Lothian and Borders Police are working in partnership with The City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce to deliver the fourth annual Edinburgh Community Resilience Week.
The three-day event, which starts today, is designed to equip businesses large and small with the knowledge required to cope with a major incident, such as a terrorist attack, taking place in the Capital.
Leading figures in the fields of business resilience and national security will speak at the event, which begins with a one-day Council-led conference at Edinburgh City Chambers.
The rest of the week will encompass police-led events which are structured around three of the four strands of the Government’s Counter Terrorism CONTEST – Prevent, Protect and Prepare.
The week culminates with a Counter Terrorism Security Conference, and has attracted some high calibre speakers. As part of the continued partnership approach adopted within Edinburgh, Standard Life is providing venues and support for the police-led events.
Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, from Lothian and Borders Police, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside our partners to deliver the fourth annual Edinburgh Community Resilience Week, which brings a range of leading figures in the fields of business resilience and national security to the Capital to share their knowledge and expertise.
“The programme of events will help businesses and organisations ensure they are prepared for a major incident, and assist in maintaining Edinburgh’s reputation as a safe place to live, work and visit.”
Councillor Tom Buchanan, Convener of the Economic Development Committee at City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh is a renowned business city, and it is important that we have robust plans in place to deal with all eventualities.
“The annual Community Resilience Week offers businesses of all sizes insight into how best to prepare for major incidents.”
Graham Birse, Deputy Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: “Business continuity is not just a matter for large enterprises, small businesses are also vulnerable to unexpected events that can damage their capacity to trace and employ people.
“Resilience Week gives local businesses a unique opportunity to engage with the professionals in this field in order to develop and protect their own organisation.”
Paul Chong, Group IT and Commercial Director at Standard Life, said: “Resilience Week has established itself as an extremely important event in the Edinburgh business calendar.
“For companies like ourselves it is essential we develop our thinking and share insight with business continuity experts and our peers to allow us to protect our organisations effectively. So we are delighted to be helping to host the event again this year.”
