To: Amber Rudd MP
Create a government department for emergency management
Create a new department within the Home Office for the co-ordination of emergency situations, modelled on the US's FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Why is this important?
The slow and uncoordinated official response to the Grenfell fire is evidence of a need to have a centralised and powerful agency able to step in on demand with humanitarian aid within the UK's borders. Shelter, food, manpower, the reassurance of an official presence. The power to requisition necessary supplies, transport, and property. The UK armed forces already provide a ready supply of personnel and equipment on standby, as the use of troops in the 2012 Olympics evidenced. The new agency should have a remit to supply humanitarian support for national and localised serious emergencies, such support during major national disasters (flooding etc), serious terrorism incidents, and in other disasters, such as the Grenfell fire.
