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Emergencies: Mobile Phones

Cabinet Office written question – answered at on 3 September 2025.

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Photo of Andrew Snowden Andrew Snowden Opposition Assistant Whip (Commons)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the accessibility of the UK Emergency Alert System for people who are (a) visually and (b) hearing impaired.

Photo of Abena Oppong-Asare Abena Oppong-Asare The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office

We have ensured that the Emergency Alerts system works with voice reader software. This means that everyone who already has this and all other accessibility settings enabled on their phones should have the alert read out to them.

As part of the communications campaign, we have developed a British Sign Language information video explaining the upcoming national test.

We have also engaged with disability groups, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and Mencap. These charities conducted engagement campaigns to reach individuals with visual impairments to help them understand more about the alerts.

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  • (Citation: HC Deb, 3 September 2025, cW)

Cabinet

The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.

It is chaired by the prime minister.

The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.

Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.

However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.

War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.

From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.

The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.

Minister

Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.