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Britons will be urged to stockpile tinned food, batteries and bottled water under a new campaign launched by the UK government to encourage the public to prepare for emergencies.
Oliver Dowden, deputy prime minister, will on Wednesday unveil a new website designed to help households mitigate potential harm from an array of risks, ranging from flooding and power outages to biosecurity crises such as another pandemic.
However, retailers on Wednesday warned the public not to bulk-buy items following the advice.
“While it is sensible to have some additional food at home, most households will find they already have sufficient non-perishables sitting in the cupboard,” said Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets and other retailers.
Dowden will insist the measures are “about sensible safeguards, not stockpiling”, and will describe the website as offering “practical information for households to make those preparations” for threats set out in the government’s national risk register.
The “Prepare” website launched on Wednesday calls on households to stock up on bottled water. It suggests a minimum supply of about three litres of drinking water per person per day, but recommends 10 litres per person per day — to aid basic cooking and hygiene needs — as a more comfortable level of supplies.
It also urges people to buy and store non-perishable food that “doesn’t need cooking, such as ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables”, as well as a tin opener, plus baby supplies and pet food where relevant.
Battery or wind-up torches and radios, a first aid kit, and wet wipes are among other emergency supplies detailed on the government checklist.
Speaking at the London Defence Conference, Dowden will say “resilience begins at home” and cite polling by the conference showing that only 15 per cent of people have an emergency supply kit in their homes, while more than 40 per cent of people do not have three days’ supplies of non-perishable food and water.
Government officials said the advice would bring Britain in line with nations such as Finland and Japan, which are regarded as leaders in citizen resilience.
However, retailers are keen to avoid a repetition of the early days of the pandemic, when shoppers descended on UK supermarkets to stockpile everyday essentials from lavatory rolls to canned meat, pasta and rice, leaving shelves empty while grocery chains scrambled to replenish the produce.
This was because supermarkets operate a finely tuned “just in time” supply chain model whereby fresh food cannot be stored for more than a few days and there is not enough warehouse or store space to hold large quantities of non-perishable goods.
The surge in demand prompted supermarket chains to ration items and manufacturers and distributors to find ways to increase supply.
In a wide-ranging speech about bolstering national resilience, Dowden will announce plans for new training for ministers and MPs in crisis management.
He will also unveil plans next year for the largest-ever simulation of a pandemic in the UK, which will involve tens of thousands of people across government and public services.
