Clause 1 - Meaning of ''emergency''
Civil Contingencies Bill
9:45 am
Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire, Conservative)
This is a series of probing amendments designed to test the differences in the two definitions of an ''emergency'' that appear in the Bill: here in clause 1 and later in clause 18. During pre-legislative scrutiny and in discussion and consultation, the Government have moved a long way, and it is right to give credit for the improvements made in the Bill. The other criticism, which we have made forcefully, is that there has been a delay in bringing forward the Bill— by the time this Bill receives its Royal Assent it will be about three years since the events of 11 September 2001. That is too long a delay, so although one gives credit for consultation, discussion and pre-legislative scrutiny, on balance the Government's performance has been sluggish.
We must look at the two parts of the Bill and the definitions concerned. Part 1 deals with county councils, other local authorities and services, and their duties as responders to assess, plan and advise, give help to business and prepare for an emergency. That is at a local level. Part 2 deals with the use of emergency
powers to make emergency regulations for a very wide range of serious measures, such as confiscation and destruction of property and prohibitions on movement.
In clause 1(1) the definition of an ''emergency'' is an event or situation that threatens serious damage to human welfare, or the environment or security of a place in the United Kingdom, or the security of the United Kingdom itself. This concept of ''a place'' is central to the definition in clause 1. The clause then goes on to describe how an event may damage human welfare and deals with the issues that we will discuss in due course.
The bodies that have to assess, plan or advise cover different sizes of areas. For example, the definition covers a county council, which can cover millions of people over many square miles, a district council, which may have perhaps 100,000 or more residents over a smaller area, and health bodies, whose areas can be of all sizes. The amendments ask what, in this context, is the meaning of
''a place in the United Kingdom''.
Does it include, say, the whole of Hertfordshire or Essex? Does it include a city? The responders for London, say, seem to be the boroughs, but some of the other areas concerned seem to be of a variable size.
In clause 18 the emergency must be in a part or a region of the United Kingdom. A part of the UK seems to be a country, such as England or Scotland, and a region is defined as a region for regional development agency purposes. Will the Minister explain at this early stage the structure that underpins those definitions? How will planning advice and so on be undertaken for cities, regions and parts? If a large county council is planning for, say, 3 million people, why is that dealt with differently from a city with a similar population, or is it not? It would be helpful if the Minister could explain that.
To put it into perspective, the Police Federation, which is used to dealing with this type of situation, said that it would like to see a rational organisational structure, so that it is clear where the responsibilities lie. It says that the Bill should
''Make clear and unambiguous issues pertaining to jurisdiction, remit, lines of control and lines of communication.''
It wants proper and effective co-ordination between public bodies and utilities and, as I said earlier, the full backing of the law, with the necessary powers to implement the measures.
We want the Minister to explain the various tiers. What is a place compared with a part or a region, and how does he see that working for cities, rural areas and the country as a whole?