Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Civil Contingency Plans: Preparedness for a Future Pandemic

Thursday 8 July 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government regularly assesses contingency plans for major risks, including pandemics.
  • The flaw in Exercise Cygnus was its risk methodology, which the Government has since rectified.
  • The national risk register was updated in December 2020 to include new risks.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Ellie Reeves Lab Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Democracy & Elections
Context

In December 2020, the national risk register was updated to include new risks, including potential future pandemics.

Question

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the Government's civil contingency plans and preparedness for a potential future pandemic?

Answer from Penny Mordaunt

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide a specific evaluation of the current adequacy of civil contingency plans for pandemics.

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Q2 Ellie Reeves Lab Lewisham West and East Dulwich
NHS
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.

Question

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?

Answer from Penny Mordaunt

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not address why the Government handled the pandemic poorly or specific measures being taken now to prevent future issues.

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