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Progress to Implement the UK Biological Security Strategy

Cabinet Office written statement – made at on 24 October 2024.

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Photo of Pat McFadden Pat McFadden Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations

I want to update the House on the implementation of the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy. The Strategy’s ambition is to ensure that by 2030, the UK is resilient to a spectrum of biological threats and a world leader in responsible innovation.

In adopting the Strategy, this Government has reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to improving our preparedness for future pandemics and infectious disease outbreaks, countering proliferation of biological weapons and mitigating the risks of biological accidents and incidents, prioritising a holistic approach to developing national capabilities to shore up our defences, and learning and applying lessons from COVID-19.

Over the past year, the Strategy has delivered impact across short, medium and longer term commitments, including:

  • Delivering system-wide leadership across the UK including by establishing a lead Minister, Senior Responsible Owner and a dedicated team in the Cabinet Office;
  • Enhancing the UK’s early warning capabilities, including a prototype Biothreats Radar and pilots for a new National Biosurveillance Network;
  • A new UK Biosecurity Leadership Council, bringing government together with business and academic leaders, developing responsible innovation practices and policies with the biotech sector;
  • Publishing voluntary screening guidance for providers and users of synthetic nucleic acid to guide use for legitimate purposes, whilst also mitigating risks of malicious or accidental misuse;
  • A new UK-wide Microbial Forensics Consortium to develop new tools and capabilities to attribute biological incidents and deter the use of biological weapons;
  • Funding for the International Biosecurity Programme which supports international projects to enhance global biosafety and biosecurity, reducing deliberate and naturally occurring biological risks to the UK;
  • Building new standing capabilities to carry out sensitive testing of biological risks in AI models;
  • Establishing a Chief Scientific Advisers group dedicated to Chemical, Biological and Radiological Security to provide holistic, expert advice to underpin policy development and delivery;
  • Launching the US-UK Strategic Dialogue on Biological Security, reflecting our shared ambition and approach to protect against a growing and diverse spectrum of biological threats.

To get ahead of future threats, we need to continue to innovate to understand, prevent, detect and respond to biological threats. We will ensure that we have the capabilities we need to protect the public from a spectrum of biological threats, no matter how they occur and no matter who or what they affect.

Cabinet

The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.

It is chaired by the prime minister.

The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.

Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.

However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.

War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.

From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.

The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.

Minister

Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.