Policy Scope:

This policy affects all police officers and all members of police staff. Unless specified otherwise, the term ‘member of staff’ is used to refer to both police officers and police staff.

Policy Aims and Objectives:

Background

South Yorkshire Police and the South Yorkshire Police Authority have agreed to adopt a pro-active approach to Business Continuity Management (BCM) in order to comply with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and to ensure consistency with the principles of good Corporate Governance.

This policy will require each District Commander and Departmental Head to demonstrate that they have considered the need for Business Continuity Plans for every function under their control.

The policy will apply to all parts of the Force, with implementation being the responsibility of each District Commander and Departmental Head.

The policy applies to the management of out-sourced contracts and requires that appropriate Business Continuity standards are included in such contracts, so that an acceptable standard of service will be maintained following a disruption to either South Yorkshire Police or the contractor.

Process

This Policy will provide a structure for the following BCM processes:

Business Impact Analysis

As part of the Business Impact Analysis process, Districts and Departments will review their daily processes and identify which, if any of those, support items on the list of Force Mission Critical Functions.

What constitutes a Critical Function and an acceptable level of service following a disruption, will be defined by each Department’s Business Continuity single point of contact (SPOC) in consultation with their management team.

BCM Risk Assessment

The Business Continuity Risk assessment process will require Districts and Departments to identify internal and external risks, associated with the ability to provide an identified Critical Function.

Force BCM Risk Register

The Business Change Directorate (BCD) will be responsible for creating a Force Business Continuity risk register. This will enable key staff to be identified to manage risks.

BCM Plans

Business Continuity Plans will be developed for each District and Department throughout the Force to ensure that South Yorkshire Police can continue to deliver an acceptable level of service in relation to the Force Mission Critical Functions, in the event of a disruption.

The plans will be based on guidance from the British Standards Institute (BS 25999) the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and recognised good practice from other Category 1 Responders.

The development of Business Continuity Plans will mean that at all times South Yorkshire Police can:

• Continue to provide Critical Functions to the public in times of disruption.

• Provide better use of personnel and other resources at times when both might be scarce.

• Reduce the period of disruption to both the organisation and the public.

• Improve the resilience of the organisation’s infrastructure to reduce the likelihood of disruption.

• Reduce the operational and financial impact of any disruption.

BCM Plan Maintenance

The Force Business Continuity Co-ordinator within BCD will be responsible for producing the Business Impact Analysis, Risk and Business Continuity Plan templates.

BCM plans will be the subject of regular exercise, maintenance and review to ensure that at all times they are robust, relevant and fit for purpose.

The Force Business Continuity Co-ordinator will be responsible for producing a schedule of exercises for all Districts and Departments around the Force, in accordance with the current guidance found in British Standard BS 25999-2 which is detailed in Exercising, Maintaining and Reviewing Business Continuity Management (BCM) Arrangements D51423.

Governance

The Business Continuity Governance Board (BCGB) will oversee the Development and ongoing governance of Business Continuity management for the Force. Board members will consist of District and Departmental Heads and meetings will be chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable.

Issues relating to this policy will be discussed at regular meetings of the BCGB. Decisions made will be recorded in minutes and where appropriate, reported to the Senior Command Team (SCT).

Decisions outside the remit of the BCGB will be referred to the SCT. The Deputy Chief Constable will authorise revisions to the Policy.

A list of defined Roles and Responsibilities for the Business Continuity Governance Board, Force Business Continuity Co-ordinator, Business Manager and the Police Authority can be found in Business Continuity Governance – Roles and Responsibilities D51424.

Communications Strategy

All staff will be made aware of the importance of Business Continuity Management.

In order to achieve this, a communication strategy will be developed by the BCD Communications, Engagement and Marketing Officer in conjunction with the Force Business Continuity Co-ordinator.

This strategy will ensure that:

• The Force Policy on Business Continuity is disseminated throughout the Force.

• All staff are made aware of the Business Continuity plans that affect their area of work and understand their role following an invocation.

• The plan is communicated to other South Yorkshire Category 1 Responders, to dovetail with their BCM plans.

• Other identified stakeholders are kept informed.

Associated Procedural Instructions:

This policy is supported by the following procedural instructions:

Exercising, Maintaining and Reviewing Business Continuity Management (BCM) Arrangements D51423 (Diversity Impact Assessment)

Business Continuity Governance – Roles and Responsibilities D51424 (Diversity Impact Assessment)

Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and Diversity Impact Assessment

The Act places a statutory requirement for all Functions and Policies (Including Procedural Instructions) to be impact assessed for their level of relevance to the General Duty.

In principle, this document has been assessed for discrimination, which cannot be justified, among other diverse groups.

This Statement of Agreed Policy has been Impact Assessed as LOW relevance.

Human Rights/Discretion:

The purpose of providing policy is to give an indication to staff of the expected course of action. However it is not possible to cater for every possible combination of factors that would justify a departure from stated policy. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the proper use of discretion at all times and nothing within this policy and associated procedural instructions prohibits the proper use of discretion in appropriate circumstances.

Where action is taken that has the potential to interfere with an individual’s Human Rights, the reasons behind the making of the decision to act in that way should be recorded on the appropriate forms, or where this is not practicable, in pocket books or policy logs.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Exemptions do not apply to this statement of agreed policy under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Management of Police Information (MoPI)

This policy falls within MoPI: No

Review Arrangements:

This policy together with its Diversity Impact Assessment will be reviewed every 3 years

Rights of redress for members of the public:

Anyone who feels that a member of staff has behaved incorrectly or unfairly, or who is dissatisfied with organisational matters, service delivery or other operational policing issues, has the right to make a complaint.

Initial action should be taken in one of the following ways:

• Complain in writing or in person to the Senior Officer at the appropriate police station or to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.

• Visit a local Citizens' Advice Bureau

• Contact a Solicitor

Rights of redress for South Yorkshire Police personnel:

South Yorkshire Police personnel who feel they have grounds for concern in relation to the implementation of policies may, as appropriate:

• Pursue concerns through their line manager.

• Contact a First Contact Advisor.

• Pursue a grievance formally through the South Yorkshire Police Fairness at Work Procedure.

• Seek advice from their staff association or trades union.

• Use the Policy for Handling Complaints relating to Direction and Control.

Start Date:

3 March 2008