Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, joined a meeting of Sussex Resilience Forum to get an update on the preparedness of local organisations in case of serious emergencies this winter.
Sussex Resilience Forum (SRF) is a multi-agency forum, bringing together emergency services, councils, utilities and other essential public and voluntary services to work in partnership to support the local community during serious incidents and emergencies. The SRF is responsible for coordinating and testing emergency plans and procedures so that member organisations are prepared to meet their duties in case of an emergency.
The meeting was attended by several organisations including Sussex Police, NHS Sussex, Southern Water, Southeast Water and UK Power Networks.
Nusrat Ghani said: “I was pleased to join this meeting to get an update from emergency services and utility companies on the work that is being done to prepare for winter pressures and any emergencies that may arise. We’ve had a series of serious incidents in Wealden last winter with water outages in Crowborough, Mayfield and Wadhurst the run up to Christmas and flooding and sewage overspills in Hailsham and Hellingly in early January, so I especially welcome assurances from representatives of Southeast and Southern Water that both companies are putting additional resources in place to deal with vulnerabilities and mitigate risks to service disruptions this coming winter.”