- Date released
- 6 July 2023
- Request number
- 202306012
- Release of information under
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Information requested
Can you please provide the date(s), or a link to the date and/or other referenced materials, of the 'previous modular exercise' as referenced in paragraph 25 as detailed in the ONR's Report document reference: Proof of Evidence: Emergency Preparedness and Response dated May 2023. The referenced paragraph 25, as follows:
Paragraph 25: The process of capturing lessons, and identifying and implementing improvements must be allowed to conclude so that all feedback, covering the broad range of expertise involved, can be collated and recorded appropriately. However, I can indicate that I recognised similar issues at ALDEX 23 that were evident at the previous modular exercise (Para 38 of ONR’s SoC). Some of these matters relate to national capabilities that were recognised ahead of the test, and other matters related to strategic decision-making during the test. These matters would be sensitive to demographic changes as increasing the population in the DEPZ could reasonably be expected to lead to greater demands on responders for the timely establishment and operation of facilities to hold and offer reassurance monitoring for displaced persons. ONR is already engaging with the LA and national-level responders to seek improvement and will continue to do so as part of normal regulatory business.
Information released
We confirm that under s.1 of the FOIA, we hold the information relevant to your request.
The text hereafter was provided by the local authority. Any editorial errors have been retained.
AWE Displaced People Workshop
Two workshops via MS Teams took place on the Wednesday 6 October 2021 and Wednesday 03 November 2021.
The aim was to provide an opportunity for all partners to explore how displaced people would be managed following an incident at AWE requiring in the AWE Off-Site Emergency Plan be activated
The objectives were to:
- Evaluate partner agencies ability to provide humanitarian assistance and welfare arrangements to those sheltering, presenting themselves to the cordon as displaced, or self-evacuating from within the DEPZ.
- To identify and jointly assess the considerations required for providing humanitarian assistance within the DEPZ, and the impact/ challenges posed to multi-agency responders.
- Identify and assess the accommodation, transport, facilities and physical resources required to manage displaced people presenting themselves to the outer cordon.
- Consider the methods available for identifying vulnerable people within the DEPZ, and the practices / processes required to continue delivering domiciliary care, end of life support and response to 999 calls.
- Record any identified learning and considerations for additional planning from the workshop to update the AWE Off-Site Emergency Plan and any other relevant procedure
Module attendees
A large number of agencies participated, facilitated and observed in the modules as seen in the tables below. Many had several departments taking part, for example Local Authorities participants attended from a range of services; Emergency Planning, Highways, Adult Social care, Public Health and Environmental Health.
Agency
- West Berkshire Council
- Hampshire County Council
- Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
- Reading Borough Council
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Atomic Weapon Establishment (AWE)
- United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) SE
- Thames Valley Police (TVP)
- South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS)
- Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS)
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT)
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT)
- Thames Water
- British Red Cross
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Buckinghamshire County Council
- The Office for Nuclear Regulation (Observer)
Recommendations
9 recommendations were identified from the workshop.
| Ser | Theme | Lesson | Recommendations | Summary | Owner (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPW-01 | People monitoring | The know Radiation Monitoring Unit (RMU) capacity issues were raised, although the true scale and impact of an AWE incident required further understanding. | Explore the RMU capabilities to identify how quickly and how many people can be monitored. | RMU Task & Finish Group | TVLRF |
| DPW -02 | People management | Requirement to address/ communicate with those self-evacuating. | Provide injects during the next full live exercise for communication teams to manage . | Aldex22 | WBDC |
| DPW -03l | People management | A requirement to understand the scale of displaced people both outside the DEPZ unable to return home and those sheltering inside the DEPZ with the requirement for evacuation. | Update the DEPZ data within the AWE Off-Site Emergency Plan (OSEP). |
AWE OSEP | WBDC |
| DPW -04 | People management | A requirement to understand the capabilities of managing the numbers and scale of displaced people both outside the DEPZ unable to return home and those sheltering inside the DEPZ with the requirement for evacuation. | Local Authorities to review humanitarian assistance centre capacities and ability to manage the numbers estimated. |
LA humanitarian assistance centre/rest centre plans | WBDC, WBC, RBC, HCC |
| DPW -05 | Training | Not all staff required to respond are fully trained or aware of AWE. | Provide AWE Familiarisation training for responding agencies to attend. | Training | WBDC |
| DPW -06 | Emergency workers | Lack of knowledge around when and who can enter the DEPZ. | AWE Off-Site Planning Group to develop a risk assessment for those entering the DEPZ as an appendix to the AWE Off-Site Emergency Plan and update AWE familiarisation Training once completed. | AWE OSPG | WBDC |
| DPW -07 | People monitoring | RMU’s were identified as the highest priority area for further work to be undertaken to address people monitoring. | Carry out an assessment of the LRF RMU Standard Operating Procedure to establish areas requiring further work/focus and inform ONR of the outcomes prior to June 2023. | RMU assessment | WBDC |
| DPW -08 | People management | Evacuation holding areas were identified as the second highest priority area for further work to be undertaken to address where displace people will be directed to before being monitored. | Explore where and how evacuation holding areas could be managed and assist the response to an incident at AWE. Pre identify locations to be communicated to the public. |
AWE OSPG/LA humanitarian assistance centre/rest centre plans | WBDC, WBC, RBC, HCC |
| DPW -09 | Emergency workers | Emergency workers training as the third highest priority area for further work to be undertaken to ensure those entering the area are correctly informed and protected. | Develop training for emergency workers (those identified in the plan with a defined responding role in the AWE Off-Site Emergency Plan and who might be exposed to radiation as a result of an emergency). | Training | AWE OSPG |
Exemptions applied
N/A
PIT (Public Interest Test) if applicable
N/A