Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for a future pandemic caused by non-flu and non-coronavirus family viruses.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the new public health body focused on health protection and security, became fully operational on 1 October 2021 and includes the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness (CPP). Working with the CPP, the UKHSA will focus on protection from all future health threats, including pandemics, building on the enhanced capabilities deployed to tackle COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks.

The UKHSA and the CPP will work across Government through the newly established Pandemic Diseases Capability Board to identify critical capabilities across the United Kingdom for pandemic disease preparedness which should be maintained, developed or initiated.