Civil Contingency Plans Preparedness for a Future Pandemic
2021-07-08
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Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
In December 2020, the national risk register was updated to include new risks, including potential future pandemics.
What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the Government's civil contingency plans and preparedness for a potential future pandemic?
We regularly assess contingency plans and preparedness for major risks, including pandemics. In December 2020, we updated the national risk register to include new risks. We are currently reviewing the Government's national risk assessment methodology with external partners ahead of refreshing the internal national security risk assessment early next year.
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Assessment & feedback
The answer does not provide a specific evaluation of the current adequacy of civil contingency plans for pandemics.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The 2016 Exercise Cygnus found that UK's preparedness was not sufficient to cope with a severe pandemic, with key recommendations on surge capacity, school closures, and protecting care homes.
Given the warning signs identified in the Exercise Cygnus report, why did the Government handle the pandemic so poorly, and what measures are now being taken to prevent this from happening again?
The flaw with Exercise Cygnus was in its risk methodology. We have rectified this by changing our approach to look at less likely but highly impactful events, not just pandemics. This new methodology and the updated national risk register put us in a stronger position.
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Assessment & feedback
The answer does not address why the Government handled the pandemic poorly or specific measures being taken now to prevent future issues.
Response accuracy