Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a national blood resilience strategy covering health, defence and civil contingencies.

As blood services are a devolved matter, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for the blood service in England alone. NHSBT is a critical national infrastructure-owning organisation, and the Department of Health and Social Care works closely with it to review the criticality and resilience of blood services. The Joint Blood Stocks Working Group also brings together the Department of Health and Social Care and NHSBT with NHS England, the National Blood Transfusion Committee, and the Ministry of Defence to strengthen planning and emergency preparedness.

In addition, NHSBT is taking forward work to strengthen the resilience of blood supplies both in business-as-usual operations and during critical incidents, including through its partnerships with Defence Medical Command and the Air Ambulance services. This includes exploring new approaches to transfusion in emergency settings, such as dried plasma, or to the transport of blood samples using drones. This work will support future care in challenging environments, both civilian and defence, and help expand the options to deliver blood services, where it is safe, practical, and operationally beneficial to do so.