Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Local Resilience Forums have identified and tested physical locations at which members of the public could obtain authoritative information and emergency assistance during a prolonged loss of electricity, mobile telephone, and internet services; and what assessment they have made of the level of public awareness of such arrangements.

The Department does not hold data on the number of Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) that have identified and tested physical locations to use for members of the public during prolonged power or telecommunications disruption.

Individual LRFs plan for the local consequences of a prolonged loss of electricity and telecommunications. Government guidance encourages LRF partners to consider identifying suitable community hubs in advance, including premises with resilient power, which could provide information and support to the public during a National Power Outage. These premises may change regularly based on local assessment of suitability. LRFs are also encouraged to exercise their plans and share effective practice through the Local-National Energy Risks Planning Group.