As the Deputy Prime Minister the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP, delivered the first Risk and Resilience Annual Statement, James raised the importance of testing plans to protect citizens from the most serious risks.
Before being elected MP for North West Norfolk, James was Chief of Staff to the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and de facto Deputy Prime Minister advising on national security, civil contingencies, and other policy issues.
Text of the exchange
James Wild MP:
I welcome the greater transparency that my right hon. Friend has brought to the threats facing the country. Can he assure me not only that there are robust plans in place to deal with the highest impact risks, but that they are regularly tested through tabletop and proper exercises, including with Ministers and how will the new resilience academy enhance that capability?
The Deputy Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend speaks from experience, having previously worked in the Cabinet Office, and he is absolutely right to highlight the importance of exercising. Indeed, we conducted Exercise Mighty Oak, a major national exercising programme in relation to power outages, earlier this year. We are currently developing the forward programme for national exercises, and I will be able to provide an update shortly on our progress. Indeed, it forms part of the national resilience academy to train people in that kind of exercising.
Further information can be found on the updated Resilience paper here
