In October 1999, the Home Office issued the Standards for Civil Protection in England and Wales. Wakefield Council welcomed the Government's initiative to set out, for the first time, a series of standards which Local Authorities should strive to meet.

The first standard was that Local Authorities should have a public statement that explains its emergency planning objectives/strategy. The Council has adopted the following public statement.

"The City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council is required, under legislation, to undertake certain duties in the event of an emergency and to plan for such eventualities. However, the statutory requirements are limited* and the Council's view is that to ensure the safety and well being of the residents of the District, a comprehensive emergency planning and response capability will be maintained, both corporately and within individual Services."

Essentially, this will include the maintenance and enhancement of existing emergency response procedures and ensuring that all relevant staff are fully aware of their responsibilities by regular training and exercises, both within the Authority and jointly with other organisations. This will be achieved by the preparation of an emergency planning improvement plan with progress being reviewed annually.

Emergency planning cannot be carried out in isolation and, therefore, emphasis will be placed on existing links with other organisations through the West Yorkshire Emergency Planning Officers' Forum and other similar bodies.

* Since that time, the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004 has been enacted