Overview
- The government launched the Be Ready campaign in late October and this week published a 13-item household checklist that officials say sets a three-day preparedness baseline.
- Households are asked to keep at least three days of essentials including bottled water, non-perishable food, a battery or hand-crank radio, torch and spare batteries, a power bank, medication, baby and pet supplies, cash and key documents.
- Ministers link the advice to rising risks after recent storms that caused power cuts, reports of refrigeration and technical failures across Europe and warnings from cyber officials about vulnerable technology being exploited.
- Data obtained under freedom-of-information rules show a sharp rise in drone incidents near Ministry of Defence sites, and retailers report spikes in sales of tinned food, radios and torches with some local shortages.
- Experts urge sensible, gradual stocking—adding items across weekly shops and registering vulnerable people for support schemes—while critics say the campaign risks looking like lecturing or a substitute for bigger infrastructure and defence investment.