I suppose if a massive bomb went off and wiped out most of the Houses of Commons and Lords the Queen could command an interim gov be formed from that huge raft of priviledge we so rarely hear about with the various Lieutenants and Companions etc dotted about each county in the UK.
Apparently, gone are the days of Cabinet Ministers and Lords Lieutenant controlling an irradiated populace in the event of a nuclear attack. Instead the Government has replace the 12 UK Regions with a new system run by Regional Resilience teams.
“The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune; buoyancy.“ (OED, 2003)
“The ability at every level to detect, prevent and if necessary handle disruptive challenges” (Civil Contingencies Secretariat, 2001)
Flooding and the fuel crisis of 2000, Foot and Mouth Disease, coupled with the tragic events of September 11 have together exposed the need to review current emergency planning arrangements and highlighted the need for a greater level of co-ordination between the centre and local areas.
To this end, Regional Resilience Teams [RRTs] were established in April 2003 to help detect, prevent and help co-ordinate emergency planning across the region working with blue-light emergency services, local authorities and other regional partners.
The team’s key responsibilities are:
Regional implementation of the new Civil Contingencies Bill;
Establish and provide secretariat function for the Regional Resilience Forum;
Co-ordinate the new Cabinet Office Capabilities Programme in the East Midlands;
Horizon Scanning;
Planning and response to regional Food and Agricultural Emergencies.
This is the Regional Resilience site for the East Midlands
www.go-em.gov.uk...
www.ukresilience.info...
On a different note and slightly off topic, in the early-mid 1960s, if it was necessary for the Prime Minister to be contacted in an emergency by Central Government while he was in his official car, it was to be done via the Automobile Association's radio links
zero lift
