How local government services may be affected during the 2012 Olympics and how they can be maintained

Kevin Smith, Deputy Head of Emergency Management, Surrey County Council

Abstract
On 6th July, 2005, the International Olympic Committee awarded London the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is the first time an event of this magnitude has been hosted in a western country since the September 11th attacks. The UK Government continues to assess the risk, and five years on, planning is well under way. With a limited amount of time remaining, those UK local authorities hosting Olympic events will be considering what they need to have in place to support command and control arrangements during the Games. This article provides an overview of what local authorities need to be doing over the next two years to prepare.

Keywords
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, risk, local authorities, business continuity management, communications, security

Kevin Smith began his career working in the shipping industry in Gibraltar as well as serving in the Royal Gibraltar Regiment from 1991. Kevin graduated from Coventry University in 2002 with a BSc (hons) in development and health in disaster management. He then joined the Emergency Management Team at Surrey County Council in 2003 as an emergency planning officer. Kevin completed his MSc in security and risk management at the University of Leicester in 2007. He is currently Deputy Head of Emergency Management at Surrey County Council, responsible for business continuity management.

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