USINESS ONTINUITY PLAN - CHS · Above the Business Plan sits the CHS Corporate Plan 2012-15. The Corporate Plan states in outcome two that the core work of the organisation is to

Date Approved: 30 June 2014 Date For Renewal: June 2015

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN .............................................................................................................................................................. 1

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN .............................................................................................................. 1

At a glance: People .............................................................................................................................. 3

At a glance: Accommodation .............................................................................................................. 4

At a glance: ICT .................................................................................................................................... 5

1. Introduction, background and principles ................................................................................... 6

2. Business Continuity Management (BCM) ................................................................................... 7

2.1 What is Business Continuity? ................................................................................................ 7

3. The Resilience Group ................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 Role of the Resilience Group ................................................................................................. 9

3.2 Informing CHS staff and the Board ........................................................................................ 9

3.3 Membership of the Resilience Group ................................................................................. 10

4. Factors that may trigger the Business Continuity Plan ............................................................ 11

4.1 People .................................................................................................................................. 11

4.1.1 Treasury management ................................................................................................. 11

4.1.2 Authorisation of purchase requisitions & orders and supplier invoices ..................... 11

4.1.3 Processing purchase documents and payments .......................................................... 11

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4.2.1 Arrangements with SCRA ............................................................................................. 12

4.3 Failure to provide training ................................................................................................... 12

4.4 Insufficient number of members within Area Support Teams (ASTs) ................................ 13

4.4.1 AST roles and contingencies ........................................................................................ 13

4.5 Accommodation .................................................................................................................. 14

4.5.1 Alternatives available ................................................................................................... 14

4.4.1.1 Short term (less than one week) ................................................................................ 14

4.4.1.2 Medium term (between one and four weeks) ........................................................... 14

4.4.1.3 Long term (longer than four weeks) .......................................................................... 15

4.5.2 Arrangements with the Scottish Government ............................................................. 15

4.4.2.1 Procedure ................................................................................................................... 15

4.5.3 Arrangements with SCRA ............................................................................................. 15

4.5.4 Precautions .................................................................................................................. 15

4.6 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) .......................................................... 16


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4.6.1 Network ........................................................................................................................ 16

4.6.2 Local outage ................................................................................................................. 16

4.6.3 Data Warehouse .......................................................................................................... 17

4.6.4 Desktop PCs .................................................................................................................. 17

4.6.5 Laptops ......................................................................................................................... 17

4.6.6 Telephony ..................................................................................................................... 17

4.6.7 Financial & HR systems ................................................................................................ 17

4.6.8 CHS Website ................................................................................................................. 18

4.6.9 CHS recruitment website ............................................................................................. 18

4.6.10 Panel Pal ....................................................................................................................... 18

4.6.11 CHIRP ............................................................................................................................ 18

4.7 Vital records & paper files ................................................................................................... 19

4.7.1 Vital records ................................................................................................................. 19

4.8 Extreme circumstances ....................................................................................................... 20

5. Media and communications ..................................................................................................... 21

5.1 External Communications ................................................................................................... 21

5.1.1 Website ........................................................................................................................ 21

5.1.2 Twitter .......................................................................................................................... 21

5.1.3 Media Protocol between CHS and SCRA ...................................................................... 21

5.1.4 Key points ..................................................................................................................... 22

6. Audit and risk management ...................................................................................................... 24

7. Testing & feedback .................................................................................................................... 25

ANNEX A – Business Impact Analysis (as of 28 May 2014) .............................................................. 26

ANNEX B - Local services ................................................................................................................... 31

ANNEX C - External organisation which could assist CHS ................................................................ 33

ANNEX D - Action log ......................................................................................................................... 39

ANNEX E - Additional CHS personnel ................................................................................................ 40

ANNEX F - Asset register (as of 28 May 2014) .................................................................................. 43

ANNEX G - Media contacts and holding statements ........................................................................ 44

1. Main media contacts .............................................................................................................. 44

2. Media Statements .................................................................................................................. 45

2.1 Holding Statement - General ........................................................................................... 45

2.2 Holding Statement – Situation involves danger to people .............................................. 45

2.3 Draft Statements – these can be mixed and matched as appropriate ........................... 45

ANNEX H – SCRA Estate ..................................................................................................................... 46

ANNEX I - Feedback form post issue/incident ................................................................................. 47

ANNEX J - Version control ................................................................................................................. 50


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At a glance: People


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At a glance: Accommodation


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At a glance: ICT


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1. Introduction, background and principles This is the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS). The principle for establishing this Plan was first embedded in business objective five of the CHS Business Plan 2012/13 as approved by the Board at its meeting on 20 August 2012: “creating, testing and implementing a business continuity plan by December 2012”.

Above the Business Plan sits the CHS Corporate Plan 2012-15. The Corporate Plan states in outcome two that the core work of the organisation is to support panel members in their work. Outcome four is about establishing an effective, efficient and enabling organisation that meets the needs of its stakeholders. The Business Continuity Plan translates this to mean, amongst many other things, that CHS will aim to ensure that:

the corporate and business objectives are delivered CHS Board, its committees and staff can fulfil their duties.

The Plan is subject to annual review, or when circumstances change, to ensure that it remains an adequate fit with the pattern of activity within CHS. The Plan will also be shaped and improved when managing Business Continuity Incidents (BCI).


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2. Business Continuity Management (BCM) The Business Continuity Management defines the scope of CHS’ approach to maintaining continuity of support for the conduct of its business.

2.1 What is Business Continuity? Business continuity provides a framework for creating resilience that will enable CHS to continue to fulfil its role in adverse conditions. It also provides the capability for an effective response should a serious incident occur. This resilience is delivered through a programme of work known collectively as Business Continuity Management. BCM increases the resilience of the organisation by:

maintaining a capability for responding to incidents minimising the extent of subsequent damage by developing an exercise recovery plan

aimed at resuming activities within a pre-agreed timescale setting priorities by identifying those processes which, if lost, would most rapidly damage

the organisation The BCM is carried through a four step process that is repeated regularly: Step one: understanding CHS At an office level this is done through mapping out the activities and functions that the office carries out. These activities are then framed in terms of staff, premises and other resources used to successfully carry out those activities. While the core functions of CHS are comparatively static, that does not mean that CHS is unaffected by change. As such the process of mapping these activities – known as Business Impact Analysis (BIA)- is carried out once every year. This usually involves confirmation that the current documentation is still valid and making minimal changes. The Director of Finance and Corporate Services (DoFCS) owns this information and is assisted in completing the documentation –and keeping it up-to-date- by a Business Continuity Co-ordinator (BCC) who is tasked to review the business continuity documentation for the office. ANNEX A details the Business Impact Analysis (p 26). Step two: Understanding the purpose of the Business Continuity Plan The overall purpose of CHS is to assist the National Convener in carrying out his/her functions. This purpose, when coupled with detailed information gathered from the BIA process, allows for CHS activities to be prioritised when managing an incident and for resources to be allocated accordingly. The Plan is maintained to ensure its fitness for purpose. This is done through review when the annual BIA update takes place and when the corporate and business objectives are refreshed.


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Step three: Implementing the Business Continuity Plan Members of the Resilience Group implement the Plan and may be assisted by the BCC. The Group is primarily involved with business continuity on a day-to-day basis but will also be involved if a Business Continuity Incident is occurring. The Group assesses which activities need to be restored and influences how resources are allocated to facilitate a quick resumption of CHS’ relevant activities. Resources are only of any use if CHS staff know how to respond to an incident and how best to prioritise available resources when presented with a particular event. To ensure continuity of service, staff will receive relevant training by managers. Training requirements will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis and as required. Step four: Testing, maintaining and reviewing the Business Continuity Plan Exercises take a particular scenario as a training opportunity and include severe weather, security issues, total IT failure, pandemic flu and flooding. Exercises allow members of the Resilience Group and other CHS staff to become more familiar with their roles and to develop the Plan to identify gaps in terms of resources and skills that CHS may need, to respond to an incident. Each exercise is concluded by a report where recommendations are made on resources, plans and any relevant policies.


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3. The Resilience Group

3.1 Role of the Resilience Group Responsibility for recognising an incident, or a potential incident, is shared by all passholders and any such incidents should be reported firstly to the Director of Finance and Corporate Services (DoFCS). If the DoFCS is unavailable then the Director of Panel and Area Support (DoPAS) must be contacted. Similarly, if the DoPAS is unavailable, the Communications and Engagement Officer (C&EO) should be contacted. The DoFCS will act as primary liaison with the emergency services. In the absence of the DoFCS, responsibility for the execution of the Plan falls to the DoPAS. Where a business continuity incident is local, it should be managed locally with the Site Emergency Management Team at Ladywell House. ANNEX B lists the local services (p 31). ANNEX C (p 33) provides contact details of external organisations which could assist CHS. All decisions and actions should be noted on action logs (ANNEX D, p 39).

3.2 Informing CHS staff and the Board When informing staff and the Board that the Plan has been activated, the DoFCS should communicate the following information:

The nature of the crisis and, if relevant to the situation, an estimate regarding the length of time the office will be inaccessible;

If appropriate, a rendezvous point specified by the DoFCS;

Director of Finance and Corporate

Services (DoFCS)

Director of Panel and Area Support

(DoPAS)

Communications and Engagement Officer (C&EO)

Business Continuity Co-ordinator (BCC)


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How staff and the Board will be updated (social media/phone/email) and when (frequency).

ANNEX E (p 40) lists the additional CHS personnel and Board members. If there is no access to the office, the DoFCS will decide if staff, and if appropriate Board members, should rendezvous at an appropriate venue or stay/go home and await further instruction.

3.3 Membership of the Resilience Group WM = Work Mobile PM = Personal Mobile

Designation Name Location Contact Number

(Interim) Director of Finance and Corporate Services (DoFCS)

Campbell, Joe

Director of Panel and Area Support (DoPAS)

Gough, Alison

PM: 07979188845

Communications and Engagement Officer (C&EO)

Taylor, Lesley

: 07780 492 417

Business Continuity Coordinator (BCC) – Temp Executive Assistant

David, Franck


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4. Factors that may trigger the Business Continuity Plan

4.1 People To see an overview of the procedures to follow when the BCP is about People, refer to “At a glance - People”, p 3. The Plan acknowledges that CHS staff numbers can fall below normal operating levels from events such as industrial action, pandemic or severe weather. The Resilience Group should use all available methods to anticipate continuing disruption for instance, internet updates and intelligence gathered from other bodies (see ANNEX C, p 33). There may be situations where it is anticipated that a prolonged disruption is likely and/or that a reduction in team staffing will have a serious adverse impact on CHS business. In such circumstances, the Resilience Group should make proportionate decisions about cancellation or scaling down of activity to ensure that business runs almost as normal. This could include but should not be limited to:

suspending annual and flexible leave suspending attendance at training suspending participation in projects and internal meetings suspending non-business critical activities considering recruiting temporary workers seeking support through partner agencies e.g. SCRA

4.1.1 Treasury management The DoFCS, or the most senior officer in his/her absence, will make the necessary arrangements with the Scottish Government to ensure that money is available and accessible to pay staff and suppliers e.g. emergency drawdown. The Director will sign any access to CHS bank accounts and drawdown.

4.1.2 Authorisation of purchase requisitions & orders and supplier invoices

In the event of no signatory from the delegated authority list being available, the most senior member of staff available may authorise the purchase document. However, they must a) clearly identify themselves on the document, b) indicate that they are not an authorised signatory for this document and c) that none is available.

4.1.3 Processing purchase documents and payments Absence within the team of the DoFCS may make the normal “separation of duties” controls on processing of purchase documents and payments impossible. In the event of key personnel being absent, the most senior member of the team available may authorise a relaxation of the


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“separation of duties” controls. This relaxation will only be invoked in exceptional circumstances, e.g. if signatories are off for a prolonged period of time. Furthermore, details of any such relaxation must be documented at the time of the action and reviewed by the DoFCS at the earliest opportunity following return to “normality”. Retrospective approval should be sought for any material or unusual items as identified by the DoFCS’ team.

4.2

4.2.1 Arrangements with SCRA The Resilience Group and National Convener’s actions will depend on the particular circumstances of the hearing case and may involve a combination of approaches. The primary principle remains that a child who is subject to compulsory measures of supervision should not lose that support by default. In making alternative arrangements, fairness to the child and relevant persons must be taken into account. The Resilience Group and the National Convener will liaise closely with SCRA to set up appropriate alternative arrangements, for instance:

Using panel members from another area - CHS.

Using conference call or video conferencing facilities as appropriate. The availability of such facilities may be a factor in selecting the location of the hearing – SCRA.

4.3 Failure to provide training West Lothian College provides training for Scotland’s National Children’s Panel until 2016. In a situation involving a Business Continuity Event affecting the provision or receipt of the whole or any part of the service by the college, the latter will provide business continuity services in


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accordance with their Business Continuity Plan. The college will inform CHS of any Business Continuity event

4.4 Incidents vary in severity, impact and length. Where only a limited number of ASTs would have insufficient members, CHS would work with those areas which are affected to provide support e.g. administrative. The Continuity plan is triggered in situations when a majority of AST members (there are 420 AST members in total1) are unavailable across the country. The Resilience Group will determine a strategy as part of the BCM to ensure that essential roles continue to exist as much as possible during adverse conditions.

4.4.1 AST roles and contingencies

Essential

Options

1. Area Convener the position. 1.2 CHS to provide direct support

1.4 Recruitment of Area Conveners (if the adverse situation is likely to exist for longer than six weeks).

2. Depute Area Convener 2.1 Area Convener to cover role

3. (Lead) Panel Representatives 3. Ask/select existing experienced panel members (if

the adverse situation is likely to exist for up to six weeks). 3.1 Selection of Panel Representatives (if the adverse situation is likely to exist for longer than six weeks).

4. Clerks 4. Work with local authorities to appoint a clerking team for the duration of the incident.

Non-essential

5. Panel Practice Advisors

6. Learning and Development Co-ordinators

1 Figure accurate as of 28 May 2014.


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7. Local Authority Representative

8. Administrative support

4.5 Accommodation To see an overview of the procedures to follow when the BCP is about Accommodation, refer to “At a glance – Accommodation”, p 4. This section outlines contingencies and support to address service disruption due to problems with and/or unavailability of the building for staff to work in. This could be caused by several threats; most commonly bad weather, flooding or fire.

The Estates Manager at Ladywell House is responsible for the Site Emergency Management Team (SEMT) who will respond initially to any emergency involving physical disaster and utility failure (electricity/gas/water, etc.). The SEMT will advise the Resilience Group of the situation. The DoFCS will then communicate with staff (see 3.2) on the alternatives available depending on the length of time the building cannot be used.

4.5.1 Alternatives available

4.4.1.1 Short term (less than one week)

In case of short term unavailability of the office, and if staff cannot be accommodated elsewhere in the building, the Resilience Group will— a) Direct all requests for repairs to the Estates Manager at Ladywell House (Annex B, p 31); b) Consider whether it is necessary to cancel or scale down activities; and c) Consider whether staff can either work from home or from other offices, either SCRA or other SCOTS locations e.g. Victoria Quay, Saughton House, Highlander House etc.

4.4.1.2 Medium term (between one and four weeks)

As soon as it is clear that the office cannot be used for up to four weeks, the Resilience Group will coordinate alternative workspaces and determine whose staff should work from home. They will:

1) Identify agreed SCOTS offices with SG Head of Business and Continuity and Risk (see ANNEX C, p 33)

2) Identify other SCRA offices adywell House to expand available work spaces on

small scale in the National Records of Scotland offices (adding extra furniture and workstations, using meeting rooms etc).

Until this is organised and depending on the number of staff that can work from the alternative location, service may need to be scaled down for a longer period. The Resilience Group will give


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due consideration to the fact that the new arrangements may potentially affect the office where staff are now working.

4.4.1.3 Long term (longer than four weeks)

If the building is unavailable for longer than four weeks the Resilience Group will source an alternative (temporary) office convenient for the permanent office. Until this alternative location is available the medium term contingencies will be used.

4.5.2 Arrangements with the Scottish Government As a SCOTS user, CHS requires access to accommodation with SCOTS connectivity. To that purpose, the Facilities and Estates Services at the Scottish Government (see Annex C, p 33) would assist CHS. This would be a) on a best endeavours basis and b) dependent on the Government family organisations having spare capacity themselves.

4.4.2.1 Procedure

As soon as it becomes clear that alternative accommodation is required on a medium to long term basis, the Resilience Group will contact the Head of Business Continuity and Risk at the Scottish Government or, in their absence, the Head of Facilities Services Branch (see ANNEX C, p 33). The Head of Business will endeavour to provide CHS staff with temporary accommodation, probably at

The Resilience Group will provide:

a list of all CHS staff who require to be accommodated, an estimate of how long the new accommodation is required for.

The Facilities and Estates Services will then put in place appropriate access arrangements with their reception and security staff.

If other Government buildings have been impacted by the same incident that has caused the denial of access to Ladywell House they would need to invoke their own Business Continuity Plans.

4.5.3 Arrangements with SCRA

SCRA has agreed that, should CHS need urgent accommodation, some offices could be used from their estate (see ANNEX H, p 46).

4.5.4 Precautions

staff should not enter the damaged place of work unless directed to do so

staff must follow all instructions when safe entry is permitted


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the Resilience Group will identify those materials, which should be recovered

details of all materials recovered must be checked against the asset register (See ANNEX F, p 43) to assess and identify needs. This will be supervised by the DoFCS

4.6 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) To see an overview of the procedures to follow when the BCP is about ICT, refer to “At a glance: ICT”, p 5. Each link in the chain of SCOTS systems is covered by contingency plans. The key factor is that SCOTS IT support services endeavour to repair priority incidents within

). If travel to CHS site was required, the clock time would not include time spent travelling to Ladywell House.

Any CHS employee who becomes aware of issues affecting the SCOTS network and/or IT devices should contact the IT Helpdesk on 0131 244 8500 (ext. 48500) or by email at [email protected] then report the incident to the rest of the team. If the IT helpdesk is unmanned, the procedure is to leave a message, which would be picked up first thing the following business day. The support service would be available from 08.00 the following business day, when the call would be logged.

4.6.1 Network The Network (the Government Secure Intranet, GSI) connecting all CHS devices (PCs, laptops, printers, videoconferencing and telephony) is managed and supported by SCOTS. Although the network is built with resilience, experience has shown that local or even general outages are possible. Contingencies available to deal with a network outage vary, depending on scale and duration of the outage. The impact of a network outage is significant as it supports all devices, (only the photocopying function would still be available). In case of a failure of the network connection to CHS building, SCOTS IT support services would address this as where it is in their power to fix. However, in some cases support services are reliant on to fix the break. Although outages like this are rare they can last for several hours.

4.6.2 Local outage If the outage makes it impossible to use IT equipment from the building, contingencies are similar to unavailability of staff office property, i.e. work from home or from other offices either SCRA or other SCOTS locations.

mailto:[email protected]


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4.6.3 Data Warehouse

Barring a complete catastrophe, CHS should never be deprived of SCOTS, due to their systems failing at the core, for more than All files are backed up every night.

4.6.4 Desktop PCs SCOTS usually have spare desktop PCs in stores that can be supplied at short notice if any of CHS machines failed completely. It takes up to one hour to build a PC and SCOTS would need to organise transport however, PCs should be delivered to CHS within the target times. If specialist software was required it might take longer to install.

4.6.5 Laptops Laptops under SCOTS V use a . A laptop user may

with team members as appropriate to allow them to use that laptop to access SCOTS. Users still use their own SCOTS username and password to access SCOTS so are unable to access others personal drives. Laptops can be harder to arrange quickly as they are sometimes in short supply. SCOTS would need to proceed on a best endeavours basis. A laptop user might need to use a desktop temporarily.

4.6.6 Telephony

In the situation where no landlines were available, CHS staff would need access to re‐chargeable mobiles and chargers. The email function of Blackberry phones would not be operational if the SCOTS network failed. Phone, text, contact and calendar would be unaffected.

4.6.7 Financial & HR systems Finance and HR services are provided by SCRA and are These functions would be able to operate without systems for a number of days due to own recovery capability.


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4.6.8 CHS Website CHS website2 is hosted by The site would still be available to any user. This includes the login function that CHS staff could access from home/mobile media. However, any SCOTS network outage would prevent access to the internet. Staff should ensure that they have passwords at home. See ANNEX A, p 28.

4.6.9 CHS recruitment website CHS recruitment website3 is hosted The site would still be available to any user. This includes the login function that CHS staff could access from home/mobile media. However, any SCOTS network outage would prevent access to the internet. Staff should ensure that they have passwords at home. For response time see ANNEX A, p 29.

4.6.10 Panel Pal Panel Pal is hosted and supported See ANNEX C p 34.

4.6.11 CHIRP CHIRP is based on Office 365 which is a service provided by Microsoft. If technical support is required then the options are outlined at: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637572.aspx. The easiest way to do this is to log an online request. This can be done by an administrator through the online portal. All issues can be tracked online. For response time see Annex A, p 28. In the event that the issue is not related to the service provision,

2 http://www.chscotland.gov.uk/

3 http://childrenspanelscotland.org/

A scenario in which CHS premises became flooded could affect more than just machines on desks. There could be damage to the network, to power sockets and to phones – all of which might require investigation. Such incidents are, by their nature, unpredictable.

http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637572.aspx


http://www.chscotland.gov.uk/

http://childrenspanelscotland.org/


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4.7 Vital records & paper files

4.7.1 Vital records CHS’ Retention and Disposal Schedule identifies all vital records produced and held by the organisation, how long they should be retained, their recommended disposal procedure, security classification and their vital records status. Vital records are those records without which CHS would not be able to perform its core functions, either for a short amount of time or in the long term. They are the records that are essential for the running of the Children’s Hearings System in the event of some disruption, be it minor, major, temporary or long-term. In general, vital records are likely to fall into one of two categories:

Records which are referred to frequently and to which even temporary restrictions in access would have an immediate and/or significant impact on CHS and the Children’s Hearings System. Those records may be able to be replaced quite easily, given time.

Records which are seldom accessed, but which are irreplaceable, the loss of which would have a significant impact on CHS and the Children’s Hearings System. Those records might not be missed for many months, but no amount of work could replace them, and ultimately this loss would be very serious.

The Retention and Disposal Schedule has been approved by SMT and all vital records have been identified. Examples include panel member records, original signed copies of Partnership Agreements, MoUs, etc, official copies of Board and Committee minutes of meetings, panel and AST member records, financial and staff HR records, risk management and policy records. The majority of records held by CHS are in electronic format. Hard copy records that are, or become4, the responsibility of CHS are scanned and saved either to CHS’ shared drive or the Children’s Hearings Information and Resource Portal (CHIRP). Vital records must be safeguarded from unauthorised use, modification, disclosure or destruction, whether accidental or intentional. Consequently, they should not be stored on personal computers or laptops as the record may be lost or compromised. The benefits of storing the record are that they are maintained securely and backup copies are regularly made and stored off-site. Another benefit is that should the record be accidentally deleted, it may be restored from the backup copies5. A procedure is in place if a staff member does not have access to the shared drive: records must be temporarily saved to an encrypted Iron Key and moved to the shared drive at the staff member’s earliest opportunity. The contents of the Iron Key must then be deleted. AST members, panel members and Clerks do not have access to CHS’ shared drive, however, the majority have access to CHIRP. Records created by ASTs, panel members and Clerks should be retained securely on local authorities’ systems, in line with CHS information management

4 The majority of legacy records held by local authorities, relating to the Children’s Hearings System (pre 24 June

2013), are in paper format. CHS occasionally require access to these records in order to continue to support panel and AST members who transferred to the national Children’s Panel. These records are scanned and either sent to CHS via secure email or scanned and saved to CHIRP. 5 Please see section 4.6.3 for further information.


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guidelines and policies until they can be moved to CHIRP. Once the record has been saved to CHIRP it must be deleted from other systems. A vital records schedule for each category of vital record will be created and held by CHS. It will include the following information: • Name of record; • Where it is stored, and information on where copies (if any), are held • Reasons for protecting; • Method of protection; • A deadline for the next review (to consider whether the record is still vital). • The person or persons responsible for maintaining and reviewing the vital record; • Details of who has access to the vital records. Information Asset Owners will be responsible, alongside CHS’ Records Manager, for reviewing and updating the vital records status and associated schedules.

4.8 Extreme circumstances The possibility that CHS staff may be prevented from responding to an incident because of a threat to their safety, the occurrence of extreme circumstances or because of direction by civil or military authorities is taken into account in the Plan. In these circumstances, the National Convener/Chief Executive and the Resilience Group will consult with the relevant authorities and advise CHS staff and other parties as appropriate on the best options for dealing with the situation.


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5. Media and communications

5.1 External Communications Any incident affecting CHS is a potential media and communications issue, particularly for the panel community. Due to the speed at which the media gather and report information on breaking stories it is essential that there are clear lines of responsibility for the sign off and dissemination of information to journalists. The Communications and Engagement Officer is responsible for handling all media enquiries, statements and press releases and arranging any press conferences or interviews as agreed by the Senior Management Team (SMT). The existing sign off protocols involving SMT, the National Convener/Chief Executive and the Chair of CHS Board would be followed during the period of the crisis.

5.1.1 Website During a major disruption, CHS’ website will be the key tool for communicating with staff, panel members, partners and the media. The Communications and Engagement Officer and several members of the DoFCS’ team are trained in updating the website. This can be done from any PC/laptop, internal and external, i.e. from home or from an internet café. It has a secure log in. CHS website address will be on all our information material for children and young people and stakeholders.

5.1.2 Twitter CHS’ Twitter site (@CHScotland) can be accessed from any PC to provide updates about the office being open/closed, emergency numbers etc. Staff should ensure that they have passwords at home.

5.1.3 Media Protocol between CHS and SCRA Both organisations have separate media handling functions (CHS - Communications and Engagement Officer and SCRA – Press and Communications Manager). Contact details are available at Annex p 44. Each organisation has its own clear areas of responsibility:

SCRA Both CHS

Referrals in general – SCRA will not comment on

individual hearing decisions

Hearing decisions in general – CHS will not

comment on individual hearing decisions


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Reporter decision making – how it works

Children’s hearing decision making – how it

works

Statistics

Child protection

Children’s Hearings System

SCRA Staff CHS Staff

SCRA Budget CHS Budget

SCRA Board CHS Board

SCRA organisational projects

CHS organisational projects

Queries about hearings properties

National Children’s Panel

Requests from journalists to attend a hearing

Area Support Teams

Requests from visitors to attend a hearing

Individual panel and AST members

Panel member recruitment

Panel member training

Media briefing sheet for Reporters

Share with one another Media briefing sheet for panel/AST members

5.1.4 Key points

All staff should refer any media interest to the C&EO or, in his/her absence to a member of the Senior Management Team.

If the plan is activated staff should be briefed to explain to any media that the Communications and Engagement Officer is handling all media enquiries and give them the numbers 0131 244 4743 / 0778 0492 417.

The C&EO needs to be kept informed at all times of actions being taken by other members of the Resilience Group.

Only spokespeople nominated by the C&EO should talk to the media.

Holding and draft press statements are outlined in ANNEX G (p 45).

During the period that the Plan is activated, the C&EO will:

o Respond to and log all media calls

o Give all the media the same information and tell them when new information will be available.


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If the disaster involves an accident or other risk to health, the police or other emergency services’ communications teams assume the lead role in relation to providing factual information about the incident. Only the police should issue casualty or fatality numbers.


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6. Audit and risk management

There is a close relationship between the Business Continuity Plan and Risk Management, particularly when risk mitigation is being undertaken. Introducing mitigation measures - reducing the likelihood of a particular risk occurring – typically involves introducing measures that improve resilience for a function or activity. The mitigation of one particular risk can often improve mitigation against other risks and improve the business continuity response.

The Business Continuity Plan is audited by CHS’ Audit and Risk Management Committee annually.


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7. Testing & feedback

The arrangements outlined in this Plan will be tested as and when required by the DoFCS and the Plan reviewed and amendments made as appropriate.

In the event of major change to the service or environment this Plan will be reviewed, tested and amended accordingly. All such changes will be recorded in ANNEX D (p 39).

CHS encourages feedback from staff to improve the delivery of its services. A feedback form is available in ANNEX I (p 47).


26

ANNEX A – Business Impact Analysis (as of 28 May 2014)

1. Principal Activities (PAs) FT= Full Time PT= Part Time

Principal activities/assets Head count Priority

ranking PA Depends on6 PA Required by7

Payroll / drawdown / banking

1 FT 1 DoFCS, SG CHS staff, SCRA

Access to petty cash 2 FT

1

DoFCS, Executive Assistant, CHS staff

Use of PCs 3 FT 4 FT (Temp.)

1 1

ISIS CHS

Use of laptops 7 FT 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 ISIS CHS

E-communication (Outlook) 10 FT 4 FT (Temp.) 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 1

ISIS CHS

Use of Blackberries 7 FT 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 ISIS

CHS

Use of landline telephones 10 FT 4 FT (Temp.) 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 1

ISIS CHS

6 Principal Activities Process Depends On – Names of organisations and/or processes the principal activity needs for normal operations 7 Principal Activities Required By – Names of organisations and/or processes that need the principal activity for normal operations


27

Use of and access to internet/intranet

10 FT 4 FT (Temp.) 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 1

SCOTS CHS

Preparation of requisition 1 FT 2 FT (Interim)

1 1

Admin support/CHS officers/budget holder(s)

CHS staff

Authorisation of requisitions by SMT (non-emergency)

1 FT 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 SMT (budget holders)

CHS Supplier

Authorisation of requisitions (emergency)

1 FT 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 Budget holders

SMT/CHS officers Suppliers

Authorisation of payment for invoices

1 FT 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 Budget holders CHS suppliers

Processing invoices and payments

1 FT

1

CHS Admin support (processing)

SCRA (payment)

CHS Suppliers

Written communication/paper files

10 FT 4 FT (Temp.) 2 FT (Interim)

1 1 1

Internal/external Internal/external


28

2. Secondary activities

Services Recovery Time8

Recovery Strategy9

< 4 hrs >1 day >3 days >1 week >2 weeks 2 weeks+ Comments

SCOTS service target is to repair or replace a machine within

CHS could keep spare machines on standby however, the organisation would incur support costs for these machines.

CHIRP is based on Office 365 which is a service provided by Microsoft. Details of how this support is provided can be found at: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/e

8 Services Recovery Time – Time to recover critical systems, network services, etc. 9 Recovery Strategy – Actions CHS /others can take to recover to a “business almost as usual” state


CHS & recruitment websites

upport and host the nd recruitment

websites. General support will depend on the nature of business.

Should CHS photocopier not be fully functioning within 48 hours a temporary loan machine would be provided to tide

Photocopier malfunction

are maintaining the photocopier Current response times throughout the whole of Scotland, is


30

over till complete repair.


31

ANNEX B - Local services

1. Property

Name of contact Team/Department What do they provide? Address Contact details

Estates Manager

Site Emergency Management Team

Assistance regarding Ladywell House building:

flooding, fire, electricity/gas, natural catastrophe, etc

National Records of Scotland Room 3/G/1 Ladywell House Ladywell Road Edinburgh EH12 7TF

Mob:

4216

Safety Manager

As above As above National Records of Scotland Room 3/1/1 Ladywell House Ladywell Road Edinburgh EH12 7TF

Mob:

0131 314 4393

Accommodation Manager

As above As above National Records of Scotland Room 3/1/3 Ladywell House Ladywell Road Edinburgh EH12 7TF

Mob: 0131 314 4637

- Accommodation Manager

As above As above Thomas Thomson House 99 Bankhead Crossway North Sighthill Edinburgh EH11 4DX

Mob: 0131 535 1502

Helpdesk First point of contact for non-critical 0131 314 4666


32

issues affecting the building.

2. Security

Name of contact

Team/Department What do they provide? Address Contact details

Security guard Patrol/security National Records of Scotland Ladywell House Ladywell Road Edinburgh EH12 7TF

VQ Control room Open and lock Ladywell House buildings

VQ

Reception Ladywell House

Reception and general information (Mon. – Fri. 08.30 – 17.00)

National Records of Scotland Ladywell House Ladywell Road

Edinburgh EH12 7TF

0131 314 4333

Police Corstorphine police station

Police 28 Meadowplace Road Edinburgh EH12 7TZ

0131 334 4900

IT security IT Security H Spur Saughton House Edinburgh

i


33

ANNEX C - External organisation which could assist CHS

Name of organisation / contractor

What do they provide? Address Contact Name & Number

Accommodation

Scottish Government

Alternative accommodation – hot desks

Facilities and Estates Services Scottish Government Saughton House (G1 Spur) Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD

1) and Risk

2)

Head of Facilities Services Branch

City of Edinburgh Council

City of Edinburgh Council

Edinburgh Council services website

Twitter feed: @Edinburgh_CC

Couriers

Travel booking and reservation

n/a

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/a_to_z/a


34

CHS staff with access:

Health advice

Health & Safety Executive

Health advice / report of serious workplace accidents

0845 300 9923 website

IT

Issues relating to the website & portal

Technical support for photocopier

ISIS IT Services & Backup 0131 244 8500

Help Desk 08.30 – 17.00, Mon-Fri.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm#online


35

Police

Police Police

Corstorphine police station 28 Meadowplace Road Edinburgh EH12 7TZ

0131 334 4900

Royal Mail

Royal Mail Mail

0845 7950 950

SCRA

SCRA Head Office SCRA SCRA Ochil House Springkerse Business Park Stirling FK7 7XE

Website 0300 200 1555 (ext 61555)

Social Care (Edinburgh)

Social Care Direct

Social services Chesser House 500 Gorgie Road Edinburgh EH11 3YJ

Email: [email protected]

0131 200 2324

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=fk77xe&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.8712,62.402344&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Stirling+FK77XE,+United+Kingdom&z=16

http://www.scra.gov.uk/contact_us/index.cfm



36

Stationery

Office Depot Stationery supplier Office Depot UK ltd Greenwich Way Andover Hampshire SP10 4JZ

Key Account Manager - Public Sector

Taxis

Central Radio Taxis

Taxi

0131 229 1605

Travel/transport

BBC Travel BBC Scotland travel website

Twitter feed: @bbcTravelScot

Citylink Service updates

website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews

http://www.citylink.co.uk/index.php


37

Edinburgh Travel News

Traffic and travel situation in Edinburgh and Lothian

website

Twitter feed: @edintravel

First Group Glasgow Buses

Service updates website

First Group South & East buses

Service updates website

First Scotrail Journey check Scotrail Website

Twitter feed: @scotrail

Forth Road Bridge

Current bridge status

website

Twitter feed: @forthroadbridge

Lothian Buses Bus transport and fares Edinburgh website

Twitter feed: @on_lothianbuses

Network Rail Network Rail service update

website

Twitter feed: @nationalrailenq

Transport Scotland

Online information about air, road, rail

website Twitter feed: @trafficscotland

Weather

BBC Scotland Weather

BBC weather website

Twitter feed:

@BBCScottWeather

http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/local/lothian.shtml

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/glasgow/

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland_east/

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/

http://www.forthroadbridge.org/home

http://www.lothianbuses.com/

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/winter_sports/country/10/Scotland


38

MetOffice Severe weather warning website

Twitter feed: @metofficeScot

West Lothian College

West Lothian College

Training provider Almondvale Crescent Livingston EH54 7EP

XX, Manager of Children's Hearings Scotland Training Unit

http://www.business-wlc.co.uk

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

http://www.business-wlc.co.uk/


39

ANNEX D - Action log

Date Time Information / Decisions / Actions Initials


40

ANNEX E - Additional CHS personnel

1. Staff WM = Work Mobile PM = Personal Mobile

Designation Name & employee number

Location Contact Number By Whom

Permanent staff

Performance and Research Officer

BCC

Administrative Assistant

BCC

Practice & Policy Officer

BCC

Database

Administrator

BCC

Panel and Area Support Officer

BCC

NC/CEO

DoFCS

Panel and Area Support Officer

BCC

Assistant Panel and Area Support Officer

BCC


41

Assistant Panel and Area Support Officer

BCC

IT Officer BCC

Communications Assistant

BCC

Temporary staff

IT Consultant BCC

AST Project Coordinator

BCC

Administrative Support

BCC

Records Manager BCC

Performance and Research Officer

BCC

Practice & Policy Student

BCC

2. Board members

Name Contact details By Whom

Coutts, Garry DoFCS


42

Anderson, John BCC

Baverstock, Brian BCC

Hamilton, Alastair

DoFCS

Martin, Marian BCC

BCC

Watt, Linda BCC


43

ANNEX F - Asset register (as of 28 May 2014)


44

ANNEX G - Media contacts and holding statements

1. Main media contacts

ORGANISATION EMAIL_ADDRESS

Newslink

http://www.newslink.co.uk/

Courier and Advertiser

[email protected]

Daily Record

[email protected]

Edinburgh Evening News

[email protected]

Evening Times

[email protected]

Herald newsdesk

[email protected]

Metro Scotland

[email protected]

Scotsman newsdesk

[email protected]

STV news

[email protected]

The Scottish Press Assoc Edinburgh

[email protected]

Children’s Hearings Scotland Communications and Engagement Officer E:

W: www.chscotland.gov.uk

In the absence of The DoFCS (p 10) is responsible for

media liaison.

The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration

Press and Communications Manager

W: www.scra.gov.uk

The Scottish Government press office

, Communications Officer

http://www.newslink.co.uk/










http://www.chscotland.gov.uk/

http://www.scra.gov.uk/


45


46

ANNEX H – SCRA Estate SCRA Estates Manager:

Internal Display Name Hub Number Plan

SCRA Aberdeen City Hamilton SCRA Aberdeen

SCRA Aberdeenshire Hamilton SCRA Aberdeen

SCRA Arbroath Hamilton SCRA Arbroath

SCRA Ayr Hamilton SCRA Ayr Carrick St

SCRA Central West HQ Hamilton SCRA Hamilton

SCRA Dumbarton Glasgow SCRA Dumbarton

SCRA Dumfries Hamilton SCRA Dumfries

SCRA Dundee Hamilton SCRA Dundee

SCRA East Ayrshire Hamilton SCRA Kilmarnock

SCRA Edinburgh A&B Glasgow SCRA Edinburgh A&B

SCRA Elgin Hamilton SCRA Elgin

SCRA Falkirk Hamilton SCRA Falkirk

SCRA Glasgow Glasgow SCRA Glasgow

SCRA Glenrothes Glasgow SCRA Glenrothes

SCRA Greenock Stirling SCRA Greenock

SCRA Hamilton South Hamilton SCRA Hamilton

SCRA Head Office Stirling SCRA Stirling HQ

SCRA Inverness Hamilton SCRA Inverness 2

SCRA North HQ Stirling SCRA Inverness HQ

SCRA Livingston Glasgow SCRA Livingston

SCRA Lochgilphead Hamilton SCRA Lochgilphead

SCRA North Ayrshire Hamilton SCRA Kilmarnock

SCRA Nth Lanarkshire A Hamilton SCRA Hamilton

SCRA Nth Lanarkshire B Hamilton SCRA Hamilton

SCRA Orkney Glasgow SCRA Kirkwall

SCRA Paisley Stirling SCRA Paisley

SCRA Perth Glasgow SCRA Perth

SCRA Selkirk Glasgow SCRA Selkirk

SCRA Shetland Isles Hamilton SCRA Lerwick

SCRA Stirling & Clacks Stirling SCRA Stirling & Clacks

SCRA Stranraer Stirling SCRA Stranraer

SCRA Thurso Stirling SCRA Thurso

SCRA Tranent Stirling SCRA Tranent

SCRA West HQ Glasgow SCRA Glasgow

SCRA Western Isles Hamilton SCRA Stornoway

Michelle Rice Stirling SCRA Stirling HQ

10

The local number depends on the hub which that phone is connected to e.g. SCRA Glenrothes is connected to the Glasgow hub so the local number is a Glasgow number


47

ANNEX I - Feedback form post issue/incident

Your details 1. Your name

2. Location(s) incident(s) took place

3. Date of incident …. / …. / ……

What happened?

4. Describe the issue(s)/incident(s) (tick [ ] as appropriate)

☐ Insufficient CHS staff (staff/partner/relative illness, accident, strike, etc)

☐ Insufficient number of panel members (panel member/partner/relative illness, accident, etc)

☐ Insufficient number of members within AST(s) (AST/partner/relative illness, accident, etc)

☐ Lack of accommodation (CHS staff, panel/AST members)

☐ IS failure

☐ Weather


48

☐ Fire

☐ Flooding

☐ Power outage

☐ Transport

☐ Extreme circumstances

Other (please specify)

5. How widespread was the issue/incident? (tick [ ] as appropriate)

☐ Area 2.1.1

☐ Area 2.1.9

☐ Area 2.1.10

☐ Ladywell House building

☐ Edinburgh

☐ National

Other (please specify)


49

How did you deal with the issue?

6. Did you refer to CHS business continuity plan? (tick [ ] as appropriate)

☐ Yes

☐ No

☐ I was unaware of the business continuity plan

7. If you answered yes, do you feel that the plan helped you deal with the situation satisfactorily?

Y☐ N☐ 8. If you answered no, indicate why below and explain what would have helped you deal better with the issue/incident.


50

ANNEX J - Version control

Amendment history

Version Date What was amended? Prepared / Amended by

Approved by Date Issued

1 25/09/12 Document created

FD

2 12/10/12 Changes throughout FD

3 17/10/12 Minor changes throughout

FD Noted by ARMC 06.11.12

4 20/12/12 Addition of Section D FD

5 03/04/13 Updates in 4.2.2, 4.3.1, Sections A, B, D, F and H.

FD

6 24/05/13 Addition of new section 4 – at a glance

FD

7 03/09/13 Actions following BCP testing on 2/19/13.

At a glance sections moved to front of document.

Page re-numbering

West Lothian College added to section C

In absence of CHS C&EO,

liaison (p 42)

FD

8 28/05/14 Addition of new Annex H – SCRA estate

Update of staff contact details / roles

Review of “At a glance”

FD

9 05/08/14 Minor updates following


51

testing of BCP

Documents

USINESS ONTINUITY PLAN - CHS · Above the Business Plan sits the CHS Corporate Plan 2012-15. The Corporate Plan states in outcome two that the core work of the organisation is to