Independent Statutory Resilience Body

Since the pandemic, significant strategic and material changes have been made to the way in which the UK and devolved governments handle crises. Considerable progress has been made against the longer-term programme to build a more resilient UK. The UK and devolved governments now have greater access to strategic expert advice and challenge. The government recognises the need to go further, to ensure the system benefits from fresh thinking and new perspectives. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) will be key in this, given they provide critical knowledge and expertise by bringing multi agency partnerships together to plan, prepare for and recover from local incidents and emergencies. This government is committed to supporting and strengthening local partnerships and improving local risk management, including by investing in LRF capacity and capability.

Recognising the importance Baroness Hallett placed on this recommendation when publishing the Module 1 report, we accept that independent strategic advice and assessment is an essential component for an effective UK wide civil emergency and resilience system. The government will always remain responsible and accountable for policy and resource allocation decisions and we will spend further time working on the appropriate solution to deliver challenge, direction and strategic advice.

We will consider how the work of experts could be called upon to provide further advice and assessment to the government. Use of scientific and expert advice is already being strengthened through improvements already made to SAGE and associated independent advisory groups. In addition, the new NSRA process is expanding the use of external advice and challenge by establishing eight standing advisory groups of technical and scientific experts, each led by an independent chairperson. The government also welcomes the establishment of the multidisciplinary pandemic science networks and institutes that provide world-leading academic and scientific expertise.

As part of our consideration of the best mechanism to provide challenge, direction and strategic advice to government on resilience, we will look at how the government could further draw on independent expertise to provide challenge and undertake reviews. The introduction of a new ‘Hillsborough Law’ will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities. This will be a catalyst for a changed culture in the public sector by improving transparency and accountability where public services have failed.

The UK Government is committed to enhancing the provision of independent advice and external challenge to UK preparedness plans. The Government has therefore committed to convene a number of independent panels to scrutinise UK whole-system risks. This was announced in the Resilience Action Plan and forms the Government’s response to the COVID-19 Module 1, Recommendation 10.

Implementation update for recommendation 10 - independent statutory body for whole-system civil emergency preparedness and resilience (updated June 2025)

24. The UK government agrees that further independent scrutiny in this area is required in order to introduce new ideas and perspectives on our work to plan for the risks we face and to mitigate the risk of groupthink. This is especially the case for the most complex, whole-system risks that touch on the work of every area of government and whose impacts would be felt in every area of society and across every sector of the UK economy. However, the UK government does not consider that the creation of a new statutory body is necessary to provide this input.

25. We are committed to enhancing the provision of independent advice to the UK government on our preparedness, bringing the perspectives of the UK’s leading experts on a range of the most complex risks to bear on our work, on top of the independent advice and external scrutiny we already receive from a number of well established routes, including the National Audit Office, the Public Accounts Committee, and NSRA expert panels.

26. In addition to the scrutiny provided through these existing independent perspectives, the Cabinet Office will instruct the UK Resilience Academy to convene panels of relevant experts to scrutinise plans and preparedness for whole-system civil emergencies across the UK. These panels will be chaired by a figure from outside government who will be selected for their expertise and experience in the risk under consideration. They will scrutinise our planning via document reviews and interviews with key officials. They will offer recommendations on improvements that can be made to the Cabinet Office as well as the Lead Government Department for the specific risk they are considering. These panels will work in a systemic and programmed way across the most significant risks in the classified NSRA - each whole-system risk will be considered in turn.

27. These experts panels will consider preparedness for these whole-system risks across the UK and will set out their conclusions and recommendations, which the government will publish alongside an account of actions taken in response (subject to any security classification considerations).

28. A pilot process will run in the second half of 2025 to test and refine this new mechanism. The Cabinet Office will instruct the UKRA to begin convening these panels before the end of 2025 and the panels will commence work from April 2026. We have developed this approach in collaboration with the devolved governments and we will continue to work with them as we move towards operationalising the new expert panels.

Following four nations engagement, the Scottish Government took part in the UK Government led pilot in December 2025. The pilot involved independent experts from outside government undertaking a structured review and providing recommendations and a report.

The Cabinet Office is progressing with scrutiny of catastrophic risks through the Catastrophic Risk Assurance Programme, which will assess UK planning and preparedness for whole-system, catastrophic risks. Scottish Government officials are engaging with UK Government and devolved government colleagues to shape the programme ahead of the next panel, planned for 2027.

The Scottish Government wrote to the inquiry chair on 18 May 2026 to confirm that this recommendation has been delivered and closed.

It is not yet clear how effective and useful these arrangements will be. It is understood that these will be ad hoc short-term exercises looking at one risk area at a time. So, will they cover systemic risks and overlapping risks or events? It remains to be seen whether these arrangements will be an adequate substitute for an independent body with responsibilities to scrutinise government actions in the way that the Climate Change Committee does.

Status: OPEN Summary Executive’s Agreed Actions The UK Government has been tasked with leading work in consultation with Devolved Governments. Progress update We are working with the UK Government and the Devolved Governments to enhance independent scrutiny of resilience and preparedness for complex, whole-system civil emergencies, utilising external expertise to review evidence, challenge plans and mitigate groupthink. A successful Expert Panel for Independent Review of Whole System Risks pilot led by the UK Resilience Academy has been delivered, and valuable lessons learned are being integrated to refine and improve the approach.

The Welsh Government is consulting with the UK Government and devolved governments to improve independent oversight of emergency preparedness in line with recommendation 10. In response, the Cabinet Office is piloting an expert panel model designed to challenge assumptions, mitigate group think, and provide rigorous assurance on whole-system risks that could give rise to pan-UK catastrophic impacts. Building on lessons learned from this pilot, the UK Resilience Academy will lead a programme of expert panels from summer 2026, ensuring systematic review of preparedness for whole-system risks. These panels, chaired by independent specialists, will examine plans through document reviews and interviews, including with Welsh Government officials, with findings and government responses published subject to security considerations. This collaborative approach reflects UK Covid-19 Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett’s emphasis on improving co-ordination across the four nations and embeds independent challenge at the heart of resilience governance.

This initiative complements our own strengthened governance arrangements, including the responder-focused Wales Resilience Forum and Welsh Government’s internal Risk and Preparedness Committee, which oversee risk management and emergency planning. We are contributing to the design and operation of these expert panels to ensure Welsh perspectives are integrated and that scrutiny reflects devolved responsibilities. This work aligns with our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement, and will help deliver a more robust, evidence-based approach to civil contingencies.

By embedding external expertise and fostering a culture of challenge, we aim to enhance preparedness for future emergencies and uphold public confidence in our resilience arrangements.