Three days, a free register and a few tins: the Be Ready advice
What happened
The government has launched a campaign asking households to take a few small steps so they can cope if the power, water, phones or internet go down. It is called Be Ready. The Cabinet Office launched it on 22 October 2026, and it is the first stage of a three-year effort. The timing is not accidental. Storms have already been running across the UK this autumn, and power cuts and phone outages are the most common form of disruption British households actually face. The campaign asks people to be able to manage for three days. That figure is not a British invention — it is the same core guidance used in campaigns in France, Ireland and the Netherlands, and the UK has deliberately lined up with them. Three specific things are recommended. First, sign up to the Priority Services Register. This is a free service. It lets gas, water and electricity companies know which of their customers may need extra help in an emergency — for example people who rely on medical equipment at home, people with young children, or people who would struggle to cope without heating or water. Being on it means a utility company knows to contact or assist you first. Second, keep a small supply of food that does not need a fridge or cooking, and some bottled water. Third, think through three days of disruption rather than planning for a single afternoon. The government points out that most of this is free or very cheap, and that it has been publishing household resilience advice since May 2024. Much of the content has not changed. What is new is the push to get people to actually read it. More than 500 organisations across the UK have signed up to share the campaign's messages. Dan Jarvis MBE MP, the Security Minister, kept his argument short: "Those who can follow this advice should follow this advice." Laura Scott, the British Red Cross Director for UK Resilience, made the case this way: "We can't control when emergencies happen, but we can all take some simple steps to be prepared" The campaign website is beready.campaign.gov.uk.
Why this matters
There is a version of emergency preparedness that puts people off. Bunkers, stockpiles, worry. This is not that. The whole list is a free sign-up form, some tins and a few bottles of water. The reason it is worth doing is that the disruptions in question are not rare. Storms take out power lines every winter. A flood or a burst main can cut water for a day. Mobile networks and broadband go down, sometimes together, and when they do, a lot of modern life stops working — card payments, smart meters, the ability to look up a helpline number. Three days is the figure because that is roughly how long it can take to restore services after serious weather, especially in rural areas where lines are long and access is hard. In Lincolnshire, where we are based, that is not a hypothetical. The Priority Services Register deserves particular attention, because it is the piece most people have never heard of and it is the piece that does the most work. If someone in your household depends on an electric medical device, or cannot easily leave the house, or would be at real risk in an unheated home, then being on that register changes how a utility company treats your address during an outage. It costs nothing and takes a few minutes. The fact that more than 500 organisations have joined in, and that France, Ireland and the Netherlands give the same three-day advice, is a reasonable signal that this is settled thinking rather than a one-off scare.
What the evidence actually says
It is worth being straight about what this campaign is and is not. It is not new advice. The government says it has published household resilience guidance since May 2024, and that much of it is unchanged. This is a communications push, not a change in policy or in risk assessment. The published announcement does not include survey data or percentages about how prepared households currently are. If you see a figure quoted alongside this campaign, check where it came from. The three-day figure is a planning convention adopted across several countries rather than a precise calculation for any one household. If you live somewhere remote, or depend on electricity for health reasons, three days may be the wrong number for you and you should plan for longer. The campaign is also explicit in its framing that this is for "those who can". That matters. Telling someone to keep a few days of tinned food in the cupboard assumes a cupboard and the money to fill it. For households already short of both, this advice is harder than it sounds, and the Priority Services Register — which is free — is the part that still applies. Finally, nothing in the campaign suggests a specific threat. It is general resilience, aligned with European neighbours, launched in the season when UK disruption is most likely. Taken as that, it is sensible and low-cost. The honest reason to act on it is not fear. It is that the steps are small enough that there is no good argument for not taking them.
Qurexa perspective
There is one item missing from most emergency checklists, and it is the one we think about every day: medicine. If you take something regularly — for blood pressure, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, mental health, pain — then running out during three days of disruption is a genuine problem, not an inconvenience. Pharmacies can close in a power cut. Roads can be blocked. Online ordering systems need internet. A few practical points, from the people who do the deliveries: Order repeat prescriptions before you get down to the last few days. A week's buffer is enough to absorb most disruption. Hoarding is not necessary and causes shortages for others. If you use a fridge for your medicine — insulin, some injections — ask your pharmacist now what to do in a power cut, before there is one. The answer depends on the medicine. Keep a written list of what you take, with doses. If your phone dies, or you end up somewhere unexpected, that list is what lets a pharmacist or paramedic help you quickly. And if someone in your home relies on an electric medical device, the Priority Services Register is for exactly that situation. Sign up. Qurexa delivers prescriptions and groceries across Lincolnshire, and we plan around weather disruption as part of the job. If a storm is forecast and you are due a delivery, get in touch early rather than on the day.
What to know
The Cabinet Office launched the Be Ready campaign on 22 October 2026, the first stage of a three-year programme to help households cope with disruption to power, water, phones and internet. Three steps are recommended: sign up to the free Priority Services Register so utility companies know you may need extra help; keep a small supply of non-perishable food and bottled water; and plan for three days of disruption. The three-day figure matches campaigns in France, Ireland and the Netherlands. More than 500 UK organisations are sharing the messaging. The advice itself largely dates from May 2024 and has not changed. The announcement contains no survey figures about how prepared households are. The guidance is aimed at "those who can" follow it. If you depend on electricity for medical reasons, or live somewhere remote, plan for longer than three days — and order repeat prescriptions with a few days to spare rather than at the last minute. Sources: Cabinet Office, "Households encouraged to take small, simple steps to stay prepared in an emergency", 22 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/households-encouraged-to-take-small-simple-steps-to-stay-prepared-in-an-emergency; UK Government, "Be Ready" campaign, https://beready.campaign.gov.uk; Ofgem, "Priority Services Register", https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/extra-help-energy-services/priority-services-register-people-need. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. Never stop, change or stockpile prescription medicine without speaking to your pharmacist or GP.
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