PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
National Resilience - 10 September 2026 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

This Government are strengthening our national resilience so that we are better prepared for threats like extreme weather, cyber-attacks or another pandemic. We are implementing the resilience action plan; we have published a new pandemic preparedness strategy; we are updating what we call the “war books”, with a home defence exercise planned next year; and we will run a public awareness campaign later this year on how households can prepare for emergencies like severe weather.

In order for us to have national resilience, we must have a network of local services that have local knowledge, local experience and are based in local communities. That should include well-funded local fire and rescue services that can keep response times low and communities safe. Does the Minister agree with me and the Scottish Fire Brigades Union that the Scottish Government should reverse their cuts to fire and rescue services and stop the planned closure of Yorkhill fire station in my constituency, to avoid undermining the resilience of local communities and our preparedness for emerging risks?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising those important points. I understand the concern that the closure of any fire and rescue station brings to people. We have seen in recent weeks, with widespread wildfires, just how crucial fire and rescue services have been to saving lives and keeping the public safe. Decisions on fire services in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Government, but we have given them a record level of funding, with the biggest block grant in the history of devolution.

I welcome the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead Central and Whickham (Mark Ferguson), to his rightful place on the Front Bench. As Ministers may be aware, in late July there was a severe wildfire off Second Avenue in Harlow; I thank the fire services and fire officers who attended and dealt with the issue so well. What is the Minister doing to increase awareness of fires starting, particularly in the dry weather, which is likely to continue next year as well?

Let me take the opportunity to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of fire and rescue services across the country, including in my hon. Friend’s Harlow constituency over the summer. As the House will know, the Government issued an emergency alert to advise people of the steps they should take to avoid inadvertently contributing to already widespread fires. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is exploring ways to expand its “Fire Kills” campaign to deliver targeted messages and resources to the public.

As the Minister says, the UK is facing a growing range of threats for which people and businesses are not fully prepared, including climate change, cyber-attacks by hostile states and organised misinformation. Recent incidents in Germany, including attacks on energy infrastructure and the attempted airport bombing in Leipzig, which has been linked to the Russian state, highlight the seriousness of these risks. Given the breadth of these challenges, a whole-of-Government approach is required to inform and prepare the public. What steps is the Minister taking to co-ordinate that work and provide clear public guidance? Has he engaged with countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Taiwan on how they have built their public resilience through increased and honest information?

My hon. Friend is entirely right. I recently visited Estonia to sign a landmark defence road map, designed to deepen military co-operation and modernise allied forces. Likewise, we regularly engage with our partners to learn about not only what they have done, but crucially what has actually worked to build public resilience. We are using that insight to develop a campaign tailored to the needs and strengths of the United Kingdom, bringing us closer in line with our international partners, most of whom do this regularly.

Over the summer, I met two fire resilience experts in my constituency, who have experience of fires in California. They told me that simple measures taken locally can have a significant impact, including things like clearing vegetation around a house and making sure that there are no log piles next to a home. That can all be done through parish councils and local resilience planning, so what steps will the Minister take to support parish councils as they develop local resilience?

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the point in the way that he does. The resilience action plan details how we will better integrate the voluntary, community and faith sectors into planning, and I would include parish councils within that. It will also enable us to test new structures for leadership, and provide accountability and assurance through the stronger local resilience forum trailblazers programme. I acknowledge and agree with the point that he made, and I am happy to discuss it with him further.

Resilience is obviously the crucial question for the country, and the Government are right to be focusing on the need to strengthen the centre of Government to achieve that. My concern is about the legislation that has been trailed. According to a leak—presumably from a briefing from the Cabinet Office—reported in The Times this week, the Cabinet Secretary is proposing to take new powers to direct permanent secretaries of Government Departments. Will the Minister confirm whether legislation is planned to change the statutory basis of the civil service? Most importantly, does he think that the Cabinet Secretary should or should not have the power to direct permanent secretaries?

I gently advise the hon. Member, as I am sure he is aware, not to believe everything that he reads in the newspapers. However, I hope that he and the House would approve of the fact that this Government, with a new Prime Minister and new First Secretary of State, will want to look very carefully at the structures of the civil service and ensure that they are delivering for the priorities of this Government.

The hon. Lady is right to raise those important points. Food security is national security, and this Government will always back our farmers. This Government, and Government Departments, stand ready to respond to natural hazard risks such as drought, flooding, severe storms and extreme temperatures. The Cobra directorate in the Cabinet Office works in partnership with departmental policy teams and public entities to ensure that our response is proportionate to the nature of the climate threat that we face.