Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to prepare for future viral respiratory diseases.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has permanent standing capacity to prepare for, prevent and respond to threats to health, including viral respiratory diseases. As part of its role, UKHSA maintains critical national infrastructure and specialist capabilities, such as high containment laboratories and specialist diagnostic equipment, required to respond to emerging and high consequence infectious diseases.

In addition, the Government has established the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness within UKHSA to ensure the United Kingdom’s future pandemic response is faster, more effective, and more efficient to reduce the negative impacts of health threats to the UK.