Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Abena Oppong-Asare and Julie Minns
Thursday 24th April 2025

(5 days, 18 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Abena Oppong-Asare Portrait The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Ms Abena Oppong-Asare)
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The Government are introducing a range of measures to strengthen our emergency preparedness. We hold regular cross-Government planning exercises for a range of scenarios. Later this year, we will undertake a pandemic response exercise, and we will also undertake a national test of our emergency alert system. Next week, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will open the new UK Resilience Academy, which will train over 4,000 people a year.

Julie Minns Portrait Ms Minns
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I thank the Minister for her response, and I particularly welcome the proposed test of the emergency alert system. The demise of landlines and the switch off of the public switched telephone network means that residents—particularly those in areas that suffer prolonged power outages, such as parts of my Carlisle constituency—now rely on their mobile phones more than ever in emergency events. Does the Minister share my desire to see Ofcom expedite its work on the radio access network resilience project so that we can move towards a position where the networks put in place emergency generators to switch the masts back on in the event of a prolonged power outage?

Abena Oppong-Asare Portrait Ms Oppong-Asare
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This is an issue that I recognise, and I reassure my hon. Friend that my colleagues in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are working very closely with telecoms companies and Ofcom to ensure that consumers are protected throughout the public switched telephone network migration. As she mentioned, that will include provisions to protect access to emergency services during power outages.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Abena Oppong-Asare and Julie Minns
Thursday 6th March 2025

(1 month, 3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Julie Minns Portrait Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
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9. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the emergency alert system.

Abena Oppong-Asare Portrait The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Ms Abena Oppong-Asare)
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The emergency alert system is a vital tool for warning and informing in a case of a serious incident where there is a threat to life. This Government have used the tool five times, including the largest ever deployment for Storm Arwen. We are incorporating the lessons identified, including on improved targeting, into alert mechanisms.

Abena Oppong-Asare Portrait Ms Oppong-Asare
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My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. The whole purpose of the emergency alert is to make people safer, so we are mindful of the potential risks to people with secret phones, such as victims of domestic abuse. We are continuing to work with domestic abuse charities and organisations that support victims to mitigate the risk, including by producing guidance on disabling emergency alerts.

Julie Minns Portrait Ms Minns
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The threat of flooding is ever present in Carlisle, and although I and other local residents regularly receive flood alerts, they do not necessarily distinguish between a threat to life and a regular flood alert. Could the Minister please explain at what point flood alerts are updated to reflect the seriousness of an emergency alert?