Department of Health and Social Care
Central Government
Action Taken
• The Government published a Resilience Action Plan last year to improve national domestic resilience. • The Action Plan includes specific measures to embed a better understanding of vulnerable people's needs in emergencies. (AI summary)
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Dear Mr Parsley,
Thank you for the Regulation 28 report of 11/03/2026 sent to the Secretary of State / the Department of Health and Social Care regarding the death of Janette Palmer. I am replying as the Minister with responsibility for Emergency Preparedness and Health Protection.
Firstly, I would like to say how saddened I was to read of the circumstances of Janette’s death and I offer my sincere condolences to her family and loved ones. The circumstances your report describes are concerning and I am grateful to you for bringing these matters to my attention.
The report raises concerns over the lack of knowledge of the Priority Services Register and the enhanced support it could have offered at Janette’s housing association. There is concern that this may not be limited to the one Housing Partnership but also to the many other providers of care homes and sheltered housing facilities. The concern is extended to consider that in circumstances such as an extreme weather event, residents of other care homes and sheltered housing will not benefit from the enhanced response available and harm may occur, due to a lack of knowledge of the UK Power Networks Priority Services Register by the individuals or businesses running those facilities.
In preparing this response, my officials have made enquiries with the Care Quality Commission, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Cabinet Office, to ensure we adequately address your concerns.
The Government is committed to ensuring effective emergency response and recovery. The Government’s approach to this was detailed in the Resilience Action Plan, published last year, which sets out how the Government will improve the nation’s domestic resilience and ability to respond to and recover from a range of potential emergencies. The Action Plan includes a number of specific measures the Government is taking to embed better understanding of the needs of vulnerable people in emergencies.
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with NHS England and other partners across the health and care system to plan for a range of resilience related risks. This includes a programme of work DHSC is undertaking to prepare the health and social care sector for the risk of disruption to key utilities, including power outages and severe weather. The health sector has resilience measures embedded to mitigate power outages, and we work with other government departments to continuously build our capabilities.
The Priority Services Register website has been designed to be a single reference point for the NHS, local authorities, charities, and other partners to direct their service users towards. Various organisations including energy providers, Ofgem and the Met Office actively provide guidance on what to do in a power outage, guidance for those receiving and providing care, as well as promotion of the PSR. For example:
suppliers-priorit… What to do in a power cut - Met Office Ahead of winter each year, network operators run campaigns to advise customers of a general risk of power cuts/disruption over winter, advising on actions to prepare for potential winter energy disruption, and explicitly promoting enrolment to the Priority Services Register (PSR). This includes prompting existing PSR customers to update personal information, targeted leaflet distributing, and contacting medically dependent and PSR customers with advice.
The Government has launched gov.uk/prepare, Prepare. This is a new government resilience website which will provide individuals, households and communities with information to enable them to be more prepared for emergencies. The website provides clear guidance on the Priority Services Register, including information about eligibility and how to sign up, with the intention of increasing registrations among those who may benefit most from the service.
Furthermore, published guidance on identifying and supporting persons who are vulnerable in an emergency is aimed at Local Resilience Forums and recommends that local partners and emergency services should remind individuals who think they might need additional support during an emergency of the existence of Priority Service Registers.
We are determined to ensure that all those receiving and providing care are aware of the PSR and the benefits it can provide, especially to vulnerable people and people with medical devices. In addition to the existing communications activities outlined above, we will be circulating clear guidance on the PSR to all care providers via the Adult Social Care Operational Resilience Forum and the Care Quality Commission monthly bulletin, who will cascade this to all of their care providers and networks. This will ensure that all individuals and carers have the necessary information they need to ensure vulnerable people are safe and supported. The guidance will outline how individuals and carers can sign up for the PSR, how to sign up for each of the utilities, as well as highlight both the benefits and the limitations of the PSR.
I hope this response is helpful. Thank you for bringing these concerns to my attention.
Thank you for the Regulation 28 report of 11/03/2026 sent to the Secretary of State / the Department of Health and Social Care regarding the death of Janette Palmer. I am replying as the Minister with responsibility for Emergency Preparedness and Health Protection.
Firstly, I would like to say how saddened I was to read of the circumstances of Janette’s death and I offer my sincere condolences to her family and loved ones. The circumstances your report describes are concerning and I am grateful to you for bringing these matters to my attention.
The report raises concerns over the lack of knowledge of the Priority Services Register and the enhanced support it could have offered at Janette’s housing association. There is concern that this may not be limited to the one Housing Partnership but also to the many other providers of care homes and sheltered housing facilities. The concern is extended to consider that in circumstances such as an extreme weather event, residents of other care homes and sheltered housing will not benefit from the enhanced response available and harm may occur, due to a lack of knowledge of the UK Power Networks Priority Services Register by the individuals or businesses running those facilities.
In preparing this response, my officials have made enquiries with the Care Quality Commission, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Cabinet Office, to ensure we adequately address your concerns.
The Government is committed to ensuring effective emergency response and recovery. The Government’s approach to this was detailed in the Resilience Action Plan, published last year, which sets out how the Government will improve the nation’s domestic resilience and ability to respond to and recover from a range of potential emergencies. The Action Plan includes a number of specific measures the Government is taking to embed better understanding of the needs of vulnerable people in emergencies.
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with NHS England and other partners across the health and care system to plan for a range of resilience related risks. This includes a programme of work DHSC is undertaking to prepare the health and social care sector for the risk of disruption to key utilities, including power outages and severe weather. The health sector has resilience measures embedded to mitigate power outages, and we work with other government departments to continuously build our capabilities.
The Priority Services Register website has been designed to be a single reference point for the NHS, local authorities, charities, and other partners to direct their service users towards. Various organisations including energy providers, Ofgem and the Met Office actively provide guidance on what to do in a power outage, guidance for those receiving and providing care, as well as promotion of the PSR. For example:
suppliers-priorit… What to do in a power cut - Met Office Ahead of winter each year, network operators run campaigns to advise customers of a general risk of power cuts/disruption over winter, advising on actions to prepare for potential winter energy disruption, and explicitly promoting enrolment to the Priority Services Register (PSR). This includes prompting existing PSR customers to update personal information, targeted leaflet distributing, and contacting medically dependent and PSR customers with advice.
The Government has launched gov.uk/prepare, Prepare. This is a new government resilience website which will provide individuals, households and communities with information to enable them to be more prepared for emergencies. The website provides clear guidance on the Priority Services Register, including information about eligibility and how to sign up, with the intention of increasing registrations among those who may benefit most from the service.
Furthermore, published guidance on identifying and supporting persons who are vulnerable in an emergency is aimed at Local Resilience Forums and recommends that local partners and emergency services should remind individuals who think they might need additional support during an emergency of the existence of Priority Service Registers.
We are determined to ensure that all those receiving and providing care are aware of the PSR and the benefits it can provide, especially to vulnerable people and people with medical devices. In addition to the existing communications activities outlined above, we will be circulating clear guidance on the PSR to all care providers via the Adult Social Care Operational Resilience Forum and the Care Quality Commission monthly bulletin, who will cascade this to all of their care providers and networks. This will ensure that all individuals and carers have the necessary information they need to ensure vulnerable people are safe and supported. The guidance will outline how individuals and carers can sign up for the PSR, how to sign up for each of the utilities, as well as highlight both the benefits and the limitations of the PSR.
I hope this response is helpful. Thank you for bringing these concerns to my attention.