Submission of Evidence to The Cabinet Office Enquiry on The Biological Security Strategy

Abstract

This is a joint submission from researchers at the Centre for the Study of Existential Riski and BioRISC - Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’sii , alongside collaborators from the University of Bath, the University of Bradford and the Biological Security Research Centre at London Metropolitan University. We argue here that there are a number of cross-cutting lessons to be learned from extant approaches to biosecurity, but that UK biological security — and the role of the UK as a soft-power leader in biosecurity globally — would be greatly enriched by the following: • Work to enhance the capacity and policy participation of civil society and academic actors in developing and implementing the UK’s biological security strategy on an ongoing basis • Work to further enhance biosecurity and bioethics education across both practice and policy communities • Further developing an approach that sees biological security as intrinsically connected to a number of other intersecting concerns, most notably, environmental degradation and climate change. • Establishing a national coordinating institution to act as a focal point for the UK’s national biological security strategy.