The Central Government’s Concept of Operations

The Central Government’s Concept of Operations sets out the UK arrangements for responding to and recovering from emergencies, irrespective of cause or location and requiring co-ordinated central government action. It describes how the UK central government response will be organised, and the relationship between the central, regional and local tiers in England, as well as the relationship between the UK central government and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It focuses primarily on the response to no-notice or short notice emergencies requiring UK central government engagement, although the approach outlined here can be adapted to manage the response to other crises.
 
The document was originally approved by ministers in 2005, and this updated version reflects revised arrangements in light of recent national emergencies.