What the Be Ready campaign asks you to do

By SGWNI. Checked on 2 November 2026.

Be Ready is the UK government’s preparedness campaign for households. It asks you to keep enough water, food and basics at home to manage for 3 days if power, water or phones are disrupted, and to build that up gradually. You don’t need to rush out and stock up. The checklist says you may already have some of it, and that you don’t need to do it all at once.

What is Be Ready?

The government published Be Ready on 22 October 2026 and calls it the first stage of a three-year campaign. It replaces the earlier Prepare website, and the government says much of the advice hasn’t changed since May 2024. So this is a new name and a bigger push more than a new set of rules.

Advertising on social media and radio is due over the coming weeks and months, aimed at families with young children and older people. More than 500 charities, businesses and other organisations have signed up to share the materials.

Why 3 days?

The campaign’s reason is that being ready for 3 days helps you manage while support reaches the people who need it most. France, Ireland and the Netherlands use the same three-day advice, according to the government.

The announcement doesn’t name a specific threat. Its examples are severe weather, including last winter’s storms and this summer’s wildfires, which have disrupted power, water, phone signal and internet.

What’s on the checklist

In our own words, these are the things the checklist asks about:

Water: bottled water for 3 days, at 3 litres per person per day for drinking. That’s 9 litres per person. Cooking and washing need more.
Food: 3 days of food with a long shelf life that doesn’t need a fridge or cooking, such as tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit and nuts. Buy what you’d usually eat.
Hygiene: hand sanitiser, wet wipes, hygiene and bathroom products.
Light and warmth: a torch with spare batteries, blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothes.
Information: an FM radio that runs on batteries or winds up, and a charged power bank.
Money and documents: cash in coins and notes, cards, copies of ID and documents, and important numbers and medication details on paper.
Health: a first aid kit, plus essential medication and medical supplies.
Babies: ready-to-feed formula, nappies and wipes. Ready-to-feed is best because you may not be able to boil water for powder.
Pets: pet food and bottled water.

Our Be Ready checklist tool scales these to your household and shows what’s missing. It’s an independent tool, not the official list.

How the campaign says to start

Check your cupboards first.
Note what’s missing, including things your household relies on, such as medical supplies, formula or pet food.
Pick up missing items on normal shopping trips, so the cost is spread out.
Set a reminder every six months to check dates and swap things out.
Talk to your neighbours, swap contact details, and work out what you could share.

The first step takes a few minutes. Our supplies calculator turns that count into a number of days.

Steps that cost nothing

The Be Ready site says many of its steps are free, and some are worth doing before you buy anything:

Priority Services Register. The announcement puts this first. It’s a free service that tells energy and water companies you may need extra help. Older people, people with health conditions or disabilities, and households with young children may qualify. Northern Ireland has separate registers. Check whether you can join.
A household plan. Be Ready has a printable plan. It covers who to call, where to meet, and what to do about anyone who needs extra support.
Numbers on paper. Write down 105 for power cuts (03457 643643 in Northern Ireland), your emergency contacts, your medication and your insurance details.
Knowing your home. Find out how to turn off the gas, electricity and water, and check your smoke alarms every month.

Does this mean we need to stock up?

The government’s wording is a small supply of non-perishable food and bottled water at home. That’s a few days of ordinary shopping, not a stockroom.

Water is where most homes fall short. In the government’s 2026 survey, 37% of people said they had enough bottled water for three days. When people were asked how much they actually held, 4% had 3 days’ worth at 3 litres a day, and 82% had less than a day’s worth. So water is a sensible place to start.

What Be Ready doesn’t tell you

It doesn’t list a grab bag. It suggests you consider one, but gives no list of what goes in it. We’ve built our own list.
It doesn’t give you a kit. Be Ready asks you to build your own. There’s no free government kit.
It doesn’t recommend products. You don’t need a specialist bag or special food.
It won’t give live updates in an emergency. The site says so. A battery or wind-up radio is how you’d get news if the internet is down, so write down your local station’s frequency.
It doesn’t say 3 days is the limit. It’s a starting point. If you want to go further, read how much food a family should keep.

Ready Scotland and nidirect have local advice for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the official checklist is at GOV.UK/BeReady.