (SCG) and chaired a meeting of our Incident Management Team (IMT). I have taken the decision to stand up this response not in response to any increased threat level in Hertfordshire, but in recognition that there has been a potential gap in information which may have caused worry and concern across our shared workforce regarding the possibility of protests in Hertfordshire.
At a meeting of the SCG at 17:30 on the 6th August, police colleagues confirmed that there is no increased threat level in Hertfordshire. Whilst there is no known police intelligence that such conflict and violence will occur in Hertfordshire, clearly we all need to remain alert and prepared. In response to this, I continue to work closely with our partners across the county, including Hertfordshire Police, to put in place the necessary resources and plans to deal with any potential issues, and to provide reassurance for our residents and staff.
In being prepared for any potential incidents in Hertfordshire, please can I share the following advice to our care providers:
- Business continuity plan Review your business continuity plans including comms cascades. Be sure that they are up to date and known to any new members of staff. If a situation arises which impacts on your ability to safely deliver commissioned care you must notify your designated contract manager or commissioning lead. Please don’t forget that the HCPA Business Development team can support you with your business continuity plans, click here for more information about this service.
- Empowering managers Remind your managers that if they have any concerns about an emerging risk, they are fully empowered to take decisions to ensure staff wellbeing and safety is safeguarded, but also report any intelligence to the police. This can be done via the non-emergency number 101 or, where there is a crime in progress, call 999. Also, please do remind them that it is business as usual in the meantime and we will update you should that change.
- Compassionate leadership taking time to listen and reassure staff who have specific concerns and sign posting where necessary (see further support available)
- Lone working For staff who are lone working, ensure that they are aware of your lone working policy and that arrangements are in place for workers to inform you of their whereabouts and for you to be alerted if they have not arrived at expected destinations in a timely way.
- Restate our collective condemnation of hate, racism, discrimination in all its forms and reassure staff who are uncertain at this time. As an organisation HCC is working hard with our partners to make Hertfordshire a safe and inclusive county, but there is still a way to go before we reach this goal. Our RISE values are integral to this, and our commitment to work together with integrity and champion equality and fairness remains as strong as ever.
Further support available:
Any colleague who experiences offensive, discriminatory, or bullying behaviours is urged to report them immediately to your line manager and providers should raise these with their designated contract manager or commissioning lead.
You can find details of how to report a hate crime to the Police on the Herts Against Hate website How to report a hate crime (hertsagainsthate.org) – you can do this directly, through a third party or anonymously.
For information about support for anyone impacted by violence against women and girls please visit Herts Sunflower.
Do you need help with your BCP? If so contact HCPA now.
HCPA’s BCP service enables you to create a robust BCP in readiness for any emergency or threat your business may face, and offers one-to-one support, which is proactive, solution focused, and tailored to meet your business requirements. We provide an easy-to-use BCP Planning Toolkit which identifies key areas to be covered – with key insights from HCC.
This is a free service for HCPA members and you will receive 8 sessions with weekly or fortnightly support and guidance to help you through to completion of your plan. There is also an option to work your way through the toolkit more independently with the guidance of 8 recorded guidance session. Click here to find out more about this service.
Thank you for your ongoing support at this time and please be assured that I will continue to provide regular and timely updates as necessary.
Alex
Alex Woodman – Executive Director and Chief Fire Officer, Community Protection
Hertfordshire County Council