The Times - October 23 2026 Issue - UK issues checklist for coping after catastrophe

Oct 23, 2026

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Daily newspaper issue dated Friday October 23 2026 from The Times, combining political reporting with national resilience guidance. Coverage explains planned changes to Help to Buy for first-time buyers, including revised deposit and income caps, and highlights commentary from political editors. A major feature provides a UK catastrophe coping checklist, urging three days of emergency supplies, radio and power options, cash and documents, and preparedness for cyberattacks, terrorism, and natural disasters.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages96

Reading Time4 h 2 min

AccessFree to download

Meet the editors

Help for first-time buyers on combined income of up to £140k

UK issues checklist for coping after catastrophe

BeReady three-day supplies guidance

Preparedness for cyberattacks and national crisis

Grab bag and resilience campaign details

Schools could let teachers learn to love a four-day week

DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR TIMES THE E3.20 £2.35 to subscribers Friday October 232026|thetimes.com|No 75171 (based on a7Day Printand Digital Subscription) Meet HamishINSIDETIMES2Mr Kemi Badenoch The best for property Bricks &Mortar # Help for first-time buyers on combined income of up to £140k capital from the Your First Home median pay for a teacher is £51,048 andscheme,whichoffers first-timebuyersa£44,053 for a nurse.20 per cent equity loan to help themThe Times was told that Healey rec-buy a new-build home,with an initialognised these concerns and decided tointerest-free payment and a minimuminstead set the cap at fI10,000 outsidedeposit requirement ofjust2.5per cent.London and £140,000 in the capital. Steven Swinford Political Editor its target of building 1.5 million homesby the end of the parliament. Oliver Wright Policy Editor John Healey is poised to make thegovernment's revived Help to Buyscheme more generous in a boost tomiddle earners. Under the plan,announced by AndyBurnham last month,first-time buyersin England will be able to purchase anew home with a much reduced depos-it.The scheme is modelled on Help toBuy,which was launched by GeorgeOsborne in 2013 and ran until 2022. However,the initial earnings capwould have meant young couples withrelatively modest incomes would havebeen unableto access theinitiative.The The move is expected to open up thescheme to tens of thousands of addi-tional first-time buyers and incentivisedevelopers to push forward with new The chancellor was set to excludehouseholds earning morethan f90,000outside London and £l10,000 in the MENTERNATIOMAL/GETTY IMAGES Be preparedwith 3 daysof supplies,Britons told # UK issues checklist for coping after catastrophe How would wecope if the paymen sys- Larisa Brown Defence Editor tems of the supermarkets went down? The public were urged to stockpilethree days'emergency suppliesyesterday as Wes Streeting,the defencesecretary,told Britain that it must beprepared for a national crisis “Those are the sorts of everydaychallenges and threats we could wellface,and it isright we ask the country tobe readyforthose things and askevery-body to do their bit." He said that military chiefs wouldspeak to the nation in the monthsahead about why billions of poundsfrom taxes needed to be diverted to de-fence.He said the plant in Shropshire,where Britain will produce parts fortanks for the first time in two decades,would provide the “firepower that willmake us warfighting-ready by 2030”. Households should have extra water,food,medical supplies and cash athome,as well as copies of their pass-ports,and have important phone num-bers written down,thegovernment said. Launching a "national resilienceconversation”,Streeting said peoplemust be prepared for food shortagesand disruption to essential supplychains caused by cyberattacks,state-sponsored terrorism and other threats The government has published a“BeReady"checklist,which advises stock-piling supplies for three days,in linewith European advice.Itrecommends awind-up or battery FM radio and acharged power bank,blankets,sleepingbags,warm clothingand hand sanitiser.Families with babies are urged to stockupon baby formula,nappies and wipes He said the issue had tobetaken seri-ously as concerns grow over the risk ofconflict with Russia.Streeting said atthe opening of a weapons factory inShropshire yesterday that the publicalso needed to be ready for natural dis-asters such as wildfires and floodingand that crises facing Britain could getworse."It's really important we askhouseholds and businesses:Are theyprepared?"hesaid."Arethey ready?Dothey know how they would respond inthe event of everyday challenges thatmight manifest themselves?” The government also suggestedhaving a"grab bag"in case of having tosuddenly leave the house and packingessential items in a car boot. Dan Jarvis,the security minister,said:"Those who can follow this adviceshould follow this a

FAQs

What changes are proposed to the Help to Buy scheme for first-time buyers?

First-time buyers in England would be able to purchase a new-build home with a reduced deposit under a scheme modelled on Help to Buy. The coverage also discusses revising the earnings cap that would otherwise exclude many middle-income couples.

What does the UK resilience checklist recommend people do after a catastrophe?

The checklist advises stockpiling three days of emergency supplies and preparing items such as a wind-up or battery radio and charged power bank, blankets, sleeping bags, warm clothing, and hand sanitiser.

What kinds of disruptions does the checklist say people should prepare for?

It highlights threats and disruptions including cyberattacks, state-sponsored terrorism, and natural disasters such as wildfires and flooding, urging households to understand how they would respond to everyday challenges that could escalate.

Oct 23, 2026

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