Ministers and emergency services to hold national test of pandemic preparedness
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Senior Government figures and the emergency services will take part in a multi-day pandemic preparedness exercise, as ministers aim to bolster the UK against future threats like Covid-19. Blue light services will join senior ministers, and representatives from the nations and regions in the first test of pandemic preparedness in nearly a decade, Pat McFadden has announced.
The Cabinet Office minister, whose title is the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Government also plans to train thousands of people to be better prepared for crises like pandemics. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) – which can sound an alarm through mobile phones – will be tested later this year, as part of a series of steps ministers are taking in response to recommendation from the Covid inquiry.
Vulnerable groups, including elderly and disabled people disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, will also be provided with more support. Mr McFadden, sometimes referred to as the “real Deputy Prime Minister” because of his influence in Government, said: “We must learn lessons from the Covid pandemic as we cannot afford to make the same mistakes again.
“But we will plan in a way that recognises the next crisis may not be the same as the last.”. Baroness Hallett, the chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, warned the UK was not prepared nor resilient enough to deal with another pandemic at the conclusion of the probe’s first module.
