Introduction   |   Previous ‘Cold War Era’ Legislation   |   Changing Times & the Civil Contingencies Act   |   The Civil Contingencies Act and Nottingham City Council

Changing Times & the Civil Contingencies Act

Following the fuel crisis and the severe flooding in the autumn and winter of 2000, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a review of emergency planning arrangements.

The review included a public consultation exercise which reinforced the Government’s conclusion that the existing legislation no longer provided an adequate framework for modern civil protection efforts and that new legislation was needed.

Around this time there were further events which reinforced the need for new legislation. These included the foot and mouth outbreak in early 2001, and the shocking events in America on 11^th September 2001, that changed everyone’s expectations of emergency responders.

This new legislation was the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 which came into effect in November 2004. The Civil Contingencies Act, and accompanying regulations and non-legislative measures, aims to deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.