APPENDIX 1

Committee charged with preparing for pandemics scrapped by PM

 

THE UK Government scrapped its “anti-pandemic” committee (with no publicity) when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019.

The committee, which had included 15 Cabinet ministers, including Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Gavin Williamson, was disbanded six months before  COVID-19 reached the UK.

The Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingency Committee (THRCC), a sub-committee of the National Security Council which is chaired by the Prime Minister, was designed to ensure the UK was prepared for a pandemic, but it was mothballed by former PM Theresa May so the government could focus on Brexit work and Mr Johnson did away with it completely.

A former Cabinet minister who was on the team said the committee could have helped the UK react more quickly to the crisis, saying: “Once the pandemic took hold in Italy … alarm bells would have been ringing. We would have stress-tested the government’s contingency plans for dealing with a pandemic.”

Back in 2018, the Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime, Ben Wallace, who became Defence Secretary in July 2019, was the minister behind a report insisting the committee had a vital role in pandemic planning.

His report said an influenza pandemic was “one of the most significant civil emergency risks facing the UK”. It added: “Such an outbreak could have the potential to cause hundreds of thousands of fatalities and cost the UK tens of billons of pounds.”

According to a former minister, fears of a No-Deal Brexit led Sir Mark Sedwill, the head of the civil service, to recommend the committee be wound down in 2018.

A former Labour foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, who chairs Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (scrutinising the structures for government decision-making on national security, particularly the role of the National Security Council and the National Security Adviser), said there would be an investigation into the axing of the THRCC.

Commenting on the disbandment of the committee, a Cabinet Office spokesperson made one of the more extraordinary and outrageous remarks of the year: “The Government has taken the right steps at the right time to combat this pandemic. We regularly test our pandemic plans.”

On 15th June, Caroline Lucas (Green MP for Brighton Pavilion) asked in a written question on what date and for what reasons the Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingency Committee was disbanded.

Penny Mordaunt, Paymaster-General, answered on 23rd June: “The body referred to in the Hon. Member’s questions was one of a number of sub-Committees of the National Security Council. Since July 2019, the National Security Council itself now consider matters relating to national security, foreign policy, defence, international relations and development, resilience, energy and resource security. This includes oversight of the National Security Risk Assessment. This administrative measure simply reflected a wider consolidation of Cabinet Committee sub-Committees.”

An intriguing non-answer to a valid question, with no mention of preparation for pandemics.

The government has long had outline plans for dealing with a pandemic – though only flu-related – and in 2013 published comprehensive guidance which was updated in November 2017. This stated: “Influenza pandemics are a natural phenomenon that have occurred from time to time for centuries – including three times during the 20th century. They present a real and daunting challenge to the economic and social wellbeing of any country, as well as a serious risk to the health of its population.

“There are important differences between ‘ordinary’ seasonal flu and pandemic flu. These differences explain why we regard pandemic flu as such a serious threat. Pandemic influenza is one of the most severe natural challenges likely to affect the UK, but sensible and proportionate preparation and collective action by the government, essential services, businesses, the media, other public, private and voluntary organisations and communities can help to mitigate its effects.

“Inter-pandemic years provide a very important opportunity to develop and strengthen our preparations for the potentially devastating impact of an influenza pandemic, and the government will continue to take every practical step to prepare for and mitigate its health and wider socio-economic effects.

“The Department of Health (DH) is the lead department for planning for a human influenza pandemic. However, given the wide impacts of a pandemic all government departments are involved in planning to mitigate its impacts…”

Further on, the statement read: “…a key part of the response will be to encourage the public to follow government advice and adopt basic hygiene measures to manage or reduce their own risk of catching or spreading the virus. Ensuring that all of us are fully aware of the necessary precautionary and response measures, are prepared to co-operate actively with them and accept responsibility for helping themselves and others must therefore be an integral part of our overall preparedness strategy.

“Pandemic influenza emerges as a result of a new flu virus which is markedly different from recently circulating strains. Few – if any – people will have any immunity to this new virus thus allowing it to spread easily and to cause more serious illness. The conditions that allow a new virus to develop and spread continue to exist, and some features of modern society, such as air travel, could accelerate the rate of spread.

“Experts therefore agree that there is a high probability of a pandemic occurring, although the timing and impact are impossible to predict. The H1N1(2009) pandemic does not lessen the probability of a further pandemic in the near future, and should not be seen as representative of future pandemics.”

 

APPENDIX 2 >>