Storm Arwen Report progress hailed by MSP
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IMPROVEMENTS put in place following the Storm Arwen Report have been welcomed.
Organisations across Scotland have put in place a series of measures to protect communities from the effects of severe weather ahead of winter.
It follows a review of the Storm Arwen response published in January 2022, which set out 15 recommendations for the Scottish Government and its partners.
A newly-published report has given updates on progress since then, with a range of improvements put in place ahead of winter. These include: A full winter readiness exercise carried out by emergency responders across every area in Scotland by the end of November; A new online learning and training hub to help individuals, community groups and the voluntary sector to prepare, respond and recover from emergencies; The development of a new process to monitor and evaluate Scotland’s resilience system annually to identify and resolve issues quickly and effectively; Increased integration and engagement with the voluntary sector, and expansion of local directories of assets and capabilities to support resilience activity.
The report update was welcomed by Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam.
She said: “During Storm Arwen, my team and I were working round the clock to provide vital and much needed support for people in need across Banffshire and Buchan Coast.
"It was obvious during then that our services and infrastructure were not prepared to deal with the unprecedented challenges that arose during the storm.
“The demands of climate change will continue to increase and we events like this will become more common. That’s why it’s so important we have the processes and infrastructure in place across services to ensure they have the resilience to support communities through future challenges that will occur.
“The recommendations seem to ensure preparedness to safeguard our population’s wellbeing and it is reassuring that the Scottish Government have taken the lead to work with partners across the country to implement the review’s proposals.
“One the recommendations is to improve information-sharing, and this is something my team and I naturally did during the storm when my office acted as a conduit, liaising with local authorities, businesses, organisations, shelters, and individuals throughout the communities. It proved almost impossible though to get all of the crucial information to all of the people who needed to hear it and that’s what the implementation of these proposals should address.
“The implementation of the review’s proposals will only enhance our country’s response to similar challenges as we look forward.”
Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Keith Brown, added: “The Scottish Government committed to a full review of the circumstances of Storm Arwen, and this report demonstrates clearly the range of work that is underway to ensure that lessons are learned.
“Our responder community, including our blue light services and our local authorities, will put these recommendations in place and we will support them to ensure our resilience arrangements continue to strengthen to protect communities.”
