Health securityU.K. Launches the U.K. Health Security Agency

Published 2 April 2021

On Thursday, 1 April, the U.K. launched the U.K. Health Security Agency, tasked with protecting the U.K. from future health threats and ensure the U.K. can respond to pandemics quickly and at greater scale. The primary focus for UKHSA in its initial phase of operation will be the continued fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but the longer term goal is to work with global partners in an effort to create “a more robust international health architecture that will protect future generations.”

Dr. Jenny Harries and the Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, visited Colindale, north London, to see the work being done to help understand and respond to new variants of the virus causing COVID-19. These laboratories, which have been operating throughout the pandemic under Public Health England (PHE) leadership will transfer to the new UKHSA.

The new agency will work to protect the U.K. from future health threats and ensure the U.K. can respond to pandemics quickly and at greater scale.

It will also work with global partners, becoming a mainstay of what Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other international leaders have called “a more robust international health architecture that will protect future generations.”

The U.K. has also confirmed a £4 million contribution to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE). The purpose of the CFE is to give WHO the resources to quickly mount an effective response to disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises in developing countries and stop these health emergencies from spiraling out of control, saving lives.

Hancock said: “This is an important day as we launch the U.K. Health Security Agency to ensure that we protect the public and prepare for the next pandemic. The team working at UKHSA, expertly led by Dr. Jenny Harries, will spend every day focused on the current and future health threats facing our country so we are always ready for whatever is on the horizon.”

Harries said:

It is a significant moment as the work of the U.K. Health Security Agency begins with a specific focus on pandemics and public health threats. We have learned so much from responding to COVID-19 and this is a brilliant opportunity to ensure these lessons can be applied in the future, with the scale and capacity needed to save lives and protect the public.

There is work to do right away as we continue our fight against COVID-19, even with the success of our vaccine program so far, and the tentative steps we have made on the roadmap to return to normality. UKHSA will work with our regional, national and global partners to tackle this virus while ensuring we are ready to face future health challenges.

The primary focus for UKHSA in its initial phase of operation will be the continued fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will bring together the U.K. health security science capabilities, data analytics, and genomic surveillance with at scale testing and contact tracing capability – combining key elements of Public Health England with NHS Test and Trace including the Joint Biosecurity Centre.

UKHSA will be chaired by Ian Peters, currently Chair of Barts Health NHS Trust and former Chief Executive of British Gas, Managing Director of NatWest Small Business Services, and chairman of several data driven growth technology companies.

The agency will lead on health protection and security activity for England, and will also take over from the PHE and NHS Test and Trace work those organizations already carry out on a U.K. basis, either as reserved functions or under collaborative arrangements with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland administrations – for example, the Joint Biosecurity Centre. It will not replace the public health agencies in the other 3 UK countries, but will operate a close collaborative relationship with them.

Public Health England and NHS Test and Trace will continue to operate during the transition to UKHSA.