What Price Emergency Planning? Local Authority Civil Protection in the UK

The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) will have far-reaching effects on government departments and on local government. Terms such as 'best value', 'bench-marking' and 'national performance standards' are now being used to describe the way in which local authority accountability and efficiency are to be tackled and improved. The local authorities' emergency planning function is no exception to this process. This article explores the present status of local authority emergency planning and examines the suggestions currently being made for its future structure and funding.