A new House of Lords inquiry into the UK's national resilience,
aimed at strengthening the country's preparedness for future
crises, begins this week.
The one-off inquiry, by the newly-formed cross-party National Resilience
Committee, will examine how effectively the UK can
anticipate, withstand and recover from major disruptions
including cyber threats, supply chain shocks and major
disruptions.
It will bring together experts from across government, industry,
academia and civil society to assess current capabilities and
identify opportunities to improve co-ordination and response,
including between the private and public sectors.
The review will focus on key areas such as critical
infrastructure protection, emergency planning, public
communication and disinformation, and the resilience of essential
services including energy and food supplies. The committee will
issue its findings in a report due in November 2026.
The first public meeting takes place on Thursday 12
March and can be followed in person or via this live
link to Parliament TV.
At 10.30am, the Committee will hear evidence from:
-
, Director of Value for Money,
National Audit Office
- Mfon Akpan, Director of Financial and Risk Management
Insights, National Audit Office
- Dr El Parker, Head of Training & Curriculum, Resilience
Academy
- Councillor Matt Boughton, Chair of the Safer and Stronger
Communities Committee, Local Government Association
Then at 11.30am the Committee will hear evidence from:
- Rick Cudworth, Executive Director, Resilience First
- Helena Coe, Policy Manager, CBI
The committee has also issued its call for evidence. This is a
public call for written evidence.