Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Government plans to (a) select and (b) appoint people to UK Resilience Academy independent panels on risk preparedness; what steps he plans to take to ensure that those panels can operate independently; and when he expects their findings to be published.

The Cabinet Office will instruct the UK Resilience Academy to convene independently-chaired panels dedicated to reviewing specific whole-system risks. The panels will draw on leading independent experts from across sectors outside government to ensure impartial and credible assurance. Terms of Reference will underpin the panels, and a pilot study will test and refine this approach.

The Government's updates on its actions to improve resilience, including in response to the findings of the independent expert panels, will be set out in the Annual Statement to Parliament on risk and resilience.