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The UK government has launched a nationwide emergency preparedness campaign urging households to maintain enough essential supplies for three days of disruption, amid concerns about severe weather, cyberattacks and interruptions to critical services.
The ‘Be Ready’ initiative, announced by the Cabinet Office on October 22, 2026, is the first stage of a three-year public awareness campaign intended to help households prepare for temporary interruptions to electricity, water, telephone networks and internet services.
- The UK government launched its three-year ‘Be Ready’ campaign on October 22, 2026, encouraging households to prepare for at least three days of disruption to essential services.
- Recommendations include keeping non-perishable food and bottled water, registering for priority utility support and preparing for interruptions to electricity, water, communications and internet access.
- The initiative follows severe storms, wildfires and warnings about cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure and food supply chains, bringing UK guidance into line with France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The guidance recommends keeping a small supply of non-perishable food and bottled water at home and taking practical steps to ensure vulnerable household members can receive additional support during emergencies.
The government said recent storms and summer wildfires demonstrated how extreme weather can interrupt everyday services. The campaign also comes amid increased scrutiny of cybersecurity threats and the resilience of Britain’s essential infrastructure and food distribution networks.
The advice is intended to reduce pressure on emergency services by helping households manage short-term disruption independently, allowing emergency responders to concentrate resources on people requiring greater assistance.
UK recommends three days of emergency food and water supplies
The campaign encourages households to prepare for up to three days of disruption, following an approach already adopted in France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
UK officials consulted international counterparts to incorporate lessons from comparable public preparedness programmes and worked with local resilience forums to ensure the recommendations reflect the needs of different communities.
The guidance covers measures that households can take immediately, including storing bottled water and food that does not require refrigeration.
Another recommendation is to register for the Priority Services Register, which helps gas, electricity and water companies identify customers who may require additional assistance during service disruptions.
Registration is free, and the government said many of the campaign’s other recommendations involve little or no expenditure.
Dan Jarvis, the UK’s Security Minister, said improving household preparedness could strengthen the country’s ability to respond to everyday emergencies.
Those who can follow this advice should follow this advice. By taking simple steps to be ready for everyday emergencies like severe storms, people can reduce pressure on emergency services, helping them prioritise people who need more support in an emergency.
Dan Jarvis, the UK’s Security Minister
“This is just the sort of community-focused campaign the UK needs to improve our resilience as a nation. It will bring us into line with European counterparts, where advice like this is a normal part of everyday life.”
More than 500 organisations support UK emergency preparedness campaign
More than 500 organisations, including businesses and charities, have already agreed to distribute ‘Be Ready’ campaign materials through their networks and communities.
The government will also use GOV.UK and official social media channels to distribute preparedness information.
Over the coming weeks and months, radio and social media advertising will focus particularly on households considered more vulnerable during emergencies, including families with young children and older people.
The campaign was developed with charities and advocacy organisations representing groups that are often under-represented in public information programmes, including people living in insecure housing and those using foodbanks.
Officials said the recommendations were designed to remain accessible and affordable, recognising that households differ in their ability to purchase and store emergency supplies.
The updated campaign builds on household resilience guidance first published by the government in May 2024. Much of the existing advice remains unchanged, although the previous ‘Prepare’ website has been revised with new branding and messaging.
Laura Scott, British Red Cross Director for UK Resilience, said practical preparation and trusted public information could help communities respond more effectively when emergencies occur.
We can’t control when emergencies happen, but we can all take some simple steps to be prepared, so that when they do, we are ready to help our friends, families and neighbours.
Laura Scott, British Red Cross Director for UK Resilience
“We know from our work across the UK that local people know their communities best and want to play a part when a crisis happens. Having clear and trusted advice for people, especially those who may be more at-risk, could help reduce the impact of crises and even save lives.”
Severe storms and cyber threats increase concerns over UK resilience
The government’s preparedness advice also comes amid concerns about the vulnerability of essential services to natural disasters, cyberattacks and other emergencies.
The prime minister has encouraged people to stock up on tinned food and bottled water to prepare for potential crises, including conflict, online attacks and natural disasters.
Speaking during a period of storms affecting the UK and following online disruption linked to a major security vulnerability, Andy Burnham warned that unexpected events appeared to be occurring more frequently.
“Unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common,” Burnham said.
He emphasised that keeping emergency supplies was a practical precaution rather than a reason for public alarm.
It’s not about panicking… It’s about just taking sensible measures to have enough in the house to tide you over should there be a difficult situation.
At a wildfire resilience summit in Liverpool, Burnham rejected suggestions that the government had failed to prepare adequately for emergencies.
“No, we’re having the conversation with people about being better prepared because we’re living in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common,” he said.
Obviously, weather events, and we’re in a situation today where the UK is facing storms and obviously, we feel for the people without power in Cornwall right now.
“It is just having those supplies in the house to get you through those moments. So we are having that conversation about resilience.”
UK food supply chain faces cybersecurity and climate-related risks
The emergency preparedness campaign follows a warning from the National Audit Office (NAO) in September 2026 about threats facing Britain’s food supply chain.
The watchdog identified growing risks from cyberattacks and the climate crisis, concluding that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had not done enough in recent years to strengthen supply chain resilience.
The chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents businesses involved in transporting temperature-controlled food, also warned that Russian cyber-hackers were targeting the UK.
He told the BBC that attackers “know that there are pinch points in the food supply system”.
The warning raised concerns about the potential effects of cyber incidents on food distribution infrastructure, adding to existing risks from severe weather and other disruptions.
Public discussion of emergency stockpiles has also included lighter exchanges about what households might choose to store.
At the Labour Party conference in September, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner joked that her emergency supplies would include cosmetics, wine and tinned food.
Mascara, concealer, I don’t know, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, a tin of baked beans because you’ve gotta have some baked beans, and I like a good tin of custard as well so I think that’ll keep me going for a while
Asked about those comments on BBC Radio 5 Live, Burnham suggested alcohol should not be the first priority during an emergency.
“Well, I’m not sure a bottle of wine is your best first port of call if you’re in a slightly crisis situation, but it probably helps when you’ve done the hard work,” he said. “But I’ll stick to the basics I think – I do like my beans, so I have plenty of those in the cupboard, and soup.”
The government’s formal guidance concentrates on basic household preparedness rather than specific food preferences. Its three-day recommendation is intended to help people manage temporary disruptions while emergency services focus on vulnerable residents and more serious incidents.
The ‘Be Ready’ campaign will continue expanding over the next three years, supported by government communications, local community organisations, charities and businesses across the UK.
