Member

I stress that the learning from Covid-19 is ongoing. I think we started to touch on Exercise Pegasus, which was starting around the time of our previous debate. The DfE was a key partner in Exercise Pegasus, which is described as a tier 1 pandemic preparedness exercise, led by the Department of Health and Social Care, with the other agencies, as I have outlined. It has been the largest simulation of a pandemic in UK history, involving every government department, the devolved Governments, representatives from arm’s-length bodies, local resilience forums, the engagement of businesses, academics and external stakeholders. Across three core exercise days, the participants were challenged to respond across key phases of a pandemic—emergence, containment and mitigation—based on a novel enterovirus originating from a fictional island. Noble Lords should read up about it because it was an extraordinary exercise. Although the live participation in Exercise Pegasus has now concluded, critical learning from it continues. A fourth phase, recovery, is planned to be exercised in 2026. Findings will be published as part of the Government’s commitment to transparency.