National Preparedness Commission
They publish several very good reports on the state of preparedness in the UK.
The National Preparedness Commission (NPC) is an independent and non-political body, whose fundamental objective is to promote policies and actions to help the UK be significantly better prepared to avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from major shocks, threats and challenges.
In recent years a series of high-impact events have demonstrated how easily our established way of life can be disrupted by major events. Covid-19 not only brought wide-ranging economic consequences but has changed societal norms and working arrangements including the balance between citizens and their governments. The tectonic plates of geopolitics have also shifted in recent times. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, coups in former African colonies and events in the Levant have all piled pressure on the post-WWII rules-based world order, while climate change is adding an, as yet, uncontrollable degree of uncertainty to governments and societies.
As a result we face new demands on how we strengthen ourselves, our physical, social and IT infrastructures, and our economic and financial systems, to cope and adapt to whatever arises. Individually and in combination, they affect how we mitigate and prepare to respond to the risks we face as a nation. The National Preparedness Commission was created to promote better readiness for a major crisis or incident – seeking to achieve this by supporting policy change and other activities that will enable the UK to prevent, withstand, recover and ‘build back better’ from major disruptions. The Commission’s work is both strategic and practical. Recognising that what is needed to be better prepared for many shocks is the same whatever the initiating crisis or incident, we believe a ‘threat agnostic’ ‘whole system’ approach to preparedness is needed alongside the existing focus on specific known risks. We think the time has come to stop merely ‘admiring the problem’, and to bring decision-makers and experts from different sectors together to tackle issues head on, and harness collective capability and insight.
Preparedness is everyone’s business, and it will take the participation of every element of society to respond to the challenge. The National Preparedness Commission is committed to enabling a better-prepared UK.
