Publish Technical Advice During Emergencies

No formal response published by this government.

No formal response published by this government.

No formal response published by this government.

The government agrees with the Inquiry that it is important to provide clear communications to the public during an emergency. The government has made significant progress on the provision of guidance to departments when dealing with whole system risks, as well as to the public on the steps that they can take to prepare for emergencies.

Progress has already been made to improve transparency during emergencies since the pandemic - for example, the UK CMOs have developed and published scripts containing health advice that would be given to the public in the event of a national power outage.

Information and guidance on how to prepare for and respond to emergencies is readily available for the public through the GOV.UK/PREPARE website. This provides simple and effective steps that people can take to be more prepared. It also encourages people to take action in advance so that it will be easier to manage an emergency if it does happen. The website will be updated in 2026, as part of efforts to improve public engagement on risk and resilience.

In addition to this, the Amber Book, which was updated in April 2025, sets out a national framework for crisis response, establishing clear roles and responsibilities and defining expectations across the lifecycle of a crisis. The updated Amber Book represented a fundamental review and refresh of its predecessor, and was reflective of the lessons identified over the last 10 years. The update provided further details on the process for considering scientific and technical advice in a crisis, which could include public health, environmental, social or economic factors. The update also provides further clarity on the roles and responsibilities for communicating with the public, and the particular considerations that should be given to how the government communicates with and listens to vulnerable and at-risk groups in the response to an emergency.

Specifically in respect of scientific advice, the approach to publishing SAGE minutes is in the published SAGE guidance on GOV.UK. As the Inquiry notes, SAGE advice was published from 29 May 2020 onwards. In 2024 GO-Science and the Cabinet Office published updated SAGE guidance that stated in future emergencies SAGE papers and minutes will be published as and when appropriate. GO-Science will endeavour to publish as soon as practicably possible, noting the importance of transparency in emergencies. Some information may need to be omitted or redacted to protect sensitive information ahead of publication.

The government will continue to review and update guidance as appropriate, including clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the UK government in regards to the publication of technical advice during a whole-system emergency, to aim to continue to improve transparency as much as possible.

As the Inquiry has highlighted, however, full disclosure may not always be appropriate depending on the specific circumstances of the emergency at hand - for example, where novel aspects of the emergency mean that sharing scientific or technical advice could drive unintended or harmful outcomes. Whilst this principle of sharing technical advice with the public is important, it would be for the government of the day to assess the risks associated with sharing certain information against factors such as, the nature of the emergency, the maturity of the technical advice and public opinion.

The government agrees with the Inquiry that it is important to provide clear communications to the public during an emergency. The government has made significant progress on the provision of guidance to departments when dealing with whole system risks, as well as to the public on the steps that they can take to prepare for emergencies.

Progress has already been made to improve transparency during emergencies since the pandemic - for example, the UK CMOs have developed and published scripts containing health advice that would be given to the public in the event of a national power outage.

Information and guidance on how to prepare for and respond to emergencies is readily available for the public through the GOV.UK/PREPARE website. This provides simple and effective steps that people can take to be more prepared. It also encourages people to take action in advance so that it will be easier to manage an emergency if it does happen. The website will be updated in 2026, as part of efforts to improve public engagement on risk and resilience.

In addition to this, the Amber Book, which was updated in April 2025, sets out a national framework for crisis response, establishing clear roles and responsibilities and defining expectations across the lifecycle of a crisis. The updated Amber Book represented a fundamental review and refresh of its predecessor, and was reflective of the lessons identified over the last 10 years. The update provided further details on the process for considering scientific and technical advice in a crisis, which could include public health, environmental, social or economic factors. The update also provides further clarity on the roles and responsibilities for communicating with the public, and the particular considerations that should be given to how the government communicates with and listens to vulnerable and at-risk groups in the response to an emergency.

Specifically in respect of scientific advice, the approach to publishing SAGE minutes is in the published SAGE guidance on GOV.UK. As the Inquiry notes, SAGE advice was published from 29 May 2020 onwards. In 2024 GO-Science and the Cabinet Office published updated SAGE guidance that stated in future emergencies SAGE papers and minutes will be published as and when appropriate. GO-Science will endeavour to publish as soon as practicably possible, noting the importance of transparency in emergencies. Some information may need to be omitted or redacted to protect sensitive information ahead of publication.

The government will continue to review and update guidance as appropriate, including clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the UK government in regards to the publication of technical advice during a whole-system emergency, to aim to continue to improve transparency as much as possible.

As the Inquiry has highlighted, however, full disclosure may not always be appropriate depending on the specific circumstances of the emergency at hand - for example, where novel aspects of the emergency mean that sharing scientific or technical advice could drive unintended or harmful outcomes. Whilst this principle of sharing technical advice with the public is important, it would be for the government of the day to assess the risks associated with sharing certain information against factors such as, the nature of the emergency, the maturity of the technical advice and public opinion.