Business Continuity Plans
All organisations should carefully consider the case for developing business continuity plans (BCPs) as a systematic basis for managing the continuity of critical functions and recovery of the organisation from disruption. Good business continuity planning may require both generic and specific plans. A generic plan is a core plan which enables an organisation to respond to a wide range of possible scenarios, setting out the common elements of the response to any disruption (eg invocation procedure, command and control, access to financial resources). Within the framework of the generic plan, specific plans may be required in relation to specific risks, sites or services. Specific plans provide a detailed set of arrangements designed to go beyond the generic arrangements when these are unlikely to prove sufficient.
BCPs should be based on systematic identification and assessment of the significant risks of an emergency occurring in an organisation's area. Identifying the risks threatening the performance of critical functions in the event of an emergency will enable organisations to focus resources in the right areas, and develop appropriate plans