Cash, custard and a booklet in the post: what this week's emergency advice left out
Author: Slightly Anxious Date: 2nd October 2026 Time to read: 5 minutes
Slightly Anxious is here to help you turn any crisis into a manageable adventure — for you and everyone you care about.
Over the last weekend of September, two cabinet ministers were asked roughly the same question and gave very different answers. The Defence Secretary said cash, bottled water and tins. The Housing Secretary said mascara, concealer, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, baked beans and a tin of custard. Meanwhile, across the Irish Sea, a 17-page booklet was on its way to every household in Ireland.
All three are partly right. None of them told you how much. So we will.
What the Defence Secretary said
Wes Streeting told The Sun that households should ask whether they have what they need "should they lose access to their online banking for a period" or "should they have a power cut". His list: "having some cash at home, having a supply of bottled water indoors, having some tinned goods that you can access if your electric goes and you're not able to cook on the hob or in the microwave."
He added that "a lot of people just have that in their cupboard naturally", and that he wants people to be "alert, not alarmed". We couldn't have put it better, and we've been trying to for months.
It's a good list. It just stops before the useful part, which is the numbers.
What the Housing Secretary said, and why she's half right
Asked on Times Radio what she would keep for an emergency, Angela Rayner said: "Mascara, concealer, I don't know, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, a tin of baked beans because you've got to have some baked beans and I like a good tin of custard as well."
Plenty of people laughed. We laughed too, then nodded. Anyone who has sat through a few days without power knows that morale runs out before the food does. A favourite tin, a bit of normal routine, feeling like yourself in the morning: these things do real work. She also called Streeting's list "very practical and sensible", so she isn't arguing with the beans-and-water approach. She's adding the human bit.
As for the Sauvignon Blanc, we have no objection. As we said in ‘What to drink in an emergency situation’, a drink in moderation can turn a tedious few days into a slightly better one. Keep it away from candles, cold nights and anything that needs a clear head. And the custard? Tinned custard keeps for ages, needs no hob and counts as pudding. We approve.
Meanwhile, in Ireland
On 28 August, Ireland's Defence Minister Helen McEntee launched "Be Emergency Ready", and from the end of September a booklet has been going out by post to every household in the country. It asks people to be able to manage for 72 hours, to keep 2 to 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, and to have a battery radio, torches, paper maps, blankets and important documents in a waterproof bag.
The booklet came out of a review after Storm Éowyn, which cut power to a huge number of Irish homes in January 2025. It was first promised "in the coming weeks" back in January this year, and arrived about eight months later. We're in no position to tease. Britain's own campaign was promised in July, and nothing has come through our letterbox yet.
The numbers nobody gave you
Defence Secretary | Housing Secretary | Ireland's booklet | Slightly Anxious | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How long | Not said | Not said | 72 hours | 7 days |
Water | "A supply" | Not said | 2–3 litres of drinking water per person per day | 10 litres per person per day |
Food | "Some tinned goods" | Beans and custard | Non-perishables, rotated | Three meals a day for seven days, no hob needed |
Cash | "Some cash at home" | Not said | Not said | £100–£300, small notes and coins |
Morale | Not said | Mascara, concealer, wine | Not said | A comfort box (see below) |
How long. We plan for seven days, not three. Storm damage, a burst main or a bad flood routinely takes longer than 72 hours to put right, and the household that planned for three days is the one queuing on day four.
Water. Ireland's figure is drinking water only. Ours, 10 litres per person per day, also covers cooking, washing and the loo. Over a week that's 70 litres each, or 140 for a couple. ‘What to do when the water has been turned off with Slightly Anxious’ explains how to store it without turning the spare room into a reservoir.
Cash. Streeting's online-banking point is the one we made in ‘It's all about the Kerching Kerching!’. When the power goes, card machines go with it, and the shops that stay open want cash. Keep £100 to £300 depending on the size of your household, mostly in small notes and coins, with your important documents.
Food. Three meals a day, for everyone, for seven days, that you can make without the hob. Walk along your cupboard and count. ‘Kitchen in a crisis with Slightly Anxious’ has the details.
Your comfort box
Call it the Rayner principle. It deserves a box of its own, and a shoebox is plenty:
a favourite tin or two, sweet or savoury
tea, coffee, and a way to make them when the kettle won't
a book, a pack of cards, something for the children
the toiletries you actually like, not the hotel ones
a charged power bank and a torch, so nobody is reading by candlelight
yes, a bottle of something, if that's you
None of it is survival kit. All of it turns a long, dull, dark week into a bad week rather than an ordeal. ‘Keeping Entertained with Slightly Anxious’ and ‘What to do when the lights go out’ have more ideas.
Nobody needs a bunker. Everybody could do with a cupboard that would last a week, a bit of cash in the drawer and, apparently, a tin of custard. Two ministers and a booklet have now said as much. We'll take that as agreement.
Remember, keep calm and visit us here.
Sources
Wes Streeting, interview with The Sun, 27 September 2026 (as reported by Unilad and London Loves Business)
Angela Rayner, interview with Times Radio, 27 September 2026 (as reported by London Loves Business and Brit Brief)
Meath Chronicle, Minister McEntee launches campaign to help households prepare for emergencies, 28 August 2026
Irish Times, the Government's emergency booklet and how it compares to EU countries, 17 September 2026
RTÉ, Households to receive emergency preparedness booklet, 24 January 2026
This blog post has been AI-assisted with human oversight
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