Tower Hamlets Council’s Civil Protection and Business Continuity Manager Andrea Stone has won Public Sector Manager of the Year at the annual CIR Business Continuity Awards 2023. The award recognises excellence in delivering business continuity, security, and resilience in the public sector.
Resilience is a critical role for councils and involves planning, preparing, and responding to civil emergencies, such as floods, fires, or other major incidents. It is a statutory responsibility for councils, the NHS, police, and other emergency responders.
Andrea leads the Tower Hamlets Civil Protection team and has been instrumental in helping the council maintain effective business continuity plans, so it is able to maintain essential services for residents during an emergency.
With the ambition to ‘make resilience everyone’s business’, Andrea has developed a comprehensive training and development programme to help service managers maintain their business continuity plans and equip staff to respond to civil emergencies. Andrea has also trained a team of staff who are available 24/7 to respond to incidents.
In the past year alone, the council has responded to 54 incidents ranging from serious fires, building collapses, power outages, flooding, and the loss of IT. It is the effective planning, preparing, exercising, and testing of plans that has enabled the council to fulfil its duty to support the first responders and residents during these emergencies.
Andrea Stone, Civil Protection and Business Continuity Manager, said: “It is great to have been recognised for this award. I am so passionate about what I do, I was born and brought up in Tower Hamlets and am proud to be able to support the boroughs residents, particularly at times of crisis.
“I have a fantastic team around me and a huge team of volunteers across the council who are equally committed to delivering for our Tower Hamlets residents.”
Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “This is fantastic recognition for Andrea and Tower Hamlets Council, showcasing our excellence in business continuity.
“Civil protection is a critical council service and our team work tirelessly to prepare for and respond to any emergency, working with partners on the ground and supporting affected residents.
“We will continue to lead by example in this area and keep our community safe.”
Posted on Friday 23rd June 2023