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THREAD: Russia, Resilience & Covid-19
The security and intelligence agencies are getting some stick over Russia. So here's a small corrective.
Having worked as adviser to GCHQ for 8 years and having had DV security clearance, I have some small idea of how this world works.
The security and intelligence agencies are getting some stick over Russia. So here's a small corrective.
Having worked as adviser to GCHQ for 8 years and having had DV security clearance, I have some small idea of how this world works.
First - the agencies do what their political masters task them to do. They have some small strategic and a bit more operational autonomy but their broad priorities are set by Ministers.
If Ministers are not interested in Russia there are limits to what the agencies can do about.
If Ministers are not interested in Russia there are limits to what the agencies can do about.
2018 Sir David Omand, former security and Intelligence Co-ordinator for the Government, wrote about the threat from Russia https://colinrtalbot.wordpress.com/2018/05/24/putin-trump-and-cyber-warfare-sir-david-omands-dramatic-warning/
The New Labour government and the agencies had, in the early 2000s, given a lot of thought to “contingencies” and “resilience” in relation to critical national infrastructure - including health.
See my interview with @geoffmulgan here
See my interview with @geoffmulgan here
David Omand published a book about such issues - Securing the State - in 2010.
One chapter (3) in that was about how to deal with crises and the system that was in place then (before the Coalition and austerity started to dismantle it).
It is well worth reading in the light of today's response to C19
It is well worth reading in the light of today's response to C19
In that David writes about in responding to crises that:
“the fundamental principle in the UK [as distinct from the US] was that the structure of emergency management should remain decentralized.”
“All emergencies” he says “ are in the end local.”
“the fundamental principle in the UK [as distinct from the US] was that the structure of emergency management should remain decentralized.”
“All emergencies” he says “ are in the end local.”
He goes on to describe the three tier system of Bronze, Silver and Gold Commands for responding to emergencies and how they inter-relate.
Particularly important is the Bronze local response where “responders must act together and coordinate with all other agencies”
Particularly important is the Bronze local response where “responders must act together and coordinate with all other agencies”
This system could easily have been adpated for the Covid-19 crisis.
Instead what we have seen is a massively centralized (and privatized) approach which largely ignored existing NHS, local government and voluntary sector capacity.
Instead what we have seen is a massively centralized (and privatized) approach which largely ignored existing NHS, local government and voluntary sector capacity.
For example the 130 NHS labs were “frozen out" of the effort to expand testing capacity in favour of new private sector mega labs https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/nhs-labs-coronavirus-testing_uk_5ebd3f78c5b6078ff41d28dc
Or the way that local Public Health directors in England - who arguably should have been given Bronze Commander status - were also frozen out by central Government. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000l0k0
