Corporate report

UKHSA business plan 2024 to 2025

Published 20 January 2025

Foreword from the Chief Executive

I am pleased to introduce the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) business plan for April 2024 to March 2025.

As the agency enters its third year, the health security landscape remains a continuously complex, compounding and challenging one, both at home and abroad. We have seen a recent significant surge in childhood infections such as whooping cough (pertussis) and measles, requiring continued and consistent work with colleagues in the National Health Service (NHS) and local government. Both infections highlight recognised health threats where mitigations already exist but where there is need for a sustained increase in our efforts - in this case improving vaccination rates to the target 95% coverage to protect the children themselves and the most vulnerable babies through our maternal programme. Climate change presents new risks and is the context in which many existing threats grow more severe. For example, vector-borne disease is now firmly on the horizon as warmer weather enhances the likelihood of the establishment of vectors in UK habitat, we routinely respond to flooding and other extreme weather events and our fight against anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is made more complex.

UKHSA is making great strides in rising to these challenges. We continue to deliver rapid response to health-related incidents and other risks regionally and nationally, with nearly 148,000 cases actively managed by our teams last year. These covered diverse infectious diseases including meningitis mpox, tuberculosis (TB), invasive group A streptococcal infection, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, gastrointestinal infections as well as environmental and other external hazards such as radiation risks, smoke, lead poisoning with key sources being lead water pipes and lead paint, and those from dispersed volcanic ash from Iceland. As demand for our technical expertise and response increases in all these areas, the criticality of the work undertaken by multiple teams in the agency over the coming year to combat the spread of infectious diseases and to address environmental health hazards, is reinforced. In some areas of infectious disease, we are also making consistent advances in evidencing progress towards reducing public health harms including those from hepatitis B and hepatitis C and in ending HIV transmission, in line with our global commitments.

We continue to build the health security science infrastructure the UK needs in mitigating health threats, such as opening our new Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) and securing the Moderna Strategic Partnership outcomes, both of which now form an important role in our pandemic preparedness capabilities.

Our plan this year seeks to achieve 3 goals:

• delivering our overarching multi-year strategy
• transforming our science and the way we use technology
• securing and driving value in all that we do

We will continue building on and with existing networks and key multilateral agencies as well as foster partnerships between academia, industry and countries to enhance the protection we provide to our population.

On delivery, we remain focused on achieving the commitments set out in our Strategic Plan and Science Strategy. These aim to deliver better health for all, enhancing our understanding and prediction of health and environmental threats, and executing rapid and effective response by harnessing our strengthened health protection capabilities. In 2024, we will be publishing UKHSA’s first Annual Review of Science that will detail our progress with the implementation of the Science Strategy and set out the impact of the agency’s scientific work.

Vaccination will be an area of particular focus: to support the UK’s thriving life sciences sector to develop new vaccines both for existing diseases and potential new threats, to introduce newly available vaccines and to ensure sustained progress in vaccination coverage rates is achieved for existing public health programmes.

UKHSA is ambitious in its use of genomics, big data and technology and this year we are transforming our approach in these areas. This will include further development of our pathogen genomics capabilities with new services being developed for AMR, emerging and pandemic infectious diseases threats, and disease mitigation priorities including in areas of vaccine preventable diseases and blood borne viruses. We will also enhance laboratory processing, data performance and connectivity to the NHS to support service provision.

Finally, we will continue to strengthen our laboratories and other scientific capabilities in order to achieve the greatest benefits for the public, the most effective deployment of our experts and the most impact from the implementation of our science.

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to thank all UKHSA staff and our wider health security partners for their hard work and tireless commitment to protecting the public’s health, both throughout the recent pandemic and through their continuing partnership work on other infectious diseases, chemical, radiological, biological and environmental threats.

The UK Health Security Agency

UKHSA works to reduce the impact of infectious diseases, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents and other health threats by providing expert advice and guidance and by playing a leading role in preparing for, preventing wherever possible, and responding to health security threats. The agency is made up of a range of multidisciplinary teams that provide, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage, to make the nation’s health secure.

UKHSA is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and works closely with other members of the wider health system (including the NHS) to help protect lives and create a safe and prosperous society. UKHSA also has responsibility for delivering a range of statutory commitments on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and aspects of the services delivered on behalf of other government departments.

UKHSA operates in a range of locations, with headquarters in London and 3 main scientific campuses at Colindale, Porton Down and Chilton. The agency also has radiation, chemicals and environmental hazards (RCE) facilities in Scotland and Wales. There is a dispersed network of laboratory and other scientific facilities, and a network of 9 regional UKHSA health protection teams (HPTs) which cover the whole of England to provide specialist support on all identified health threats and lead incident response as appropriate. These teams work closely with local authorities, directors of public health, and local NHS services to provide specialist support to prevent or reduce the impact of infectious diseases, chemical or radiological incidents and other major emergencies as required. UKHSA also has teams which work globally to support the efforts of our partners and UK Overseas Territories to strengthen global health security. This includes programmes funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) through the DHSC as well as the Integrated Security Fund.

While UKHSA has some UK-wide responsibilities, issues of health protection are mostly devolved, meaning that the responsibility for almost all health protection matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland rests with the devolved governments and public health agencies. UKHSA is responsible for devolved matters in England and given the cross-border nature of health threats, the agency works in partnership with the devolved governments to respond to shared challenges. UKHSA also has a remit for the whole of the UK relating to some reserved matters of health protection, such as preparing for and responding to the effects of radiation on public health.

UKHSA’s strategic priorities

In 2023, the agency published a three-year strategic plan that sets out UKHSA’s mission, vision, goals and strategic priorities. Meeting the needs of vulnerable and high-risk populations, places and settings is critical to all aspects of health security, and the strategic plan details how the agency will actively contribute to more equitable health security outcomes through the delivery of its activities and programmes. A framework has been established around 3 long-term goals, and all UKHSA work contributes to achieving one or more of the agency’s goals:

UKHSA’s goals	UKHSA’s strategic priorities
Prepare	Be ready to respond to all hazards to health	Improve health outcomes through vaccines
Respond	Reduce the impact of infectious diseases and AMR	Protect health from threats in the environment
Build	Improve action on health security through data and insight	Develop UKHSA as a high-performing agency

Achieve more equitable health outcomes.

UKHSA’s business plan is an annual document that sets out the priority activities the agency will deliver in 2024 to 2025 aligned to our strategic priorities. We will measure our success in delivering this plan through performance metrics that define the outcomes, outputs and targets UKHSA has set itself over the financial year. The business plan also outlines the activities that will enable UKHSA to deliver against the agency’s remit letter, which describes the agency’s statutory responsibilities and the government’s priorities for UKHSA. 

UKHSA’s work will be both directly and indirectly impacted by several risks. The increasing severity and frequency of extreme climate events as well as international economic and political instability, and territory conflicts, will create more international health incidents requiring support. The resulting increased international cross-border population movement could create further public health challenges. This and other long-term demographic changes including an ageing society will create pressures on public services, including housing and health services. Tackling the increasing risk of AMR remains a key global health priority for science, for investment and for surveillance. Without effective modern antibiotics, other antimicrobial treatments, vaccines and diagnostics, there could be widespread morbidity and disruptions to health functioning and increasing morbidity and mortality from what are currently routinely treatable conditions, such as resistant infections in patients undergoing cancer treatment, major surgery or in patients with trauma or immunosuppression. Technological innovation and artificial intelligence present opportunities as well as risks such as the spread of misinformation and disinformation and driving adverse health inequalities in communities which are digitally excluded. Our plan has been built with these risks in mind.

Prepare: Be ready for, and prevent, future health security hazards

UKHSA enables the country to be fully prepared for – and wherever possible to prevent – future health security hazards. UKHSA proactively seeks to understand which threats are on the horizon; develops the right evidence, insight and tools to use to best protect against them; and has the right tested response plans in place to protect the population.

Strategic priority 1: Be ready to respond to all hazards to health

UKHSA will ensure the right plans, expertise, infrastructure, capabilities, and countermeasures are in place to prevent and mount scalable and agile responses to health security threats, including preparing for a future pandemic in collaboration with DHSC and partners across government. UKHSA will also support work across the health system to enhance the country’s readiness and develop robust response plans.

In 2024 to 2025, UKHSA will deliver the following activities:

Respond to acute public health threats and incidents, providing leadership at regional and national level

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Deliver emergency preparedness resilience response (EPRR) capability to ensure the agency is compliant with its category 1 responder duties under the Civil Contingencies Act. This ensures it can prepare for, respond to and recover from a broad range of identified threats and hazards.

Provide clinical and scientific expertise to support incident response, including advice and guidance to the Government, key partners (international, national, regional and local) and the public to reduce the impact of hazards and support responses to health emergencies. This includes a 24/7, 365 days a year rota of senior medical advisers providing immediate response to public health emergencies and initiating dynamic risk assessments for incidents within one hour for an acute big bang event and within a maximum of 48 hours for a rising tide event.

Provide expert advice through regional HPT and national specialist teams to enable rapid management of cases and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), blood-borne viruses (BBVs), healthcare associated infections, emerging infections and sexually transmissible infections (STIs).

Provide ongoing expert advice on port health operations and develop an internal strategic framework and supporting action plan agreed by end of quarter 1 to deliver effective border health security. This will also support work with the devolved government to develop a UK wide approach to border health security under the Common Framework.

Work in conjunction with national, regional and local government and other partners to continuously improve and update response capabilities.

Maintain and strengthen the evidence base, identify all-hazards evidence gaps and undertake priority research and scientific evaluation to inform incident response, public health interventions and policy, nationally coordinated and in partnership with stakeholders such as the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs).

Monitor emerging infectious diseases and risks both within and outside the UK

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Deliver core field services including regional and laboratory surveillance, outbreak detection and response.

Maintain surveillance of, and reporting on high priority and emerging diseases including tuberculosis, STIs gastrointestinal pathogens, mycobacteria, healthcare-acquired infections (HCAIs), AMR and fungal infections, vaccine-preventable and vector-borne diseases.

Undertake genomic analysis for priority pathogens and emerging diseases to inform decision making. Maintain the ability and infrastructure to provide genomic risk assessment of novel and emerging pathogens within 24 hours of availability of data, if required.

Provide situational awareness reports of current public health threats. For example, weekly public health situational awareness reports produced for cross-government customers, with incident specific awareness products developed in response to need; provision of data on new threats or viruses through the UKHSA Public dashboard which provides open access to a section of public health data, including the incidence and distribution of COVID-19, flu and other respiratory viruses.

Maintain readiness to respond to all emerging risks and health hazards in the UK

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Maintain national public health services for acute respiratory infections, including national disease control and health protection functions and risk assessments of emerging respiratory infections.

As agreed by the tripartite Health Delivery Group, provide an EPRR training and exercise programme to support EPRR capability within UKHSA, DHSC and NHS England.

Develop and embed a systematic process to assess UKHSA’s EPRR capabilities and capacity to respond to prioritised threats. This will produce an action plan in quarter 1 based on an assessment of capacity and capabilities. An assurance process will be run by the end of quarter 4 to test that the desired improvements have been secured.

Agree a two-year programme in quarter 1 to strengthen people surge capabilities, contributing to the agency’s emergency planning and the DHSC-led Respiratory Response Plan. This programme will include ensuring workforce is suitably trained and agile to support incidents, demand profiling, capacity warning indicators and surge response management dashboard, and any potential risk to UKHSA’s core products and services.

Develop a list of priority pathogen families in support of the UK Biosecurity Strategy, specifically to help guide research and development investment amongst UK funders.

Develop scalable diagnostic testing solutions working with commercial suppliers for prioritised priority pathogen families based on risk aligned to transmission route and diagnostic response plans for natural outbreaks and malicious incidents.

Develop specific response plans and guidance where indicated for specific national security and health security threats and hazards, including CBRN incidents and high consequence infectious diseases.

Maintain readiness to respond in tandem with wider system partners and in accordance with UKHSA’s remit, including maintaining specific agreed COVID-19 vaccines contingency stocks.

Deliver and manage the Moderna-UK Strategic Partnership, maximise its opportunities as agreed in the business case, bringing the partnership to initial operating capability. Over the next year we will be strengthening our collaborative relationships with the large pharmaceuticals and other identified strategic partners to enhance our capability to respond to future unknown threats. By investing in relationships we are able to access private sector capability and innovation at pace.

Develop a Public Health and Social Measures (non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented by individuals, communities and government) work programme by the end of quarter 4 that includes evidence and guidance frameworks against transmission routes to support pandemic preparedness.

Enhance high containment biological services by strengthening pathogen inactivation capabilities to encompass requirements on pandemic preparedness and emerging threats.

Support DHSC to refresh the Cabinet Office-led and HMG wide evidence-based pandemic response plans, in response to the COVID-19 public inquiry where appropriate.

Continue to support the development and implementation of the research and innovation framework for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, to deliver enhanced co-ordination of UK Government research funders. For example, providing evidence summaries for key research areas, identifying research gaps, delivering a UK-specific priority pathogen list, and supporting with table-top exercises to test the framework

Deliver international public health, health security and disaster risk reduction functions to protect the UK population. Work with global partners to strengthen global health security

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Deliver the UK International Health Regulation (IHR) National Focal Point and the EU National Focal Point function (communication, reporting, international contact tracing) to contribute to global surveillance, risk assessment, and response to incidents and outbreaks.

Meet the UK’s health obligations to its Overseas Territories through the UK Overseas Territories Programme funded by the Integrated Security Fund.

Coordinate mandated UK global commitments on behalf of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, including World Health Organization (WHO) surveillance submissions, the annual WHO SPAR return and the UKHSA and EDC Joint Action Plan.

Deploy technical expertise to aid the UK’s support to partner countries, regional and global agency efforts to protect, prepare, respond and build global health security and capability.

Deliver the UK-Public Health Rapid Support Team funded by DHSC ODA, to rapidly respond to overseas infectious disease outbreaks, conduct operational research into epidemic preparedness, and build outbreak response capacity and capability in other countries.

Support the implementation of HMG’s global health commitments, including those set out in the UK Global Health Framework and UK International Development Strategy.

Provide the UK Secretariat to deliver the 100 Days Mission recommendations.

In line with the agency’s strategic goals, deliver UKHSA global work towards 3 key priorities:

• pandemic prevention preparedness and response
• global surveillance
• health systems strengthening

Provide scientific and technical expertise to support HMG’s contributions to shape and build a strengthened global architecture for responding to health emergencies, including supporting the negotiations for the Pandemic Accord, the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR and the G7 and G20-led processes.

Work with global disease surveillance systems to facilitate UK access to early evidence of health risks and facilitate better data, analysis and decision-making against potential global health threats.

Contribute to HMG’s key global health agreements such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Work with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Health Systems Connect programme along with other partners in the health family, including NHSE, to foster defined effective peer-to-peer health partnerships with other countries, helping to strengthen health systems.

Host WHO Collaborating Centres and Reference Laboratories to share UKHSA scientific best practice and technical expertise in support of global evidence generation and health system strengthening.

Provide health policy leadership on new areas of responsibility, providing assurance and policy development across the wider health system

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Lead policy development on new areas of responsibility including those transferred from DHSC to UKHSA in April 2024 covering TB, hepatitis and other endemic infectious diseases, working across government and the wider health system to maximise outcomes.

Lead work across the agency and with partners to improve the effectiveness, resilience and scalability of the health protection system.

Maintain public health, clinical and scientific expertise to support policy development and implementation.

Lead and support relevant cross-government activity on national security, including the Biological Security Strategy (BSS) and activities related to UKHSA’s responsibilities within the National Risk Register.

Develop and ensure understanding of the UKHSA-owned risks in the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) and published National Risk Register .

Support public inquiries (including the COVID-19 Inquiry, Infected Blood Inquiry and Dawn Sturgess Inquiry) with comprehensive contributions to ensure lessons are identified and implemented within UKHSA as appropriate.

Maintain specialist technical, scientific and clinical capabilities to monitor and respond to health threats

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Maintain capacity to provide in vitro and biological services up to Containment Level 4, supporting clinical, security and research needs.

Provide pathogen characterisation capabilities to evaluate and assess risk, develop potential intervention strategies and inform decision making.

Provide development of diagnostics through a range of capabilities, including the Diagnostic Accelerator to work with suppliers to deliver key supply chain and outbreak solutions activities for priority pathogens.

Maintain specialist meningococcal and mycology reference services across the regions, and commissioned reference services for malaria, parasitology and brucella.

Strategic priority 2: Improve health outcomes through vaccines

We will harness UKHSA’s strengths across the whole vaccine pathway to facilitate innovation in the development of safe and effective vaccines, reliable procurement and increased confidence and uptake among the population, thereby reducing the burden of infectious disease and the risks of antimicrobial resistance.

In 2024 to 2025, the agency will deliver the following activities:

Monitor the effectiveness of vaccination programmes, and consider candidate vaccines to inform decision-making

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Work with partners to undertake enhanced surveillance in community and clinical settings to understand burden and inform decision-making on future immunisation programmes.

Undertake modelling and economic analysis of new vaccine strategies to support policy decision making and procurement strategies.

Evaluate immune responses of vaccines and countermeasures to inform future immunisation programmes, providing data to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to inform government decision-making.

Collaborate with partners in Government (including the DHSC ODA funded UK Vaccine Network), academia and industry to undertake discovery research focused on priority pathogens and develop and evaluate vaccines to strengthen pandemic and epidemic preparedness and response.

Procure and stockpile vaccines to protect NHS programmes across the UK

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Maintain commercial capacity to cost-effectively procure the appropriate vaccines, antivenoms and antitoxins for supply to the NHS, meeting storage and distribution requirements through traditional and just in time (JIT) models.

Actively work with DHSC, NHS and wider health family to develop a longer-term approach to procurement, supply and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.

Maintain UK stockpiles to enable uninterrupted supply, working with the NHS to deliver routine and responsive national vaccination programmes to plan.

Inform and support development of immunisation policy with strategic oversight and control of the end-to-end supply chain, working with the DHSC and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and thus support public health outcomes.

Support the delivery of vaccination programmes, working with the NHS and the wider health system

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Support JCVI and relevant sub-committees to take decisions on vaccination programmes and work closely with suppliers, DHSC and NHS to continue to deliver safe, cost effective and timely planned vaccines campaigns. For example, COVID- 19, measles, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) campaigns and any surge requirements in line with JCVI advice and Ministerial decisions.

Collaborate with DHSC policy teams on ministerial submissions and to lead the design and implementation of programmes across the UK.

Provide public health expertise to partners and to NHSE and the integrated care boards (ICBs) to support the commissioning and delivery of all vaccinations, to improve uptake and reduce inequalities.

Provide expert advice and guidance to the NHS to support the robust commissioning and operational delivery of immunisation programmes, including the Green Book, Health Care professional guidance, PGDs and protocols.

Deliver training, standard setting and resources for clinical professionals, including training packages and slide sets, webinars, training courses and conferences; and a suite of published assets and resources for the public in a wide range of languages and accessible formats. For example, in conjunction with the Institute for Child Health:

• co-produce on an ongoing basis two-day training courses on fundamentals of immunisation
• maintain and update the core curriculum content for immunisers
• deliver webinars to support the implementation of the RSV programme
• undertake the design, definition and specification of vaccine coverage collections
• share regular coverage data to local providers and NHS commissioners to inform programme delivery and improvement

Evaluate vaccination programmes to inform future change

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Monitor and evaluate vaccination programmes using our laboratory, analytical, behavioural and health services research capabilities to inform potential interventions to maximise impact, effectiveness and value for money.

Monitor key groups and insights including changes in attitudes to support informed consent and maximise take up of vaccinations, particularly among high-risk groups Collaborate with international networks to detect and rebut misinformation and disinformation relating to vaccination

Respond: Save lives and reduce harm through effective health security response

UKHSA protects people from health threats on a daily basis. We deliver agile, rapid, evidence-based responses at a local, national and international level. UKHSA responds to infectious disease outbreaks and environmental risks, health security incidents, and ongoing health security threats.

Strategic priority 3: Reduce the impact of infectious diseases and AMR

We will harness our science, analytical and operational expertise to minimise the impact of infectious disease, with a focus on COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance and targets to eliminate the public health harm from blood-borne viruses and tuberculosis.

In 2024 to 2025, the agency will deliver the following activities:

Mitigate and minimise the impact of infectious diseases in the UK

Provide public health services for acute respiratory infections, local and regional levels of AMR-related infections, including disease control and health protection functions Support improvements in diagnosis and surveillance of acquired respiratory diseases through laboratory services and advice to the NHS.

Maintain understanding of current threats and risk levels to inform decision-making, including through surveillance, reporting and risk assessment of emerging respiratory pathogens.

Deploy advanced modelling and data science capabilities to strengthen clinical public health work on National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), specifically working to better understand transmission routes of infectious diseases to support partners on specific health threats, such as AMR and influenza. For example, estimating the potential impact of norovirus vaccination using mathematical models; modelling the expected levels of vaccine-derived-Polio-virus community transmission, given sewage surveillance finding.

Monitor the effectiveness of interventions, identifying opportunities to strengthen and maximise the effectiveness of mitigations through economic analysis and public health campaigns. For example, providing DHSC with analysis of the impact of timing and vaccine waning in the 65-plus age group on seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness; assessing the expected impact and cost-effectiveness of government’s intervention strategies for vaccine preventable diseases, including how they inform national policy recommendations.

Support infection prevention and control (IPC) in community and high-risk settings by building the IPC evidence base, developing meaningful guidance and working across the system to optimise the timely translation of data and evidence into policy and to embed guidance into action.

Support UK efforts to respond to AMR

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Support the UK Government’s plan to tackle AMR within and beyond our borders, through the 2024 to 2029 National Action Plan.

Represent the UK in international efforts to tackle AMR and support global initiatives on AMR. For example, contribute towards international AMR surveillance via the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) and via the Central Asian and European surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (CAESAR) network.

Participate in Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR) and G7 activities.

Track and analyse AMR trends, monitor usage of antimicrobials and quality of prescribing to inform interventions and facilitate cross-organisational response to mitigate risks to patients and the public.

Provide leadership to coordinate and support a regional response to AMR across England, especially where healthcare related outbreaks and incidents occur .

Lead and support UK efforts to deliver global commitments on key health threats including elimination of hepatitis B and C, HIV transmission, TB, measles, rubella, and polio

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Support the UK’s global commitments to evidencing the elimination of hepatitis B, hepatitis C as a public health threat and ending human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) transmission through annual publications on elimination progress in UK and HIV Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (MEF) for the HIV Action Plan.

Continue to lead the annual documentation of polio eradication, and of poliovirus containment (including the national survey of potentially infectious materials) and for measles and rubella elimination through the National Verification Committees to WHO Provide national public health services for TB and selected non-TB mycobacteria to support disease control and health protection.

Coordinate UK hepatitis elimination efforts including through establishing a Hepatitis UK National Verification Committee and hosting the National Strategic Group on Viral Hepatitis.

Support delivery of the HIV Action Plan objectives through working in partnership with the Implementation Steering Group

Develop the evidence base and advice on BBV and STI interventions by undertaking public health and economic evaluations of prevention and control interventions, including technical reviews (this includes gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia) and evaluation of BBV opt-out testing in emergency departments in areas of very high and high HIV prevalence.

Maintain reference microbiology services for STIs, HIV and viral hepatitis to deliver routine and enhanced surveillance, research and development, outbreak and preparedness activities as part of UKHSA’s wider public health obligations.

Strengthen UKHSA’s pathogen genomics capability to protect public health

Further integrate genomics into every aspect of infectious disease detection and control and improve our understanding of those pathogens that pose the greatest risks to the UK population. This will be done by prioritising the areas of vaccine-preventable diseases, emerging infections, and AMR as these are areas in which pathogen genomics has the potential to yield substantial benefits in health security.

Use genomic data in clinical and public health decision-making, developing best practice guidelines and driving improvement in diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.

Provide a nationally coordinated, high throughput pathogen genomics sequencing and analysis service to support incident response, outbreak management and surveillance activities.

Foster collaborative networks with key multilateral agencies (for example, WHO’s International Pathogen Surveillance Network) to share knowledge and data, drive innovation, improve global health security and response capabilities and strengthen the global pathogen genomics community

Strategic priority 4: Protect health from threats in the environment

We will protect the population from the health effects of environmental, chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents of any scale by improving planning and preparedness and providing public health expertise to inform policy and response.

In 2024 to 2025, the agency will deliver the following activities:

Maintain preparedness and capability to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats and incidents

Provide expert advice and guidance to meet UKHSA’s statutory responsibilities on the public health aspects of chemical and environmental regulations and national infrastructure programmes. For example, improve understanding of the potential health impacts of microplastic polymer materials from consumer products and tyres and share evidence to inform Defra policy and input to international plastic pollution treaty. UKHSA is consulted for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) and environmental permit (EP) applications.

Provide a full suite of radiological protection services for ionising and non-ionising radiations, including advice, training, assessments and testing to protect the population.

Provide expert advice on the risks to health relating to radiation, how these should be managed, and work with partners to deliver research on how the population can best be protected from these threats.

Maintain and strengthen the evidence base (in house and with partners via NIHR HPRUs) in chemical and environmental health security through research to improve the understanding and management of the impact of chemical and environmental hazards. For example, provide input to the International Commission on Radiological Protection’s review and update of the System of Radiological Protection.

Provide specialist capabilities to prepare for, respond to and recover from CBRN incidents, including through the delivery of UKHSA’s CRN Action Plan and expansion of the agency’s radiological, chemical and environmental scientific capacity.

Maintain preparedness and capability to respond to environmental threats to health and incidents

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Deliver services and provisions set out within the adverse weather and health plan (AWHP).

Provide public health advice pertaining to heat, cold and flooding, including through the AWHP’s Weather Alerting System and an annual heat mortality monitoring report due to be published in quarter 1.

Assess the implementation of the all weather and health plan and work with partners to overcome barriers and maximise best practice.

Undertake research, risk assessment, preparedness and operational activity on emerging vector-borne disease, and assessments of the direct and indirect impacts of climate and environmental change.

Support environmental health teams within England and in the UK’s Overseas Territories to mitigate threats posed by emerging mosquito-borne diseases.

Prioritise research from the UKHSA’s report into the health effects of climate change and support partners to respond to the public health protection impacts of climate change, in particular areas with health equity considerations (for example, impacts of climate change on children and younger populations in the UK)

Build: Develop the UK’s health security capacity

UKHSA continues to build and invest in the scientific, public health and operational capabilities needed to protect the country’s health now and in the future. UKHSA is modernising approaches and technology, ensuring the agency is truly a high performing and efficient agency and fit for purpose to deliver the UK’s long-term health protection needs.

Strategic priority 5: Improve action on health security through data and insight

Data and insight are critical enablers of effective health protection. We will capitalise on our partnerships and maximise the health impact of the data we hold, the evidence we generate and the insights we draw, to be a leader in the safe and regulated handling and use of public health data, analytics and surveillance to inform action.

In 2024 to 2025, the agency will deliver the following activities:

Maintain the necessary platforms, tools and data architecture to support delivery of UKHSA’s work

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Provide the required platforms and data architecture to enable the agency to identify, track, analyse and respond to health and security threats.

Provide data systems to support the delivery of UKHSA’s laboratory work, including workflow management tools to support food, water and environment laboratories and regional reference laboratories.

Maximise the value and impact of UKHSA’s data assets and products, delivering the agency’s data strategy to make data more findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.

Complete by the end of quarter 4 the delivery of the enterprise data assessment platform, a single platform for data enrichment, data analytics and data science.

Strengthen the agency’s surveillance by delivering a unified view of the agency’s surveillance capabilities through rationalising and consolidating activities within and outside UKHSA to enhance timely and consistent response to health threats. For example, collaborate with the WHO on UK respiratory surveillance capability through their MOSAIC review framework, and support closer coordination across Government on use of wastewater monitoring.

Deliver the second phase of the Government’s National BioSurveillance Network programme, enhancing the ability for experts across human, animal and plant health to collaborate and share data.

Test cross-government biosurveillance collaboration in real world use cases, such as tick-borne encephalitis. Develop a target operating model for government in biosurveillance.

Inform government decision making on health through data analysis and assessments

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Work with partners to improve the agency’s ability to use health and non-health data to deliver insight for policy makers.

Provide national and international expertise in the statistical and mathematical modelling and quantification of high consequence public health threats to inform effective responses, and ascertain risk through partnering with industry, academia, government and internationally.

Harness interdisciplinary analytical methods, tools and products to rapidly deliver insights for a range of stakeholders, including intervention strategies for vaccine-preventable diseases and other interventions to inform policy recommendations and ministerial decisions.

Explore how the use of innovative capabilities in automation, generative artificial intelligence and large language models can be adopted and utilised to respond to health and security threats. For example, build capability to deploy network-based infectious disease models, for public health assessment and incident response to reduce harmful impact for all transmission routes. Continue to build capacity in reproducible analytical pipelines (hepatitis, AMR [therapeutics]), and immunisation and vaccine preventable diseases, quality systems reports, microbiology operations and performance.

Support decision-makers and other stakeholders to deliver effective, value-for-money public health decisions by providing high-quality analysis and evidence on the economic impacts of public health interventions and future health security investments.

Maintain data security across UKHSA through effective information governance and management processes

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Deliver a full suite of information governance services and assurance across the agency to ensure that the organisation is fulfilling its general data protection regulation (GDPR) and legislative requirements.

Conduct a series of annual GDPR compliance reviews advising business areas how to minimise legal risk and reporting strategic themes.

Continue to implement cyber security controls to mitigate cyber risks by delivering a series of technical interventions from asset registers to secure, segregated networks and privileged access management by end of quarter 2.

Strategic priority 6: Develop UKHSA as a high-performing agency

UKHSA has been through a period of transition, integrating strengthened capabilities developed during the pandemic and integrating 4 different predecessor organisations. We will ensure that within available resources UKHSA is maximally ready to prepare for and respond to health security challenges, at scale as required, by investing in our people and culture; partnerships and relationships; data, science and research and operational excellence.

In 2024 to 2025, the agency will deliver the following activities:

Strengthen the agency’s laboratories and science estate

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Modernise UKHSA laboratories by enhancing laboratory processing, data performance and connectivity to the NHS resulting in overall operational excellence and reducing clinical risk.

Develop plans to improve UKHSA’s main scientific sites to ensure they are able to meet the requirements of the organisation.

Continue work to develop and build the future high containment and biological services and infrastructure, required for future health security.

Deliver a workforce plan and secure operational excellence and efficiency in resource management systems and procedures

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Improve resourcing processes to enable the recruitment of a diverse workforce with specialist skills such as in genomics and CBRN.

Enhance career pathway offers in collaboration with government professions to ensure UKHSA can attract and retain specialist clinical and scientific skills to deliver its vision and mission.

Roll out leadership development interventions and training programmes by the end of quarter 4 to support the development of high-performing specialist staff and leadership across the agency.

Introduce new technology as well as enhance existing technology by quarter 4 to deliver human resources process improvements to meet government functional standards.

Optimise the agency’s financial management and governance frameworks

Deliver a finance function which ensures the agency meets its legal responsibilities, improved assurance standards and maximises efficiency and value for money from its resources.

Implement coherent financial management and control improvements across the agency to enhance the finance operating model that drives people capabilities, optimises system solutions and delivers efficiencies, enabling an improved audit opinion for the organisation.

Meet statutory and legal responsibilities in being subject to audits, fraud risk assessments and that UKHSA investigators conduct enquiries in line with government standards.

Implement the recommendations of the Public Bodies Review of UKHSA undertaken in 2024.

Work alongside DHSC to review and update the framework document that sets out the broad governance framework within which UKHSA and the department operate in accordance with HM Treasury’s handbook.

Strengthen the agency’s commercial function

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Design flexible, scalable and responsible commercial agreements to ensure UKHSA can meet health threats at whatever pace and scale is needed. We will develop deep strategic relationships with private sector, third sector and academia in order to develop an All Hazards response capability.

Ensure the agency complies with, and is protected against, commercial and reputational risk through the provision of systems, tools and governance that enable commercial transparency for UKHSA and partners.

Drive value for money across the agency, for the high value estates portfolio.

Maintain governance and positive relationships with the NHS, wider public sector, research organisations, specialist medical suppliers and global pharmaceutical companies to enable collaboration, maximising value and impact of our health programmes. For example, UKHSA collaborates with over 800 companies, NHS trusts and global organisations to support research, build capacity in global health systems and licence public health innovations in line with UKHSA Science Strategy. UKHSA will utilise advanced purchase agreement (APA) arrangements where appropriate, a type of contractual arrangement currently with vaccine manufacturer to produce a pandemic specific vaccine for a future influenza pandemic made entirely in the UK.

Deliver a commercial strategic partnership framework that sets out values, standards and behaviours for UKHSA and partners to work together to implement health policy goals, ensure quality services and contribute to more equitable health outcomes.

Strengthen collaboration with the private sector to harness the expertise, specialised skills and advanced technologies to help drive quicker innovative solutions in addressing complex public health challenges, leading to enhanced service delivery, operational efficiency and identifying potential new revenue streams.

Invest in the required technology platforms and capabilities to deliver on the agency’s priorities

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Design, deliver, support and maintain critical software products in line with the technology strategy and operating models.

Continue delivery of our technology programme work on cloud optimisation to streamline UKHSA’s application and technology estate and deliver efficiencies whilst enhancing security.

Strengthen health operations and surveillance by building a secure, intuitive application programme interface (API) platform. This will enhance our ability to share and manage health data both internally and externally to maximising instant access to data to support decision-making.

Roll-out the new case and incident management system (CIMS) to enhance frontline case and incident management by health protection professionals.

Increase service quality and ensure compliance with statutory duties and government policy

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Deliver cross-organisation implementation of UKHSA’s clinical governance strategy by strengthening assurance and standards on all aspects of clinical governance including infection prevention and control; safeguarding adults and children at risk; and facilitating the development of a resilient UKHSA specialist workforce capable of responding to health threats.

Deliver IPC aspects of guidance development, education and workforce development, incident response and pandemic preparedness with the aim to reduce the risk of infection to our population, including the risk of AMR. This includes leading on and interpreting evidence, expert technical advice, and providing IPC leadership across sectors working jointly with UKHSA regional health protection teams, integrated care boards, local authorities and directors of public health.

Continue to meet statutory requirements in relation to UKHSA’s work, including on site security, health and safety, fire regulations, system maintenance procedures, facet surveys and animal regulatory compliance.

Work with ministers, senior officials and policy teams across UKHSA, DHSC and other departments to ensure they have the information and support they need. For example, deliver responses to parliamentary questions, ministerial correspondence, and freedom of information requests within required timescales

Achieving more equitable health security outcomes

Understanding and addressing the needs of the people and places at greatest risk.

Health threats impact people in different ways, and often disproportionately impacts certain groups. UKHSA is committed to reducing health inequality, and while the agency’s efforts benefit all parts of society, it also provides focused support to those individuals and groups with the greatest need and at greatest risk.

UKHSA has adopted NHSE’s CORE20PLUS framework to identify the populations to routinely consider. The agency works closely with partners including DHSC, NHS, other government departments and local government to deliver impact through provision of evidence, data and advice on how to achieve more equitable outcomes in infectious disease and environmental hazards for these population groups.

In 2024 to 2025, the agency will deliver the following activities:

Identify and address health inequalities to achieve equitable outcomes

To achieve this, UKHSA will:

Continue to deliver on the agency’s Health Equity for Health Security Strategy (2023 to 2026) to embed a health equity approach across all UKHSA’s activities including emergency response.

Produce analyses that identify and highlight inequalities in access, outcomes and experience for disproportionately impacted groups.

Build the evidence base on effective interventions for CORE20PLUS populations underpinned by evaluation, epidemiological science, behavioural science and insights.

Develop and deliver co-produced ‘people and place’ approaches to health protection to tackle multiple hazards in populations most at risk.

Continue to improve the usability and accessibility of UKHSA’s communications to ensure greater equity in access, outcomes, and experience for our service users.

Ensure the agency meets its legal obligations in relation to the public sector equality duty (PSED) through provision of support, training and tools.

UKHSA’s 2024 to 2025 core budget

Group	Group description	Core (£m)	Capital (£m)
Clinical and Public Health	Provides clinical and public health leadership, through the delivery of 24/7 expert advice and interventions, guidance, epidemiological insights and evidence. Plays a key role in incident response, providing expert assistance to the NHS. Leads UKHSA’s Genomics Transformation programme.	52.4	n/a
Commercial	Supports national immunisation campaigns and countermeasures against CBRN threats. Maintains essential stockpiles and generates income. Responds to health threats, improves the Agency’s infrastructure and develops partnerships for innovation.	15.2	n/a
Data, Analytics and Surveillance	Delivers the best value from high quality data, and protects and enables UKHSA through efficient cyber and information security systems. Collaborates with partners to tackle national and global health threats and uses innovative analytical techniques to deliver insights to assess the risk and impact of health security threats and to inform policy making to protect public health.	56.2	12
Finance and Corporate Services	Supports UKHSA to meet health security challenges of our nation while maximising value for money.	28.3	1.5
Health Protection Operations	Leads and delivers expert health protection services that protect society from infectious diseases and environmental hazards locally, nationally and across the globe. Collaborates and coordinates data, information, and support from across UKHSA and the wider health family.	86.2	8.4
People	Supports in attracting, recruiting, and developing employees within UKHSA and provides HR expertise and resources to both employees and line managers.	20	3
Science	Coordinates UKHSA’s world-leading scientific expertise. Also, home to a number of UKHSA-wide initiatives such as the Knowledge and Library Service, the Centre for Climate and Health Security, the Centre for Vaccine Development and Evaluation and UKHSA’s Diagnostics Accelerator.	130.3	38.13
Strategy, Policy and Programmes	Defines, communicates and implements UKHSA’s strategic direction. Provides communications, policy and project delivery expertise to ensure the Agency delivers on its priorities and remains accountable to ministers, Parliament and the public.	28.9	n/a
Technology	Designs, develops, and delivers the technology required to prevent, detect, analyse, monitor and respond to public health threats across the UK. This includes citizen-facing applications and services, critical technology infrastructure and the tools needed to help UKHSA employees be effective and efficient.	67.1	15.77
Central allocation (including Dysport)		(89.9)	n/a
Total core UKHSA (£m)		395.0	78.8
COVID-19 vaccines unit (£m)		934	n/a