UK Health Security Agency

What is the UK Health Security Agency?

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is the government agency charged with protecting public health against external threats such as infectious disease or biological and chemical hazards. It is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

What does the UKHSA do?

The UKHSA prepares for, prevents and responds to infectious diseases and chemical, biological, nuclear and environmental hazards. ³⁹ UK Health Security Agency, ‘About us’, GOV.UK, no date, www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency/about  It does so through scientific research (for example, vaccine development), collecting and sharing data, modelling, and providing operational guidance. Another part of its remit is building the UK’s health security capacity – the ability to respond to future public health incidents – through investment in technology and infrastructure. ⁴⁰ UK Health Security Agency, UKHSA Annual Report and Account 2024-25, GOV.UK, 11 December 2025, www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025, pp. 11-12.

The UKHSA primarily operates in England since health is a devolved policy area. However, it also has responsibilities across the UK in specialist roles such as responding to radiation, and represents the UK on international public health matters. ⁴¹ UK Health Security Agency, UKHSA Strategic Plan: 2023 to 2026, GOV.UK, 22 September 2023, www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-strategic-plan-2023-to-2026, p. 2

How is the UKHSA organised?

The UKHSA is led by its chief executive, Professor Susan Hopkins. ⁴² UK Health Security Agency, ‘Our governance’, GOV.UK, no date, www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency/about/our-governance  She is accountable to the health secretary, who sets objectives for UKHSA though an annual remit letter, and to the UKHSA board, whose chair and non-executive board members are appointed by the health secretary. ⁴³ Department of Health and Social Care and UK Health Security Agency, Framework document between the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency, 27 January 2022, www.gov.uk/government/publications/framework-document-between-the-department-of-health-and-social-care-and-the-uk-health-security-agency  

The UKHSA is headquartered in London but also has a network of laboratories as well as nine regional teams, which support local government in its statutory public health functions. ⁴⁴ UK Health Security Agency, UKHSA Annual Report and Account 2024-25, op. cit., p. 12

How and why was the UKHSA formed?

The UKHSA was formed following the abolition of Public Health England (PHE) in 2021 ^undefined UK Health Security Agency ‘UK Health Security Agency launches with a relentless focus on keeping the nation safe’, press release, 1 October 2021, retrieved 8 March 2023, www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-health-security-agency-launches-with-a-relentless-focus-on-keeping-the-nation-safe , merging PHE’s health protection functions with NHS Test and Trace and the Joint Biosecurity Centre. Due to the perceived failings of Public Health England during the Covid-19 pandemic, then health secretary Matt Hancock decided to create an agency focused solely on health security, integrating scientific expertise and research with the infrastructure and operational capacity needed to respond to threats, ^undefined UK Health Security Agency ‘UK Health Security Agency launches with a relentless focus on keeping the nation safe’, press release, 1 October 2021, retrieved 8 March 2023, www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-health-security-agency-launches-with-a-relentless-focus-on-keeping-the-nation-safe  originally to be called the National Institute for Health Protection. ^undefined UK Health Security Agency ‘UK Health Security Agency launches with a relentless focus on keeping the nation safe’, press release, 1 October 2021, retrieved 8 March 2023, www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-health-security-agency-launches-with-a-relentless-focus-on-keeping-the-nation-safe  This became the UKHSA.

What has the UKHSA done since being established?

In its first years of existence, UKHSA prioritised responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a focus on moving to “safely living” with the virus. ⁴⁵ UK Health Security Agency, Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22, GOV.UK, 26 January 2023, www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022 p. 11.  This involved responding to the Omicron variant from December 2021 to January 2022, by distributing test kits, forecasting capacity and demand and modelling the spread of the variant.

In the years since the Covid-19 pandemic, the UKHSA’s priorities have shifted to monitoring and preparing for broader public health threats. For example, in 2024/25 the UKHSA’s responsibilities included: ⁴⁶ UK Health Security Agency, UKHSA Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, op. cit., pp. 16-18

• responding to local outbreaks of diseases such as measles, mpox and Lassa fever
• leading the UK’s pandemic preparedness portfolio and representing the UK at the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat
• hosting the UKHSA Data Dashboard, which tracks, for example, weekly flu cases
• leading the management and development of the UK’s vaccine programme
• globally monitoring diseases such as ebolavirus, mpox and Marburg virus
• reducing the impact of antibiotic resistance.

What problems has the UKHSA experienced?

A month after its creation, the UKHSA had to urgently respond to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, alongside merging its three predecessor organisations with separate functions, teams, and cultures. ⁵⁴ Harries J, ‘In Conversation with Dr Jenny Harries’, speech at the Institute for Government, 28 July 2022, www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/online-event/conversation-dame-dr-jenny-harries-chief-executive-uk-health-security-agency  The UKHSA also experienced initial funding difficulties followed by large cuts after February 2022, ⁵⁵ UK Health Security Agency, Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22, op. cit., p. 8.  problems with merging IT systems and very high levels of temporary staff. ⁵⁶ UK Health Security Agency, Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22, 26 January 2023, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1131855/UKHSA_Annual_Report_21_22_FINAL.pdf, p. 90.  These operational challenges were described as “extraordinarily unusual” by the chair, Ian Peters. ⁵⁷ UK Health Security Agency, Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22, 26 January 2023, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1131855/UKHSA_Annual_Report_21_22_FINAL.pdf, p. 8.

In January 2023, the National Audit Office (NAO) found “significant shortcomings in financial control and governance which are pervasive to UKHSA’s financial statements” and concluded that DHSC did not sufficiently support or oversee UKHSA’s administrative functions during its establishment. ⁵⁸ UK Health Security Agency, Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22, 26 January 2023, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1131855/UKHSA_Annual_Report_21_22_FINAL.pdf, p. 95.  The UKHSA has successfully addressed these issues and the NAO’s opinion on its accounts for 2024/25 was qualified only on the basis of prior year comparators. ⁵⁹ UK Health Security Agency, Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25, op. cit., p. 153

A 2024 report from the NAO also highlighted ongoing issues with the ‘health security campus programme’ the UKHSA inherited from its predecessor, Public Health England. This programme is responsible for developing critical scientific infrastructure sites such as containment laboratories. Spiralling costs and severe delays led the NAO to conclude that as things stand “the UK’s future resilience to dangerous diseases and value for taxpayers’ money are both being undermined by failures in decision-making”. ⁶⁰ Comptroller and Auditor General, Investigation into the UK Health Security Agency’s health security campus programme, Session 2023-24, HC 553, National Audit Office, 28 February 2024, www.nao.org.uk/reports/investigation-into-the-ukhsas-health-security-campus-programme/, pp. 11-12