United Kingdom: Future Pandemics Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Baroness Williams of Trafford
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United Kingdom: Future Pandemics
Baroness Williams of Trafford Excerpts(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
I was just about to confirm that it is the turn of the noble Lord, Lord Browne.
Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)
My Lords, I am sure that the Minister is aware that it took repeated FoI requests from an NHS doctor to get the Government in 2021 to reveal that they had carried out Exercise Alice in 2016, which was designed to recognise the challenges should a coronavirus hit our shores. The report, redacted when published, revealed shortages of PPE, no plans for pandemic-related travel restrictions, and a failure to have a working contact-tracing system—all of which we had to improvise when it actually happened. Is the department carrying out similar exercises? Is it producing solutions, not just identifying problems? Will the Government publish these reports, so that the public can see what needs to be done to prepare this country?