What business continuity is about
Business Continuity Management (BCM) is about ensuring that essential services and operations continue during and after disruptive incidents. Whether it is a power or IT outage, flood, cyber attack, loss of premises or staff shortage, our goal is to maintain critical functions and support community resilience.
- Identify critical services
- Assess risks
- Plan ahead to maintain operations during disruptions
Why business continuity matters
Business continuity planning helps organisations prepare for internal disruptions such as IT outages, loss of premises, or staff shortages. It ensures that critical operations can continue with minimal interruption.
For businesses, having a continuity plan is highly beneficial. It enables faster recovery, reduces financial losses, and protects reputation during unexpected incidents.
- Minimise downtime - quick recovery reduces disruption and cost
- Protects reputation - demonstrates preparedness and builds public trust
- Ensures compliance - meets legal and regulatory requirements
- Safeguards assets - protects data, infrastructure, property and staff
- Maintains public confidence - ensures continuity of vital services
How to prepare
Our business continuity approach includes:
- Identifying critical activities - what services must continue, no matter what?
- Assessing risks - what could disrupt these services?
- Developing plans - how will we respond and recover?
- Training and testing - ensuring staff know their roles and plans are effective
We use tools like the Business Impact Assessment (BIA) to define Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Maximum Tolerable Periods of Disruption (MTPDs).
Write your own business continuity management plan
The Government has published a business continuity management toolkit on GOV.UK (opens PDF). It guides you through the steps you need to take to implement business continuity management in your organisation. It covers topics such as:
- Understanding your organisation
- Determining business continuity management strategy
- Developing and implementing your business continuity management response
- Exercising, maintaining and reviewing your arrangements
- Embedding business continuity management in your organisation's culture
Our Emergency Planning Team has produced a business continuity plan template that covers four key sections - people, process, premises and providers. Any organisation is welcome to download this template and use it to help with their continuity management planning.