London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) commissioned pollsters ComRes to pose questions on resilience to the London public, businesses and councillors.
Respondents were asked ‘which of the following would be most disruptive for your borough / your company / you?’. When ranking their top three, the polling showed that councillors and businesses are most likely to feel that a prolonged power failure would be the most disruptive crisis event to occur to their borough or company. The public are most likely to feel that a major disease outbreak would impact them most.
– A prolonged power failure: 66pc of Councillors, 80pc of businesses, 61pc of the public.
– Extensive transport network disruption: 63pc of Councillors, 48pc of businesses, 31pc of the public.
– A terror incident occurring close by: 61pc of Councillors, 40pc of businesses, 55pc of the public.
– A major disease outbreak: 48pc of Councillors, 39pc of businesses, 63pc of the public.
– A flood or major storm: 40pc of Councillors, 40pc of businesses, 55pc of the public.
– A major data or privacy breach: 22pc of Councillors, 53pc of businesses, 36pc of the public.
LCCI Chief Executive, Colin Stanbridge, said: “Brexit is dominating the domestic agenda, but that cannot be to the detriment of London’s ability to deal with a range of crises. LCCI has previously raised concern that 54pc of London’s ‘blue light’ emergency services frontline personnel live outside London due to housing affordability and availability.
“And our new polling shows that Londoners, businesses and civic leaders feel that insufficient spending on health care and emergency services is the capital’s biggest barrier to dealing with a crisis. With a new dedicated Deputy Mayor for Resilience in post, the Examination in Public of the Mayor’s draft new London Plan beginning this month, and with the next Mayoral elections just over a year away, now is the time for City Hall to step up London’s resilience arrangements.”
When asked ‘which of the following, if any, do you believe are the greatest barriers to London’s ability to deal with, and recover from, a crisis?’, survey respondents said:
– Insufficient spending on healthcare and emergency services: 54pc of Councillors, 53pc of businesses, 58pc of the public.
– Insufficient spending on security and prevention: 48pc of Councillors, 45pc of business, 49pc of the public.
– Lack of capacity or resource across the Greater London Authority: 42pc of Councillors, 45pc of businesses, 49pc of the public.
– Lack of understanding or preparation for risks amongst the London public: 47pc of Councillors, 42pc of businesses, 47pc of the public.
– A lack of preparation amongst London boroughs: 33pc of Councillors, 46pc of businesses, 49pc of the public.
– Lack of understanding or preparation for risks amongst London businesses: 36pc of Councillors, 30pc of businesses, 30pc of the public.
When asked ‘how confident, if at all, are you in the ability of each of the following to ensure that London is able to deal with a crisis?’ the emergency services received the highest levels of confidence from Councillors, businesses as well as the public, while London borough councils received the lowest business and public confidence. Councillors are most likely to show the least confidence in the UK National government or the London Mayor and GLA (1pc difference between the two):
– The emergency services: 95pc of Councillors, 87pc of businesses, 83pc of the public.
– London borough councils: 78pc of Councillors, 38pc of businesses, 38pc of the public.
– The UK National Government: 67pc of Councillors, 52pc of businesses, 52pc of the public.
– The London Mayor and GLA: 66pc of Councillors, 46pc of businesses, 49pc of the public.
Other polling areas:
Resilience Impact:
– 43pc of Councillors, 31pc of businesses and 60pc of the public think that it is likely that their borough / company / they will experience a major data or privacy breach over the next five years.
– 63pc of Councillors, 40pc of businesses and 66pc of the public think that it is likely that their borough / company / they will experience extensive transport network disruption over the next five years.
– 54pc of Councillors, 31pc of businesses and 52pc of the public think that it is likely that their borough / company / they will experience a terror incident occurring close by over the next five years.
– 40pc of Councillors, 18pc of businesses and 40pc of the public think that it is likely that their borough / company / they will experience a flood or major storm over the next five years.
– 14pc of Councillors, 18pc of businesses and 23pc of the public think that it is likely that their borough / company / they will experience a prolonged power failure over the next five years.
– 10pc of Councillors, 9pc of businesses and 21pc of the public think that it is likely that their borough / company / they will experience a major disease outbreak over the next five years.
Resilience Preparedness:
– 55pc of Councillors, 36pc of businesses and 20pc of the public say their borough / company / they are prepared for a major data or privacy breach.
– 46pc of Councillors, 25pc of businesses and 31pc of the public say their borough / company / they are prepared for extensive transport network disruption.
– 75pc of Councillors, 19pc of businesses and 13pc of the public say their borough / company / they are prepared for a terror incident occurring close by.
– 60pc of Councillors, 23pc of businesses and 15pc of the public say their borough / company / they are prepared for a flood or major storm.
– 45pc of Councillors, 22pc of businesses and 17pc of the public say their borough / company / they are prepared for a prolonged power failure.
– 46pc of Councillors, 14pc of businesses and 8pc of the public say their borough / company / they are prepared for a major disease outbreak.
Resilience Responsibility:
– 59pc of Councillors, 56pc of businesses and 63pc of the public say the UK
National Government is responsible for ensuring London’s ability to deal with a crisis to a large extent.
– 63pc of Councillors, 48pc of businesses and 47pc of the public say the London Mayor and the Greater London Authority are responsible for ensuring London’s ability to deal with a crisis to a large extent.
– 78pc of Councillors, 66pc of businesses and 54pc of the public say the emergency services are responsible for ensuring London’s ability to deal with a crisis to a large extent.
– 48pc of Councillors, 36pc of businesses and 32pc of the public say London Borough Councils are responsible for ensuring London’s ability to deal with a crisis to a large extent.
About the poll
ComRes polled 138 London Councillors between 2 and 16 November 2018, 507 London business decision makers between 26 October and 21 November 2018, and 1003 members of the London public between 14 and 19 November 2018.
