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That’s not a beautiful sentence. Let’s unpick it a bit.
In 2007 there were widespread floods. Following the clean-up the Government asked Sir Michael Pitt to review the response. He made a load of recommendations. One of these was that there should be a national exercise to test flood response arrangements. That exercise took place in April 2011 and was called Exercise Watermark. It was massive. Lots of learning came out of the exercise which was captured first in a draft and then in a final report. The final report made a series of recommendations. The government has now responded to the recommendations largely by saying “good idea” or “we’re already on it”.
Why do you care about this?
Because I wonder how many organisations really reviewed their policies, procedures and plans in the light of Exercise Watermark. The Exercise highlighted a range of ways in which organisations behaved unexpectedly, poorly or confusingly. These are areas of risk. I was particularly focused on the communications risks which were significant. If I may just highlight one area in particular:
In LRF areas there were some problems with Police Gold Commanders exacting rigid control over the multi-agency media cell, even to the extent in one area of stopping the Environment Agency issuing such flood warning press releases, until they had passed through the local Gold clearance process, which led to more delay.
We don’t exercise SCG/Gold comms cell procedures very often. How often do comms staff across the LRF even look at the plan.
But there was lots of learning, not just in comms.
Isn’t this old hat now?
The world has moved on a little since April 2011. Even so an excellent organisation (and partnership) should be able to whizz through the Exercise Watermark final report and tick off their compliance (much as the government has “good idea”, “already done that”).
And what it’s worth stressing is
- the learning is, in the main, applicable to multi-agency response in general, not just flooding
- the learning is, in the main, applicable to Scotland even though the exercise was based in England and Wales
- the learning is applicable to all cat ones, cat twos and other relevant bodies whether or not they played in Exercise Watermark
The largest multi-agency exercise ever conducted (or ever conducted in peacetime (or something)) is already fading into the mists of the past. In years to come people will meet at conferences and shake their heads at the memory.
“Exercise Watermark”
they will say
“Those were the days”.
So let’s wring that last drop of value from it before it goes.
And that is my final report on the matter.
Photo credit: Image is “Robert waving goodbye” by Noelle Gillies used under CC BY-SA 2.0