UKHSA strategic plan 2023 to 2026: executive summary
Updated 22 September 2023
© Crown copyright 2023
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-strategic-plan-2023-to-2026/ukhsa-strategic-plan-2023-to-2026-executive-summary
About UKHSA
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) prepares for and responds to infectious diseases, and environmental hazards, to keep all our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods.
We provide scientific and operational leadership working with local, national and international partners to protect the public’s health and build the nation’s health security capability.
UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
For most of UKHSA’s work, our remit covers England as health protection is largely a devolved policy area. We hold some UK-wide responsibilities on reserved matters where the UK government has retained policy responsibility.
This strategic plan relates to UKHSA’s work in England, with the exception of sections where we note we are referring to reserved matters, such as our work in preparing for and responding to the effects of radiation on public health and international obligations on global health security. UKHSA recognises the cross-border nature of health threats and works in close partnership with the devolved governments on common challenges.
UKHSA strategic plan 2023 to 2026: summary
Changing threats need new responses
Threats to the security of our health are rising across the world. Our world is changing in multiple, compound ways that are amplifying the health security challenges the UK and other countries are likely to face. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a reminder of the impact that health hazards can have on our lives and livelihoods. It has also shown the great strides that can be made when government, industry, and academia work together, developing innovative solutions and harnessing the power of data and scientific insight to drive policy and response.
Our mission
Our mission is to prepare for, prevent and respond to health threats, save lives and protect livelihoods.
We are a centre of scientific and operational excellence in health protection. Our reach is local, national and global as we collaborate and share learning across the NHS and wider health and care system and with partners to improve health security worldwide. The threats we protect against range in type, scale and intensity, covering infectious diseases – from pathogens with pandemic potential to everyday infections such as measles – and environmental threats including radiation, chemical, nuclear and extreme weather events.
Our vision
Through our scientific and operational expertise, we aim to protect every person, community, business and public service from infectious diseases and environmental hazards, helping to create a safe and prosperous society.
At UKHSA, our aim is that the country can thrive, unlimited by the impacts of health security threats. We support this by delivering rapid and highly effective responses to all health threats, and by preventing or reducing their harmful impacts as much as possible.
UKHSA’s goals
We have 3 overarching goals supported by a commitment to improving health outcomes for groups whose health is disproportionately affected.
Prepare
UKHSA aims to ensure that the country is fully prepared for – and wherever possible can prevent – future health security hazards. We establish which threats are on the horizon; develop the right evidence, insight and tools to best protect against them; and have the right tested response plans in place to protect the population.
Respond
UKHSA protects people from health threats every day. We deliver agile, rapid, evidence-based responses at a local, national and international level. We respond to infectious disease outbreaks, health security incidents, and ongoing health security threats.
Build
We continue to build and invest in the scientific, public health and operational capabilities needed to protect the country’s health now and in the future. We are modernising our approaches and technology, ensuring we are a high-performing and efficient agency.
Our commitment to achieving equitable health outcomes
We recognise that health threats often disproportionately impact certain groups and therefore tackling health inequalities is central to UKHSA’s work. We actively address this across all of our activity, working closely with DHSC, including the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).
UKHSA’s capabilities
We deliver health security through our agile and scalable strengths in:
- clinical and public health expertise
- health protection science
- health protection operations
- data analytics and surveillance
- policy advice
All these capabilities are facilitated by technology and critical infrastructure and a range of supporting functions to ensure performance, impact and value for money. Our staff include microbiologists, epidemiologists, immunologists, toxicologists, data scientists, health economists, logisticians, commercial specialists, policy advisors and many other specialties.
UKHSA’s strategic priorities
Our strategic priorities are the areas where we believe we can make a significant difference through focused effort, either by developing new approaches or by going further and faster on long-term challenges. We deliver on these in addition to our work on a wide range of ongoing responsibilities to protect health from a wide range of health security hazards.
1. Be ready to respond to all hazards to health
We will ensure we have the right plans, expertise, infrastructure, capabilities and countermeasures in place to prevent and mount scalable and agile responses to health security threats, including pandemics. We will support the whole health system to enhance its readiness and to develop robust response plans.
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 uptake among the population, thereby reducing the burden of infectious disease.
3. Reduce the impact of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance
We will harness our science, analytical and operational expertise to minimise the impact of infectious disease, with a focus over the next 3 years on COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance and our elimination targets for blood-borne viruses and tuberculosis.
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.
5. Improve action on health security through data and insight
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.
6. Develop UKHSA as a high-performing agency
We will ensure UKHSA is 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.
UKHSA’s role in the system
Health security is complex and multidimensional, affecting many parts of everyday life. Many organisations play an important role in protecting the public’s health. UKHSA plays a crucial role in leading on preparedness and response but cannot deliver its mission alone.
We work in across government, and in partnership with the devolved governments, local government, the NHS and wider health system, academia and industry to make sure we have the greatest impact possible.