The Biothreats Radar will bring together data from across government, existing independent advisory committees and wider expert groups who analyse biological risks and trends.
The centralisation of the data should help decision-makers gain a comprehensive understanding of known and developing biological threats, the cabinet office said. The announcement is part of the government’s new biological security strategy and is backed with £1.5bn of investment each year.
Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said: “Covid was the biggest peacetime challenge in a century and we must be diligent in preparing for future threats on this scale.
“This plan and our £1.5bn investment per year puts us in a strong position to defeat the biological threats of tomorrow, from diseases to bioweapons and antimicrobial resistance.
“It’s a strong and ambitious approach, one that harnesses the sheer ingenuity of the UK’s researchers and scientists and deploys our world-class crisis...