| Petition launched to push the UK government to change its approach to business continuity
The petition which is available to sign at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Continuity/ is pushing for a long-overdue department which would have specific responsibility for business continuity management. Currently within Government, the responsibility for business continuity falls under the a wide range of Ministries, including but not limited to BERR, Cabinet Office, Communities and Local Government, Culture, Media and Sport, Defence, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Health, Work and Pensions, Justice and Transport. There are so many departments that touch on aspects of business continuity demonstrating the breadth and importance of business continuity but no one body overseeing it all. Richard Fitzhugh – content manager at Business Continuity Expo says: “Where there is dilution of activities amongst all the various Ministries and government bodies – there is also dilution of action and responsibility. Without a keystone to provide oversight across all ministries with activities and responsibilities in this area it is impossible to have a coherent strategy for the assurance of business activities, leading ultimately to a genuine threat to the organisations that provide the nation’s critical services: employment, finance, utilities transport, food and security. It is not simply a question of cogent thinking and sensible directorial infrastructure, it underpins the very fabric of society.” Business Continuity Expo initiated the petition after many round-table discussions with business continuity professionals during last year’s Expo and in the run-up to this year’s event which will be held from 2-3rd April at London’s Excel, where professionals have been repeatedly calling for the same action – a department that has overall responsibility for business continuity. “Whilst the Civil Contingencies Secretariat has made incredible strides in pushing forward an agenda of resilience, there still needs to be a simplification – or at least a clarification – or where the buck stops for business continuity at a Gold level. All my consultations with the industry unequivocally support this.” says Fitzhugh. David Honour, editor of Continuity Central said: “It is best practice within companies and organisations to take a holistic approach to business continuity and to avoid a ‘silo’ approach where different departments are left to their own devices. To achieve this a central business continuity leadership resource is established, with the responsibility for promoting, coordinating and managing the business continuity management system. This is not only cost effective and efficient; it also ensures that no area is missed from the business continuity plan. It is essential that central government follows business continuity best practice and in order to do this it needs to take the step of designating a lead department to take a central coordination and management role for business continuity activities.” Lyndon Bird from the Business Continuity Institute said: “Whilst there is no doubt that the British government is strongly supportive of the general aims of business continuity, there is a perception of duplication of effort and no overall direction across the various departments. By appointing a lead department to co-ordinate policy and implement consistent strategies, we believe that both the UK’s domestic business resilience and its international trading performance will be enhanced. The UK will be seen as a safe, secure and consistent place to build and base business operations.” UK readers can sign the petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Continuity/
•Date: 8th February 2008• Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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