Continuity Forum - News

Urgent and fundamental changes needed for UK flood planning – PITT Review

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:00:09 +0200

UK Flooding Risk and BCM

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - news - General

Pitt Review places BCM at the heart of National prevention and management Strategy

Sir Michael Pitt, who has led the independent review commissioned by the government following widespread flooding last year, has made more than 90 recommendations in his final report published today (25/06/08). Throughout the final report, Business Continuity Management is cited as a primary means of establishing a far higher capability.

The submission made by the Continuity Forum has been reflected in key recommendations made by Sir Michael with all of the measures and proposals by the Continuity Forum being recommended to government by the review team. Stressing the urgent need for much better communication, alignment and consistency of planning across government agencies and business the review repeats the calls of the Continuity Forum for greater transparency, clarity and commitment.

The review comes out strongly in favour of Business Continuity Management as a primary tool in developing both proactive and effective procedures across the UK and spanning both the public and private sector. Key amongst these are reaffirming the role of Local Authorities in promoting Business Continuity and ensuring that measures available are extended into areas often neglected, such as planning consent and local resilience strategies.

The report also recommends that a National Resilience Group is formed to focus, manage and provide leadership across UK planning.

One of the key proposals of the Continuity Forum was to formally recognise the British Standard for Business Continuity (BS25999) and extend its adoption through updating the current Civil Contingencies Act legislation to be the baseline standard for the public sector and public utilities.

Despite opposition from some quarters, this recommendation has been fully adopted and presents a major opportunity to considerably improve both the focus and commitment on BCM in organisations of all types across the UK.

Chairman of the Continuity Forum, Russell Price, commenting on the reviews finding says "The strength of support for BCM and particularly for BS25999 from Sir Michael and the review team is very encouraging. We have long known that despite the work of many in the industry a lot more needs to be done to really embed a BCM culture into organisations.”

Continuing, Price says “ … the report states a third of our utilities are not even testing their plans and the risks they are taking cascade to affect us all. Planning is currently inconsistent and much of the necessary communication and alignment of planning is missing… we really have to do better. By supporting and fully implementing the recommendations of the Pitt Review, government has the opportunity to transform the resilience to diverse threats, not just flood risk. The long term payoff for our communities and organisations could be huge, it just needs the government to act now.”

Over the course of the past 10 months, the review has examined the circumstances surrounding the serious flooding that occurred in the summer of 2007.

The Interim report published in December 2007 and making 15 urgent recommendations was accepted in full by Hilary Benn for the Government. This was followed in April by a commentary, explaining how progress was being made against the recommendations. The ‘report card’ was mixed at best. In May, over 1000 critical sites were identified as being seriously at risk. The consultation process during the review has been extensive both in the public and private sector. The Continuity Forum contributed to the review providing background information, research and expertise directly to the Review team.

The Continuity Forum, in association with the Cabinet Office, will be holding a Special Risks Summit on Septmeber 26th addressing the issues raised by the Pitt Review.

For more information on the Special Risks Summit, please contact us directly HERE!

To download the Pitt Review please RIGHT CLICK on the links below and select 'save as':

Foreword and Executive Summary[PDF 43 pages, 1.9MB]

Section 1 - A summary of the 2007 flooding [PDF 22 pages, 565KB]

Section 2 - Knowing when and where it will flood [PDF 36 pages, 565KB]

Section 3 - Improved planning and reducing the risk of flooding and its impact [PDF 104 pages, 1.4MB]

Section 4 - Being rescued and cared for in an emergency [PDF 72 pages, 905KB]

Section 5 - Maintaining power and water supplies and protecting essential services [PDF 78 pages, 1.5MB]

Section 6 - Better advice and helping people to protect their families and homes [42 pages, 983KB]

Section 7 - Recovery [PDF 46 pages,
842KB]

Section 8 - Oversight, delivery and next steps [PDF 20 pages, 230KB]

Annexes [PDF 43 pages,
385KB]

An update of the Foresight Future Flooding 2004 qualitative risk analysis [PDF 159 pages, 1MB]

For more on flooding and the risks click the following links to the Environment Agency: UK FLOOD MAP and Environment Agency Flooding Advice

Environment Secretary promises 'action plan'

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:50:34 +0200

UK Flooding Risk and BCM

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - news - General

Government Minister responds to Pitt Review

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has pledged to introduce a "prioritised action plan" to improve flood protection which will be published in the autumn. Mr Benn was commenting on the official review by Sir Michael Pitt into last summer's devastating floods.

Think about DATA 2008 event

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:37:14 +0200

Think about DATA 2008

We would like to invite you to join IBM on Wednesday 25th June 2008 from 9:00 to 14:00 to consider how uncontrolled data growth, challenges in virtualised environments and risks to IT management processes can be addressed through integrated storage management. Think about Data 2008 is a free, morning workshop which provides an in-depth look at virtualisation techniques, how to optimise storage and data protection and integrate storage with IT systems management. The agenda is designed to address the challenges within a wide range of IT environments, from those just considering new storage management techniques to those where projects are in place or complete.

Agenda

Pandemic Preparedness Research

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:16:31 +0200

Continuity Forum Pandemic Research Q2/2008

Category Business Continuity Management research - BCM - BCM & Risk Management - General

Continuity Forum Pandemic preparedness research

The Continuity Forum is developing detailed information on the general preparedness of organisations for the potential impact of an Avian 'Flu Pandemic.

We are particularly interested in any specific planning you may have in place and whether or not your organisation has updated its BCM planning.

Your answers are confidential and no specific organisation will be identified through our research. We respect both your individual and organisations rights and once compiled the source data wll be destroyed.

The final summaries of our findings will give us excellent insight into the type and level of planning in place for a potential pandemic and this will be available to members, government and business.

We hope that you will be able to spend a few minutes to complete the survey and we would encourage you to share it with as many colleagues as possible.

Please remember that this survey is completely confidential and even our analysts will have no information identifying you directly.

The Summary research will be available from the Continuity Forum Website regularly so do please register on the site to receive automatic notification when these are released.

If you have any questions or would prefer to speak with us in person please contact us directly on 020 8993 1599.

Finally, please DO pass this survey on to colleagues (or any others involved in your pandemic planning or BCM process).

START PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS RESEARCH

UN expert raises concerns over pandemic threat

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:17:35 +0200

Pandemic Flu Threat increasing

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - H5N1 - Pandemic - General

The increasing international spread of Bird Flu adds to panedmic worries

The spread of bird flu from Asia to eastern Europe and west Africa has increased the chance that the virus will mutate and cause a pandemic among humans, the United Nations' expert on the disease has warned.

New BCM, Risk and Insurance service launched for SME's

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:33:26 +0200

Category Business Continuity New Products - BCM & Risk Management - BCIP - General

BCIP launch combined Planning and Insurance package for SME's

BCIP package helps SME’s mitigate business risks, keeps premiums to a minimum and delivers fast claim settlements

BCIP today announced the launch of its new combined risk management process and business insurance offering, which has been designed by the company’s seasoned team of insurance executives, to cater for the specific insurance and business continuity needs of the UK’s SME community.

BCIP’s offering is unique in the UK marketplace as it proactively encourages companies to take an honest and detailed look at potential operational risks and then provides a series of recommendations, following a detailed site visit, to help mitigate them. Once the suggestions have been reviewed, BCIP may provide the client with access to appropriate and competitive insurance tailored to the business and its risk-managed status underwritten at Lloyd’s.

BCIP believes that Companies that act on their business continuity and risk management advice are less likely to have to make a claim as more of their risks will have been assessed and managed. Through BCIP, the insurers also protect the Company’s cash flow, to support continued trading, by an initial on-account claim payment of up to 50% of the business interruption sum insured, 20% thereof within 14 days of the claim being reported.

The above protects clients against one of the greatest areas of vulnerability for SME’s - allowing continued trading and enabling a return to normal operations with the lowest amount of interruption.

Grant Elliott, Chief Executive of BCIP, comments; “Today’s launch heralds a new level of maturity in the corporate insurance market – helping SME’s take more control over their destiny by actively protecting against potential business risks, and rewarding them with competitive quotes, superior insurance protection and prompt claim settlement when they have the appropriate business continuity measures in place. We’ve seen similar initiatives
in consumer health insurance, where those who exercise regularly are rewarded with more relevant insurance and lower premiums. It’s all about taking a common-sense approach that creates a win-win environment for businesses, brokers and insurers.”

For more information, please visit http://www.bcip.co.uk

100's of critical sites vulnerable to flooding

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:34:55 +0200

UK Flooding Risk and BCM

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - news - General

Serious concerns over the flooding risk of hundreds of critical sites

Hundreds of UK power substations and water treatment plants are potentially at risk from flooding, a confidential government study suggests.

The BBC has reported that it has seen the conclusions of research commissioned after the devastating floods of 2007.

Business Continuity Management' Survey Finds Firms Over-optimistic

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:35:48 +0200

Marsh Report 2008 Business Continuity Research

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - Research - General

Organisations misleading themselves over effectiveness of BCM planning

April 1, 2008

A new survey from Marsh has determined that "many European firms are failing to overcome a 'perception gap' in their approach to business continuity management (BCM).

Marsh's latest research, The Upside to Business Continuity, examines the views and perceptions of Business Continuity and Risk Managers from organizations across Europe on issues relating to BCM. The survey consulted professionals from delegates attending the Business Continuity Expo, which is being held on the 2, 3 April at the ExCel Centre, clients of the British Standards Institute and members of London First.

New volunteer system to support local response against threats

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:55:40 +0200

BCM Security and Resilience new volunteer initiative

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - news - General - Continuity Forum

Government plans for new volunteer Army

21/03/2008

Gordon Brown wants tens of thousands of Britons to join a new volunteer force to help the Government respond and help tackle boost resources in handling threats to our communities from flooding right through to terrorism.

Serious Crime Chief warns of Cyber crime threat

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:01:04 +0100

Category Business Continuity Management BCM - Security - Cyber Crime - Advice - risk Management - Corporate Governance - Continuity Forum

Soca e-crime chief wants closer realtionship with business to combat cyber threat

14 March 2008

Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) Head of e-crime, Sharon Lemon, is warning that cyber crime is so widespread it features in nearly every criminal investigation. The Continuity Forum and City Police just a week ago broadcast the same warnings at the IT security threat briefing held in conjunction with IBM.

Government announce new Security and Resilience Strategy

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:56:31 +0100

BCM Security and Resilience new initiative

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - news - General

Government lays out plans to address national risks

Wednesday, 19 March 2008

Today Gordon Brown has set out plans to deal with national emergencies such as terror, disease pandemics and flooding.

In his statement to the House of Commons Mr Brown said the threats to Britain had "changed out of all recognition" in recent years and that strategy had to change accordingly.

Risky business: BCM 2008 report exposes vulnerability of organisations across the UK

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:41:26 +0100

BCM Report 2008 Business Continuity Research

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - Research - General

Risky business: report exposes vulnerability of organisations across the UK

UK plc failing to protect their people, property and data

The threat of disaster continues to hang over organisations across the UK, as many fail to provide adequate protection for their key assets. The latest annual report publised by the CMI and supported by the Cabinet Office and the Continuity Forum reveals that organisations recognise a need to guard against disruption and face increasing pressure to do so. However, attempts to protect ‘business operations’ are often haphazard and untested.

Complacency not caution

The survey, now in its ninth year, shows that only 47 per cent of organisations across the UK have a business continuity plan (BCP) – a figure that has barely changed since 2002 (45 per cent). Major differences also exist between organisation types, with BCPs most apparent in the public sector (62 per cent) and amongst listed companies (55 per cent), compared to only 40 per cent of private and voluntary organisations.

The low level of protection is surprising and suggests organisations are still only paying lip service to contingency planning. It comes, despite a significant majority of managers (76 per cent) reporting that business continuity is ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to their employer, with 66 per cent claiming responsibility for implementation rests at senior management level.

Pressure to protect

The study indicates, however, that employers are coming under increasing pressure to develop BCPs. Asked to identify what influenced the adoption of a business continuity management strategy, most respondents with a plan cited corporate governance as the key driver (60 per cent). Amongst PLCs, this figure rises to 76 per cent and is 69 per cent in the public sector.

Central Government was listed as the second highest driver (33 per cent) followed by customer demand (32 per cent). The results also show that calls for contingency planning are increasing from auditors (30 per cent, up from 24 per cent in 2007) and insurers (30 per cent, up from 28 per cent in 2007).

Bitter experience is also becoming a solid driver for business continuity planning. The survey indicates that 94 per cent of organisations which had invoked their plan in the past 12 months felt that it had been effective in reducing disruption.

Haphazard and untried

Yet, despite the obvious benefits, even those organisations adopting BCPs are haphazard in their approach. For example, only 29 per cent address the potential loss of people, but 35 per cent experienced disruption as a result of this in the past year. And, despite 73 per cent suggesting that ‘IT downtime’ would have a significant impact on costs and revenue, only 39 per cent of organisations focus on loss of technology.

Russell Price, chairman of the Continuity Forum says that "Whilst the benefits of BCM are very clear this research shows that far too few orgainsiations have really addressed the issue effectively and are facing much greater risks as a result. Continuing he states "Organisations without effective BCM procedures in place are exposing their investors, employees and customers to a lot of unneccessary risk and need to take a long look at themselves and their management values. In 21st century business these attitudes just are not acceptable."

Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, says: “Some hard questions need to be asked about why the mismatch between planning and protection is allowed to exist. It doesn’t matter whether the turbulent times we face are caused by economic or security concerns; the simple fact is that failing to provide safeguards for business operations does not make sense. The ability to manage risk is a critical skill and unless it is taken seriously businesses and jobs will remain at risk.”

Although there is some improvement, 33 per cent of organisations with a BCP still do not undertake any form of exercise to test their plan (down from 37 per cent, last year). A high proportion (78 per cent) of those who do exercise at least once each year said shortcomings had been revealed, enabling them to make improvements. However, 9 per cent admitted that no steps were taken to address the weaknesses that had been uncovered.

The evidence also suggests that staff training relating to BCPs remains limited. Among those with a BCP, 35 per cent include BCP training on induction courses (rising from 30 per cent in 2007). However, with an annual staff turnover rate of 12.9 per cent* there is a clear need for increased levels of training to build resilience.

Bruce Mann, Director of Civil Contingencies at the Cabinet Office, says: “Whilst this year’s survey shows organisations taking steps to improve their business continuity arrangements it also shows, starkly, that there is much more to be done. Too many organisations still do not have effective business continuity arrangements in place. This view is echoed by the findings from Sir Michael Pitt’s review of the 2007 floods. It is bad news for employees, shareholders, customers and communities. Lessons need to be learnt, and acted upon, to strengthen business and national resilience, as a whole.”

To download the Findings please click here

To download the Report in full please click HERE

INDEPENDENT REVIEW ISSUES CALL TO ACTION ON FLOOD RISK

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:27:40 +0100

Bird Flu

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - H5N1 - Pandemic - General

>“Despite the impressive efforts of emergency responders, much work needs to be done to avoid emergencies of the scale we witnessed this summer happening again.

The summer floods were a “wake-up call” for the country, says the interim report of the Independent Review commissioned by the Government to learn lessons from the events. It urges immediate action in a number of areas by government departments and agencies, local authorities and other stakeholders, as well as members of the public, to ensure we are not caught out again by events like the flooding of June and July.

The author of the independent Review, Sir Michael Pitt, one of the country’s most respected and experienced figures in local public service, was asked by Ministers in August to identify the lessons to be learned from the emergencies and to make recommendations that would help the country adapt and deal more effectively with flooding on the unprecedented level of last summer.

“The country was fortunate that the impact was not much more severe.”
Sir Michael Pitt, December 2007

The publication of the Review’s interim findings has three main objectives:

• To identify issues requiring urgent action;
• To set out the direction for the remainder of the Review; and
• To provide a document for consultation prior to publication of the final report next summer.

The Review makes 15 “urgent recommendations” to be implemented as soon as possible to reduce the impact of any flooding that might occur in the near future. These cover the areas of managing flood risk, groundwater monitoring, local and national planning and response, public information, and public preparedness.

Additionally, the Review draws 72 interim conclusions, awaiting further information and evidence before being put forward in firm recommendations next summer.

The report is written from the standpoint of flood victims, highlighting the devastation to lives and livelihoods and the necessity for the authorities to reduce the risk and impact of future events. It includes contributions from affected communities and businesses, and key stakeholders, such as the emergency services, local authorities, and public and regulatory bodies.

Sir Michael personally visited many of the flooded areas – including Doncaster and Sheffield, Hull and East Riding, Barnsley and Rotherham, and Gloucester and Tewkesbury – meeting members of the public affected by the emergencies, as well as representatives from the emergency services, local authorities and other local organisations.
The floods were the result of the wettest summer since records began, and were of a different scale and type to previous events – the majority being due to surface water flooding, for which no warning system was in place – with drainage systems being overwhelmed.

It could have been even worse. “The country was fortunate that the impact of the emergencies were not much more severe,” says Sir Michael. Several major disasters were only narrowly averted. For example, had Walham electricity switching station near Gloucester failed, 500,000 people would have been without power. Better protection for critical infrastructure and national communications installations is among the Review’s key interim recommendations.

Overall, the Review finds that the Government responded well to the emergencies, with effective collaboration between departments and agencies. However, Sir Michael concludes that the country was not as well prepared as it should have been. He warns that “flood risk is here to stay,” and the signs are that similar extreme events are likely, underlining the need for better preparation.

Flooding is a national issue, and the Review says the Government must take the lead in making the case for adapting to climate change, particularly in reducing the potential impacts on communities. A clear strategy and action plan should be developed to deliver the provisions of the Climate Change Bill and support adaptation to more frequent extremes of weather. Flood legislation should be streamlined and updated to clarify responsibilities, address all sources of flooding, and reflect the modern, risk-management approach.

With around two-thirds of the floods caused by surface water, there needs to be a new emphasis on guarding against this type of flooding. Sir Michael says the Environment Agency is best placed to develop a national approach to managing surface water flood risk, including development of surface water mapping and warning tools; and it should no longer be a right of householders and businesses to lay impermeable surfaces as they wish.

Sir Michael also calls for stronger local leadership and forward planning. He found there was no clear allocation of responsibilities at the local level for assessing the possible impact of severe weather or for triggering the appropriate multi-agency response. He recommends that “upper-tier” local authorities lead the planning for weather emergencies, and that the police be responsible for co-ordinating the emergency response.

The interim report makes the following “urgent recommendations”:

REC 1 – The Review recommends that more frequent and systematic monitoring of groundwater levels at times of high risk should be undertaken by the Environment Agency, which should begin as soon as possible to predict and mitigate further serious ground water flooding from this winter onwards.

REC 2 – The Review recommends that the Environment Agency, supported by local authorities and water companies, should urgently identify areas at highest risk from
surface water flooding where known, inform Local Resilience Forums and take steps to identify remaining high risk areas over the coming months.

REC 3 – The Review recommends that the Environment Agency should urgently develop and implement a clear policy on the use of temporary and demountable defences.

REC 4 – The Review recommends that all Local Resilience Forums urgently review their current local arrangements for water rescue to consider whether they are adequate in light of the summer’s events and their local community risk registers.

REC 5 – The Review recommends that all Local Resilience Forums should undertake an urgent review of designated rest centres and other major facilities to ensure either that they have the necessary levels of resilience to enable them to be used in the response to flooding and other major emergencies, or that alternative arrangements are put in place.

REC 6 – The Review recommends that the Cabinet Office, with other departments, should urgently consider the costs, benefits and feasibility of establishing arrangements for the urgent acquisition of supplies during a major emergency, including the use of call-off contracts or the creation of national or regional stockpiles of equipment and consumables.

REC 7 – The Review recommends that Department of Health guidance clarifying the role and accountabilities of organisations involved in providing scientific and technical advice during a major incident should be implemented as soon as possible and understood by Gold Commanders.

REC 8 – The Review recommends that the guidance currently under preparation by Cabinet Office to provide local responders with advice on the definition and identification of vulnerable people and on planning to support them in an emergency should be issued urgently.

REC 9 – The review recommends that, in order to effectively fulfil its Lead Department role for flood risk management and emergency response, Defra needs to urgently develop and share a national flood emergency framework.

REC 10 – The Review recommends that Category 1 responders should be urgently provided with a detailed assessment of critical infrastructure in their areas to enable them to assess its vulnerability to flooding.

REC 11 – The Review recommends that the Environment Agency should work urgently with telecommunications companies, consulting the Information Commissioner as necessary to facilitate the roll-out of ‘opt-out’ telephone flood warning schemes to all homes and businesses liable to flooding, including homes with ex-directory numbers.

REC 12 – The Review recommends that Local Resilience Forums urgently develop plans to enhance flood warnings through ‘door-knocking’ by local authorities based on an assessment of the post code areas likely to flood.

REC 13 – The Review recommends that Local Resilience Forums urgently make arrangements to involve local media representatives in the local preparedness and response to support their public information role.

REC 14 – The Review recommends that members of the public make up a flood kit – including key personal documents, insurance policy, emergency contact numbers (including local council, emergency services and Floodline – 0845 988 1188), torch, battery or wind-up radio, mobile phone, rubber gloves, wet wipes or antibacterial hand gel, first aid kit and blankets.

REC 15 – The Review recommends that members of the public increase their
personal state of readiness and resilience to floods by following the Environment Agency’s practical advice, where appropriate, as summarised below:

o Make sure you have adequate insurance. Flood damage is included in most buildings insurance policies but do check your home and contents are covered;

o Access the Environment Agency’s website to check flood risks to property (this can be followed up by advice from the Environment Agency, for example whether the property in question is protected to some degree by physical defences);

o Contact the Environment Agency to be registered on their Flood Warnings Direct scheme (however, it does not apply to surface water or sewerage flooding and people should also make sure they remain alert to weather forecasts);

o Keep vital possessions, such as financial and legal documents and items of sentimental value, upstairs or stored as high as possible in waterproof containers and have plans in place to move items at short notice;

o Make a list of other useful numbers you may need – your local council, the emergency services and your Floodline quick-dial number.

o Make sure you know where to turn off your gas, electricity and water. If you are not sure, ask the person who checks your meter when they next visit. Mark the tap or switch with a sticker to help you remember.

4. The consultation period on the Interim Report recommendations will run from January to March 2008. Consultation activities are likely to include:

• Public meetings in affected areas.
• A call for written submissions from stakeholders
• E-consultation via the Pitt Review web site: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thepittreview.aspx
• Practitioner Panels or Industry-Government Forums

To download the interim Findings and recommendations in ful please click here

To download the interim Findings and recommendations in full please click HERE

Lloyd’s underwriters share their views on emerging risk

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:11:43 +0100

Risk and Insurance

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - General

Corporate liability is a key risk facing the insurance industry

February 2008

The instability of global financial markets is the single factor which will most impact the insurance industry during 2008: this is one of the key findings of the Lloyd’s annual underwriters survey. The survey asked 138 Lloyd’s underwriters questions about working in the Lloyd’s environment, including what emerging risks will most challenge the insurance industry over the coming year.

Bird Flu Continues March 4 Years Later

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:57:16 +0100

GP's and Pandemic Flu

Category Business Continuity Management Briefing BCM - BCM & Risk Management - H5N1 - Pandemic - General

Fears of a global bird flu pandemic that once dominated headlines have largely vanished in the West, but four years after the virus began ravaging Asian poultry, it continues to quietly spread.

Most global health officials continue to warn that the virus could morph into a disease as threatening to people as it is to chickens. Although a few are now calling the risk "overestimated," recent developments raise new concerns: