AS THE nation continues to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak, the Surrey Local Resilience Forum (LRF) is now responding to pandemic as a major incident – to formalise and better support the partnership working that has already been occurring between local councils, health partners and emergency services.

The response to the incident is being co-ordinated by Surrey County Council and agencies continue to work tirelessly to ensure the safety and welfare that has a set procedure for dealing with emergencies.

Steve Owen-Hughes, Surrey’s Chief Fire Officer and chair of the Surrey LRF, said: “This is an unprecedented national and global emergency, and its impact is already being felt locally on a huge scale.

“The major public agencies and faith, community and voluntary partners across Surrey have been working in unison with one another on Coronavirus for weeks now, this is simply a formality and will see us move to the next phase of well-rehearsed plans, ensuring partners are co-ordinating their response.

“Please be assured that local services across Surrey are working hard on your behalf to help you through what is a challenging time for everyone.

“It is absolutely vital therefore that everyone follows official Government advice on preventing the spread of Covid-19 and keeps looking out for our most vulnerable – that includes making sure our shops and supermarkets are well stocked for everyone.

“We will continue to do all we can to protect the resources of the National Health Service, keep our vital local services functioning, and protecting our residents.”

Surrey’s Local Resilience Forum (LRF) is a multi-agency partnership made up of representatives from local public services, including the emergency services, local authorities, NHS England and the Environment Agency, which are all Category One Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

The Surrey LRF is also supported by Category Two Responders, such as Highways England and utility companies.

The Surrey LRF brings together all agencies with a significant role to play in responding to and recovery from the effects of emergencies, and was formed to meet the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

The LRF aims to plan and prepare for local incidents and large scale emergencies.