Plan and manage the response to incidents and emergencies in the land-based sector

This standard is about preparing for, and resolving, incidents and emergencies within the land-based sector using an incident management system. It provides a structured, tiered approach to the response and incident management activities, using an all-hazards, all risks approach. This standard describes responding to incidents at the operational, tactical and strategic levels as well as the processes and functions of incident management.

This standard is intended as the overarching incident management standard and will be applicable across all types of incident and emergency in the land-based sector.

This standard applies to all staff who have overall responsibility to provide functions and leadership as part of any response, across all incident and emergency types, using an incident management system.

1. demonstrate personal resilience and self-discipline to meet the demands of incident and emergency management
2. implement dynamic or analytical risk assessments to identify the likelihood and severity of incidents that could occur in your area of responsibility
3. implement preparedness and prevention measures to minimise or remove the risk of possible incidents
4. use the key principles of incident management to prepare incident management and contingency plans for the response to incidents and emergencies in your area of responsibility
5. promote personal and organisational preparedness in advance, to ensure operational readiness using training and exercises
6. obtain and analyse the available information and intelligence to inform decision making, in accordance with organisational requirements
7. make critical decisions based on the best available information and the key principles of incident management in accordance with organisational requirements and policy 
8. initiate and manage an appropriate and effective response at the early stage of an incident or emergency
9. establish and communicate the aim, objectives and strategy for dealing with the incident or emergency in accordance with organisational requirements, and create an incident action plan
10. establish and implement the appropriate level of management team for the incident or emergency, planning for predicted escalation and including all relevant functions in the management team structure
11. confirm that options, decisions, rationale and actions are fully logged and recorded in accordance with organisational requirements
12. establish effective communications with all those involved in the response to the incident or emergency
13. work effectively in co-operation with partner organisations at a multi-agency level, in accordance with the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles
14. confirm that safety procedures are in place to establish a safe scheme of work for all personnel attending the incident or emergency at all times
15. obtain and provide technical and professional advice from suitable sources, such as subject matter advisors, to inform decision making in accordance with organisational requirements 
16. review the needs of the incident or emergency and the scale of required resources and ensure their availability
17. continually monitor the incident management structure and the functions in use to ensure it changes to reflect the developing incident or emergency, as necessary  
18. establish information sharing with partner agencies and confirm that relevant organisations have sufficient, accurate and timely information to enable effective co-ordination of response activities
19. begin planning for the recovery phase of the incident or emergency at the earliest opportunity by creating medium and long-term priorities in accordance with organisational requirements 
20. evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and tactics implemented during the incident or emergency response and use this information to identify learning and inform future practice
21. confirm that a thorough investigation of the cause of the incident or emergency is carried out and is used to confirm or improve prevention and preparedness activities  
22. ensure the provision of continued support for individuals adversely affected by incidents or emergencies in accordance with organisational requirements 

1. your own personal leadership style and your impact on others
2. how to get the best out of personnel and create a high-performing team
3. your own personal resilience and that of your team
4. the principles and practice of your organisation’s risk assessment process within the incident management system
5. how prevention and preparation activities such as training and exercises support the incident and emergency response
6. the incident management systems used by your organisation
7. other current, relevant legislation, policies, procedures, codes of practice and guidelines in relation to the incident and emergency response in your area of responsibility
8. how to gather and analyse information and intelligence on a reported incident or emergency to inform critical decision making and develop situational awareness
9. how to develop and implement an effective incident action plan 
10. the use of pre-existing incident and emergency plans
11. the response activities that occur at operational, tactical and strategic level and how these interact together
12. the various roles and functions that can be implemented in the incident management team depending on need
13. how to establish an effective and appropriate incident management team structure to meet the needs of the plan
14. how to effectively task individuals and teams to carry out the functions and activities required in the incident action plan
15. the roles and responsibilities of partner organisations involved in response and recovery  
16. the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles  
17. how to engage effectively in the multi-agency process
18. how to review the effectiveness of the incident action plan and update or vary it in response to changing situations or emerging information  
19. the availability of the relevant resources and how to access further support
20. the financial arrangements that need to be in place for responding to incidents and emergencies 
21. the sources of specialist, technical and other advice 
22. how to develop a communications plan and implement effective communications with all those involved in the response to the incident or emergency
23. how to assess the potential impacts of incidents and emergencies on communities and the environment 
24. why recovery operations should commence during the response phase in order to achieve maximum benefit
25. how to ensure the provision of continued support for individuals affected by incidents and emergencies  
26. the purpose and benefits of logging and recording information and the records that must be kept after an incident or emergency
27. how to identify improvements and lessons learned after an incident or emergency and how to use these to inform organisational practice

Emergency: an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous event or situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or the environment and requires immediate action. An event or situation that threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK, or the security of the UK or of a place in the UK.

Incident: an unintended event or situation that disturbs normal operations and requires a response from the emergency services or other responders. An incident can be defined as minor, moderate or major with a range of impacts on the organisation, sector, environment and people.

Incident Action Plan: contains key information about the incident, the Incident Controller’s aims and objectives and is their plan for resolving the incident.

Incident Management System: an approved systematic approach to incident management.

JESIP: Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles. The principles for the emergency services to undertake their individual roles within common themes for joint working.

Operational Level: general definition relating to emergency services and other agencies including FC actions undertaken in response to an incident. The base level (below tactical level) at which the management of “hands-on” work is undertaken at the incident site or associated areas. 

Strategic Level: the level (above tactical level and operational level) at which policy, strategy and the overall response framework are established and managed. Often referred to as Gold.

Tactical Level: (below strategic level and above operational level) at which the response to an emergency is managed.  The terms Tactical and Silver are frequently used interchangeably for single agency operations.

SFJCCAG1 Respond to emergencies as a part of a multi-agency response at the strategic (gold) level

SFJCCAG2 Respond to emergencies at the tactical (silver) level

SFJCCAG3 Respond to emergencies at the operational (bronze) level

LANCS10 Manage the initial response to incidents and emergencies in the land-based sector

LANCS11 Respond to incidents and emergencies in the land-based sector

SKASS24 Manage initial response to a significant or major incident and plan for resilience

CCSVO14 Respond to incidents and emergencies

LANCS103 Manage Plant Health Incidents

LANCS102 Respond to Plant Health Incidents