Civil Defence Act 1948

Civil Defence Act 1948[a]
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to make further provision for civil defence.
Citation12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 5
Territorial extent 
Dates
Royal assent16 December 1948
Commencement16 December 1948[b]
Repealed14 November 2005[c]
Other legislation
Amends
  • Air Raid Precautions Act 1937
  • Civil Defence (Suspension of Powers) Act 1945
Amended by
Repealed byCivil Contingencies Act 2004
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Civil Defence Act 1948 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 5) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Provisions

The act set out legislation for civil defence procedures in the United Kingdom.

Local authorities were required to plan for an attack by a hostile power.[1] The act also allowed the relevant minister to designate functions for local authorities to perform under the act.[2]

Further developments

The act was amended by the Civil Defence (Grant) Act 2002 to allow for a mechanism which would determining grants to local emergency planning units.[3]

The whole act was repealed by section 32(2) of, and schedule 3 to, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which came into force on 14 November 2005.[4]

See also

  • Civil Defence Act (Northern Ireland) 1950

Notes

  1. ^ Section 11(1).
  2. ^ The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.
  3. ^ The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Commencement No.3) Order 2005 (SI 2005/2040).

References

  1. ^ Cunningham, Patrick (21 February 2003). "'I call it my Insomnia List'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  2. ^ Hilliard, Lexa (1986). "Local Government, Civil Defence and Emergency Planning: Heading for Disaster?". The Modern Law Review. 49 (4): 476–488. ISSN 0026-7961.
  3. ^ Staff (15 February 2002). "Yesterday in parliament". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Civil Contingencies Act 2004", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2004 c. 36