Public poll shows trust in emergency services and expectations for resilience across essential sectors

A survey of more than 2,000 UK adults highlights a clear message: the public places strong trust in emergency services but expects organisations across healthcare, justice, and other essential services to do more to prepare for future crises. For leaders, this is both a warning sign and a call to action.

The poll, conducted by The Workforce Development Trust following the launch of the governments Resilience Action Plan, found that around 70% of people are willing to make small changes to their daily lives to strengthen national preparedness. Yet fewer than one in five believe their workplace is ready for a national emergency, and only 16% say they have received clear instructions on what to do in a crisis (such as a cyberattack, flood, or power outage).

This disconnect matters most in sectors where disruption can have life-changing consequences, from patient safety in healthcare to public protection in justice and emergency services.

Why resilience matters across essential services

During Covid-19, the NHS became a trusted anchor in a time of national uncertainty, while police, fire and rescue, and community safety teams worked tirelessly to keep people safe during major incidents like the Manchester Arena attack and severe storms. These experiences showed the critical role essential services play when disruption strikes.

But new threats – from cyberattacks and supply chain shocks to extreme weather events – mean organisations cannot rely on goodwill alone. Public perceptions reinforce this point: emergency services and banking/payment systems are seen as the most resilient part of UK infrastructure, setting a benchmark for how vital services should perform under pressure.

Jon Czul, Managing Director for Consultancy & Research at The Workforce Development Trust, says recent shocks both at home and abroad are an ‘object lesson’ in why resilience must be embedded across all sectors:

“We live in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world, where seemingly isolated events can have an impact far beyond and for much longer than initially anticipated.

“Few would’ve predicted a global pandemic bringing everything to a standstill, the power cuts in Spain and Portugal or even the cyber-attacks on major UK companies.

“Building resilience to known and unknown threats relies upon eradicating single points of failure in the systems and environments in which we operate and ensuring that staff feel empowered to adapt and respond when disruption occurs.”

A call to lead

The data paints a picture of workplaces across the UK where resilience is not yet embedded. While 44% of people say they feel confident in their ability to adapt to disruption at home or at work, the majority remain uncertain. For essential services, the stakes are far higher:

• Are people equipped and supported to keep critical services running during disruption?
• Have we identified single points of failure across our workforce and systems that could jeopardise service continuity?
• Is our workforce plan dynamic and flexible enough to respond rapidly when circumstances change?

Having an emergency preparedness plan is only the start. Testing it through scenario is what turns planning into practice. By working with local resilience forums and partners across sectors, organisations can align plans, expose weaknesses before they become failures, strengthen collaboration, and have confidence that services will continue and communities remain safe during disruption.