UK Resilience Academy

The UK Resilience Academy is where much of the formal training for emergency planners and responders in the United Kingdom now takes place. This page draws on the Academy's own website and on the UK Government Resilience Action Plan 2026 Implementation Report.

What it is

The Academy's about page describes it as the national centre for resilience learning and development. Its home page calls it the leading national provider of resilience training and education, expertise and resources, and says it aims to bring together people, organisations and communities and equip them with the tools and knowledge to help build greater societal resilience.

Who runs it

The about page states that the Academy is part of the Cabinet Office National Security Secretariat, supported by an extended partnership between the Cabinet Office and Serco. It says the Academy was built out of a pedigree in emergency planning which Serco has delivered on behalf of the Cabinet Office for over 15 years, and that it was formed up and out from the Emergency Planning College. The site's copyright line names the Cabinet Office and Serco Limited.

The Emergency Planning College appears in older Cabinet Office guidance. Emergency Response and Recovery describes it as the leading provider of training for emergency preparedness, attracting delegates with responsibility for preventing, planning for, responding to or recovering from a major incident. The JESIP website records that the Pollock Report, the review of major incidents that led to the JESIP principles, was commissioned from the Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College.

Where it is

The Academy is based at The Hawkhills, Easingwold, York.

Who it serves

The about page lists government, local responders, businesses, voluntary organisations and community leaders, as well as partners across critical national infrastructure sectors. It says the Academy supports organisations to strengthen their preparedness and response capability, and helps people anticipate, respond to and recover from disruption. The website is organised under five headings: learn, validate, develop, collaborate and share, with a separate courses listing.

What the government says it is doing

The 2026 Implementation Report records several pieces of work:

• The Academy continues to expand its resilience training and education offer across multiple sectors and levels of society, including the devolved governments, the public, the private sector and the voluntary, community and faith sector, and has developed new career pathways.
• It is leading the revision and expansion of National Occupational Standards for resilience. The report says these have had a demonstrable multi-sector impact at local level, citing Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Local Resilience Forum and an NHS trust. A second consultation closed in May 2026 and four new standards were due in July 2026.
• In December 2025 the Cabinet Office worked with the Academy to deliver a pilot of an independent assurance programme, which will scrutinise government preparedness for whole-system risks before the full programme launches.
• The Academy publishes a Lessons Digest, which the report describes as synthesising and sharing lessons learned from exercises and emergency responses, complementing the government's Lessons Management Best Practice Guidance of 2024.

The same report describes a separate Crisis Management Excellence Programme run by the Cabinet Office since 2023, which has trained over 4,500 civil servants, and a Central Government Emergency Response Training Course referred to in the Emergency Response and Recovery guidance. Those are central government programmes rather than Academy courses, though the guidance says details of the latter are available from the Emergency Planning College.

What this site cannot tell you

The Academy's website did not state a founding date or the date it took over from the Emergency Planning College, so this page does not give one. Course content, fees and eligibility are matters for the Academy. Anyone who works for a Category 1 or 2 responder, a voluntary organisation or a business with a continuity role, and wants formal training, should start from the Academy's own site.