Public emergency alert - being sent to your phone

[Biggy Stardust]

RizzoTheRat said:

So people are complaining that the system will get abused and loads of unnecessary messages will be sent out, but procedures for ensuring unnecessary messages aren't sent out is excessive bureaucracy for little benefit?
I get that you might think the warning system isn't needed, but if there is one it needs controls to ensure it's used correctly.

The organisations xx99xx describes already exists and are used regularly, adding a couple of procedures for who gets to press the button is pretty simple.

I question the need for a "Local Resilience Forum" or a "Strategic Coordination Group"; impressive titles for groups which will mostly send out what will be little better than spam.

I certainly question the need to pay what will be a large wage bill to cover them. Do we not already have sufficient gravy trains?

[xx99xx]

Biggy Stardust said:

Yet you said we were saving a considerable amount.................

Well yes. I don't need to know the cost of the government creating some software and agreeing terms with network operators to know that it would've cost a lot more for the government to install (and maintain) thousands of mobile masts of their own.

Hence, a saving by using existing infrastructure.

[Biggy Stardust]

xx99xx said:

Well yes. I don't need to know the cost of the government creating some software and agreeing terms with network operators to know that it would've cost a lot more for the government to install (and maintain) thousands of mobile masts of their own.

Hence, a saving by using existing infrastructure.

You have no idea how much money I've saved over the years by not buying Starbucks as I have my own kettle. Ditto restaurants by having my own kitchen & taxis by having my own car. I've even saved on a private jet by using Ryanair. I'm massively quids in.

The logic is similar, although we'd save even more if we didn't bother with the whole 'emergency alert' pantomine in the first place.

[RizzoTheRat]

Biggy Stardust said:

I question the need for a "Local Resilience Forum" or a "Strategic Coordination Group"; impressive titles for groups which will mostly send out what will be little better than spam.

I certainly question the need to pay what will be a large wage bill to cover them. Do we not already have sufficient gravy trains?

They're not a continuously staffed thing, they'll be made up of people from the police, fire service, etc who are responsible for coordinating between different organisations in an emergency. It's similar to the way any company should have a resilience or disaster recovery plan for dealing with things like fires, data loss, key staff sickness, etc, and management will review and update it occasionally.

[Hill92]

Biggy Stardust said:

I question the need for a "Local Resilience Forum" or a "Strategic Coordination Group"; impressive titles for groups which will mostly send out what will be little better than spam.

I certainly question the need to pay what will be a large wage bill to cover them. Do we not already have sufficient gravy trains?

Local Resilience Forums do not exist as separate legal entities and do not have their own staff. All they do is bring together the relevant people from the emergency services, local authorities, NHS trusts, utility companies and other infrastructure companies.

Likewise Strategic Coordinating Groups are formed in response to specific emergencies to bring together Gold/Silver commands from different bodies in a standardised and well understood format.

It's all people doing their normal day jobs and putting in unpaid overtime.

Would you rather go back to the old days when nobody planned together, nobody coordinated and everyone did their own thing (if anything at all?) That worked so well during the fuel strikes, foot and mouth and other crises in the 1990s/2000s.

[Biker 1]

Hill92 said:

Local Resilience Forums do not exist as separate legal entities and do not have their own staff. All they do is bring together the relevant people from the emergency services, local authorities, NHS trusts, utility companies and other infrastructure companies.

Likewise Strategic Coordinating Groups are formed in response to specific emergencies to bring together Gold/Silver commands from different bodies in a standardised and well understood format.

It's all people doing their normal day jobs and putting in unpaid overtime.

Would you rather go back to the old days when nobody planned together, nobody coordinated and everyone did their own thing (if anything at all?) That worked so well during the fuel strikes, foot and mouth and other crises in the 1990s/2000s.

My bold: I would be amazed if they do it unpaid!

[gotoPzero]

Re cost, knowing how the government does things in relation to operators they most likely made the operators roll out the technology at their own cost.

Then, within the government they probably set up a 24/7 department with 20 staff all on 70k a year to "run" the system and create power point presentations and the like. Not forgetting their regular diversity & inclusiveness courses. They probably spent their first 6 months team building and coming up with their department name. Probably something like, Automated Home Office Linked Emergency System.

<said with tongue in cheek> <really, not really>

[Hill92]

Biggy Stardust said:

You have no idea how much money I've saved over the years by not buying Starbucks as I have my own kettle. Ditto restaurants by having my own kitchen & taxis by having my own car. I've even saved on a private jet by using Ryanair. I'm massively quids in.

The logic is similar, although we'd save even more if we didn't bother with the whole 'emergency alert' pantomine in the first place.

Now you're just trolling.

Because otherwise by that logic why bother with armed police, HAZMAT equipment and the RAF maintaining 24/7 Quick Reaction Alert? Just send in unarmed police, unprotected firefighters and let the Russians crash blindly into an airliner.

Just like breakdown cover it's always expensive until you need it and then you're whining about being stranded in the middle of nowhere facing a huge recovery bill because you were too cheap to even do any preventative maintenance or even a pre-drive oil check.

Biker 1 said:

My bold: I would be amazed if they do it unpaid!

Outwith the main responders who deal with emergencies all-day along, there will be responders who have a normal day job and then have to pick up emergency response on behalf of their organisation.

[Biggy Stardust]

Biker 1 said:

My bold: I would be amazed if they do it unpaid!

It's utterly vital & yet done by volunteers. Makes perfect sense.

Edited by Biggy Stardust on Wednesday 29th March 09:54

[Biggy Stardust]

Hill92 said:

Because otherwise by that logic why bother with armed police, HAZMAT equipment and the RAF maintaining 24/7 Quick Reaction Alert? Just send in unarmed police, unprotected firefighters and let the Russians crash blindly into an airliner.

Just like breakdown cover it's always expensive until you need it and then you're whining about being stranded in the middle of nowhere facing a huge recovery bill because you were too cheap to even do any preventative maintenance or even a pre-drive oil check.

You're presupposing that we need this system. I put it to you that we've always managed perfectly well without it.

[GSE]

surveyor said:

She is wrong. It's been worked on for the last ten years.

It's been worked on for 10 years! How much is this costing?

[GSE]

Latest message from the Politburo on my local Traffic Information matrix sign:

"For clean air cycle or walk"



How is that traffic information?

No, there is no possibility for mission creep with this phone alert system, none at all.

[turbobloke]

GSE said:

Latest message from the Politburo on my local Traffic Information matrix sign:

"For clean air cycle or walk"



How is that traffic information?

No, there is no possibility for mission creep with this phone alert system, none at all.

None! Big government is wonderful, wise, and cheap too! Nanny state is benign and harmless!

Be alert, there will be weather in all parts of the country today.

[Biggy Stardust]

turbobloke said:

None! Big government is wonderful, wise, and cheap too! Nanny state is benign and harmless!

Be alert, there will be weather in all parts of the country today.

I look forward to warnings of snow in winter & heat in summer.

Hmm........ maybe I should turn it back on.

[surveyor]

GSE said:

surveyor said:

She is wrong. It's been worked on for the last ten years.

It's been worked on for 10 years! How much is this costing?

I'm rather hoping that the operators are paying for most of the costs....

[NRS]

Biggy Stardust said:

Hill92 said:

Because otherwise by that logic why bother with armed police, HAZMAT equipment and the RAF maintaining 24/7 Quick Reaction Alert? Just send in unarmed police, unprotected firefighters and let the Russians crash blindly into an airliner.

Just like breakdown cover it's always expensive until you need it and then you're whining about being stranded in the middle of nowhere facing a huge recovery bill because you were too cheap to even do any preventative maintenance or even a pre-drive oil check.

You're presupposing that we need this system. I put it to you that we've always managed perfectly well without it.

You have. I'd assume there is others who have lost family members due to emergencies that feel like it would have been worth it. Take an example - a flash flood is seen upriver, it's heading towards a town with some basement flats along the river and will take 30min to get there. Some others have said you can listen to the radio or see weather - the chance of someone listening to local radio in that 30min is probably not very high, and the heavy rain was upriver so not seen. Of course in reality 1 of the people living in those basement flats is at work, 1 is at the shop, but the third is killed due to not listening to the radio but would have seen their phone ping with this system... it's an easy win.

I can just imagine some of the people on the thread back in the day as a fisherman out at sea or similar... "I've been fishing for 30 years and been fine, bloody government putting out these weather broadcasts over radio... just think how much it's costing... we never used to have it... it's only the start too, next they'll be brainwashing our babies with communism at school I tell you!".

[Lotobear]

What I foresee happening (aside from regular non event texts - 'do you know you are eligible for a vaccine', 'have you made a GP appointment for your blood pressure', 'high winds forecast this afternoon only drive if it's essential', 'check your tyres' etc etc) the operators will be so st scared of getting crit for missing actual events there will be blanket texts for complete non events....'just to keep us safe'.

...eg. idiot gets washed of pier during high winds (you know the types) - no text to warn me, can the family sue the Gubberment please?

They simply will not be able to resist using it - just cos it's there.

[NRS]

Lotobear said:

What I foresee happening (aside from regular non event texts - 'do you know you are eligible for a vaccine', 'have you made a GP appointment for your blood pressure', 'high winds forecast this afternoon only drive if it's essential', 'check your tyres' etc etc) the operators will be so st scared of getting crit for missing actual events there will be blanket texts for complete non events....'just to keep us safe'.

...eg. idiot gets washed of pier during high winds (you know the types) - no one warned me, can the family sue the Gubberment please?

They simply will not be able to resist using it - just cos it's there.

I doubt it, but we shall see (well, to be honest half the people on here won't see because they blocked it for something that might happen, rather than doing it IF it happened).

[xx99xx]

NRS said:

Lotobear said:

What I foresee happening (aside from regular non event texts - 'do you know you are eligible for a vaccine', 'have you made a GP appointment for your blood pressure', 'high winds forecast this afternoon only drive if it's essential', 'check your tyres' etc etc) the operators will be so st scared of getting crit for missing actual events there will be blanket texts for complete non events....'just to keep us safe'.

...eg. idiot gets washed of pier during high winds (you know the types) - no one warned me, can the family sue the Gubberment please?

They simply will not be able to resist using it - just cos it's there.

I doubt it, but we shall see (well, to be honest half the people on here won't see because they blocked it for something that might happen, rather than doing it IF it happened).

I also doubt it. As said previously, most users are nervous at using the system due to the negative reception it will get from a) people like some on here who dislike authority/change and b) people who are/were completely unaware of this system and start complaining 'where did you get my number from' etc.

Get it wrong and it's very damaging to reputations.

[Timothy Bucktu]

I disabled it on my phone. I mean, I'll only do the exact opposite of any government advice anyway. So, any idea how much rebate I'll get on my council tax bill?