Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the UK’s preparedness for (a) mpox and (b) future outbreaks and pandemics.

The Secretary of State and I have met regularly with officials from the Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the National Health Service on this issue.

UKHSA will continue to keep the global situation and our domestic preparations under close review, and ministers across the Government are working together to coordinate our response. Planning is underway, including work by the Department, the UKHSA, and the NHS, to prepare for any cases that we might see in the United Kingdom.

The UKHSA is engaged with our international partners, including the World Health Organisation, European, American, and African centres for disease control and prevention and national public health agencies, ensuring we receive updates about international cases in a timely fashion.

The risk to the UK population of being exposed to Mpox clade I is currently considered low. However, planning is underway to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK. This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and to prevent onward transmission.