Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 applies across the United Kingdom, but resilience is partly devolved and the arrangements differ in each nation. The Be Ready website, published by the Cabinet Office, says all four administrations share the same goal of protecting citizens from the impacts of crises, and that each government takes the lead where appropriate under the devolution agreements.

Wales

Schedule 1 to the Act has, since 2018, a Part 2A listing Welsh Category 1 responders and a Part 5 listing Welsh Category 2 responders. Section 2(4A) gives the Welsh Ministers the power to make regulations about those responders' duties, and section 11A the power to enforce in the High Court. The 2005 Regulations treat England and Wales together for most purposes: regulation 4 requires a local resilience forum in each local resilience area in Wales, and regulation 16(3) requires a copy of each Welsh community risk register to go to the National Assembly for Wales, as the Regulations name it.

The gov.uk contacts page lists four Welsh forums: Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales. Cabinet Office guidance says a Wales Resilience Forum provides a national forum for multi-agency strategic advice, meets quarterly, and is a non-statutory advisory body, with a Wales Risk Assessment Group reporting to it. The 2026 Implementation Report of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan says the Welsh Government maintains a classified risk register developed with the four forums.

Scotland

Part 2 of Schedule 1 lists Scottish Category 1 responders and Part 4 the Category 2 responders. Section 2(4) gives the Scottish Ministers the power to make regulations for them, and section 11 the power to enforce in the Court of Session. Regulation 5 of the 2005 Regulations requires co-operation in a single forum called the strategic co-ordinating group, meeting at least once every six months, and regulation 17 requires a community risk register kept through that group. Cabinet Office guidance notes that the Health and Safety Executive, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the British Transport Police remain subject to UK regulations and guidance in Scotland.

The 2013 gov.uk guidance describes eight strategic co-ordinating groups based on police force areas. The Be Ready website and the National Risk Register 2025 now count three Regional Resilience Partnerships, and the gov.uk contacts page says their details are on the Ready Scotland website. The Implementation Report records that the Scottish Government is developing a Scotland-specific risk assessment, co-ordinating through a Crisis Preparation Oversight Programme, and promoting public resilience through Ready Scotland. That site carries advice on flooding, wildfires, household emergency plans and kits, planning for disabled people and carers, and a library of Preparing Scotland guidance.

Northern Ireland

Cabinet Office guidance says civil contingencies in Northern Ireland are largely a devolved matter, with responsibilities lying with Northern Ireland departments, while the Northern Ireland Office remains responsible for policing, criminal justice and security. The duties of the Act apply only to organisations with functions that are not transferred: the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and telecommunications operators. Regulations 57 and 58 of the 2005 Regulations require those responders to have regard to the assessments and warning arrangements of the Northern Ireland departments, district councils, health bodies and utilities, and allow joint working with them.

The Emergency Response and Recovery guidance describes Northern Ireland Central Crisis Management Arrangements, with strategic co-ordination by a Crisis Management Group supported by the Executive Office. The gov.uk contacts page says details of the Emergency Preparedness Groups are available from the Northern Ireland Civil Contingencies Policy Branch, and the Be Ready website counts three such groups. The Implementation Report says the Executive Office co-ordinates through the Northern Ireland Civil Contingencies Framework: Building Resilience Together, which is under comprehensive review, and planned a Be Ready NI campaign for summer 2026.

Working together

The Implementation Report records that the UK Government convened the first session of a Four Nations Ministerial Group to align resilience priorities. Section 29 of the Act requires a senior Minister to consult the devolved administrations before making emergency regulations that relate to their nations.