Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of placing a requirement on councils to have emergency plans in place for rehousing and compensating residents in the event of a disaster.

Local authorities are Category 1 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Category 1 responders are subject to the full set of civil protection duties. They are required to assess the risk of emergencies occurring and use this to inform contingency planning. They are also required to put in place emergency plans. The Government has also issued non-statutory guidance in the 2014 Evacuation and Shelter Guidance for local emergency planners.