UK launches resilience academy and data tool to prepare for future crises
The UK government has launched a new resilience initiative to help the country prepare and respond to future crises such as major storms, fires, power cuts or pandemics.
The UK Resilience Academy in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, is expected to train over 4,000 public and private sector workers a year including citizens, businesses, civil servants and emergency services and armed forces staff in areas such as continuity planning, crowd management and crisis communications.
A new risk vulnerability tool has also been made available to 10,000 ministers and civil servants across the UK. The software maps real-time crisis data alongside demographic statistics to allow decision-makers to identify groups that are vulnerable to particular risks. It was developed by the National Situation Centre within the Cabinet Office and the Office for National Statistics and “will feed directly into government decision-making during future crises”, according to an announcement.
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In extreme cold weather, for example, the software would show demographic data, such as households that rely either on gas or electricity, or areas with elderly people who would need support with food supplies, alongside near real-time data such as live weather warnings and power outages. When planning for potential flooding, ministers and officials could identify areas where people have less mobility and target these if evacuation is needed.
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “Our first duty is to keep people safe – and through our Plan for Change, we are creating strong and resilient communities across the country.
“We’re making a generational upgrade to crisis training for thousands of workers, and helping decision-makers identify vulnerable groups in a crisis. This is all part of our plan to secure Britain’s future.”
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‘Ill prepared’
The measures follow the first report from the UK COVID-19 inquiry, published in July 2024, which found that the UK lacked resilience and was “ill prepared for dealing with a catastrophic emergency, let alone the COVID-19 pandemic that actually struck”.
The report by Baroness Heather Hallett, chair of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, called for the UK to establish new mechanisms for the collection, analysis, sharing and use of reliable data in emergency responses and to hold a UK-wide pandemic response exercise at least every three years.
The government plans to hold a national pandemic exercise in autumn, which it said will be “the first of its kind in nearly a decade” and “the biggest in UK history”.
All government departments, local resilience forums and the devolved governments have been invited to participate.
The site of the UK Resilience Academy was formerly home to the Emergency Planning Centre. “The launch of the UKRA represents a strategic shift with greater ambition and is far more than just a rebrand of the Emergency Planning College,” said Hamish Cormack, head of the UK Resilience Academy in an article for the Emergency Services Times.
“The UKRA will be core to making resilience a ‘whole of society’ endeavour.”
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About Sarah Wray
Sarah has over 15 years’ experience as a journalist with a specialism in the public sector and topics such as digitalisation and climate action. Sarah was formerly the editor of Cities Today and Smart Cities World, as well as a specialist video-based publication in the aerospace sector. She has also written for publications including Smart Cities Dive, Mobile Europe, Mobile World Live and Computer Weekly.
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