Aberdeenshire Community Resilience Strategy

Community Resilience Conference 2024

Thursday 3rd October 9.30-3.30

Holiday Inn, Westhill

The link to sign up this year’s Community Resilience Conference is here https://forms.office.com/e/Gn906P9Ry6

This year we will have a range of speakers in the morning including presentations from the Police, Met Office and SEPA, and presentations on communications, first aid and insurance.

In the afternoon we will have a Tabletop Exercise on a National Power Outage for Community Resilience Groups. There is information in the National Risk Register relating to UK wide power outage 2023_NATIONAL_RISK_REGISTER_NRR.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

We look forward to welcoming you on the 3rd October.

Starting on Monday, September 2, we will be releasing weekly communications on social media suggesting ways in which individuals, families and households can improve their resilience.

We will be signposting to resources which will enable people to prepare for emergencies in simple and cost-effective ways and would encourage sharing and reposting where you are able.

In line with the UK government Prepare - Prepare and Scottish Government Advice for emergencies in Scotland (ready.scot) messaging we will encourage preparedness and individual resilience for up to 72 hours wherever possible.

You will find our content on the council’s Facebook and X profiles, as well as internally on Viva Arcadia and Viva Engage. Please feel free to share the content to your own channels.

SSEN have released details of their Powering Communities to Net Zero Fund, more information can be found at the links below. The Fund will be open until 31st August 2024.

https://www.ssen.co.uk/news-views/2024/SSEN-opens-applications-for-new-3m-community-fund/

https://www.ssen.co.uk/about-ssen/our-communities/powering-communities-to-net-zero-fund/

The Aberdeenshire Community Resilience Framework has now been published and is available here Ready communities - Aberdeenshire Council

Alongside the framework document a series of advice notes and templates have been produced to provide the operational or technical detail for community resilience groups.

Aberdeenshire in common with many communities across the country has faced several significant crisis events over the last decade where our collective response has been challenged; Storms Desmond and Frank in late 2015 and early 2016, our response to significant global events such as COVID-19, the tragic train derailment in August 2020 and recent winter storms and disruptive weather events.

All of these events have the potential to impact on a community in both the long and short term. While each event is different, they all share common factors and can happen with or without warning. Emergency services and the council can be stretched with competing demands for resources; a willingness by many people, be they volunteers or responders, to step forward to help is vital.

The Aberdeenshire Community Resilience Framework is a positioning document outlining the roles and responsibilities of the Emergency Services, Aberdeenshire Council and Utility Services; and establishing how Community Resilience Groups can contribute safely and effectively to an emergency.

We aim to promote resilience through the Four C's of increasing capability and capacity and encouraging connectedness and co-operation between groups.

We also recognise that one size doesn't fit all and there is no ‘right’ way for a community resilience group to operate. Our principal role in the council is to remove obstacles to effective community resilience and signpost groups to opportunities.

The UK Government have just released their Prepare campaign. Visit Prepare - Prepare for their information on preparing for emergencies, being informed about hazards and getting involved in your community.

Thank you to all who responded to our Resilience - Your Priorities survey; one of the key issues to come out of that survey was concern around communications. We will be in touch in due course with more information about communications but in the meantime you may find this newsletter from the Digital Engagement Team interesting Digital Engagement Team Newsletter

We now have a date for the Community Resilience Conference 2024 - Thursday 3rd October 2024

Please hold the date and more information will follow in due course

We understand from your feedback that several Community Resilience Groups would like to access First Aid Training; please complete this short survey to give us some more information. It should only take 5-10 minutes of your time.

https://forms.office.com/e/HT2NNPKQs7

After the success of our first community resilience conference in October 2023 we are looking to hold another event in Autumn 2024. We are keen to reach as wide an audience as possible and are therefore seeking your views on the format of the event. Please complete the short survey below, it should take less than 5 minutes.

https://forms.office.com/e/d8zVA0UgQf

If you require a paper copy please contact us at riskandresilienceteam@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Ready Scotland have produced a document on Insurance and Health & Safety for Community Resilience Groups Ready Scotland Advice Note on Insurance and Health & Safety.

They have also developed training materials for groups to learn about emergency resilience Learn about Emergency Resilience