About us

Merseyside Resilience Forum (MRF)

MRF Logo

The Merseyside Resilience Forum (MRF) is a multi-agency partnership made up of all the organisations needed to prepare for and respond to any emergency in the county. We started in 2005 after the Government issued a law called the Civil Contingencies Act.

This section outlines the roles and responsibilities of the agencies and sectors that are likely to become engaged in the response to emergencies at the local level. The Civil Contingencies Act splits responders into two categories and imposes different duties on each.

Further details can be obtained by clicking on each agencies logo which will direct to their website.

Category 1 Responders

british transport police

The British Transport Police (BTP) are the national police force for the railways. They would deal with an emergency on the railway infrastructure. Their aim is to keep you safe and make you feel secure while you travel.

environment agency

The aim of the Environment is to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development. In an emergency they have many roles including preventing the impact of the incident, investigating the cause and restoring the environment.

 

martime & coastguard agency

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) aims to prevent the loss of life on the coast and at sea. In an emergency they would also initiate and co-ordinate civil maritime search and rescue.

 

mersey fire & rescue

In an emergency Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have roles such as rescuing people who may be trapped, preventing further escalation of an incident, dealing with chemicals or other contaminants in order to make the site safe as well as assisting other agencies.

 

Merseyside Local Authorities

knowsleyliverpool council   sefton council       sthelens council       wirral council

The primary roles of the Merseyside Local Authorities in an emergency are to look after the survivors and their families, both long term and short term, as well as site safety and the recovery of the communities and sites afterwards. They also provide assistance to many other agencies, including warning and informing the public of all phases of an incident.

  

merseyside police

Merseyside Police co-ordinate the activities of those responding to a land-based sudden impact emergency, at and around the scene in most cases. There primary roles are to save and protect life, ensure the scene is preserved for subsequent enquiries, to establish and maintain cordons in addition to processing casualties.

 

nhs

NHS England (Merseyside) Area Team assess the initial information received in respect of a significant emergency and determine the appropriate initial course of action to be taken; they co-ordinate the wider NHS response.

 

 Cheshire & Merseyside ICB

Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) supports NHS England as required and continually assesses the continuity of patient care in their commissioned services during an emergency.

 

north west ambulence service

The primary role of North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) is to save life. They also aim to protect the health, safety and welfare of all on site staff, alert the ‘receiving’ hospitals, instigate a triage process followed by treatment and transport of casualties.

  

         Port Health Authority

The Mersey Port Health Authority aids in the control of infectious disease, environmental protection, imported food control and hygiene on vessels. They work closely with Public Health England, Food Standards Agency, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other agencies.

   

UKHSA

The UK Health Security Agency's primary duty is to protect the public from infectious diseases and environmental hazards.

 

Category 2 Responders

 

 bt

British Telecom (BT) is the major provider of telecommunications networks and services in the UK. They provide services to corporate and public-sector customers.

  

  

hse

HSE has a 24/7 response to incidents that includes a decision maker who will assess the initial incident and determine HSE's approach and what resources it can provide such as relevant specialists or technical advice.  

 

National Highways

The government company charged with driving forward our motorways and major A roads. This includes modernising and maintaining the highways, as well as manning the network and keeping traffic moving.

 

liverpool airport

The primary role of Liverpool John Lennon Airport in an emergency is to respond to aviation emergencies within and in close proximity to the airfield.

 

 

Met Office

The Met Office is the national meteorological service for the UK. They provide critical weather services and world-leading climate science, helping to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive.

 

 

merseyrail

The primary roles of Merseyrail Electrics are to provide a level and speed of response appropriate to the circumstances of all accidents, incidents and emergencies as they affect Merseyrail.

  

 

merseytravel

Overall Merseytravel are responsible for co-ordinating local passenger transport including Merseyrail, Mersey Tunnels and Mersey Ferries. They also provide transport to support Category 1 Responders in certain circumstances in an emergency e.g. mass evacuation.

 

 national grid

National Grid maintain the flow through the Electricity and Gas Transmission Systems and attend to emergency events affecting the Gas and Electricity Transmission System.

 

 

network rail

Network Rail lead the rail industry response to a major incident and restore the railway infrastructure when required.

  

 

 SP Energy Networks

SP Energy Networks own and operate the electricity transmission and distribution network in Merseyside. The primary roles of SP Energy Networks in an emergency are to restore service in accordance with their existing emergency plans.

 

 

Coal Authority

 

The Coal Authority manages the effects of past coal mining, including subsidence damage claims which are not the responsibility of licensed coal mine operators. It deals with mine water pollution and other mining legacy issues.  It also owns, on behalf of the country, the majority of the coal in Britain, and licenses coal mining.

 

 

united utilities

United Utilities supplies water and wastewater; in an emergency assist in ways such as alerting other agencies of any incidents, providing mutual aid and alternative water supplies.

 

Other Agencies

 

army

The Armed Forces’ national structure, organisation, skills, equipment and training can be of benefit to the civil authorities in managing the response to and recovery from emergencies. This support is governed by the Military Aid to the Civil Authority (MACA) arrangements. Reserves can be deployed alongside regular service personnel.

 

DLUHC

In the event of an emergency, DLUHC will immediately take steps to ensure that they can provide support to the local emergency response, where necessary and as appropriate.

 

 mersey tunnel police

The primary roles of Mersey Tunnels Police is to police the two Mersey tunnels. In an emergency their role is to ultimately protect life as well as preserve scenes, gather evidence and provide assistance to other agencies.

 

port of liverpool police

The Port of Liverpool Police have the responsibility of policing the Liverpool, Bootle, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port and Eastham Dock Estates and Freeports, as well as the Manchester Ship Canal areas in the north west of England.

 

Third Sector (Humanitarian, Charity, Voluntary, Community and Faith Organisations & Groups)

The Third Sector can provide an extensive and diverse range of operational and support skills and services to statutory responders.

british red cross

In the event of an emergency, British Red Cross can provide assistance in many ways such as supporting responders, running a 24/7 emergency response and arranging or coordinating humanitarian assistance.

 churches together

In the event of an emergency, the Churches Together in the Merseyside Region can provide halls or premises, a ministry were required or may even be of help in a pastoral role.

 

 maritime voluntary service

In the event of an emergency, the Maritime Volunteer Service can provide resources, boats or equipment and will support teams in longer term operations.

 

raynet

RAYNET is a bespoke but flexible system to suit the requirement for local, national and international communications.

 

rotary international

Rotary International can provide assistance with marshalling, registration and befriending of survivors and evacuees in addition to assistance with relatives and friends of the victims.

 

royal voluntary service

The Royal Voluntary Service can provide a 24/7 emergency response, rest centres and food and refreshments in an emergency.

 

salvation army

In the event of an emergency, the Salvation Army aims to be of help in many aspects including reception centres/rest centres/mortuary support, chaplaincy/pastoral support and shelter/clothing provision.

 




We work together to make sure that we are prepared, that means that we are able to provide an effective response to emergency incidents which may affect you and to do this we will have:

  1. worked together to identify the risks that we all may face;
  2. worked together to write plans that will outline how we will effectively respond to any emergencies;
  3. trained together to make sure that we are able to respond;
  4. tested ourselves and our plans to make sure we can do what we say.

When we respond to an emergency we have common objectives and they are to:

  • save lives;
  • prevent the emergency from getting worse;
  • help those that are involved, for example by getting them medical help;
  • restore to normality as soon as possible;
  • protect property;
  • investigate the matter to establish how it happened and, if necessary, take action against anyone found to be responsible for causing the emergency to happen.

Our structure is very similar to what you will find within the majority of organisations, this is to help us prepare for and manage, control and co-ordinate our response to emergencies. This structure is set at three distinct levels:

  • Executive/Director level;
  • Management level;
  • Operational.

The aim of the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) was to provide modern legislation that would give responders a single framework for civil protection at a local level.  

  • Part 1 - focuses on local arrangements for civil protection, establishing a statutory framework of roles and responsibilities for local responders.
  • Part 2 - focuses on emergency powers, establishing a modern framework for the use of special legislative measures that might be necessary to deal with the effects of the most serious emergencies.

You can view a short guide to the Act or the full document by following the links below.

We want to provide you with information that will:

  • Prepare you: we will do this by making you more aware of the risks you may face and what you can do to prepare yourself, your family and friends in the event of an emergency occurring.
  • What we will do: we will do this by telling how we respond to these emergencies and what we to prepare ourselves to respond. This includes how we will provide you with information and advice, as necessary, at the time of an emergency.
  • Inform: provide you with relevant local information and easy access to our partner’s websites if you require more specific/detailed information.

We hope you will find this website of assistance and interest. Your feedback is important to help us provide you with what you need, both before, and if, an emergency occurs.