Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what, if any, is the statutory basis for the operation of the UK Emergency Alert service in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.

The Emergency Alert capability was brought into place in 2023 under the previous government. It was signed off by the Cabinet Office, where the honourable Member asking this question was, at the time, a minister.

As he will know, the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) Part 1 places duties on Category 1 and 2 emergency responders to have arrangements in place to warn the public of emergencies and to provide advice and information.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR) permits the government to test and operate an emergency alerting system.