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White Paper
The Government, in the White Paper on Defence dated 29th Feb 2000, addressed the Civil Defence area in the context of current roles and activities. The White Paper committed the Government to providing the necessary infrastructure and training to enable Civil Defence to continue to develop its capacity to respond to emergencies as a high quality second line emergency service and facilitate community support activities while preserving the voluntary nature and ethos of the organisation.
The Government also committed itself to providing the necessary framework for the future development of Civil Defence by modernising the legislation governing Civil Defence by means of a new Bill with additional measures to assist with the recruitment of new members to the organisation. The legislation was enacted in the form of the Civil Defence Act 2002.
Future Development of Civil Defence
- Civil Defence will continue to focus on enhancing its capability to respond to emergencies as a high-quality second line service in addition to facilitating community support activities.
- The volunteer nature of the organisation will be preserved. While maintaining the distinctiveness of Civil Defence, the organisation should continue to foster good relationships with other service organisations.
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- The training provided to Civil Defence members will continue to be revised and updated in line with best practice throughout the emergency community.
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- The provision of good quality equipment is essential to ensure Civil Defence has the capability to carry out its functions. In recent years the ambulance and transport fleet have been upgraded and the radio communications network has been completed.
- The Civil Defence Board will continue to liaise with other Government Departments and national bodies with roles in emergencies to ensure effective integration of Civil Defence into response planning.
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