Brits have been told to urgently prepare for potential food shortages and widespread disruption in a new government alert.
The fresh warning, published Thursday, marks the first stage of a three-year ‘Be Ready’ campaign designed to bring the UK in line with European neighbours including France, Ireland and The Netherlands. Dan Jarvis MP, Security Minister, explained the rationale behind the push. “Those who can follow this advice should follow this advice,” he said. “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.”
Jarvis continued: “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.”
The guidance asks households to keep supplies of non-perishable food and bottled water at home, and to sign up for the Priority Services Register. That register helps gas, water and electricity companies identify customers who may need extra support when services fail.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting raised the spectre of hostile state action in his own warning to the public. “It’s really important we ask households and businesses, are they prepared?” Streeting said. “Are they ready? Do they know how they would respond in the event of every day challenges that might manifest themselves?”
Streeting pressed further: “Are they prepared for the eventuality that there may be disruption to essential supply chains caused by hostile state actors or terrorists? How would we cope if the payment systems of the supermarkets went down?”
He added: “Those are the sorts of everyday challenges and threats we could well face, and it is right we ask the country to be ready for those things and ask everybody to do their bit.”
The government pointed to recent weather extremes as evidence that disruption is already growing more likely. Brutal storms last winter and one of the driest summers on record caused rampant wildfires across the country. The alert warned that such ‘severe weather events’ can cause ‘disruption to our everyday lives’ and ‘impact the services we rely on’.
Scientists earlier this week warned that the El Niño weather event could cause dramatic rises in ocean levels leading to widespread flooding. While naturally occurring, the phenomenon may be worsened by climate change-driven increases in sea temperatures. The precise effects vary by location, with some regions facing drought and others floods, raising fears of production issues for certain foods.
Laura Scott, British Red Cross Director for UK Resilience, backed the campaign. “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,” she shared.
Scott continued: “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.”
She added: “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.”
The government emphasised that many recommended steps are low cost, and that preparedness allows emergency services to prioritise those most in need when crises strike. The campaign will build gradually over the coming three years rather than launching all measures at once.