Advice for businesses

Create a business continuity plan

Severe weather, staff absence, fires, floods, vandalism etc. can cause big disruptions to business operations. A business continuity plan can help prevent operational interruptions so that you can quickly return to 'business as usual'. Once it has been prepared the business continuity plan must be tested and your staff must be trained to use it. Business continuity training courses are available from the Emergency Planning College website.

Read the Business Continuity Management Toolkit on the Gov.uk website for help with writing your plan. Start by identifying any local risks. Conduct an impact analysis to highlight the key areas to focus on. Consider risk mitigation using the 4 T's - Terminate, Threat, Transfer, Tolerate:

• Terminate - can you terminate the business activity?
• Threat - can you reduce the risk?
• Transfer - can you insure against the risk or outsource that aspect of the business?
• Tolerate - continue with the business activity and prepare a plan to minimise any impact to it