Government launches Be Ready campaign urging households to keep 72 hours of supplies

The government has launched the Be Ready campaign, urging households to keep enough supplies to last 72 hours in an emergency. The updated emergency preparedness website asks 'Are you emergency ready?' and offers a checklist for homes. The launch is the start of a three-year national resilience campaign, though it had been delayed. It had been expected in July, then September, then earlier in October.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced the push during a visit to Telford. The government says the aim is to make the UK more resilient in the face of rising threats at home and abroad. The advice calls for two main actions: eligible households should sign up to the priority services register, and people should store 72 hours of bottled water and non-perishable food.

The checklist goes further. It suggests:

• Water and food: enough bottled water and tinned or non-perishable food for three days, including food that does not need heating.
• Health: medicines and a first aid kit.
• Power and communications: a torch with spare batteries, a wind-up or battery-powered FM radio, and a charged power bank.
• Money: some cash in case payment systems fail.
• Extra needs: ready-made baby formula, nappies and pet food where needed.

The government points to a range of risks: cyber attacks from hostile states such as Russia, state-sponsored terrorism, and natural disasters including floods, wildfires and storms. It warns that power cuts could take out mobile signals, and that water or food supplies could be disrupted. Wes Streeting gave the example of a cyber attack on supermarket payment systems that could stop supplies reaching shops for several days. He said terms such as hybrid warfare and grey zone threats do not convey the danger clearly, and that he prefers the phrase state-sponsored terrorism.

Ministers have also warned about the possibility of war, and the national security strategy published last year said the UK needed to prepare for an attack on the home front, potentially in a wartime scenario. In interviews, Streeting said there was no specific intelligence of an imminent attack. He described the campaign as part of a national resilience conversation and said the UK had been lagging behind some European neighbours. The government argues the advice brings Britain into line with most of Europe. Finland and Sweden are often cited as countries whose populations are better prepared, while the UK food system relies heavily on just-in-time supply chains.

The rollout was low-key. No minister was scheduled to speak about the campaign, and the details appeared on an updated website on a Thursday afternoon. Critics said the government had slipped out advice that deserved a bigger public push. Local resilience forums and councils have been left to develop their own initiatives, and some argue they need clearer direction from the centre. Ministers say the aim is to change the national mentality so people do not simply rely on the government in a crisis.

The launch has also opened a debate about individual versus national resilience. Some argue that a shopping list is not enough and that the government must address infrastructure, supply chains and national stockpiles. Others warn that stockpiling advice could cause unnecessary alarm or a repeat of Covid-era panic buying, and that many households cannot afford extra supplies. Supporters say sensible preparation is not scaremongering. The government says the campaign will be advertised over the coming weeks and months and is the first stage of a wider conversation.