Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what cross-Government discussions they have had about implementing the recommendations of Exercise Cygnus.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Learning the lessons from preparedness exercises, as well as other sources of expertise, has ensured that the United Kingdom remains well prepared for infectious disease outbreaks.
The Department continues to work across Government and with a range of stakeholders, such as local planners and expert advisory groups, to implement the lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus. These lessons learned have informed our preparedness, such as through development of draft legislation to support the response to a future influenza pandemic and strengthening health sector plans to surge and flex beyond normal operations.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a Pandemic Concept of Operations was produced following Exercise Cygnus.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The United Kingdom Government’s Concept of Operations describes how the Government response to civil emergencies will be organised, and the relationship between central, regional and local tiers in England. Following Exercise Cygnus, a cross-Government work programme was established to improve plans for the use of information in a flu pandemic. This work builds upon the current UK Government Concept of Operations, specifically for pandemic influenza.
The lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus continue to be considered by Government, and have been shared with a range of stakeholders, to ensure that the UK remains well-prepared for infectious disease outbreaks.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who the members of the National Planning Team were with responsibility for managing the development and delivery of Exercise Cygnus.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Exercise Cygnus was a national-level pandemic influenza exercise, which took place from 18 to 20 October 2016. Due to the size and complexity of the exercise, a number of groups were established to assist with its planning.
The Exercise Cygnus Steering Group was accountable for the overall strategic direction of the exercise and included representation from Cabinet Office, the Department of Health, the Department of Communities and Local Government, as well as Public Health England and NHS England.
The National Planning Team had responsibility for managing the development and delivery of the exercise and consisted of representation from some of those who took part in the exercise, including from the Department of Health and 12 other Government departments; the devolved administrations; NHS England, Public Health England, and eight Local Resilience Forums.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who the members of the Steering Group were which was to oversee the overall strategic direction of the 2016 Exercise Cygnus.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Exercise Cygnus was a national-level pandemic influenza exercise, which took place from 18 to 20 October 2016. Due to the size and complexity of the exercise, a number of groups were established to assist with its planning.
The Exercise Cygnus Steering Group was accountable for the overall strategic direction of the exercise and included representation from Cabinet Office, the Department of Health, the Department of Communities and Local Government, as well as Public Health England and NHS England.
The National Planning Team had responsibility for managing the development and delivery of the exercise and consisted of representation from some of those who took part in the exercise, including from the Department of Health and 12 other Government departments; the devolved administrations; NHS England, Public Health England, and eight Local Resilience Forums.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which recommendations made in the Exercise Cygnus report his Government plans to implement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government accepted all the recommendations from Exercise Cygnus. The lessons identified from Exercise Cygnus have been incorporated into an ongoing programme of work on our pandemic flu response plans.
The lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus continue to be considered by the Government and a range of stakeholders, including expert advisory groups and local emergency planners. We continue to work across Government and with key stakeholders to develop coordinated multi-sector response plans for a future influenza pandemic.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's role was in Exercise Cygnus in October 2016.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HM Treasury participated in Exercise Cygnus in 2016. The aim of Exercise Cygnus was to assess the UK’s preparedness and response to a pandemic influenza that was close to the UK’s worst-case planning scenarios. The Government accepted all the recommendations from Exercise Cygnus. The lessons identified from the exercise have been incorporated into an on-going programme of work on the Government’s pandemic flu response plans.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what learning were shared with his Department after Exercise Cygnus in October 2016.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HM Treasury participated in Exercise Cygnus in 2016. The aim of Exercise Cygnus was to assess the UK’s preparedness and response to a pandemic influenza that was close to the UK’s worst-case planning scenarios. The Government accepted all the recommendations from Exercise Cygnus. The lessons identified from the exercise have been incorporated into an on-going programme of work on the Government’s pandemic flu response plans.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Exercise Cygnus report and its related documents.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The publication of the Exercise Cygnus report is currently subject to ongoing legal proceedings, so it would be inappropriate to comment at this point.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 4 June (HL4779), what assessment they have made of reports that NHS representatives estimated during Exercise Cygnus that staff absenteeism could be as high as 40 per cent and that the Department for Work and Pensions based its exercise response on a figure of 50 per cent; and what plans they have to reassess the Written Answer by Lord True.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011 identified that up to 50% of the workforce may require time off at some stage over the entire period of an influenza pandemic, with 15-20% of staff absent on any given day. However, some small organisational units (five to 15 staff) or small teams within larger organisational units where staff work in close proximity are likely to suffer higher percentages of staff absences, with potentially 30-35% absent on any given day.
Each Government department is responsible for ensuring its own preparedness, and that of the sectors for which it is responsible, to manage the impacts of a pandemic. The Cabinet Office and the Department of Health and Social Care have supported departments to assess and improve the resilience of their sectors to operate in a pandemic, particularly in respect to a reduced workforce.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Exercise Cygnus that took place in 2016, what the findings of that exercise were in relation to care homes; and whether any recommendations for that sector were (a) identified and (b) implemented as a result of that exercise.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The lessons identified as a result of Exercise Cygnus continue to be considered by the Government and a range of stakeholders, including expert advisory groups and local emergency planners.
Taking the recommendations from Exercise Cygnus, the Department commissioned further work on pandemic influenza preparedness from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. This was completed in the spring of 2018 and included advice and guidance on planning for a pandemic, which was circulated to Directors of Adult Social Services.