Cabinet Office written question – answered at on 19 February 2026.
Lord Roberts of Llandudno
Liberal Democrat
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to apportion responsibility for the management of another global pandemic between the central and devolved governments.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip), Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office), Lords Spokesperson (Northern Ireland Office), Lords Spokesperson (Wales Office), Lords Spokesperson (Scotland Office)
There is detailed guidance and processes in place which set out the arrangements whereby the UK Government will work with the devolved governments to plan for and manage the response to a pandemic. These are underpinned by the principles for responding to crises agreed with the devolved governments set out in the Amber Book - Managing Crisis in Central Government; and which is available for download from the gov.uk website.
Taken together, these arrangements reinforce the commitment to partnership working, recognising health is a devolved matter but seeking alignment of approaches to ensure consistent outcomes.
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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.
