Clause 1 - Meaning of ''emergency''
Civil Contingencies Bill
10:00 am
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley, Conservative)
I, too, rise to speak in favour of the amendment, because I also seek clarification from the Minister. I want to find out exactly what
''a place in the United Kingdom''
means and what sort of emergency might occur in a place as opposed to a region or a city, a town or a village. Does he have in mind a train accident, of which, sadly, we have had too many in the past?
I assume that, although the emergency services would be used—as they are now, and they do a tremendous job—a train accident would not require a state of emergency to be called. The current legislation already deals with such a scenario and through existing regulations the emergency services already know exactly what to do.