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Strengthening community resilience across the UK: 22 Oct 2026: Hansard Written Answers - TheyWorkForYou

Strengthening community resilience across the UK

Cabinet Office written statement – made at on 22 October 2026.

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Photo of Dan Jarvis Dan Jarvis Minister of State (Home Office) (Security), Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

On 14 July 2026 the government published its annual update on the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan, outlining significant steps made to bolster the UK’s resilience in the year following its publication. We also announced our intention to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps people can take to be ready for everyday emergencies.

The storms last winter and the wildfires this summer have shown how severe weather events can cause disruption to our everyday lives and impact the services we rely on, like phones, power, water and the internet. They have also shown the strength of our communities, the skill and bravery of our emergency services, and are a reminder that we can all play our part to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe in times of emergency.

Since committing to launch a campaign, we have:

  • published updated research that shows just 13% of people in the UK feel they’re prepared for an emergency that could cut them off from the services they rely on, and that 84% want the Government to do more to share information about the steps they can take to increase their preparedness;
  • met with international partners to gain insight about their efforts to improve household resilience; and
  • engaged with more than five hundred organisations from across the country - ranging from emergency services, local authorities, businesses, voluntary community groups, charities, and advocacy organisations representing older people, disabled people, people with mental health needs, and people who rely on foodbanks - to help ensure our advice is simple, relatable, reassuring and meets communities’ needs for a range of emergency scenarios.

I am therefore pleased to confirm that we have today published updated advice for households at GOV.UK/BeReady, and that members of the public will begin to see more information about what they can do, as part of a three-year campaign to ‘Be Ready’.

The updated advice calls on households to be self-sufficient for three days in the case of an emergency and includes a checklist of simple steps people can take. This brings the UK into line with many of our European peers who also have the “three day” message at the heart of their campaign. There are two key actions:

  • sign up to the Priority Services Register if they are eligible; and
  • have three days of bottled water and non-perishable food stored at home.

Many simple steps on the website are completely free and items on the checklist can be gathered or ticked off overtime. For example, signing up to the Priority Services Register is a straightforward process that doesn’t cost anything. Taking a few minutes to ensure eligible households are signed up ensures utility companies know who prioritise for additional support in an outage.

We also understand that not everyone will be able to take all of the simple steps. This campaign is simply about providing basic advice on how to prepare, so people can take the steps that work for them. Our emergency services will be ready to respond when needed. And other charities, community organisations and services will be there too.

Because when households take steps to look after themselves during an emergency, it reduces the strain on our emergency services. This ensures first responders can help those most in need first.

As part of the steady campaign rollout we will also publish a partner toolkit with products and information that community groups and local businesses can use to share messages locally.

‘Be Ready’ has been developed by the UK Government, working closely with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Executive - as well as mayors and local councils - as we collectively seek to improve national resilience across all communities in the UK.

Cabinet

The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.

It is chaired by the prime minister.

The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.

Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.

However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.

War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.

From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.

The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.