Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to improve pandemic preparedness.

The Department continues to plan and prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios, including those caused by respiratory, contact and vector-borne pathogens, informed by lessons learned from exercises and incidents, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons from the independent inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic will also be applied to future preparedness planning and response. The Centre for Pandemic Preparedness has been established within the UK Health Security Agency as a hub for all aspects of pandemic preparedness.