Resources

These guidance documents will assist Colleges and Support Services with the development of their local business continuity arrangements.

• Business Continuity Planning Checklist

Responsibilities

Incident Response Team

Led by a Support Services Director – Estates Director for a building-related incident, Director of Student Affairs if student welfare-related will:

• Inform University senior management about the incident;
• Provide an immediate response to the incident;
• Call in staff and resources from elsewhere in the University and deploy them as required;
• Liaise with and take advice from the emergency services;
• Obtain details of any injuries and provide next of kin details;
• Initiate actions to safeguard the immediate safety and welfare of staff and students involved in or affect by the incident (eg provide shelter, catering, support);
• Keep the Communications Team informed about the incident;
• Assess damage and contact insurers/loss adjusters if necessary;
• Provide information to the Emergency Management Team.

College/School Staff

Until College Recovery Teams are formed, will:

• Work under the direction of the Incident Response Team in providing an immediate response to the incident;
• As necessary, ensure that other members of staff know about the incident and are on standby ready to assist if required.

Emergency Management Team

Led by Secretary to the University or Senior Vice Principal will:

• Receive reports on the incident from the Incident Response Team and consider the consequences for the University;
• Agree the strategy for communicating information about the incident to interested parties both inside and outside the University and decide whether an emergency telephone helpline should be set up;
• Determine what support needs to be provided for staff, students and others affected by the incident (including staff who are handling the response to the incident);
• Identify key business functions disrupted by the incident and agree recovery priorities for those functions;
• Set up recovery teams as required and prioritise resources needed for recovery.

Emergency Communications Team

Led by Head of Communications will:

• Communicate information about the incident to all interested parties including staff, students, families of those affected by the incident, media and the local community.

College Recovery Teams

Led by Heads of College will:

• Initiate actions to recover key business functions which are the responsibility of the College;
• Liaise with the Emergency Communications Team in providing information to staff, students and others;
• Report to and act under the direction of the Emergency Management Team.

Admin Recovery Teams

Led by Heads of Section will:

• Initiate actions to recover key business functions which support the Colleges;
• Report to and act under the direction of the Emergency Management Team.

Causes of Disruption

1 Buildings and Contents

• Fire
• Building collapse
• Flood
• Utility failure (electricity, water, gas, steam)
• Heating breakdown
• Release of hazardous substance
• Security alert
• Civil disorder
• Terrorist threat
• Vandalism to buildings

2 IT and Communications

• IT failure – hardware, software and malicious attack
• Telephone failure
• Successful virus or malware attack
• Malicious internal staff attack
• Loss of personalised / sensitive data

3 People

• Absence/resignations of key people
• Disruption to local transport
• Extreme weather
• Natural disasters
• Infectious disease – Pandemic
• Criminal actions of key staff or students

4 Suppliers

• Failure of key supplier – supply of product and / or political need to cease usage quickly.
• Failure of key supply chain
• Failure of IT outsource organisation