David Reed

DBT supports and feeds into cross-Whitehall work to ensure that small and medium sized businesses are more resilient in the event of major disruption. DBT provides direct messaging and guidance to business should major disruption occur, and works closely with cyber partners across Whitehall to drive uptake of practical cyber resilience measures such as Cyber Essentials among SMEs.

DBT supports SMEs through wider business support channels, primarily the Business Growth Service accessible through business.gov.uk, the Business Support Service and Growth Hubs in England, which provide guidance and signposting to help businesses plan, adapt and respond to challenges.

The Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) updated the UK Criticality Assessment in November 2024, identifying critical minerals based on global supply risk and the UK’s economic vulnerability. This informed the 2025 UK Critical Minerals Strategy, which introduced a new, complementary list of growth minerals, which will be increasingly important to future industries and economic growth. CMIC will update the criticality assessment in due course; in the interim, Government continues to monitor developments. Further, to help anticipate future risks, DBT’s Supply Chain Centre published its list of growth-driving inputs, including chemicals and raw materials, vital for the Industrial Strategy manufacturing sectors.

The Department for Business and Trade carefully considered the evidence submitted through the public consultation on the operational details of the trade union right of access framework, including views on a proposed exemption from statutory access provisions for employers of a certain size.

The government published its response to this consultation on 8 April, setting out the final approach and rationale, including an exemption for employers with fewer than 21 workers. This is consistent with the statutory recognition framework, and strikes a balance between ensuring unions can access workplaces where there is the greatest potential for recognition, while limiting administrative burdens on smaller employers.

The Department for Business and Trade held several roundtable discussions with business and industry groups throughout the development of the trade union right of access policy. In these meetings the threshold for trade union access to SMEs was discussed. This has included discussions before and during the relevant consultations on the secondary legislation and the new Code of Practice on access.

The Department for Business and Trade held several roundtable discussions with business and industry groups throughout the development of the trade union right of access policy. In these meetings the threshold for trade union access to SMEs was discussed. This has included discussions before and during the relevant consultations on the secondary legislation and the new Code of Practice on access.

HMG does not hold a separate Government-owned strategic reserve of petrol or diesel. The UK meets its International Energy Agency obligations by requiring industry to hold emergency stocks, which can be made available in the event of a supply disruption.

Under the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations, operators of essential services are required to report incidents that have an impact on the continuity of the essential services they provide. DESNZ has not received any reports of cyber incidents affecting the energy sector that met these mandatory reporting thresholds in the last 12 months.

The absence of reportable incidents should not be interpreted as an absence of cyber threats or risks. DESNZ continues to work closely with industry, regulators, and wider government to strengthen cyber resilience across the energy sector and encourage the timely reporting of cyber incidents and emerging threats.

The UK benefits from a secure, diverse energy system, drawing on a range of gas supplies. Gas storage provides additional flexibility at times of peak demand.

National Gas data indicates the UK has 1.7bcm of gas storage capacity, which is equivalent to around seven days of average winter demand.

The Department does not collect comparative G7 data.

The Department takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure extremely seriously, including the cyber security of critical infrastructure. Maintaining a secure and reliable energy supply is a key priority.

The Department works closely with partners, including industry, to assess potential risks from cyber threats and their possible impacts on the availability and integrity of energy systems.

These risks are reflected in the National Risk Register, which includes three cyber-related risks owned by the Department. In partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre, the Department ensures threats are understood and appropriate mitigations implemented to maintain robust protections and resilience.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure extremely seriously, including the cyber security of critical infrastructure. Maintaining a secure and reliable energy supply is a key priority. The Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations, impose strict incident-reporting obligations on critical energy operators.

The Government has recently introduced the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill. The Bill proposes expanding incident-reporting requirements, broadening the scope of reportable events, and enhancing the powers of regulators to oversee compliance and require remedial actions where necessary.

The Government keeps risks to Critical National Infrastructure, of which data centres are a part, under continuous review through the National Risk Register process and extensive engagement with industry. As the department responsible for data infrastructure, DSIT also conducts rolling assessments of the risk of a cyber-attack to data centres. This is supplemented by DSIT’s ongoing engagement with the sector to continuously test the capabilities of data centres against known threats, including cyber attacks. DSIT’s assessments consider the potential disruption, compromise or denial of essential services resulting from a successful cyber attack on data infrastructure, and inform national resilience planning assumptions.

Departmental budgets are currently set up to the end of financial year 2025/26. The government is currently in the middle of a Spending Review, which will set out the government’s spending plans for R&D through to 2029/30. This will conclude in June 2025.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor confirmed that total HMG investment in R&D is rising to a record allocation of £20.4bn in 2025/26. As part of this, DSIT's R&D budget is rising to £13.9bn for the 2025/26 financial year.

The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency. Television and radio both play an important role in providing such access in a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its infrastructure is able to support emergency communications.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks in the National Risk Register is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed DCMS that there are robust plans and procedures in place, which are tested regularly, for maintaining resilient communications to the public via its TV and radio broadcast networks including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The department does not collect data on whether schools have a business continuity plan, or whether such plans have been reviewed within the last 12 months.

Settings remain responsible for complying with their legal responsibilities, including health and safety requirements, and should develop plans that reflect their local circumstances.

The department publishes non-statutory guidance to support settings to plan for emergencies within their own local context which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.

The current Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge for Plan 2 loans in England is 32.2%. The RAB charge for Plan 2 loans has changed as follows since 2019:

Many factors can influence the RAB charge, including modelling methodology, economic determinants and policy decisions. The last cohort of Plan 2 loan borrowers took their first loans in the 2022/23 academic year, the latest RAB charge covers outlay for borrowers still receiving Plan 2 loans in the 2024/25 financial year.

The department does not hold estimates of lifetime repayment costs for Plan 2 borrowers by earnings bands.

The Autumn Budget included freezes to Plan 2 repayment and interest thresholds for at their 2026/27 financial year level until April 2030, when they will increase annually by inflation.

The following analysis of the impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds to aid the decision:

We also do not hold the proportion of borrowers projected to repay of their student loan than the graduate earnings premium attributable to their degree.

The department does not hold estimates of lifetime repayment costs for Plan 2 borrowers by earnings bands.

The Autumn Budget included freezes to Plan 2 repayment and interest thresholds for at their 2026/27 financial year level until April 2030, when they will increase annually by inflation.

The following analysis of the impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds to aid the decision:

We also do not hold the proportion of borrowers projected to repay of their student loan than the graduate earnings premium attributable to their degree.

The actual repayments for plan 2 are published in Figure 14 on this page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025/student-loans-in-england-financial-year-2024-25#income-contingent-loan-borrower-repayment-status.

The forecasts for Plan 2 are published here:

2020/21: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/537c9923-1dee-4dd7-03b6-08de802d14ab.

2021/22: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/72cb044b-3268-42b8-2298-08de802e40a1.

2022/23: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/63aca262-3422-41f2-03b4-08de802d14ab.

2023/24: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8be5221a-77a1-4544-2297-08de802e40a1.

2024/25: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8b17045b-d933-4ac1-03af-08de802d14ab.

Forecasts are always likely to deviate from actuals due to uncertainty around many factors. Forecasts are based on the most up to date inputs available. Even looking only a year into the future, factors affecting repayments are likely to deviate from model inputs, especially in times of greater economic uncertainty. Over time, improvements to modelling methodology also affect accuracy of forecasts.

Defra works with industry and across Government, including with the Cabinet Office to monitor risks to food supply chains. Decisions on capacity of food storage infrastructure are a matter for individual food businesses. Government maintains, regular engagement with industry to support preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

In 2024, the Government allowed most water companies to publish their latest water resources management plans. The plans explain how water companies will maintain water security over a 25-year period. In allowing the publication, an assessment of their water needs was made and advice taken from the Environment Agency and Ofwat. The Environment Agency has published a summary of the plans on GOV.UK

The National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, last met on 18 June 2026 to review drought preparedness and assess water resource conditions. The Group concluded that although drought risk was currently low with most companies reporting adequate water resources, further heatwaves may change this assessment. It was agreed continued monitoring and early preparedness action was required in response to hot, dry weather.

The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. The UK Food Security Report 2024 shows that climate and geopolitical volatility have weakened aspects of food supply stability since 2021, although food availability or the quantity of food available to the UK has been maintained thanks to continued resilience in food production and the global trading system.

The UK has a resilient food supply chain. The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. For security and resilience reasons, we do not disclose detailed operational contingency plans. Defra works with industry and across Government, including with the Cabinet Office to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.