London Emergency Services Liaison Panel

The London Emergency Services Liaison Panel (LESLP) consists of representatives from the following agencies:

*Metropolitan Police Service
*London Fire Brigade
*City of London Police
*British Transport Police
*London Ambulance Service (NHS Trust)
*HM Coastguard(London)
*Port of London Authority
*All London Local Authorities

Established in 1973, the group meets once every three months and is chaired by the Metropolitan Police. The role of the LESLP is to establish the correct procedures for a collaborative approach to dealing with major incidents within London. A major incident could be anything from a terrorist attack to a natural disaster.

A revised version of the LESLP Manual (6th Edition)is now available from TSO.

Website www.leslp.gov.uk

Major Incident

A "major incident" is defined by LESLP as an "emergency (including known acts of terrorism) that requires implementation of special arrangements by one or all of the Emergency Services and will generally include the involvement, either directly or indirectly, of large numbers of people." This definition has been superseded by that given in the Civil Contingencies Act (2004).

An example of this is the instigation of the emergency system during the 7th July 2005 attacks on London.

Declaration

Major incidents can be declared by any officer of any of the Emergency Services, if they consider that any of the criteria listed in the definition of a major incident has been satisfied.

Even if the exact considered definition of a major incident differs between the various emergency service departments, each of the services must attend with an appropriate pre-determined response, even if they are simply to be deployed as a standby.

Stages

Major incidents are considered to have four stages, namely:

*Initial Response
*Consolidation Phase
*Recovery Phase
*Restoration of Normality

Co-ordinating Groups

In the event of a major incident, the formation of Gold and Silver co-ordinating groups will occur. These groups will be responsible for actions and co-ordination within their own spheres of activity.