On Tuesday 18 July 2023, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, held a one-off parliamentary inquiry session to examine the UK Government’s new emergency alerts system.
At this session, Lord Toby Harris, Chair of the National Preparedness Commission, and long-time advocate for a national early warning system, presented oral evidence. The inquiry also heard from Roger Hargreaves, Director, COBR Unit and Civil Contingencies Secretariat at Cabinet Office. This article by Jim Dunton for the civil service world gives an overview of the evidence and key findings from this one-off inquiry session, highlighting a lack of strategic prioritisation, and investment and that such a system could have reduced the loss of life in the Grenfell Tower fire.