UK Government Decontamination Service

The UK Government Decontamination Service (sometimes written without the UK prefix or abbreviated to GDS) is an organisation within the UK Government that provides advice and guidance to help the UK resist and recover from any deliberate or accidental release of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials (CBRN) or from major accidental releases of hazardous materials (HAZMAT).

GDS was established as an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and since 1 April 2009 has been a constituent part of The Food and Environment Research Agency, a newly formed executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The first, and only, Chief Executive of the GDS agency was Robert Bettley-Smith FRICS, appointed on the agency's creation in 2005.

While the agency has pointed out that it was not set up due to increased CBRN terrorism in particular, it accepts that the driving force behind the agency's creation was the increased threat the UK faced from terrorism as a whole and the need to strengthen the level of the nation's preparedness across the board.

The CBRN Resilience Programme was established in October 2001, as part of the Government's Capability Programme, with the main aim of ensuring that, in the event of a terrorist attack, the response from both central and local government and the emergency services would be quick and effective enough to minimise the impact on people, property and the environment. The programme, as well as forums and sub-groups within it, is chaired by the Home Office. Partners and stakeholders in the programme represent bodies throughout local and central government and the public and private sectors. The decision to form the agency was developed through the CBRN Resilience Programme.

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