A partnership approach

The question over how the security industry should contribute to national resilience has resurfaced. The Cabinet Office is developing an “enhancement programme” to the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act and attention is now turning to how the private sector should contribute to the process. Wider questions over industry’s contribution to the country’s economic resilience are being asked. What is the security industry’s contribution to national resilience?

A|D|S is interested in this question because it is the organisation advancing the AeroSpace, Defence and Security industries in the UK. It represents over 850 companies across the supply chain and approximately 400 of these are small, medium and large sized companies operating in the security and resilience sectors. A|D|S’s member companies have since 2007 been engaging the UK Government on strategic issues of security and counter-terrorism through the UK Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community (RISC).

Next to the development of engagement mechanisms with government on resilience issues, the economic conditions have been focusing minds in the security industry. A|D|S monitors closely the impact that the economic conditions are having on its members and the UK’s national resilience effort. In this context, A|D|S has been arguing for the development of a closer partnership between government and industry to deliver national resilience and to help fulfill the economic contribution of the sector.

But if industry has a role to play in national resilience what is meant by the term?

Defining resilience
Resilience is a difficult concept to define. However, Sir David Omand has previously captured its meaning as the “ability to detect, prevent and if necessary to handle disruptive challenges”. The view that resilience is “the capacity to absorb shocks and to bounce back into functioning shape” is widely accepted.

Resilience is therefore viewed within UK Government as the preparation for, the response to and the recovery from a wide range of emergencies. The government’s strategic security documents show that it considers many threats and hazards impact upon society’s ability to absorb disruption. These extend beyond international terrorism and have been articulated in previous iterations of the National Risk Register.

There is a further dimension. In the context of the current financial climate and fierce global competition the concept of economic resilience is increasingly important. This is to consider resilience not so much as the approach to natural disasters or malicious attacks, but in economic terms with the state of the public finances as an emergency itself. Questions over how to provide resilience against this type of emergency demand a different set of answers.

Resilience can therefore be viewed as the ability of society to sustain itself. Seen in this way, there is a need to consider security and resilience in a very broad manner, and to balance risk mitigation measures with the continuation of our way of life.

The security industry’s role
Against this backdrop, what is the security industry’s role in delivering national resilience? We can think of the security industry’s contribution in three main ways:
• A producer of industrial capabilities which support the UK’s resilience agenda
• A provider of corporate security and business continuity across the country
• A significant potential contributor to the country’s economic recovery.

Firstly, the security industry’s capabilities can help to mitigate the impact of major emergencies. Examples of capabilities designed to support the government and the UK’s first responders in dealing with various stages of emergencies include (but are not limited to): blast modelling; multi-agency civil command team training; the integration of operational control systems; horizon scanning and scenario planning; satellite observation for reconnaissance underpinning security actions; airborne capabilities and interoperable communications.

Secondly, the security industry is in its day-to-day business an essential provider of corporate security and business continuity across the country. The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaTCSO) recognises the role of the private sector in providing for national resilience and provides important guidance on how companies can deal with emergencies. Similarly, the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) operates a broad range of information exchanges that bring government and industry together to discuss relevant issues, including in the sectors that A|D|S represents.

Thirdly, the ability of the security industry to generate new business in overseas markets is important to the UK’s economic recovery. The Chancellor has stated his intention to reframe the economy to one that is “not overly reliant on the success of one industry, financial services – important as they are – but where all industries grow.” With the government’s ongoing commitment to work with the security industry, it is a sector that can contribute to the rebalancing of the economy. The industry is a British success story and it has been seeking to work with all the relevant parts of the government to develop a comprehensive approach to security exports. The market is estimated to be worth around US$140-180bn annually and is growing. It offers the UK a huge opportunity to export its innovative capabilities globally and contribute to the country’s economic resilience.

A new focus on security exports
The coalition government is providing some very encouraging signs that it will seek to increase the country’s focus on security exports overseas. The industry welcomes the Minister of State for Security Rt Hon Baroness Neville-Jones’ recognition in her speech to the 2010 Farnborough International Airshow that the security industry in the UK has a huge amount to offer the world by way of innovative solutions to security problems. It also wants to work with government to realise her wish to see “a major uplift in the performance of UK security exports” (currently estimated to be worth around four per cent globally) with the government playing the sort of role it has played in the past in relation to defence exports.

The security industry plays many roles in national resilience. It is a world leading supplier of national security and resilience capabilities, an important participant in corporate security and business continuity efforts and a significant potential contributor to the country’s economic recovery. The importance of security exports to delivering national security and resilience objectives and in helping the UK’s broader economic recovery should not be underestimated. The security industry has been seeking a closer partnership with the government on security and resilience issues and the coalition’s early willingness to engage with the sector is encouraging. A closer partnership between government and industry will help to deliver the nation’s resilience – in all its forms.

A|D|S is the trade organisation advancing UK AeroSpace, Defence, and Security industries with Farnborough International Limited as a wholly-owned subsidiary. A|D|S also encompasses the British Aviation Group (BAG). It is formed from the merger of the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers (APPSS), the Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).