13. INFRASTRUCTURE: INTERNAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
PA resource for key decision makers
13.1 Key decision makers will have their telephone calls and inboxes managed. This is especially important as they can be locked in meetings for much of the day. A PA resource being made available will ensure that requests for information can be attended to quickly and that incoming information can be cascaded as appropriate.
Disease Strategy Unit mailbox
13.2 A Disease Strategy Unit mailbox is available for immediate use. This will help ensure urgent messages are picked up on in a timely fashion and avoid one individual receiving the majority of correspondence and creating a potential bottleneck in communications.
13.3 The Disease Strategy Unit mailbox is designed primarily for use by internal Scottish Government staff or other UK Administrations who need to contact the Disease Strategy Unit and require a quick response. The address can be advertised on the Scottish Government Intranet and passed to other UK Administrations as appropriate. This mailbox will not be made available to the public.
Briefing Team
13.4 A Briefing Team will be formed at suspicion stage with the Communications Coordinator providing the lead once appointed. A single point of contact between the Briefing Team and the MDRT will be established from the outset in order to streamline the process.
13.5 Draft Key Brief documents for the exotic diseases have been prepared in advance as far as possible. These include suggested recipient lists which can be updated as events dictate. The Communications Coordinator will ensure the Key Brief document is provided on the intranet and regularly updated so that internal briefing can be easily accessed by all within Scottish Government. The Briefing Team, based at Disease Strategy Unit HQ (Pentland House, Edinburgh), will have editorial control of this document and will circulate updates at a frequency agreed with other users. Key users will be:
- helpline staff;
- MDRT;
- operational partners;
- local authorities.
Daily Action Bulletin ( DAB)
13.6 One of the tasks of the Communications Coordinator will be to produce and circulate the Daily Action Bulletin ( DAB). This will be issued by a set time each evening to those both at the local and national level. The DAB will provide operational information about activities and on the communications side, any planned announcements. This will ensure that everyone is aware of imminent key activities and what their role within that activity entails. The Local Communications Officer attached to the LDCC will have a key role in bringing together local information to feed into the DAB. S/He will also ensure that the information is shared with local operational partners.
Internal distribution lists
13.7 Distribution lists are in place to ensure that all internal responders are kept abreast of the latest developments and what information is going to stakeholder groups and into the public domain. Distribution lists are in place for:
- licensing updates;
- DSG minutes including action points;
- Scottish Statutory Instruments.
- News Releases;
- stakeholder updates.
Feedback from the EU
13.8 The procedures in place for Scottish Government receiving reports on the outcome of EU level meetings as rapidly as possible are detailed in Scottish Government's contingency planning arrangements.