New Bill a boost to business continuity planning

The Civil Contingencies Bill has redefined the extent to which UK organisations are expected to plan for an emergency, according to Marsh.

The UK leader of Marsh's risk consulting practice, Alan Williamson, said that as a result of the Bill, which was published today, 2004 will be "the year in which business continuity and crisis management move into the mainstream of good boardroom management practice".

Williamson said: "It is no longer good enough simply to have a telephone cascade in a drawer and call it a business continuity plan.

"The bar is being raised for emergency planning and organisations will need to respond, both to safeguard their own commercial positions and also in some cases to ensure the provision of essential services to the UK population in the event of a major incident."