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Household preparedness

Planning & Continuity

A useful plan can start with a short conversation. If you couldn’t get home or contact someone as usual, what would each of you try next? A few agreed details are easier to use than a long document that nobody has read.

Make a plan people can use

A short plan works best when the people involved know where to find it and what to try if the first option fails. Make it fit the way you live now, and revisit it when work, housing or care needs change.

A conversation worth having

Agree who will do what

Talk about keeping in touch, meeting up and helping anyone who depends on you. Include pets where relevant. Check that someone is willing and able to help before making them part of the plan.

Think about staying and leaving

Staying at home and going somewhere else need different preparations. Write down useful options and contacts, while leaving room to follow current instructions from emergency services or your local authority.

Keep it easy to use

Try talking through one situation together. If a step is unclear, simplify it. Keep contact details current and check that the things you expect to use are still available and working.

What makes a plan harder to use?

  • The plan may only be known by the person who made it.
  • An old contact number or changed work pattern can make a once-useful arrangement difficult.
  • Both the first choice and the backup may depend on the same person or service.

Keep the first step small

  • Choose one everyday interruption to talk through, such as being unable to make your usual journey home.
  • Agree how to contact each other and where to find those details. The government’s household planning guidance can help you get started.
  • Ask each person to explain what they would do. Use any unanswered questions to improve the plan together.

When plans need to change

  • Major incident. Use current official information to decide which parts of your plan are relevant.
  • Evacuation. Agree how to coordinate people, transport and somewhere to go.

Turn an agreement into something practical

Explore all ten areas of preparedness

Keep it current, keep it findable

Keep the plan somewhere everyone who needs it can find it, including when the internet is unavailable. Revisit it after a move, a change in care or another change that affects the people involved. Keep it short enough to use.

Put it into practice

Browse related knowledge

Put your arrangements on paper

  • Household Plan

    Agree a few arrangements together, so the people involved know how to get in touch and help one another.

Sources and further advice

For more detail, use the guidance below. Check which part of the UK each source covers.