Surge and Rapid Response Team: how we can support your organisation

The Surge and Rapid Response Teamteam (SRRT) willis supportthe anyoperational governmentarm departmentof orthe agencyOperational toDelivery manageProfession. predictableWe annualare peaksa inflexible, demand,deployable andteam toof respondover to700 unexpectedskilled crises.

SRRT’scivil membersservants arewho recruitedenhance asoperational ODPresilience Apprentices.across Thethe apprenticeshipCivil standardService.

Since ensuresour thecreation SRRTin is2015, ablewe tohave deployundertaken anover adaptable700 anddeployments skilledinto crossmore governmentthan team.

You65 cangovernment requestorganisations, SRRTsupporting resourcesome toof supportthe withhighest yourpriority plannedoperational orchallenges unplannedacross work demands.government.

What we offer

TheseWe typescan ofhelp workyour includeorganisation -to:

• Facemaintain toservice Facelevels Customerduring Servicedemand pressures, with rapid deployment of staff already cleared to SC level
• Telephonyscale resource for short-term need without permanent commitments, providing better value for taxpayer money
• Casework/Processingplan with certainty — we have one clear day rate that covers all costs including planning, logistics and management, with no hidden costs or finders’ fees
• Admin/Clericalavoid Supportservice failures and reputational damage by using skilled colleagues who understand your customers and can hit the ground running
• Correspondenceput resource anywhere it is needed — our contracts allow colleagues to work anywhere in the UK or internationally at short notice

When to use SRRT

YouWe willare benefitdesigned fromto -support departments in three scenarios.

• AO

  Planned Deployablepeaks

  Seasonal Teams

• Enhanceddemand Securitythat Clearanceyou (SC)can predict but cannot resource permanently, such as standard
• ‘Intax House’deadlines, Management,benefit releasingprocessing yourpeaks, valuableelection departmentperiods resources
and census activity.

Recent examples include:

• Rapidtaking deploymentmore nationallythan orhalf internationallya dependingmillion oncalls yourfrom requirementscustomers about Child Benefit at HMRC
• Experiencedeploying into customerBorder serviceForce rolesto acrossprocess governmentpassengers departmentsarriving and policyin areasthe UK during busy summer months

Unexpected demand

TheUnplanned datapolicy speakschanges foror itselfevents -requiring immediate additional capacity, such as emergency schemes, policy implementations, legislative changes and digitalisation.

Recent examples include:

• Supportedprocessing over12,890 50XL governmentBully bodiesexemption soapplications farat the Animal and Plant Health Agency
• Overhandling 600almost successful30,000 deploymentssubject access genealogy requests at the Ministry of Defence

Crisis response

National emergencies requiring rapid operational mobilisation, such as evacuations, pandemic response and natural disasters.

Recent examples include:

• Wesupporting havethe anGrenfell 800+Tower operationallyInquiry activewith workforceresponses to public and political correspondence, including parliamentary questions
• Bysupporting Aprilthe 2024Foreign, ourCommonwealth newand offerDevelopment willOffice include(FCDO) 250in EO’s,repatriating alsoBritish availablenationals forfrom deploymentAfghanistan following the fall of Kabul

What makes SRRT different

IfUnlike youexternal wouldcontingent likelabour, toSRRT knowcolleagues moreare aboutpermanent civil servants with the SRRT,knowledge, skills and experience to adapt quickly to changing priorities.

Our teams work on flexible contracts covering varied hours and locations. Deployed colleagues can retain in-house line management from our central team if required, and our model allows you to scale up or woulddown likeas your needs change.

How we prioritise requests

Requests are assessed against four prioritisation levels to expressensure interestresource ingoes securingwhere SRRTit support,is pleaseneeded email:most.

Priority	Definition
Crisis	A national or regional emergency (a direct Ministerial or COBR request)
High	Totally unexpected demand that clearly supports delivery of a Plan for Change milestone or agreed operational priority outlined by Heads of Profession
Medium	Known or expected demand that clearly supports delivery of a Plan for Change milestone or agreed operational priority outlined by Heads of Profession
Low	Any other request

How to request support

Contact us at srrtcustomerenquiries@hmrc.gov.uk.

We will help you scope your requirements, agree timelines and define the expected outcomes of the deployment. We work with you as partners, not suppliers, and are committed to flexibility and continuous improvement.