Public Emergency Information Portal

The government agrees with the Inquiry that it is important that there is a resource, or set of resources, that allows the public to easily access information on legal restrictions and associated guidance that applies in their area during a civil emergency. However, such a tool must account for the complex set of ownerships and responsibilities that apply to various sources of data and communication tools within the UK government and devolved governments, which places constraints on the form that this resource could take.

The government recognises that clarity and accessibility of information are crucial pillars of a crisis communications response, and have a significant impact on compliance with necessary restrictions. GCS has published new guidance to help departments prepare for crises: the STOP model stresses the importance of transparency and sharing accurate information with impacted groups on a regular basis.

There are already a number of existing tools and capabilities that have been developed to allow the government to quickly and effectively communicate guidance and advice to the public during a civil emergency. The GOV.UK website is a trusted and accessible source for all UK government information that is available for the public, including any guidance that has been published during an emergency, and any legal restrictions that may apply in local areas. There is also more specific information on simple and effective steps that the public can take to improve their preparedness for emergencies on the GOV.UK/Prepare website, which we keep under constant review, as well as on the GOV.UK resilience landing page, which brings together all current government advice and guidance on resilience, such as the Central Government Concept of Operations and the Amber Book. In addition to this, the Resilience Direct platform is a valuable tool which allows the government to send information to and coordinate with local responders during an emergency.

We are also working closely with devolved governments to improve coordination at every stage of the crisis response. In 2026, we will work with partners across the four nations to improve our crisis communications coordination, including by co-producing shared principles for aligning communications during emergencies. This is critical to ensuring that information provided to the public remains clear and coherent.

Together, these platforms provide an easily accessible and straightforward way to signpost advice and guidance to the public during a civil emergency, and act as one tool amongst a wider range of options to do this. They can also be supplemented by alternative forms of information, such as media outlets and local fora, during an emergency, with the most appropriate form of providing guidance and advice depending on the specific circumstances of the emergency in question and the groups at risk. The government continues to build on these capabilities to ensure effective and appropriate distribution of information during an emergency, and will work with other agencies and the devolved governments to do so.

While the government agrees with the aim behind this recommendation, the proposed approach of developing a single online portal may not be the best approach in every emergency. One significant constraint is information ownership, as different communication channels and sources of information will be owned by different bodies. The devolved governments have specific responsibilities, so it would not be appropriate for the UK government to have ownership of crisis communications. Furthermore, there is also evidence that different groups of people trust different sets of resources. A broader set of resources with well-managed content is therefore likely to be a more appropriate way to signpost restrictions and advice during emergencies than a single, individually-owned portal.

Accepted

The Executive agrees on the need for repository of information on legal restrictions and other guidance, and that the public in Northern Ireland should be able to access information on legal restrictions that is relevant to them. Steps should also be taken to avoid any confusion with different restrictions in place in other jurisdictions. During the pandemic, we used every channel at our disposal to provide clear, consistent information, updated in real time, as restrictions changed.

Northern Ireland’s well-established citizen-focused website, NI Direct (http://www.nidirect.gov.uk), was pivotal in providing accessible information throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This platform supports automatic translation into multiple languages, is compatible with most portable digital devices, and integrates seamlessly with other Devolved Government websites.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, NI Direct, managed by the Department of Finance, was recognised as the primary source of government information. Should another emergency arise, and DoF is advised that information needs to be centrally stored or published, NI Direct can promptly create a dedicated section to accommodate this need. As a familiar central portal among citizens, NI Direct can quickly update its landing page with relevant regulations and guidance. It operates around the clock and, being cloud-based, can rapidly scale to meet surges in demand.

The Executive Information Service will continue to identify, develop, and implement effective emergency communications, via NI Direct and our social media platforms, to support timely, informed decision-making and ensure that both the public and emergency responders have straightforward access to critical information.

The Executive Information Service will also maintain close alignment with other Devolved Government agencies, ensuring consistency of messaging while fulfilling statutory, legislative, and operational responsibilities within Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Government commits to working with the four nations to ensure members of the public can find relevant and the most up-to-date guidance and information, including on legal restrictions relevant to them, in a future civil emergency situation.

We understand the intent behind the recommendation, which is to give confidence citizens are receiving appropriate and up to date information and on that basis accept it in principle. We also agree there is a benefit in working with the UK Government and devolved governments, making sure people are able to find the information relevant to them regardless of where they are located.

The Scottish Government consistently aims to provide information to the people of Scotland in the locations they are looking for it, regardless of the structures of government itself. Feedback from CIREG highlighted we must recognise the ways people currently look for, and consume, content from government sources.

The creation of a single resource to which all four nations can publish must account for responsibilities that apply to various sources of data and communication tools within all Administrations. There is significant concern about whether a single portal would be able to account for the complexities of information ownership, the significance of devolved decision-making, and geographic differences of trust in government.

We will continue to work on a four nations basis to plan for public communications during future major emergencies. This includes work to establish shared principles for aligning messaging during civil emergencies whenever appropriate. We believe a responsive approach to communications based on the situation at hand would be more valuable than a single online portal.

CIREG highlighted the need to ensure Scotland-specific guidance is available to Scottish people in the digital locations they are familiar with, and we utilise these locations to communicate pre-emptively as well as in response to critical events. We will continue to engage with community groups through consultation, participation, and user research to understand people’s behaviour around interacting with government guidance. This data will inform our strategy for future emergency communications.

6.4. The Welsh Government accepts in principle the Inquiry’s recommendation 17, for a single repository of information on legal restrictions and other guidance. We agree it is essential that the public in Wales can access information on legal restrictions and other guidance that is relevant to them, and that steps are taken to avoid any confusion from different restrictions in other nations of the UK. During the pandemic, we used every channel at our disposal to provide clear, consistent information to the Welsh public, updated in real time, as restrictions changed.

6.5. The bilingual GOV.WALES platform was central to this, including the dedicated landing page at gov.wales/coronavirus, where clearly written information about the main restrictions in place in Wales was hosted, with links signposting to further guidance. The platform received more than 25 million visits in 2020, indicating that our strategy of driving people to the platform as a ‘single version of the truth’ was effective for us and our partners. We believe this single platform approach is the best way for the Welsh Government to communicate directly with the public in Wales, rather than the creation of a separate portal for civil emergency information.

6.6. However, the Inquiry itself found that “[t]he UK government’s announcements often failed sufficiently to explain whether they applied to all four nations or to England alone.”

6.7. We will therefore work with the UK Government and the other devolved governments to improve the coordination of public communications, and to co-produce during 2026 a new set of principles on a four nations basis for the communications of legal restrictions and guidance during civil emergencies. These should include agreements that all communications content in each nation will make its geographical extent clear at the outset, that messages will be co-ordinated between governments, and that ministers in each nation undertake that they will not communicate in a way that could confuse the public living elsewhere.

6.8. Adopting these principles, we believe, would be a major step forward in fulfilling each government’s duty to provide clear information and guidance to their people about any legal restrictions that may apply to them in an emergency. Geographic clarity must be at the heart of all communications, making clear whether the information relates to the whole of the UK, a specific nation or nations, a region, or local area.

No statement on delivery from Cabinet Office has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.