What is the West Midlands Resilience Forum?
The West Midlands Resilience Forum (WMRF) is a multi-agency partnership made up of representatives from local public services, including the emergency services, local councils, the NHS, and others. These agencies are known as Category 1 Responders.
This partnership is supported by Category 2 responders. They have a responsibility to cooperate and to share relevant information with the WMRF. These responders include the Highways Agency, public utilities, and others.
In the event of a major incident, everyone comes together to help the people of the West Midlands by responding in a way that minimises the impact on the public, property, and environment of the region.
The West Midlands Resilience Forum was established by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which placed a duty on public sector organisations – local authorities, emergency services, to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency.
The population of the West Midlands is around six million people and covers an area of around 12,998 square kilometres (5,019 square miles) and covers the areas of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.