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Last updated: 26 March 2009
CCS has launched a central gateway to improve the way that central government departments communicate with civil protection practitioners. The Local Response Gateway is a single framework for communicating with practitioners on multi-agency civil protection issues. This note outlines the new process.
Local responders are the building block of the UK's resilience to disruptive challenges and it is crucial that central government communicates its expectations and guidance effectively to them. Individual departments maintain a regular dialogue with civil protection practitioners on a wide range of issues. However, in response to your feedback, we are introducing a centrally administered mechanism for communications with practitioners.
This initiative will ensure more effective communications with stakeholders. Departments who need to reach the civil protection community on certain specific issues – for example, launch of a new piece of guidance or raising awareness about a current high-profile risk, will now issue material via the Local Response Gateway. This mechanism will not supersede departments’ established channels of communication with bodies they sponsor. For example, advice to the police on public order matters in relation to emergencies will come directly from the Home Office and will not be subject to the Local Response Gateway.
However, where departments issue advice or address an issue which has relevance to a range of agencies, within or outside of their sponsorship, they will communicate in a standardised format, via the Local Response Gateway, examples of this type of issue would include the launch of guidance, which would apply to a range of civil protection organisations, or the announcement of a new multi-agency survey.
The mechanism for communicating is a standard 'letter to stakeholders'. The standard letter will be produced by the relevant lead department, but will pass through a simple gateway to ensure consistency of message and presentation. In order to ensure that the gateway communications are easily identifiable to stakeholders, each letter issued will include the gateway 'branding' Local Response Gateway: preparing together. The Local Response and Civil Contingencies Act Team at CCS will administer the gateway process. We will ensure a consistent format is used when communicating with practitioners and have put in place a reliable dissemination mechanism via the Regional Resilience
Local Response Gateway RSS Feed 
General enquiries: Cabinet Office, 22 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH.
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