Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions she had had with officials and ministerial colleagues about the potential merits of a new Civil Defence Office to coordinate and strengthen whole-of-society resilience.

This Government is taking decisive steps to strengthen our national resilience, coordinated centrally through the Cabinet Office, so our country is better prepared for threats like extreme weather, cyber attacks or another pandemic. In July 2026, immediately after coming into government, we announced an acceleration to home defence planning, including updating the Government ‘War Book’, which will be tested through a home defence exercise planned for next year. We have also announced we will do a public awareness campaign on how households can prepare for emergencies like severe weather.