While government took action following major pandemic simulation exercises such as Cygnus and Winter Willow, it did not act upon some of the warnings about the UK’s lack of preparedness from these simulations. For instance, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many departmental business continuity plans lacked detailed arrangements for supplier assurance, despite the fact that following Winter Willow the government had noted the need for organisations to ensure that their business continuity plans were better coordinated with those of their partners.28 The Department recognised that government needed to embed lessons learned through a range of simulation exercises.29