On Friday, James took part in a panel discussion organised by the Reform think tank considering how government plans and manages crises.
This webinar considered how government plans for the worst: how it wargames for crises, whether it does this effectively, and what lessons can be learnt to help it to mitigate against future crises. This event formed part of our Resilient State programme, a series of work that considers how government can better prepare the state to withstand shocks and crises.
As a member of the Public Accounts Committee James spoke about the lessons learned identified by his committee which has scrutinised the government's planning for Covid-19, Brexit, and other matters. He draw on his time as an adviser in the Ministry of Defence, in the Cabinet Office advising the minister who led on civil contingencies, as well as his time as a member of the Prime Minister's Brexit Unit.
James highlighted the need for a better link between the National Risk Register and Action and the importance of planning for all scenarios with robust contingency plans. Second, he spoke about the need to test these plans and scenarios pointing to a lack of focus on implementation and delivery of plans. Finally, he spoke about the need for more challenge and to test regularly the assumptions that drive planning.
He spoke alongside other panellists including:
- Bruce Mann CB, Former Director of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office;
- Dr Sara Ulrich, Global Business Wargaming Lead, PA Consulting; and
- Aidan Shilson-Thomas, Senior Researcher, Reform.
