Civil Preparedness for War

Lord Harris of Haringey Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Grand Committee

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble namesake for securing this debate. I declare my registered interest as chair of the National Preparedness Commission.

Not only are we closer to widespread war than we have been for 60 years, but conflict has become much more hybrid, with increasingly hostile cyber activity coupled with deniable sabotage and other disruptions already affecting us here at home in Britain. That is to say nothing of the misinformation and disinformation that floods people’s social media feeds non-stop.

Despite the events since this debate was originally scheduled, the public remain blissfully unaware of the various threats and risks that the nation faces, let alone their urgency and scale. This must change. We urgently need the national conversation called for in the SDR, but it should not be couched solely in terms of defence; it must encompass everything else on the national risk register. The whole of society needs to be engaged. It is not sufficient simply to rely on the GOV.UK Prepare website; we need messages that are repeated in household booklets, as in other countries and as referred to by the noble Baroness. These then need to be amplified through broadcast and social media platforms. Think back to the major public health programmes that have taken place in the past: these were multimedia and you could not escape them. Everybody knew about them and everybody understood them.

We should also be building the sort of civil reserve they have elsewhere: a reserve of volunteers, with skills, that can be deployed in an emergency here at home. It is an emergency whether it is caused by a hostile state, by severe weather events or by another pandemic. Perhaps we could have a register of electricians who have had extra training to repair the grid, or retired doctors to be brought back into the NHS, or those willing, with the right skills and equipment, to clear fallen trees or masonry from roads and railway lines. We could also have people to help pile sandbags. The list is endless. Why do we not have such a public register of reserves for use in those circumstances?

My questions for my noble friend the Minister are as follows. When will the national conversation called for in the SDR start and what will it consist of? It must be much more than a top-down message; it must also foster dialogue at local level and within communities. Will it recognise that this is not just about war preparedness but all the other acute and chronic threats we face as a country? In advance of the defence readiness Act called for in the SDR, will steps now be taken to seek volunteers to offer their help and skills in emergencies and crises? Resilience and preparedness must not be an optional add-on; it is our obligation to future generations—to our children and grandchildren.