Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential risks posed by Emergency Alerts to victims of domestic abuse who rely on concealed secondary mobile phones for their safety; and what measures are in place to mitigate those risks.

Protecting victims of domestic abuse is always our priority. Both national tests of the Emergency Alerting capability were accompanied by a proactive public communications campaign. This included extensive engagement with charities and groups representing vulnerable communities, such as Refuge. Advice on how to opt-out of emergency alerts is available at all times of GOV.uk/alerts, and is included in the websites of a number of charities and organisations that support victims of domestic abuse.

As far as possible, the Cabinet Office engages with the media ahead of the transmission of an Alert to provide notice to the public. In a ‘live’ activation scenario, pre-planned public communications are difficult to ensure but will always be considered where possible. Please be assured that we are learning from each activation to ensure that the capability is being used in the most effective way.