The Ministry of Defence was involved in the exercise at both the national and local level. At the national level, the Ministry provided policy advice to the participating Minister from that Department and responded to requests for military assistance which formed part of the exercise scenario. Standing Joint Command (UK) participated at the local level, with Joint Regional Liaison Officers providing advice to local authorities participating in the exercise.

The Ministry of Defence was further involved along with other Government departments in supporting the exercise development.

The aim of Exercise Cygnus was to assess the United Kingdom’s preparedness and response to a pandemic influenza as reflected in the UK’s worst-case planning scenario. Arrangements to access a pandemic vaccine is one aspect of our ‘defence in depth’ approach, as set out in the UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011. The exercise was set in week seven of the UK’s response to a pandemic influenza. At this point, pandemic vaccine had been ordered but was not yet available.

The Government accepted all 22 recommendations of Exercise Cygnus and actions have been taken forward on all them as part of our pandemic preparedness plans, working across Government and with stakeholders. Specifically, these actions included:

- working across the whole of Government and with the devolved administrations to develop draft legislation to support the response to a future influenza pandemic; and

- improving plans within health and care sectors to flex systems and resources to expand beyond normal capacity levels.

Due to the nature of Exercise Cygnus, we have no plans to publish further details of how and when these actions have been taken forward as releasing the information could prejudice the safeguarding of national security.

The document ‘Exercise Cygnus Report: Tier One Command Post Exercise Pandemic Influenza 18 to 20 October 2016’, published on 20 October 2020, is the complete report of the exercise setting out all the lessons identified.

When assessing the public interest in publication of the Exercise Cygnus report, the Department sought advice from across Government on whether any part of the report was being used to develop policies to respond to COVID-19 or contained detail that might, if released during current pandemic, introduce uncertainty relating to our COVID-19 response.

Based on this advice, the cross-Government decision was made that publication was in the public interest and the full report of Exercise Cygnus was published on 20 October 2020.

The provision of mental health services during an influenza pandemic was not explicitly tested as part of Exercise Cygnus.

However, we are committed to supporting everyone’s mental wellbeing, especially during unprecedented events such as pandemics, and have ensured that mental health services have remained open throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic.

We are continuing to work with experts from the National Health Service and from public health to assess what further help and support people might need to maintain their mental health over the next few weeks and months. In addition, we have released tailored guidance to help people deal with their mental health and wellbeing on GOV.UK at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-public-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing

We are also promoting this through the Every Mind Matters website.

No private companies were invited to participate in Exercise Cygnus.

Public Health England was commissioned by the Department to organise, deliver and evaluate Exercise Cygnus. ‘Exercise Cygnus Report: Tier One Command Post Exercise Pandemic Influenza 18 to 20 October 2016’, published on 20 October 2020, is the complete report of the exercise setting out all the lessons identified.

The Government does not routinely publish reports on exercises. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a degree of public interest in the report of Exercise Cygnus.

Prior to publishing the report on Exercise Cygnus and its outcomes, the Department engaged with officials from a range of Government departments and agencies to determine whether publication during the current pandemic was in the public interest. The Department took a cautious approach to publication because of the risk that the response to the current pandemic could be negatively impacted.

Learning the lessons from preparedness exercises, as well as other sources of expertise, has ensured that the United Kingdom remains well prepared for infectious disease outbreaks.

The Department continues to work across Government and with a range of stakeholders, such as local planners and expert advisory groups, to implement the lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus. These lessons learned have informed our preparedness, such as through development of draft legislation to support the response to a future influenza pandemic and strengthening health sector plans to surge and flex beyond normal operations.

The United Kingdom Government’s Concept of Operations describes how the Government response to civil emergencies will be organised, and the relationship between central, regional and local tiers in England. Following Exercise Cygnus, a cross-Government work programme was established to improve plans for the use of information in a flu pandemic. This work builds upon the current UK Government Concept of Operations, specifically for pandemic influenza.

The lessons learned from Exercise Cygnus continue to be considered by Government, and have been shared with a range of stakeholders, to ensure that the UK remains well-prepared for infectious disease outbreaks.

Exercise Cygnus was a national-level pandemic influenza exercise, which took place from 18 to 20 October 2016. Due to the size and complexity of the exercise, a number of groups were established to assist with its planning.

The Exercise Cygnus Steering Group was accountable for the overall strategic direction of the exercise and included representation from Cabinet Office, the Department of Health, the Department of Communities and Local Government, as well as Public Health England and NHS England.

The National Planning Team had responsibility for managing the development and delivery of the exercise and consisted of representation from some of those who took part in the exercise, including from the Department of Health and 12 other Government departments; the devolved administrations; NHS England, Public Health England, and eight Local Resilience Forums.