Power Failures Show Urgent Need for Resilience Strategy
By Robert Hall for The Times
The cyberattack on Marks & Spencer in the UK and power failures in Spain and Portugal show that disruption can occur at any time to companies and countries alike. No matter what the causes, the results can be catastrophic in both financial and societal terms. As we can all potentially be affected by such disruptions, the issue of resilience comes to the fore. This is the ability not only to survive but also to thrive during shocks and stresses.
It may be coincidental but it is timely that this week the government launched the new UK Resilience Academy. After a long gestation, the academy is described by Pat McFadden, the minister in charge, as a “generational upgrade to crisis training”. It will train more than 4,000 people each year to deal with crises better. Skills being taught will include helping businesses maintain continuity in the event of a disaster, crowd management skills and crisis communications.
This should be welcomed, with two caveats. Following the Covid-19 inquiry’s first report, the government promised that a resilience strategy would be published in spring 2025 following a “resilience review” that would “set out the government’s vision for a stronger and more resilient UK”. The review would consider how government should mobilise the whole UK system to understand, detect, prevent, plan for and respond to civil emergencies. We have a national resilience framework (published in 2022) but a full strategy is awaited in what remains of this spring. That strategy could have been a valuable prelude to the launch and direction of the new academy.
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