Mobile Telephones: Public Emergency Alert System

Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts

Wednesday 21st April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord True (Con)]

I agree with my noble friend and pay tribute to him, and all those who have spoken, for their interest in nudging—I guess that is the word—this forward. My noble friend is quite right to say that alerts must not scare or alarm people. The Government intend to launch a nationwide public information campaign to support the rollout of the service, to familiarise people with the look, sound and feel of the alert, and to inform them when it will be used and how it works.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

It is great to have a public information system, but we do not know what it is for. This issue is so important because it is about managing risk. One of the problems at the moment is that it is not always clear where, in government, that responsibility lies. On 3 March, the Government said that they were actively

“reviewing where responsibility for biological security and the strategy sits within Government.”

The Minister said today that he understands the seriousness and urgency of these issues, and that he is satisfied with the progress, so can he update the House now, or write to me if he does not know, on whether a decision has been made and where that issue sits within the Government? If not, when can they tell us?

[Lord True (Con)]

I will have to write to the noble Baroness on biological security; I undertake to do so.