The
UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is
gearing up its business continuity planning to improve its response
to emergencies or disruptions. The plans are being developed with
the assistance of Garrison Continuity to standardise methodology
and procedures across the organisation and meet government requirements
for business continuity.
As one of the UK’s largest independent business continuity
consultancies, Garrison Continuity was called in after Defra identified
the need for greater coherence of its plans for dealing with emergencies
or unexpected disruptions. A series of information gathering workshops
were organised with Defra’s business continuity teams to determine
key expectations. This enabled Garrison Continuity to develop a
work programme that would provide an effective roadmap and unify
business continuity planning across the organisation.
In addition to having plans in place to address a wide range of
emergencies where it would take a leading role, such as the foot
and mouth outbreak, Defra is also responsible for ensuring that
payments and subsidies are received from the EU by meeting deadlines
for grant applications. Good business continuity arrangements are
essential to ensure the flow of these payments should the Department
face serious disruption.
