DORSET recovering from a disaster or major incident was the topic of discussion at a meeting.

National incident such as the Grenfell Tower fire, significant flooding in different parts of the country and the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester have highlighted the importance of recovery and how starting that process as soon as possible is vital.

Representatives from a range of local agencies met in Dorchester this week as the Dorset Local Resilience Forum to discuss plans – the recovery framework – that define how emergency services and voluntary agencies would respond following a major incident.

Matthew Weller, from Dorset Civil Contingencies Unit, who co-authored the recovery framework, said: “Effective recovery inevitably involves many more agencies and participants than the response phase, which is why so many organisations were represented at this workshop event. The role of the voluntary sector is particularly important as communities deal with trauma, so the programme included several speakers who set out the range of help and support that is available.”

While it is hoped that the framework is never needed locally, it has now been formally adopted by the Dorset Local Resilience Forum and will help to direct how emergency responders and voluntary organisations deliver future recovery activity in the event of a major incident anywhere within the rural Dorset area and the conurbation.