Are we ready for war? It’s a question that seems to be asked more and more as the world becomes more dangerous. Are we ready to respond to the threats we face? As geopolitical risk increases, this is important to consider. The conversation often centers on our armed forces; the number of those serving, the kit and weapons they have access to, and whether the capabilities to defend themselves are sufficient and available.
But one thing has become clear: having a plan for how we as a nation respond to and recover from impacts – whether physical, economic or cyber – is a must. The Chief of Defense Staff, Richard Knighton, has said that the UK is preparing a new version of the government’s “war playbook” which was developed during the First World War.
The war book was about much more than just how the military reacts – it was about how society and the economy remain resilient and continue to function during a time of crisis. The updated version will need to stimulate conversation across society and facilitate involvement from industry, business and government.
For organizations like Serco, which deliver critical public services, we have an important role to play in planning and testing country plans.
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We understand the reliance governments place on us to deliver critical public services to citizens, but we also know how these services support the country’s resilience and preparedness. Our job is to know how we can stay fully aligned to meet the needs of societies regardless of impact or disruption from events.
Resistance often runs counter to the emphasis on efficiency that has dominated thinking about public finance for the past three decades. It involves duplication and distribution, but as new threats emerge, we must ensure that we have resilient systems that enable us to be flexible enough to absorb the shock and respond. It’s something we take very seriously at Serco and, working alongside our expert colleagues at the UK Resilience Academy, we’re developing plans to increase our organizational resilience and preparedness. Our work focuses on three areas: the continued provision of critical defense services in the event of conflict, mobilizing the nation and maintaining functional public services.
Today, you’ll find our teams at critical UK bases: from three naval bases to RAF Fylingdales, which provides ballistic missile early warning and space surveillance for the UK and US.
The war book should consider how civilian contractors would mobilize in a scenario in which the UK was attacked, how peacetime regulations would need to change to support defence, and adopt some ‘break the glass’ options for contractors in a time of crisis that protects organisations. It is vital that the industry engages in war games and scenario exercises of how the UK would respond to an attack on its soil.
Mobilization of the wider population is another important element, including how to prepare the strategic reserve and how to assemble veterans and reservists. This is particularly important for those working for organizations that provide critical roles – whether in the defense industry, emergency services or other important industries such as the NHS, prisons and critical national infrastructure, including utilities and transport hubs.
The war book will also need to consider how we can fill skills gaps and develop plans to recruit, train and mobilize the wider community if required.
It will have to include plans to ensure the good functioning of public services in order to support a society under the strain of war.
The government will have to work in collaboration with its partners, with industry to bring capacity to maintain services, as well as the need to adapt or propose new ways of providing administrative services and creating completely new services.
There are many difficult questions. It is clear that the conversation will continue as the war book develops. The UK is a different country to what it was when the war book was first developed. A modern version will require a whole-of-society approach – civil society, academia and business – if we are to build our resilience and preparedness. We look forward to sharing what we have learned and helping to ensure we are ready to respond to the threats the UK may face.
