Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 20 October 2020, HCWS526 on Report on Exercise on Pandemic preparedness, if he will publish (a) when and (b) how the Government implemented each of the 22 recommendations of Exercise Cygnus.

The Government accepted all 22 recommendations of Exercise Cygnus and actions have been taken forward on all them as part of our pandemic preparedness plans, working across Government and with stakeholders. Specifically, these actions included:

- working across the whole of Government and with the devolved administrations to develop draft legislation to support the response to a future influenza pandemic; and

- improving plans within health and care sectors to flex systems and resources to expand beyond normal capacity levels.

Due to the nature of Exercise Cygnus, we have no plans to publish further details of how and when these actions have been taken forward as releasing the information could prejudice the safeguarding of national security.