Question
I very much welcome the Be Ready campaign today. This Government have been pushing for devolved responsibilities, particularly at the mayoral level, but in his statement today, the Minister made no mention of the vital role that local authorities can play. Could the Minister expand on the role of local authorities in community resilience and preparedness?
Answer
I think that is a little unfair, as I have been at pains to emphasise the important work that local authorities and local resilience forums do in that regard. That is certainly my view. We have been very careful to ensure that local authorities have been involved with the design of this campaign, and we have been in regular contact with the devolved Governments and the metro mayors. The hon. Lady’s fundamental point about the importance of local government is absolutely right. Local resilience forums, which have long championed the need for a campaign like this, do a really important job, and we will continue to work closely with them in its delivery.
Verdict: AMBER (35/100)
The reply acknowledges that local authorities and Local Resilience Forums do important preparedness work and describes their involvement in one specific campaign. It does not set out the Government's general view of their role in community resilience, which was the core of the question. Because the answer is only partly addressed and largely hedged, the person who asked would likely need to follow up for a clearer, more general statement.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What role does the Government see local authorities playing in community resilience and preparedness? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply says local authorities and LRFs do important resilience and preparedness work and names concrete involvement in designing and delivering a specific campaign, but it frames the role mainly around that campaign rather than setting out the Government's general view of their role in community resilience. |