Public support for, and understanding of, biosecurity in the UK is critical for the effective implementation of national strategies such as the 2023 Biological Security Strategy (BSS). To better understand public attitudes towards biological threats, The Centre for Long-Term Resilience, in partnership with Public First, recently conducted a nationwide poll about public attitudes towards extreme risks, including pandemics. The full dataset can be found here. Responses from the poll have provided valuable insights into public perception of the UK’s biosecurity and Government preparedness.
Key findings
The majority of respondents believe that biological risks are rising. 67% of respondents were of the opinion that the risk from global pandemics will increase from 2024 onwards. When asked about specific threats, 48% of respondents answered that “the risk of a laboratory leak of a new virus in scientific research” would rise in the next 50 years. Public concerns about increasing biological risks highlight the importance of robust early warning systems like the National Biosurveillance Network (NBN) to come online. The NBN is Outcome 9 of the BSS and is currently under development but has experienced publicly reported difficulties and project delays.
Public confidence in the ability of the Government to respond to a crisis is low. 55% of respondents said they are not very confident, or not confident at all, in the ability of the Government to respond to a crisis, including those caused by biological threats. The successful and timely implementation of the BSS is an opportunity to improve the public perception of the Government’s ability to respond to a biological crisis.
Preparing for a future pandemic should be a priority for the Government. When presented with a list of options for what should be the highest priority for the Government, “preparing for future pandemics” was the second-most popular answer at 45% (joint with “Increasing funding for the NHS and other healthcare systems”). 68% claimed that “the Government should be spending significant resources preparing for a global pandemic”. This reinforces the public support for financial and resource investment into biosecurity strategies like the NBN, the planned nationwide pandemic response exercise and the UK Microbial Forensics Consortium (part of Outcome 11 of the BSS). New funding for BSS outcomes, unfortunately, has yet to be publicly announced.
* This graph shows the top five most selected options. For the full list of options, please see the full data set linked above.
* This graph shows the top five most selected options. For the full list of options, please see the full data set linked above.
There is a strong public interest in being educated about biological threats. 86% of respondents stated that it was “important” or “very important” that the Government provide information about natural pandemics. This highlights the significant public appetite for the implementation of a coordinated UK biological security awareness public information campaign (Outcome 3 of the BSS).
The findings of our polling demonstrate the public’s awareness of biological threats, the need for improved Government communications, their expectations of Government action and their support for adequate funding being allocated to strengthen the UK’s resilience to extreme biological risks. The successful implementation of the BSS aligns closely with the priorities expressed by the public. We recommend funding of the BSS is prioritised in the upcoming spring spending review in line with the public’s expectations.
If you would like to discuss these findings in more detail, please get in touch with biosecurity@longtermresilience.org
