Signal UK government identifies 26 chronic risks in seven themes

Summary

The Cabinet Office and GO-Science consulted widely with departments, the devolved nations and outside experts to select 26 chronic risks and to analyse and evaluate them. The risks are sorted into seven broad themes: security, technology, geopolitics, environment, society, biosecurity including health, and economics. The technology and cyber security theme, for instance, covers changing cyber threats, reliance on digital platforms, dominance of big technology firms and the impacts of AI, while the economic theme includes reliance on global supply chains and skills shortages. For each risk the report gives a snapshot of its current status together with a forward-looking view of possible developments and system-wide effects. The Government Chief Scientific Adviser said the framework would help policymakers and resilience professionals understand the long-term challenges facing society.