FORTH VALLEY
LOCAL RESPONSE TEAM
PROTOCOL AGREEMENT
CONTENTS
Page No.
Protocol Agreement
3
Appendix 1
Local Contingency Plan
7
Appendix 2
Communications Plan
18
2
FORTH VALLEY LOCAL RESPONSE TEAM – PROTOCOL AGREEMENT
1. INTRODUCTION
This protocol agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the members of the Forth
Valley Local Response Team in taking forward the guidelines outlined in the PACE document
published by the Scottish Executive with the objective of:




Identifying the lead roles of the various local agencies involved in dealing with job losses
Determining how best they can work in partnership
Identifying early proactive methods of helping companies in difficulty
Establishing a framework for a strategic response plan
Three unitary authorities cover the Forth Valley area, and the Local Contingency Plan, which
forms an Appendix to this protocol, will be shaped by local partnership arrangements in
Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling.
2. LEAD CONTACT
The Forth Valley Local Response Team has agreed the named individual who will liaise with the
Scottish Executive as:
Lilian Hamilton
Senior Executive Operations
Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley
Laurel House
Laurelhill Business Park
Stirling FK7 9JQ
Tel
01786 452015 (direct)
Fax
01786 478123
E-mail lilian.hamilton@scotent.co.uk
Lilian Hamilton will be supported directly by the Senior Management Team of Scottish
Enterprise Forth Valley
3
3. MEMBERSHIP
Aubrey Fawcett
Clackmannanshire Council
Inglewood House
Alloa
T 01259 725026
F 01259 725027
afawcett@clacks.gov.uk
Lilian Hamilton
SE Forth Valley
Laurel House
Laurelhill Business Park
Stirling FK9 9JQ
T 01786 452015
F 01786 478123
Lilian.hamilton@scotent.co.uk
Stewart Cameron
Falkirk Council
Community Services
(Economic Development)
Municipal Chambers
Grangemouth
FK3 8AH
T 01324 504493
F 01324 504488
stewart.cameron@falkirk.gov.u
k
Ann Scott
Jobcentre Plus
District Office
Grahame House
Weir Street
Falkirk FK1 1RA
T 01324 508055
F 01324 508058
ann.scott@jobcentreplus.gov.u
k
Jim Gilmour
Stirling Council
Viewforth
Stirling FK8 2ET
T 01786 443144
F 01786 443199
gilmourj@stirling.gov.uk
Stephen Benwell
Careers Scotland
Laurel House
Laurelhill Business Park
Stirling FK9 9JQ
T 01786 446150
F 01786 450582
Stephen.benwell@careersscotland.org.uk
Pat Rafferty
Regional Industrial Organiser
21 LogieMill
Beaverbank Business Park
Edinburgh
EH7 4HG
T 0131 556 9676
F 0131 558 1027
prafferty@tgwu.org.uk
4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Local Response Team has agreed that Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley (SE Forth
Valley) will lead and co-ordinate the development and review of the Local Contingency Plan.
This plan will comprise common core elements across Forth Valley but will also reflect the
different characteristics of the three unitary authorities. The relevant unitary authority will
lead the actual implementation of the Local Contingency Plan in its area in response to an
actual redundancy.

Formal and informal labour market intelligence is regularly gathered and disseminated by
each of the partners on an ongoing basis. Informal intelligence is added to a confidential
company at risk database maintained by SE Forth Valley and accessible on a confidential
basis by each Local Response Team Member. An intervention process will be established
4
with a focus on preventative action prior to redundancy announcements. This process will
be sensitive to factors leading to redundancy and react to local factors.
5

A Local Response Sub-Team will be automatically formed by the unitary authority for the
area in which any redundancies occur and, although membership may be adjusted
accordingly to reflect local circumstances, SE Forth Valley, the Jobcentreplus, and Careers
Scotland will always be part of those teams.

The Local Response Sub-Team will be formed within 1 working day of a significant
redundancy being announced and agreement reached on who should approach the
Company. This will normally be a representative of the unitary authority. In any event all
agreed actions will be recorded and circulated to all Team members.

As lead contact body, SE Forth Valley will monitor and evaluate progress, disseminating
good practice and lessons learned to all the Local Response Team members.

The Local Response Sub-Team will directly engage Trade Unions, as appropriate to the
particular redundancy situation.

Should any suspicion of a significant redundancy be raised, an Account Manager or other
appropriate business development executive/officer, will approach companies informally
within the context of business development. In the event of formal notification of
redundancy, the Jobcentreplus will immediately contact the named individuals within the
relevant unitary authority and SE Forth Valley.

SE Forth Valley’s named contact will advise the Scottish Executive by email, and confirm by
telephone, during the working day that the announcement is made known.

SE Forth Valley’s Communications Manager will lead a Communications Group as part of
the Local Response Team, which will prepare, and maintain, an action plan as an integral
part of the Local Contingency Plan (Appendix 2). In the event of an actual redundancy SE
Forth Valley’s Communication Manager and his unitary authority counterpart will co-ordinate
external communications with local and national media.
5. ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEETINGS
The Local Response Team will meet quarterly (March, June, September, December,) and will
be chaired by SE Forth Valley. The draft agenda will be circulated two weeks in advance of
each meeting for input by the members of the Local Response Team. Any members of the
Team will have the opportunity to convene a meeting outwith the normal meeting cycle should
circumstances merit a meeting. SE Forth Valley will provide the secretariat for the Local
Response Team and undertake to circulate notes of meetings within five working days.
6
6. FUNDING
The cost of the quarterly review activities of the Local Response Team will be met from the
existing resources of the member organisations. This is essentially an in-kind contribution. The
cost of responding to specific redundancy situations can only be met by altering budget
priorities on a case by case basis. No resources can be ring-fenced for future eventualities.
Should the need arise, the relevant organisations will be requested by the Local Response
Team to make available necessary funds. Requests for financial assistance from the Scottish
Executive and/or company will be co-ordinated by the Local Response Team.
Keir Bloomer – Chief Executive
Clackmannanshire Council
Dave Cowie – District Manager
Jobcentreplus
Charlene O’Connor – Chief Executive
Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley
Mary Pitcaithly – Chief Executive
Falkirk Council
Stephen Benwell
Careers Scotland
Keith Yates – Chief Executive
Stirling Council
Pat Rafferty, TGWU
Representing Scottish Trades Union Congress
7
APPENDIX 1
8
FORTH VALLEY LOCAL RESPONSE TEAM – LOCAL CONTINGENCY PLAN
1. INTRODUCTION
The Forth Valley Local Response Team has prepared this Local Contingency Plan which sets
out its approach to dealing with significant redundancies. The Plan should be read in
conjunction with the overarching Protocol Agreement between the Local Response Team
members. Given the diverse nature of the Forth Valley economy, and the need for flexibility
and fit with local partnership arrangements, the implementation of the Contingency Plan will be
led by the relevant unitary authority. Section 4 details the specific actions that will be taken in
Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling.
2. KEY ROLE OF EACH PARTNER
The roles and responsibilities of each partner are established in the Protocol Agreement. This
sets out the roles each agency will play, and the timeframes within which specific actions will be
undertaken. Each Local Response Sub-Team will determine the need to co-opt other members
to it, depending upon the nature of the redundancy. It is incumbent upon all the partners to
ensure that its representatives have the necessary delegated authority to ensure agreed
actions will be undertaken within the agreed timescale. This is particularly important where
resources require to be re-directed to address the redundancy situation.
3. CONTINGENCY PLANNING
3.1
Vulnerable Companies/Sectors
The Forth Valley Local response Team (LRT) has agreed a strategy for ensuring that the
partner agencies work with companies whenever possible to prevent or minimise job losses.
The Local Response Team Members have agreed two approaches:
 Monitoring vulnerable sectors and identifying responses which may help improve
competitiveness including sector development initiatives and/or area regeneration and
property initiatives; and
 Monitoring vulnerable companies and offering business and skills development support.
The latter approach will normally be undertaken via the existing account management
system operated by Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley (SE Forth Valley) and the three unitary
authorities as part of the Forth Valley Business Gateway. Where there has been no prior
contact with a company at risk, the relevant unitary authority and SE Forth Valley will agree
which agency is best placed to respond. Clearly, in such circumstances, the discussion will
be of a general business development nature until such times as the company may formally
announce redundancies.
3.2
Local Labour Market Intelligence
The Protocol Agreement sets out the Forth Valley Local Response Team’s (LRT) approach.
A company at risk database has been established, which gathers informal labour market
intelligence about potential redundancy situations. This information is shared with the Local
Response Team on a strictly confidential basis. SE Forth Valley maintains the database
with intelligence provided by LRT members.
9
3.3
Work Profiles
Where companies are being account managed, workforce profiles of companies most at
risk are available. Where this is not the case the LRT is dependent on ad hoc information,
as it is extremely difficult to approach a company for this type of information without its full
co-operation and implicit acknowledgement of an impending redundancy.
Following the announcement of a redundancy, the unitary authority-led Local Response
Sub-Team will ensure a workforce profile is obtained as quickly as possible.
3.4
Intervention Tools
The Local Response Sub-Teams (LRST) will endeavour to secure a financial contribution
from the company towards the cost of agreed actions. Where this will not cover the full
cost, the principal available tools, from mainstream budgets, are:





Guaranteed/non-guaranteed Skillseekers (Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley)
New Deal early entry (Triage Central Limited/Jobcentreplus)
Training for Work early entry (Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley)
Job-matching/Work Trials (Jobcentreplus)
Skills assessment/job-matching/customised training (SE Forth Valley/unitary authorities –
through employment intermediary projects)
 Training and Employment Grants Scheme (SE Forth Valley)
 Careers Information and Guidance (Careers Scotland)
 Redundancy Contingency Budget (Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley)
4. ACTION PLANS
Given the diverse economies of Forth Valley, which merit differing local responses, an Action
Plan for each unitary authority area has been prepared. All of these Action Plans adhere to the
principles set out in this Contingency Plan.
10
4.1
Clackmannanshire Local Action Plan
TIME-SCALE
1. Within 24 hours
2. Within one week
3. Dependent on timescale of closure or
job losses.
ACTION

PARTNERS
Local Response Sub-Team
formed
 Meeting with company’s senior
managers.
 Local Response Sub-Team
meet with company to
commence operational activity
for workforce support.








SE Forth Valley
Clackmannanshire Council
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland
SE Forth Valley
Clackmannanshire Council
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland
Futures Fair to be held on company
premises, promoting support
available from partner agencies.

Led by SE Forth Valley,
Clackmannanshire Council &
Jobcentreplus. Also involving,
where appropriate:









OUTCOME



Agreement to provide support.
Parameters established.
Timescales agreed.


Planning support.
Collect names, addresses,
postcodes, National Insurance
Numbers, length of service, age
& if possible skills of staff
affected.
 Information gathering by staff to
assist in making informed
choices at next stage.
Trade Unions
New Approaches
Careers Scotland,
Council Benefits advisors,
Clackmannanshire
Enterprise
Programme Centre
Clackmannan College
Triage Central Ltd (New
Deal)
Training Industry Association
Employers
11
TIME-SCALE
ACTION
PARTNERS
4. Week following
Futures Fair
Establish on-site Resource Centre


5. Final weeks in
rundown to closure
or job losses
Dependent on outcomes of 1,2,3
and 4 a range of other assistance
will be available on-site.
Further planning of provision takes.
6. Final weeks in
rundown to closure
or job losses
Establish and promote existing
opportunities. Customised training,
individual training and job interview
guarantees put in place.
Tracking
 SE Forth Valley
 Clacks. Council
 Jobcentreplus
 Careers Scotland
 Clackmannanshire Enterprise
 Programme Centre
 College
 New Deal
 New Approaches
 Employers
 SE Forth Valley and other
7. On-going
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland
appropriate partners dependent
on area identified.

Jobcentreplus led but
Jobcentreplus/SEFV/Careers
Scotland monitor
OUTCOME



Provision of 1-2-1 guidance.
Job vacancy display
Possibility of Jobcentreplus
setting up LMS for tracking
 Refining of individual need.
 Matching with training/retraining
/ job opportunities.

Individuals start to move into
jobs, training or education.
 National programmes, utilised
where appropriate.
 Individuals start to move into
jobs, training or education.
 National programmes, utilised
where appropriate.
12
4.2
Falkirk Local Action Plan
TIME-SCALE
1. Within one working
day
2. Within five working
days
3. Dependent on timescale of closure or
job losses.
ACTION

Local Response Sub-Team
formed
 Meeting with company’s senior
managers.
 Local Response Sub-Team
meet with company to
commence operational activity
for workforce support.
 Establish what support the
company intends providing
(outplacement services, CV
preparation, job interview,
training etc
 Seek financial / in kind
contribution from company for
PACE activities
Futures Fair to be held on company
premises, promoting support
available from partner agencies.
PARTNERS








OUTCOME
SE Forth Valley
Falkirk Council
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland
SE Forth Valley
Falkirk Council
Jobcentreplus
Company in discussion /
negotiation with Local
Response Sub-Team
 Careers Scotland





Led by SE Forth Valley, Falkirk
Council & Jobcentreplus. Also
involving, where appropriate:









Agreement to provide support.
Parameters established.
Timescales agreed.


Planning support.
Collect names, addresses,
postcodes, National Insurance
numbers, length of service, age
& if possible skills of staff
affected.
 Company support agreed
 Company contribution agreed
Information gathering by staff to
assist in making informed
choices at next stage.
Trade Unions
Routes to Employment
Careers Scotland
Council Benefits advisors,
Falkirk Enterprise Action
Trust
Programme Centre
Falkirk College
Triage Central Ltd (New
Deal)
Training Industry Association
Employers
13
TIME-SCALE
ACTION
PARTNERS
4. Week following
Futures Fair
Establish on-site Resource Centre


5. Final weeks in
rundown to closure
or job losses
Dependent on outcomes of 1,2,3
and 4 a range of other assistance
will be available on-site.
6. Final weeks in
rundown to closure
or job losses
Establish and promote existing
opportunities. Customised training,
individual training and job interview
guarantees put in place.
 SE Forth Valley
 Falkirk Council
 Jobcentreplus
 Trade Unions
 Careers Scotland
 Council Benefits Advisors
 Falkirk Enterprise Action Trust
 Programme Centre
 College
 TEGS/GATE
 Triage Central Ltd (New Deal)
 Routes to Employment
 Training Industry Associations
 Employers
 SE Forth Valley and other
7. On-going
Tracking
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland
appropriate partners dependent
on area identified.

Jobcentreplus led but
Jobcentreplus/SE Forth
Valley/Falkirk Council monitor
OUTCOME



Provision of 1-2-1 guidance.
Job vacancy display
Possibility of Jobcentrepluss
setting up Labour Market
System for tracking
 Refining of individual need.
 Matching with training/retraining
/ job opportunities.

Individuals start to move into
jobs, training or education.
 National programmes,
TEGS/GATE etc utilised where
appropriate.
 Individuals start to move into
jobs, training or education.
 National programmes,
TEGS/GATE etc utilised where
appropriate.
14
4.3
The three aims of the Local Action Plan for Falkirk are to:
1. 1.Support the redeployment of the affected company workforce;
2. Understand and disseminate implications of company closure/contraction leading to
redundancies to relevant support agencies; and
3. Pursue preventative action to closure/contraction
The Forth Valley Response Team agreed that Falkirk Council should lead the Sub-Team in
the Falkirk Council area because of the need to alleviate the social and economic impacts.
This Local Action Plan formalises a redeployment of a work force process that has been
operational in the Falkirk area for the last 12 months. The process draws on the
participation of many agencies and the continued support from Falkirk Council, Scottish
Enterprise Forth Valley, Jobcentreplus, Benefits Agency, Falkirk Enterprise Action Trust,
Programme Centres, Colleges, Triage Central Ltd, socially responsible employers and
Routes to Employment is essential.
4.4
Workforce Redeployment – A Process
Bringing the LRST Together
On receiving information detailing an impending redundancy situation Falkirk Council will be
responsible for calling the LRST to a meeting within a working day of receiving news. At this
stage LRST members will discuss the available information regarding the redundancy
situation, a process that will help identify knowledge gaps and consequently support the
formulation of an agenda for use during the first meeting with the company. It will be agreed
at this meeting who from the LRST will contact the company.
Meeting the Company
Following the first LRST meeting effort will be made to meet the company within 48 hours.
At this meeting the company will be made aware of the PACE group and the LRST
membership. Discussion will detail the potential support measures available from the team.
At this stage the company will be made aware of the information the LRST need to ensure
appropriate intervention measures are deployed. Historically typical information requested
centres on:




Timescale - Date redundancies are starting.
Volume - Numbers of individuals being made redundant.
Profile - Skill level, qualification attainment, age, gender, length of service and income
levels of those individuals being made redundant.
Company assistance - Be aware of interventions the company plan to deliver and
resource internally.
Closure - Rationale for redundancies, property implications and local supplier issues.
At this early stage of the process, the LRST will invite the company to participate in regular
meetings. The benefits from this are twofold. First, it will strengthen what is a relatively new
partnership and second, provided participation is constant, it will ensure the public sector
agencies are kept well informed by company representatives on the redundancy situation.
In the event of a company declining to participate, the LRST will take forward a meeting
schedule with the company absent.
15
At the first meeting an agreement will be sought from the company regarding work force
participation in activities prior to redundancy leaving date. Depending on the extent of
participation the company extends to the workforce and on the information released by the
company, the LRST will be well placed to schedule redeployment activity and take forward
the design of suitable interventions. The LRST has experience in delivering the following
interventions:






Futures Fair
Individual Counselling and Guidance
Provision of Job Search Training and Advice
Money Advice Assessment Profiling
Redundancy Support Booklet
Recruitment and Training Grants
Economic Impact Assessment
At the close of the first company meeting the LRST will be in a position to scale the likely
intervention needed. This will be recorded and circulated to LRST members detailing
intervention objectives and responsibilities.
Trade Unions
Following the first meeting with the company the LRST will discuss and agree a point at
which the representative trade union if appropriate will be invited to join the LRST. From
past experiences an early engagement with trade union representatives can prove
beneficial for an awareness of the effort being made to re-deploy the redundant work force.
Moreover, trade union representatives can act as a good communication channel to the
work force when encouraging the take up of intervention measures.
Suitable Intervention
A number of factors will drive what is deemed suitable intervention. Given resources are
limited the LRST has a responsibility to the public purse to ensure resources are targeted at
those in greatest need. Given this, clients need will be agreed through analysis by the LRST
of information released by the company on the workforce to be made redundant. The LRST
will agree level and scale of public agency interventions. Any intervention action will follow a
consensus reached by the LRST. No one LRST member, irrespective of budgets they are
able to bring to bear to the process, will act independently of the group.
Tracking
A good tracking system will enable data on the destination for each redundant worker to be
collated. Such a system would allow for improved evaluations for worker destination could
be tied back to intervention delivered. The LRT will explore tracking options in more detail
and provide feedback and recommendations to the three Local Response Sub-Teams.
4.5
Implications of Company Closure/Contraction
Supplier Issues
The LRST will seek to identify other local businesses that may be affected by any significant
company closure/contraction. Those businesses most at risk may be offered assistance in
completing a strategic review of their business. This support will be managed through the
Economic Development team based in Falkirk Council and will involve Scottish Enterprise
Forth Valley and other Business Gateway partners.
16
4.6
Stirling Local Action Plan
TIME-SCALE
ACTION
1. Within 24 hours


Sub-Team formed
Meeting with company's senior
managers.
2. Within one week

LRST Team meet with company
to commence operational activity
for workforce support.
3. Dependent on timescale of closure or
job losses.

Futures Fair to be held on
company premises, promoting
support available from partner
agencies.
PARTNERS








SE Forth Valley
Stirling Council
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland
SE Forth Valley
Stirling Council
Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland

Led by SEFV, Stirling Council &
Jobcentreplus.
 Also involving, where
appropriate:










OUTCOME



Agreement to provide support.
Parameters established.
Time-scales agreed.


Planning support.
Collect names, addresses, postcodes, length of service, age &
if possible skills of staff
affected.
 Information gathering by staff to
assist in making informed
choices at next stage.
Trade Union
Careers Scotland
Council Benefits advisors
Stirling Enterprise Trust
Programme Centre
Colleges
TEGS/GATE info
New Deal (Triage)
Employment Connections
Training Industry Association
Employers
17
TIME-SCALE
ACTION
4. Week following
Futures Fair.

5. Final weeks in
rundown to closure
or job losses.

6. Final weeks in
rundown to closure
or job losses

7. On-going
Establish on-site Resource
Centre
Dependent on outcomes of 1,2,3
and 4 a range of other
assistance will be available onsite.
 Further planning of provision
takes.
Establish and promote existing
opportunities.
 Customised training.
 Individual training and job
interview guarantees put in
place.
 Tracking.
PARTNERS


Jobcentreplus
Careers Scotland














SEFV
Stirling Council
Jobcentreplus
Benefits Agency
Careers Scotland
Council Benefits
Enterprise Trust
Programme Centre
Colleges
TEGS/GATE info
New Deal (Triage)
Employment Connections
Employers
SEFV and other appropriate
partners dependent on areas
identified.

Jobcentreplus led but
Jobcentreplus/SEFV/SC
monitor.
OUTCOME



Provision of 1-2-1 guidance.
Job vacancy display
Possibility of Jobcentreplus
setting up LMS for tracking
 Refining of individual need
 Matching with training
/retraining/job
opportunities.
 Identify gaps in skill levels and
links to current recruitment.

Individuals start to move into
jobs, training or education.
 National programmes
 TEGS/GATE etc utilised where
appropriate.


Use of Jobcentreplus.
LMS database to follow up for
6 months.
18
5. REDUNDANCY SITUATIONS
The Forth Valley Local Response Team has not adopted a hard and fast definition of significant
redundancy. Each notified redundancy will be assessed and a judgement made about how it
should be treated. The factors to be taken into account include:



Company size relative to job losses (complete closure/% contraction)
Geographical location (rural/urban/SIP area etc)
Sector (declining/growing)
Workforce skills
The Local Action Plans identify specific actions that address the key issues to be taken into
account when job losses become inevitable. In most instances, the unitary authority-based
Local Response Sub-Team, regardless of company size or sector will always address these
issues. Where closures are likely to have a regional impact, SE Forth Valley will convene the
Forth Valley-wide Local Response Team to ensure all three local authorities are involved, and
will also co-ordinate action with neighbouring local enterprise companies should this be
required.
6. MONITORING
Local monitoring will be the principal responsibility of the unitary authority as lead partner in the
Local Response Sub-Teams. Responsibility for ensuring the Local Contingency Plan fulfils its
required purpose rests with the Local Response Team itself, and SE Forth Valley will monitor
and evaluate progress, and disseminate good practice.
7. COMMUNICATION
As highlighted in the Protocol Agreement, a Communication Group has been established with a
specific action plan prepared in accordance with the Agreement, and this Local Contingency
Plan.
19
APPENDIX 2
20
FORTH VALLEY LOCAL RESPONSE TEAM – COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
INTRODUCTION
It is important to bear in mind that all of the good planning and work of the Local Response
Team (LRT) could be jeopardised by not managing the Communications function properly.
This is true in particular in the field of media handling.
The following paragraphs outline the simple procedure the LRT will follow to aid consistency
and reduce areas of difficulty. The emphasis of this is establishing clear lines of communication
between the Local Response Team member organisations (the Partners). To facilitate this the
partners will:

Establish contact details (telephone, fax and electronic – 24 hrs, if possible) of a named
individual or organisation with the clear communications responsibilities for each of the
partners

Agree, case by case, the procedure for generation and circulation of media releases,
statements and reactions

Ensure media releases, statements and reactions are not distributed until each partner
involved in a redundancy situation has a reasonable opportunity to agree/amend/adapt or
veto any proposed release, statement or reaction

Ensure that when such material is being distributed internally, it should have a clear
deadline for reaction/response, after which it can be distributed without reference to
organisations that have not responded

As far as possible, each partner’s named communications individual should be the sole
person dealing with the media on behalf of that organisation

The Communications individuals shall not comment on any situation on behalf of any
partner organisation except his or her own.
Given that Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley is charged with ensuring implementation of the
agreed PACE Protocol it is also agreed that Louise Bellin, Marketing Executive at SEFV, should
carry out a similar role as far as communication is concerned. However, as in the general
PACE activity, the partners working together to mitigate the impact of any large-scale
redundancy should agree – case by case – who the primary communications contact should be.
That individual would assume responsibility for the communications programme in the period
after the initial closure/contraction announcement. This contact would normally be a
representative of the local authority leading the Local Response Sub-team.
LH/JT2051
13.01.03
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