Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord True on 21 April (HL Deb, col 1833), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the trial of a cell broadcast emergency alert system in Reading in March.

The trial in the Thames Valley area on 9 March 2021 successfully tested Cell Broadcast technology on mobile networks using phones pre-prepared to receive alerts. Having proven the technology to be effective, the Government conducted a live public trial of the Emergency Alert system in East Suffolk on 25 May and plans to conduct another public trial in Reading City Centre on 15 June. Should these prove successful, the Government plans to send out a National Welcome Message across the UK later this year.