A councillor’s guide to civil resilience

Purpose of this guidance for senior councillors

This section offers practical advice for senior councillors with executive responsibilities (council leaders, executive mayors, cabinet members, and committee chairs) on their role in supporting civil resilience.

While the division of responsibilities will differ between councils based on local governance structures and portfolio allocations, it is essential that there is clarity on who leads what. These responsibilities may also need to be revised during emergencies, depending on the scale, nature, and evolving circumstances of the incident.

Political administrations are encouraged to agree on default arrangements for civil resilience roles and decision-making in advance - recognising that these may need to adapt during emergency response and recovery phases.

To be effective in these roles, senior councillors should be supported through training and development programmes. This ensures they understand their duties and have the confidence, skills, and knowledge needed to lead the political response during civil emergencies.

Summary of senior councillors' role in civil resilience

Although the operational delivery of civil resilience is led by council officers, senior councillors play a vital role in providing political leadership within and beyond their councils throughout all phases of emergency management - preparation, response, and recovery.

Ensuring preparedness

Senior councillors are responsible for:

• Setting strategic direction by making policy and funding decisions to ensure the council:
  • contributes effectively to the work of the Local Resilience Forum (LRF);
  • is prepared to respond to emergencies that may affect communities or disrupt essential services.
• Providing oversight and assurance that emergency planning and business continuity arrangements are robust and fit for purpose.

During response

Senior councillors are responsible for:

• maintaining visible civic leadership and supporting officers, while engaging and reassuring local communities
• engaging with senior external stakeholders - particularly local, regional, and national political figures

During recovery

In the recovery phase, senior councillors should:

• continue to provide visible and proactive civic leadership;
• advocate for additional resources where needed to support recovery efforts;
• oversee the delivery of recovery plans to ensure transparency, effectiveness, and alignment with community needs;
• champion reflection and learning, promoting a culture of open review within the council and across partner organisations to identify lessons and ensure improvements are implemented and shared.

Senior councillor's role in preparedness

Being personally prepared

There is a strong link between individual preparedness and the overall effectiveness of a council's response to and recovery from emergencies.

While preparedness relies on many organisational factors, one of the most critical is that both officers and councillors understand their roles - and have the confidence, skills, and support needed to carry them out effectively. Where this has not been the case, councils have at times struggled to meet the needs of their communities at crucial moments

For this reason, all councillors - and especially those in senior roles - should take personal responsibility for ensuring they are well prepared. Senior councillors should lead by example and encourage a culture of readiness by doing the following:

• Familiarise themselves fully with this guidance;
• understand the guidance for ward councillors, recognising that their civic leadership role complements that of their councillor colleagues, and that they also serve as ward representatives;
• have an awareness of the council's key emergency and business continuity plans, and how they relate to the council's wider resilience arrangements;
• attend relevant training sessions and exercises to build understanding and confidence in their role during emergencies;
• participate in multi-agency exercises and simulations, alongside officers and partner organisations, to test and develop practical readiness in a controlled environment;
• keep a copy of headline emergency response guidance (such as the Aide Memoire on page 15) accessible at all times and have access to key emergency and business continuity plans - including out-of-hours.

Internal political leadership responsibilities

Senior elected members play a vital role in ensuring that their councils are well prepared to meet the challenges of major emergencies. As the most senior politicians, Leaders/executive mayors should work closely with Chief Executives, their most senior officer counterparts, to ensure mutual understanding of their respective roles and how these complement one another.

While it is essential to maintain a clear distinction between the political leadership provided by the Leader or Mayor and the operational leadership exercised by the Chief Executive, a strong and well-understood interface between the two is crucial for aligning strategy, governance, and delivery during both preparedness and response phases.

Working with officers as appropriate, Leaders/Mayors, and Cabinet members should:

• assign lead political responsibility for civil resilience to a single Cabinet member. This could be retained by the Leader/Mayor or delegated to another Cabinet colleague - what matters is that there is clarity over who holds this responsibility;
• designate a senior officer with lead managerial responsibility for civil resilience within the council's scheme of delegation;
• establish and publish a civil resilience policy framework that aligns with any multi-agency/local resilience forum plans, setting out the council's responsibilities and arrangements. This demonstrates transparency and provides a clear foundation for preparedness;
• ensure that appropriate funding is allocated within the council's budget to support delivery of the resilience framework;
• put in place urgent decision-making arrangements for emergency situations. These should allow officers to take decisions quickly - including those that would ordinarily require cabinet or committee approval - through clearly delegated authority;
• secure assurance that the council is prepared for major emergencies and has effective business continuity plans in place. This can be achieved through:
  • regular internal reporting to Cabinet;
  • inclusion of preparedness in scrutiny committee work programmes;
  • external assurance mechanisms, such as peer review.

In addition, Leaders/Mayors should consider issuing a joint statement of commitment with other political group leaders, reinforcing the expectation that all councillors - regardless of political affiliation - contribute actively to the council's preparedness. Such cross-party statements send a powerful message that civil resilience is a shared, non-partisan responsibility.

The Cabinet Member with portfolio responsibility for civil resilience preparedness (or appropriate committee chair) should:

• Build a strong working relationship with the designated lead officer for civil resilience;
• engage with officers to understand key risks facing the community, including emerging threats identified through horizon scanning;
• gain assurance that effective communication plans are in place for internal and external audiences during emergency response and recovery;
• support and enable ward councillors to contribute to preparedness and business continuity assurance processes;
• confirm that local businesses have access to up-to-date business continuity advice and that good practice is being actively promoted;
• ensure that public information is available to raise awareness of local risks and the roles of agencies in managing them;
• support ward councillors in their local leadership role for building community resilience.

External political leadership responsibilities

In addition to their leadership responsibilities within their own authorities, Leaders/executive Mayors also have a vital role to play in shaping the wider political environment for civil resilience. By demonstrating strong external leadership and a collaborative approach alongside other senior political figures, they can help build the conditions necessary for effective multi-agency working and foster constructive relationships with political counterparts beyond their own council.

Investing in these relationships - particularly in the context of preparedness - can generate significant benefits during emergency response and recovery, when joined-up political engagement is often essential.

To strengthen preparedness, senior councillors should:

• secure assurance on the performance of local resilience forums. Senior councillors should collaborate with elected representatives who hold political oversight for other Category one responder organisations - including councillors from neighbouring authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners, and Fire Authority members - to establish appropriate governance arrangements. These arrangements should enable ongoing monitoring and influence over the performance of Local Resilience Forums, ensuring they remain effective, accountable, and aligned with local needs;
• establish direct contact with other council leaders and executive mayors. Exchanging contact information in advance enables high-level political dialogue to take place quickly and effectively during major incidents, helping to align cross-borough leadership and engagement when required;
• engage proactively with local Members of Parliament (MPs). While MPs have no formal powers under the Civil Contingencies Act, they are likely to be actively involved when emergencies affect their constituents. Leaders/ executive mayors should therefore initiate discussions with local MPs to:
  • acknowledge their legitimate representative role in emergencies;
  • explore how MPs can contribute constructively during response and recovery;
  • agree protocols that support coordination while protecting the integrity of the operational response.

Senior councillor's role in response

When a major emergency occurs, the leadership of senior politicians comes under immediate public and organisational scrutiny. Communities will naturally look to senior councillors for visible civic leadership and reassurance. Internally, councillors and officers alike expect senior politicians to guide the political response while enabling officers to focus on managing the operational demands of the situation.

Internal Political Leadership Responsibilities

Senior politicians should work closely with their Chief Executive (or the duty Gold officer, i.e. the senior officer who is leading the council's strategic response) from the outset of a major incident. Upon becoming aware of an emergency, Leaders/executive mayors should seek an initial briefing as soon as operational priorities allow, agree on urgent actions, and establish regular communication. While officers lead the operational response, close coordination between political and managerial leadership ensures a shared, up-to-date understanding of events and supports aligned decision-making.

Given the variation in the scale, complexity, and impact of emergencies, Leaders/executive mayors should decide how best to allocate political responsibilities among Cabinet members. Key considerations include:

• civic leadership role. By default, the Leader/executive mayor is the public face of the council during emergencies. However, if they are unavailable or if another Cabinet member has relevant portfolio responsibility, this role may be delegated accordingly. What matters is that a clear spokesperson is identified;
• business-as-usual leadership. Emergencies can demand the full attention of the Leader/executive mayor, especially during the response phase. In such cases, another Cabinet member should be assigned to lead on routine council business, ensuring continuity of governance;
• political leadership of recovery. Local authorities typically assume lead responsibility for recovery. As a result, good practice will see officers commencing work on recovery whilst the operational response is ongoing for the following reasons:
  • the response phase - even for major emergencies - can be relatively short in duration. Where this is the case, local authorities will be assigned responsibility for leading a potentially-significant recovery operation at short notice and need to be ready to do so;
  • recovery operations can be complex, protracted and resource intensive. They are also likely to attract a high-level of scrutiny. As a result, the sooner resources are assigned to developing a recovery strategy and associated action plans, the better.

As with response phase, all operational aspects of recovery are led by officers. However, this work benefits hugely from being supported and enhanced by strong and effective political leadership. To ensure a coordinated and accountable recovery effort, political leadership should be established from the outset - ideally from the moment recovery planning begins.Leaders/executive mayors should therefore assign Cabinet-level political responsibility for recovery as early as possible. This enables clear political oversight, visible leadership, and alignment with the council's broader recovery goals from the beginning of the process.

• ward councillor engagement. Ward councillors play a crucial role as both community representatives and local leaders. To support and coordinate their involvement, the Leader/executive mayor should appoint a Cabinet member to act as the political liaison for all member-related activity during the response phase. This creates a clear channel for communication, direction, and support.

Once the political responsibilities above have been allocated, Leaders/executive mayors should ensure the following actions are taken:

• Councillor briefings. Confirm that arrangements are in place to brief all councillors regularly. Even when information is limited or sensitive, providing updates - even if only to say there is no new information - is critical to prevent councillors feeling isolated or uninformed;
• business continuity. Ensure that the council's business continuity plans are being implemented to maintain delivery of essential services;
• staff and partner support. Provide visible support and encouragement to staff, volunteers, and partners. This includes:
  • issuing messages of thanks via communications teams;
  • making in-person visits to rest centres, control rooms, or other response sites;
  • acknowledging the pressures and long hours many will be working under;
• spontaneous volunteers. Ensure you are briefed on the management of spontaneous volunteers. While well-intentioned, unmanaged volunteer activity can hinder operational response and damage reputations if expectations are not met. Senior politicians should help promote a coordinated and respectful approach;
• record keeping for post-incident review. Maintain a personal log of key actions and events you were involved in during the response. Post-incident scrutiny - including debriefs, inquests, or public inquiries - is almost inevitable. Senior councillors may be called upon to account for their actions and share recollections months or even years later. A written record will support transparency and accuracy, and contribute to the wider lessons learned process.

The structured approach outlined above ensures that political leadership is visible, strategic, and effectively aligned with the council's operational response. It also reinforces public confidence in the council's ability to lead during a crisis and lays the groundwork for an effective transition to recovery.

External political leadership during the response phase

During the response to a major incident, senior councillors have a vital external leadership role, both as visible civic figures and as senior political representatives of their council. This leadership should be exercised in coordination with officers, the communications team, and wider political and public stakeholders. Key considerations include:

• acting as the public face of the council. Working closely with the council's communications team, Leaders/executive mayors should act as the primary spokesperson for the local authority. A key component of civic leadership during emergencies is the thoughtful and strategic use of communications to inform, reassure, and engage communities, as well as to correct mis/disinformation. This requires a clear communications strategy that:
  • uses multiple channels to reach diverse audiences (such as social media, local radio, newsletters, community forums);
  • matches appropriate messengers to different messages and audiences;
  • provides accurate, consistent, and timely updates to build public trust

The Leader/executive mayor should be clearly positioned as the trusted, authoritative voice of the council during this period.

• Meeting with government ministers. During the response to a major emergency, government ministers may seek to meet with senior councillors to gain first-hand insight into the local situation, ensure coordination between national and local efforts, and identify any immediate needs for additional resources or support. Equally, senior councillors may wish to initiate meetings with ministers to escalate critical issues, request specific interventions, or influence decisions that affect their communities. Such engagement helps maintain consistent public messaging, supports visible and accountable leadership, and enables joint planning for the transition from response to recovery;
• representing the council during VIP visits. Major incidents often attract visits from VIPs, such as Government ministers, sometimes at short notice. While these visits can offer visibility and support, they need to be handled sensitively to:
  • avoid disruption to the operational response;
  • respect the needs and emotions of affected communities.

Leaders/executive mayors play a key role in both managing these visits and representing the council. They should liaise with the Chief Executive to assess operational impact and use local intelligence, including feedback from ward councillors, to shape and inform the tone and timing of VIP engagements.

• Liaison with other affected councils. If the incident spans multiple councils, Leaders/executive mayors should consider initiating direct communication with their counterparts to:
  • share information and political perspectives;
  • coordinate public messaging;
  • promote a consistent and collaborative civic response;
• engagement with local MPs. MPs whose constituencies are affected will understandably wish to engage with the emergency response. Leaders/executive mayors should proactively:
  • initiate dialogue with relevant MPs;
  • acknowledge their representative role and offer appropriate opportunities to support community engagement;
  • gently remind them of the need to avoid becoming involved in operational matters, ensuring that professional responders can work without disruption;
• liaison with Combined Authority Mayors. In the event of a major emergency happening in an area with combined authority arrangements in place, the Combined Authority Mayor may take on a prominent civil leadership role. Local political leaders should be prepared to engage with the Mayor's office, ensuring that area-wide messaging and support are coordinated with the efforts of council-level leadership;
• representing the council in requests for urgent financial assistance. While councils hold contingency reserves to meet the immediate costs of emergency response, some incidents may exceed available resources. In such cases, Leaders/executive mayors should be prepared to lead representations to Government to request emergency financial assistance. This includes:
  • presenting a clear, evidence-based case;
  • articulating the impact of the emergency on local communities and services;
  • highlighting the council's own response efforts and financial commitments;
  • explaining why it is not feasible for the council to wait and claim costs back under the Bellwin scheme in the longer term.

The external leadership role outlined above is central to reinforcing public confidence, maintaining political cohesion, and ensuring that the council's voice is heard in regional and national decision-making during times of crisis.

Senior councillors' role during recovery

Recovery from a major emergency places local political leadership under sustained scrutiny. The recovery phase is typically led by the council and can be lengthy, complex, resource-intensive and sensitive. It requires clear governance, strong partnerships, and consistent civic leadership.

While operational delivery remains the responsibility of officers, councillors-particularly those in leadership roles-should provide political oversight, set the tone for recovery, and maintain trust with communities and stakeholders

Internal political leadership during recovery

Councillors in leadership positions should ensure that the council's governance arrangements support effective recovery. This includes:

• Establishing clear governance: Work with senior officers to agree internal governance and delivery structures. These may need to be adapted to meet the scale of recovery, while maintaining core services;
• securing assurance: Confirm that a recovery strategy is in place, underpinned by a detailed, costed, and time-bound action plan. While the Recovery Coordinating Group (RCG) oversees delivery, senior councillors should remain assured that the strategy is robust, realistic and on track;
• communicating internally: Ensure regular updates are provided to all councillors and staff. This promotes shared understanding, reinforces key messages, and visibly recognises the work of those contributing to recovery;
• involving communities and the voluntary sector: Confirm that local organisations and residents are meaningfully engaged in recovery planning and delivery, and that their input is respected and acted upon;
• monitoring communications and engagement: Ensure that communities, businesses, council staff and members remain informed of recovery plans and progress;
• championing learning and improvement: Set an example by supporting honest reflection and review. Demonstrate a commitment to identifying and acting on lessons learned, internally and with partners.

External political leadership during recovery

Senior councillors should remain visible and engaged throughout the recovery phase. While media and public attention may decline after the immediate response, the recovery journey-for affected residents and businesses-is equally, if not more, significant. Recovery often involves helping communities adjust to a new and different 'normal'.

When approached with care, openness and ambition, recovery can strengthen trust between councils and the communities they serve. It offers a chance not just to restore, but to improve. However, if recovery is poorly led or under-prioritised, trust can quickly erode, leaving councils vulnerable to criticism and heightened external scrutiny.

This means:

• Maintaining visibility: Attend public meetings, visit affected areas, and engage with residents and businesses to provide reassurance and listen to concerns;
• championing inclusive recovery: Recovery should be shaped with communities, not imposed on them. Support active engagement by local people, working alongside ward councillors to make this a reality;
• keeping communities informed: Once plans are published, provide regular, honest progress updates. This demonstrates delivery against commitments, builds and sustains trust, and counters risks associated with the circulation of mis/disinformation from other sources;
• engaging other political stakeholders: Liaise with MPs, Government Ministers, and regional figures (such as combined authority mayors) to align political support and manage expectations;
• making the case for funding: Councils are expected to bear recovery costs, except in exceptional circumstances. Where external funding is possible, senior councillors should help make the case, supported by evidence from officers;
• supporting disaster funds: Where charitable disaster funds are established, democratic oversight may be needed. Senior councillors may act as trustees or advisors to ensure funds are distributed fairly and transparently;
• attending memorial events: If lives have been lost, it is important for civic leaders to attend remembrance services as appropriate. Sensitivity to the wishes of bereaved families and organisers should guide councillors' involvement.

By maintaining visible, engaged and consistent political leadership, councillors help shape recovery that is inclusive, credible, and capable of restoring confidence and resilience across communities.