Lord Toby Harris is chair of the National Preparedness Commission. Since it was established in 2020, the Commission has been influential in the development of the UK Government Resilience Framework and has established a reputation as the leading body promoting better preparedness for a major crisis or incident.

He is also Visiting Professor of Resilience at Cranfield University and is President of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management. In addition, he chairs the Independent Advisory Group on Ethics for the National Crime Agency, as well as two regulatory bodies (the General Dental Council, which regulates dental professionals; and the Fundraising Regulator, which oversees charitable fundraising).

In 2016 and in 2021, he conducted Independent Reviews for the Mayor of London on London’s Preparedness to Respond to a Terrorist Attack. His Independent Review on the Deaths of Young People in Prison Custody (“The Harris Review: Changing Prisons, Saving Lives”) was published by the Ministry of Justice in July 2015.

He is a former Council Leader, led the Labour Group on the London Assembly for four years, and was the founding Chair of the Association of London Government (now London Councils). He was the first Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (2000-2004) and then on behalf of successive Home Secretaries oversaw police work on counter-terrorism and security (2004-2012).

Zonia is Deputy Director for Legislation and Capabilities in the Resilience Directorate at the Cabinet Office. The team are responsible for the underpinning framework for emergency management including the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and guidance. The team leads the development of specific capabilities, including recovery policy, community resilience and delivery of ResilienceDirect.

Zonia has held a variety of roles in a range of UK Civil Service departments including the Home Office, Defra and the Food Standards Agency. She has local delivery experience in the Employment Service and leading the multi-agency London Resilience Team responsible for delivering emergency preparedness in London. Zonia also has international experience with both the EU and NATO. She has extensive experience in crisis management, most recently in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat and has had a lead role in a number of high profile projects and events.

Paul Phipps-Williams is Head of Local Resilience Delivery at DLUHC, responsible for the Government’s strategic engagement with local resilience forums, the delivery of DLUHC’s Stronger LRF Programme and manages DLUHC’s work on the resilience of essential services. As an experienced central government emergency manager, and former Head of Resilience for the London, the East and Southeast of England, he’s been at the heart of the Government’s response to most of the major emergencies over the last twelve years, helping to ensure both Ministers in COBR and Chairs of SCG could make effective and informed decisions. Paul has worked for DLUHC and its predecessors since 2001, helping to shape most aspects of communities policy – from planning, housing and local government to community cohesion and strategy. Implementing the UK Government Resilience Framework – and integrating resilience into all the policy areas where Paul has worked – is the natural next step in the journey.

Jon has been the Head of Partnerships at the Voluntary & Sector Emergencies Partnership (VCS EP) since May 2022 having previously spent 6 years at the British Red Cross and before that time working in a children’s charity and before that in defence in public and private sector roles. Jon leads on national partner engagement for the EP, executes their engagement strategy and works with colleagues and partners to maximise the contribution of VCS partners through building trusted connections, enhancing capabilities and gathering and sharing insight.

Bruce’s career in the UK civil service covered a wide range of national security policy and operational roles in the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office, including as Head of the Nuclear Accident Response Organisation, in the Cabinet Secretariat dealing with terrorism and major emergencies and as Director of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, leading work across the public and private sectors to improve the UK’s readiness to respond to major emergencies. Bruce was Leader of the Independent Review of the Civil Contingencies Act and its Supporting Arrangements on behalf of the National Preparedness Commission. In recent years, Bruce has provided support to a number of countries and UK LRFs seeking to develop their risk and emergency management capabilities. He is also an Expert Adviser to the COVID-19 Inquiry.

Kathy has substantial experience of national resilience in the UK and overseas. This includes working in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office building stronger capabilities and preparedness across 1,200+ local and regional emergency response bodies, including developing the first Community Resilience Framework. She was also Response Director (or Deputy) in COBR, responding to a wide range of emergencies including the 2009 swine flu pandemic, flooding, terrorism, animal diseases and severe weather events. After leaving the Civil Service, Kathy provided support to a Middle Eastern country in the development of its risk and emergency management capabilities. More recently, Kathy was Deputy Leader of the Independent Review of the Civil Contingencies Act and its Supporting Arrangements on behalf of the National Preparedness Commission and is now supporting a number of Local Resilience Forums, government departments and overseas governments in building their resilience capability.

Helena Edwards has worked in operational and digital delivery for 25 years across key government departments, which has given her an insight into successful delivery and collaborative working and what can be achieved together. Helena is passionate about delivering continuous improvements for our resilience colleagues whether at community level, or local/central government. She leads the ResilienceDirect Team who manage the ResilienceDirect™ Service on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

ResilienceDirect™ continues to be the only secure 24/7/365 service enabling secure information sharing and shared situational awareness through data visualisation that supports multi-agency collaborative working for the full cycle of emergency preparedness.

Alex is the Chief Fire Officer for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Executive Director for Community Protection for Hertfordshire County Council. His portfolio includes the Fire and Rescue Service, Trading Standards, Emergency Planning & Resilience, Public Health, and Community Safety Services. As Chair of Hertfordshire’s Local Resilience Forum, National Fire Chiefs Council lead for Local Resilience Forums, and Ambassador for the National Emergencies Trust – Alex has built a reputation for co-ordinating complex multi-disciplinary partnerships, strategy, and delivery as part of regular business practice and during times of crisis or emergency. Alex has also held notable roles as the Chief of Staff to the London Strategic Coordination Groups for the Grenfell Tower Response, and for Covid19.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams is the Strategic Lead for the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC). His role is integral to enhancing policing nationally, but also across the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. He is the National Mobilisation Coordinator, and is responsible for the Strategic Intelligence and Briefing team. In addition, he Chairs the National Police Chiefs Council Civil Contingencies Portfolio and works closely with lead government departments and key stakeholders to enhance preparedness for civil emergencies.

Mark joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1993 and was Divisional Commander of Edinburgh City upon the inception of Police Scotland in 2013.

He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable in 2015, initially undertaking responsibility for Local Policing in the West of Scotland before moving to his previous role as Head of Operational Support Division in 2018.

ACC Williams was the Police Scotland lead and Strategic Co-ordination Group chair for EU Exit; the strategic partnership lead in respect of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and he was recently the Gold Commander for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

He has extensive experience as an major events commander, Strategic Firearms Commander and Gold Public Order Commander.

Fiona is Deputy Director for Training and Exercising in the Resilience Directorate at the Cabinet Office. The team are responsible for the skills and curriculum commitments in the UK Resilience Framework including the policy work to deliver the National Exercise Programme, the UK Resilience Academy and a resilience skills and curriculum pathway. The team also oversees the contractual arrangements for the Cabinet Office’s Emergency Planning College based at The Hawkhills near York.

Fiona joined the UK Civil Service in June 2020 as the Deputy Director for Kent and Short Straits in the Cabinet Office’s Border and Protocol Delivery Group. Prior to that, Fiona had worked across a range of roles during a 22 year career within Kent County Council. She spent 10 of those years in Emergency Planning and Business Continuity, including the latter years of her time in Kent as the Head of Emergency Planning for Kent County Council and the Head of Kent Resilience Team, the multi-agency team that led the Resilience Forum’s planning to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. Fiona has extensive crisis management experience at the local level and still uses those skills from time to time in supporting the Cabinet Office’s crisis management function.

Zonia is Deputy Director for Legislation and Capabilities in the Resilience Directorate at the Cabinet Office. The team are responsible for the underpinning framework for emergency management including the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and guidance. The team leads the development of specific capabilities, including recovery policy, community resilience and delivery of ResilienceDirect.

Zonia has held a variety of roles in a range of UK Civil Service departments including the Home Office, Defra and the Food Standards Agency. She has local delivery experience in the Employment Service and leading the multi-agency London Resilience Team responsible for delivering emergency preparedness in London. Zonia also has international experience with both the EU and NATO. She has extensive experience in crisis management, most recently in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat and has had a lead role in a number of high profile projects and events.

Paul Phipps-Williams is Head of Local Resilience Delivery at DLUHC, responsible for the Government’s strategic engagement with local resilience forums, the delivery of DLUHC’s Stronger LRF Programme and manages DLUHC’s work on the resilience of essential services. As an experienced central government emergency manager, and former Head of Resilience for the London, the East and Southeast of England, he’s been at the heart of the Government’s response to most of the major emergencies over the last twelve years, helping to ensure both Ministers in COBR and Chairs of SCG could make effective and informed decisions. Paul has worked for DLUHC and its predecessors since 2001, helping to shape most aspects of communities policy – from planning, housing and local government to community cohesion and strategy. Implementing the UK Government Resilience Framework – and integrating resilience into all the policy areas where Paul has worked – is the natural next step in the journey.

Kathryn has been Greater Manchester’s Chief Resilience Officer since 2017, providing strategic leadership for the city region’s approach to resilience. She is responsible for a specialist unit delivering disaster risk reduction and an emergency response service for Greater Manchester’s ten local authorities. Kathryn has led the development of Greater Manchester’s 10-year Resilience Strategy and provides a strategic advice function to the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum with a focus on multi-agency collaboration to deliver safer, stronger, and more resilient communities in Greater Manchester.

Kathryn heads up Greater Manchester’s participation in several international partnerships including the Resilient Cities Network, UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) Partnership and the Counter Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN). She is a member of MCR2030’s Regional Coordinating Committee for Europe and Central Asia and sits on CTPN’s International Board.

Kathryn holds a medical degree and has previously held a wide range of positions in local government.

Lord Toby Harris is chair of the National Preparedness Commission. Since it was established in 2020, the Commission has been influential in the development of the UK Government Resilience Framework and has established a reputation as the leading body promoting better preparedness for a major crisis or incident.

He is also Visiting Professor of Resilience at Cranfield University and is President of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management. In addition, he chairs the Independent Advisory Group on Ethics for the National Crime Agency, as well as two regulatory bodies (the General Dental Council, which regulates dental professionals; and the Fundraising Regulator, which oversees charitable fundraising).

In 2016 and in 2021, he conducted Independent Reviews for the Mayor of London on London’s Preparedness to Respond to a Terrorist Attack. His Independent Review on the Deaths of Young People in Prison Custody (“The Harris Review: Changing Prisons, Saving Lives”) was published by the Ministry of Justice in July 2015.

He is a former Council Leader, led the Labour Group on the London Assembly for four years, and was the founding Chair of the Association of London Government (now London Councils). He was the first Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (2000-2004) and then on behalf of successive Home Secretaries oversaw police work on counter-terrorism and security (2004-2012).