Corporate report

UKHSA Advisory Board: 16 September 2025 minutes

Updated 20 November 2025

Date: 16 September 2025

Present at the meeting were:

• Ian Peters – Chair of UKHSA Advisory Board
• Susan Hopkins – Chief Executive
• Dyfed Alsop – Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive
• Stuart Dollow - Non-executive member
• Jon Friedland – Non-executive member
• Dame Marie Gabriel – Associate non-executive member
• Graham Hart - Non-executive member
• Luke Heath – Director, Finance, Performance, Risk and Assurance
• Sarah Jensen – Associate non-executive member
• Mark Lloyd – Non-executive member
• Raj Long – Associate non-executive member
• Sir Gordon Messenger – Non-executive member
• Cindy Rampersaud – Non-executive member
• Steven Riley – Chief Data Officer
• Thom Waite – Deputy Chief Medical Officer (England)

Observers at the meeting were:

• Shona Arora – Incoming Chief Medical Adviser
• Lee Bailey – Director of Communications
• Jon Cocking – Director, People and Workplace
• Will Jones – Deputy Director for Risk, UKHSA Sponsorship and Capabilities, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• Marc Merel – Representative for Chief Scientific Officer
• Isabel Oliver – Chief Medical Officer (Wales)

In attendance at the meeting were:

• Martin Sellar - Director, Transformation

• 7 attendees had their name and title redacted

Apologies were received from:

• Catherine Frances – Director General, Global and Public Health (Senior Departmental Sponsor)
• Sir Michael McBride – Chief Medical Officer Northern (Ireland)
• Sir Gregor Smith – Chief Medical Officer (Scotland)
• Sir Chris Whitty – Chief Medical Officer (England)

1. Announcements, apologies, and declarations of interest

25/141 The Chair welcomed participants to the meeting and noted apologies.

25/142 The following announcements were made:

• Susan Hopkins was congratulated on her appointment as Chief Executive;
• Dyfed Alsop was thanked for his time as interim Chief Executive;
• Exercise Pegasus – a cross-government exercise testing decision making and response to a novel pathogen – had commenced on 15 September;
• the remit letter would be shared with the Board and published once finalised with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC);
• Stuart Dollow was welcomed as a member of the Advisory Board, Audit and Risk Committee and Science and Research Committee
• Cindy Rampersaud was reappointed as Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee for a further three years;
• The Board looked forward to welcoming Robin May as the incoming Chief Scientific Officer from 22 September.

2. Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

25/143 The Advisory Board agreed the minutes of the previous meeting with a minor amendment (enclosure AB/25/048) and list of actions (enclosure AB/25/049).

3. Chief Executive’s update

25/144 The Chief Executive presented her update on UKHSA’s activity (enclosure AB/25/050). She thanked colleagues for their welcoming messages on her appointment and to Dyfed Alsop for skilful support as interim Chief Executive. She noted changes in senior leadership including:

• Robin May’s appointment as Chief Scientific Officer;
• Shona Arora’s interim appointment as Chief Medical Adviser;
• Luke Heath’s permanent appointment as Director of Finance Performance, Risk and Assurance;
• Clare Cook’s interim appointment as her Chief of Staff.

25/145 The Advisory Board noted the update. Organisational highlights included:

• early engagement with staff and stakeholders following the decision to proceed with new, state-of-the-art facilities in Harlow;
• continued engagement on the Arms’ Length Bodies Review which has noted the clear delivery objectives and unique functionalities of UKHSA;
• progress towards settling the Spending Review for next 3 years with DHSC;
• preparation for Exercise Pegasus to test cross-government decision making, response from a wide range of other agencies and UKHSA’s internal response systems;
• providing evidence at the Covid-19 Public Inquiry hearings;
• two projects were awarded to UKHSA by the Cabinet Office Integrated Security Fund to strengthen capability of wastewater surveillance and securing onshore manufacturing of lateral flow devices;
• tendering a delivery partner for the Trust Programme to strengthen UKHSA’s data protection and cyber security systems;
• advice to stop using certain non-sterile alcohol-free wipes, controlling an outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis affecting patients in the NHS;
• Managing an outbreak and raising public awareness on the symptoms of botulism linked to cosmetic procedures;
• publishing data on measles cases and working with the NHS to ensure ongoing delivery of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines;
• Working with DHSC and NHSE on sprints sharing knowledge of vaccine effectiveness, finances, and main challenges (access, effective communication, data and delivery).

25/146 As a newly appointed Chief Executive, she was also planning for the next corporate strategy and keen to take advantage of the advice provided by the Advisory Board through early engagement and feedback loops.

25/147 Discussion noted the following points:

• the importance of engaging with staff and revitalising the culture was welcomed;
• heat health alerts gained positive traction from the Adult Social Care sector particularly, with the opportunity to evaluate more widely the impact of alerts;
• the delivery of vaccines was complex from development, assessing effectiveness, to delivery through NHS. UKHSA was working with DHSC, the NHS and others to better define its roles and responsibilities, noting the merger of the first two is an opportunity to provide a forum for bringing system partners together;
• there was opportunity to communicate the value of the agency’s activity in preventing outbreaks;
• the Director of Global Health protection was reviewing the breadth of UKHSA’s global activity with DHSC, aligning with cross-government priorities in the global space;
• assurance was provided on the involvement of a range of stakeholders for response in Exercise Pegasus, including early workshops with Local Resilience Forums and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Thanks were noted to staff for the exercise design work and wider pre-engagement activity.

4. Financial Report

25/148 The Advisory Board noted the financial update to the end of July 2025 (enclosure AB/25/051) presented by the Director, Finance, Performance, Risk and Assurance.

25/149 The following points were raised in respect to the financial position:

• the over forecast spending on core RDEL was expected at this time of year and would be balanced by year end;
• a spend moratorium was initiated by DHSC on corporate efficiencies and discretionary spending to maintain affordability through the full year. The moratorium did not apply to frontline public health delivery, cyber programmes or recruitment;
• CDEL run rate was below forecast and is being managed with active reprioritisation of in year spending;
• Covid Vaccine Unit outturn was below plan, reflecting changes in vaccine advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and an expected change in accounting treatment for facility readiness payments;
• additional financial pressures expected in connection with NHS industrial action were accounted for in Spending Review planning;
• there was good progress on Spending Review discussions with a 3-year budget expected in due course;
• it was noted that the People and Culture Committee planned to discuss strategic workforce planning which should align with the new corporate strategy and management of critical skillsets.

5. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

25/150 The Deputy Director Antimicrobial Resistance & Healthcare Associated Infections presented the update on AMR programme activity through the previous year (enclosure AB/25/052). Highlights included: new epidemiological tools, integrating health equity, developing bioinformatic capability, research and modelling to better target interventions, embedding evaluation.

25/151 An appearance at the Public Accounts Committee in June 2025 acknowledged the value of UKHSA’s effort alongside complexity of AMR.

25/152 There were increases in drug-resistant infections compounded by factors such as comorbidities in the population and global movement. UKSHA future activity would focus on defining the unique offer it held in this space including:

• understanding the impact of health system changes;
• capturing funding spend on AMR across the agency;
• translating evidence into effective intervention;
• developing diagnostics and improving the therapeutics pipeline.

25/153 The Advisory Board noted activities under way to tackle AMR in the first year of the implementation of the UKHSA AMR programme in support of the 2024-2029 National Action Plan.

25/154 Discussion noted the following:

• the global challenge of AMR and the need to monitor the impact of  government prioritisation decisions;
• the impact of global supply chains and pipelines on availability of antimicrobials;
• the role of UKHSA working with academia to evaluate the push-pull incentives that the UK government has introduced
• the potential of artificial intelligence to provide opportunities for rapid progression in the therapeutics pipelines and bioinformatics link to resistance target
• the role of diagnostics remained a significant challenge, compounded by pressures in primary care, prescribing behaviours and developing cost effective tests;
• the impact of the COVID-19 on health system pressures and  infection and prevention control practices and the role of UKHSA to measure the impact;
• the role of UKHSA at moving beyond describing the burden of infections in different populations to understanding the reasons for widening disparities in deprived groups and subsequently highlighting the potential interventions for research funders and the NHS
• the role of UKSHA in developing novel diagnostic tests, though  further work is required to understand intellectual property and royalty revenue
• the value for money argument was critical to continued support for tackling AMR.

25/155 It was suggested to return for a further update in 1 year.

6. Science Hub

25/156 The Director Transformation provide an update on the Harlow Programme (enclosure AB/25/053). The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced UKHSA will be moving its scientific facilities currently based at Porton Down and Colindale and its corporate headquarters to a new site in Harlow in the mid 2030s.

25/157 UKHSA had remobilised programme activity and was developing a business change plan, with people and communication at the centre of the programme. Activity included identifying the critical path for infrastructure delivery, approval of technical delivery partners, recruiting a programme team and engaging with partners such as Harlow Council and UK Innovation Corridor Board.

25/158 The Advisory Board noted the update and welcome the focus on strategic people management as much as infrastructure.

25/159 The following comments were raised during discussion:

• there was emphasis on communicating the strategic benefits of the move in further engagement with staff and partners;
• relocation policies were on the radar to support retention of staff and critical capabilities at the new site;
• the benefits of colocation and ways of working were important in the narrative to inspire culture change alongside practicalities of terms and conditions;
• the Board was seen as a welcome forum for advice and challenge over the next 10 years
• roles, responsibilities and accountabilities between UKHSA, DHSC and others is essential
• it was important to engage with partners and set dynamics early to differentiate the UKHSA site as a hub for innovation including for small and medium-sized enterprises;
• UKHSA maintained awareness of the need to upgrade existing facilities in the interim. It was suggested to consider early relocation of science facilities and / or other functions to accelerate the required behavioural changes and drive tangible momentum.

25/160 The Science Hub was expected to feature as a regular topic with the first update suggested for 6 months’ time, following review of the business case.

7. Advisory Board Committees

25/161 The Advisory Board noted verbal updates from the latest Committee meetings as below:

• the Equalities, Ethics and Communities July meeting discussed the effectiveness review, artificial intelligence impact on health inequalities, the Health Equity for Health Protection Initiative, impacts of the NHS 10-year plan, and equity challenges in the Adult Social Care sector.
• the People and Culture Committee July meeting discussed people survey, workforce priorities, talent management and compliance culture;
• the Science and Research Committee September meeting discussed public health and social measures workstream, growth through science project, UKHSA research impact framework and the Harlow project;
• the Audit and Risk Committee June meeting discussed anti-fraud, finance, annual report and accounts, internal audits, reduction on overdue audit actions, strategic risks and in particular cyber risk.

25/162 The Advisory Board noted the confirmed minutes as below:

• the Equalities, Ethics and Communities Committee meeting on 8 April 2025 (enclosure AB/25/054).
• the People and Culture Committee meeting on 12 May 2025 (enclosure AB/25/055).

8. Questions from members of the public

25/163 No questions were received from members of the public.

9. Forward Look

25/164 The Advisory Board noted the forward look (enclosure AB/25/056) which would be reviewed by the Chair with the new Chief Executive.

10. Any other business and close

25/165 There being no other business, the meeting closed at 12pm.