Business Continuity Management

Nearly one in 5 businesses experiences a major disruption every year. Knowing how to respond will affect the chances of survival and restoration back to ‘business as usual’.

Without business continuity management, a natural or man-made disaster could result in an inability to continue to provide normal services.

The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) imposes a statutory business continuity management duty upon local authorities and other local responding organisations. Business continuity management is a proactive process involving the identification of potential threats upon an organisation so that a plan can be produced to ensure that an organisation can continue to operate and recover as quickly as possible following a disruption to its normal service.

The overriding aim of business continuity management is to achieve a cost effective solution that balances the value of the organisation and its assets against the cost of guaranteeing continuity of critical business processes or activities. It is a corporate issue whereby all aspects of the organisation’s functions are considered to ensure that any disaster or incident - whatever the cause - has a minimal effect on the organisation itself and the economic well-being of the country.

Durham County Council is currently reviewing their existing Business Continuity Management plan and procedures, identifying areas of improvement and working towards the publication of a rewritten Business Continuity Plan. For further information and to access an information pack on business continuity advice please use the links below.

Other useful links:
Business continuity advice for local businesses and voluntary organisations
Emergency planning