Cabinet paper: Wales Resilience Framework and Delivery Plan

Cabinet is asked to:

• Agree the content of the Wales Resilience Framework (Doc 1)
• Agree the actions contained in the Wales Resilience Framework Delivery Plan (Doc 2)
• Note the intention to publish both documents on 13 May.

1. Following the civil contingencies review commissioned in 2023, the draft Wales Resilience Framework sets out our vision, expectations and how we, as a government, will continue to support responders and LRFs to deliver their statutory responsibilities and the broader civil contingencies agenda in order to strengthen Wales’ resilience against a rapidly evolving risk profile.

2. The framework has been developed in conjunction with emergency responders and Wales’ 4 LRFs, and is supported by a delivery plan, setting out the specific actions we and our partners will take to achieve the priorities and outcomes in the framework and help ensure resilience thinking is incorporated into all aspects of life and delivery of public services.

3. The primary responsibility of the Welsh Government is to keep the people of Wales safe. Protecting our communities from major emergencies and disruptive challenges requires a clear understanding of civil contingencies risks, proactive risk management, robust and clear preparedness arrangements, and effective response and recovery capabilities. We must prepare for, and work to mitigate, a wide and evolving range of public and animal health risks, natural hazards such as floods, landslides and drought, and terrorist and wider national security threats.

4. We have all witnessed the devastating impacts on our communities from the Covid 19 pandemic, and more recently, the damage wrought by Storms Bert and Darragh, and the impacts of water supply disruption in North Wales. The Welsh Government’s crisis management arrangements were activated on 30 separate occasions during 2024 to support the response to rising tide challenges and emergencies.

5. Learning from incidents and recent public inquiries, we have already taken significant steps to strengthen our approach to preparedness and response. There is, however, more we can do to provide strategic leadership to emergency responders and Local Resilience Forums (LRFs).

6. Last November, Cabinet endorsed the Wales Risk and Preparedness Register – a full analytical assessment of over 100 risks we face over the next 2 to 5 years. The risk register is now informing cross-government work and policy decisions on risk mitigation and preparedness, as well as helping to prioritise responders’ emergency planning, exercising and capability building work.

7. In addition to the development of the risk register, we have made significant progress in implementing lessons and recommendations arising from public inquiries including the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 1 report and the Manchester Arena Inquiry. The Permanent Secretary has strengthened our own resilience governance and oversight arrangements through the establishment of a dedicated Risk and Preparedness Committee. We have enhanced the Welsh Government’s crisis management machinery and, for the first time in 2024-2025, provided core funding to Wales’ four LRFs to coordinate multi-agency resilience work (as described in the Delivery Plan).

8. With the ever-evolving risk landscape, there is more we can do to ensure emergency responders and LRFS receive the necessary strategic support and direction to guide resilience work. I am therefore, intending to publish the Wales Resilience Framework and supporting Delivery Plan, to re-affirm our commitment to the agenda and set out strategic priorities and long-term outcomes.

9. The learning from recent incidents and inquiries, including Covid-19, Manchester Arena and Grenfell Tower have highlighted a clear need for enhancements across all areas of resilience to ensure consistency of approaches to emergency planning, response and recovery, streamlined structures and improved coordination of effort. The framework reflects this learning and confirms our approach to secure these improvements.

10. The framework reflects the blended competency for resilience in Wales. Cabinet will note that Welsh Ministers are responsible for exercising executive functions under Part 1 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 in devolved areas, such as health, fire and rescue services, environment, water and flood defence, while the UK government retains functions in Wales for reserved matters, such as policing, telecommunications, crime and public order, national security and energy supply. Any major emergency impacting Wales, however, is likely to affect, to some extent, devolved services and functions. The framework reflects the need to work in partnership with the responder community, the UK government and other devolved governments to ensure a joined-up coordinated approach to risk management, emergency planning and response.

11. Implementation of the Wales Resilience Framework will be supported by enhanced governance arrangements, led by the Wales Resilience Forum, to provide improved accountability and assurance.

12. Through the framework, the Welsh Government is advocating working towards a ‘whole-of-society’ approach, with a dedicated effort to promote community resilience and an improved focus on supporting vulnerable people during emergencies. The framework highlights the need for, and Welsh Government’s commitment to, partnership working, not only across Wales but also with partners across the UK.

13. To help achieve this, the framework is centred around four strategic objectives to support the delivery of desired outcomes:

1. Improved risk management
2. Strengthened leadership, governance, and assurance
3. Enhanced preparedness, enhanced response and recovery capabilities
4. Enhanced transparency, communication and engagement (as described in the Wales Resilience Framework).

14. The principles which underpin the framework demonstrate our commitment to driving forward improvements in how the Welsh Government, and our partners understand and manage risk and the need to work together to take a ‘Once for Wales’ approach to building our preparedness and response capabilities. Central to that approach is ensuring we embed learning from past incidents and a demonstrable commitment to continuous improvement that not only makes the most of partnerships across the public, private and voluntary sectors, but also empowers our communities and the public to become more resilient in themselves. The framework recognises a more resilient Wales means a more resilient UK, and our collective efforts in Wales are integral to the UK’s overall resilience and national security arrangements.

15. The supporting Delivery Plan, developed in conjunction with responders, sets out the specific actions to help deliver the Framework objectives, with actions mapped over the short (within the next year), medium (up to 2030) and long-term (beyond 2030) either by the Welsh Government, individual responder agencies or LRFs. The plan will be kept under review and adapted where necessary to take account of the evolving risk landscape and changing circumstances.

16. The framework has benefitted from contributions from a number of departments, including the case studies which appear in the document. The development of both the Framework and Delivery Plan has been informed by close cross-government working, including through the Risk and Preparedness Committee and supporting Senior Officials’ Working Group.. Key issues contained in both documents have been discussed in both groups, to identify cross-cutting impacts and joined-up responses. Due to the cross-cutting nature of the actions contained in the Framework and Delivery Plan, I encourage all Cabinet members to consider the linkages within their portfolios and support the vision to ensure resilience thinking is incorporated in all aspects of life and delivery of public services in Wales.

17. I would like to draw Cabinet members’ attention to the following commitments in the Framework and Delivery Plan, which are centred around the following:

• Actions to drive consistency of approaches across LRFs to enhance accountability and assurance – this includes the provision of annual reports from LRFs to Welsh Ministers outlining the state of resilience within each area.
• Actions to improve public accountability on risk management to build public confidence in the actions we are taking – this includes the publication of a State of Resilience Report every four years (to be laid before the Senedd) on levels of preparedness across Wales, which will consider assessments from organisational, regional and national levels. This is supported by an Annual Statement to the Senedd.
• Actions to improve public understanding of risk and preparedness to increase resilience and preparedness across households and communities – these includes the development of a public-facing risk register for Wales, strengthened requirements around the production of Community Risk Registers and other public-facing products to improve communication, engagement and understanding of the public’s role in major incidents and emergencies.
• Actions to improve our understanding of the impact of emergencies on vulnerable individual and communities – these include improvements to vulnerable people data and assessments and greater consistency of approaches to ensure our most vulnerable communities receive targeted, and appropriate support during emergencies, which meets their specific needs.
• Actions to improve response and recovery capabilities through the development with partners of a Pan-Wales lessons management system and a pan-Wales preparedness and capability programme.
• A commitment to continue to build and maintain strong and mutually supportive inter-governmental relationships with the UK government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to achieve our shared resilience goals.

18. We want Wales to be a nation where resilience thinking is integrated into all aspects of life. Achieving this ambition requires a whole-of-society approach and the commitment and participation of a range of actors including Government, responders, LRFs, the third sector and our communities. The actions contained in the Delivery Plan demonstrate clearly the breadth of the challenge ahead. The support of all Cabinet members will be crucial to its success.

19. Maintaining our resilience and preparedness is becoming more challenging and complex, and it is imperative that the structures we have in place to support our ability to respond are fit for purpose. Delivery of the actions contained in the framework and delivery plan will ensure that as a nation, we will have a strengthened ability to assess and understand the range of risks we face, and proactive, adaptable, and robust systems and structures in place which support the specific needs of our communities in Wales.

20. The core principles of the framework and the actions contained in the delivery plan reflect our commitment to ensure optimal efficiencies and economies of scale to enhance preparedness at all levels.

21. An oral statement is scheduled for 13 May 2025 (day of publication). This Cabinet Paper may be published at any point thereafter.

Rt. Hon. Eluned Morgan MS
First Minister
April 2025