A technical fault in June limited the public's ability to access emergency services through the 999 system, according to the UK Government Resilience Framework 2023 Implementation Update, published by the Cabinet Office on 4 December 20231. The update records the incident in a list of events the government's crisis response unit handled over the year, without giving the date in June, the duration of the fault, the areas affected or the number of calls involved1.
The same document lists other incidents responded to over the year, including prolonged extreme cold and major water outages due to freeze-thaw between December 2022 and January 2023, and severe winter storms and associated flooding across the country in October and November1. It also records the August failure of the National Air Traffic Services Flight Planning System, which caused significant delays and cancellations to flights to and from the UK1.
On the 999 fault itself, the update says only:
"In June, departments dealt with a technical fault which limited the public's ability to access emergency services through the 999 system"
The update describes the Emergency Alerts service, which sends warnings to compatible smartphones, as now fully operational, and says it is one of many tools the government can deploy in emergencies where there is danger to life1. It gives no further detail on the 999 fault, and no explanation of its cause has been reported1.
Why it matters for households
The 999 system is the route to police, fire, ambulance and coastguard services in the UK. The update confirms that access through it was limited for a period in June 2023, but does not say which parts of the country were affected, how long the limitation lasted, or what callers experienced1. Households relying on a phone line, mobile or textphone to reach emergency services were potentially affected during that period; the document does not identify any group specifically1.
No advice to households about calling 999 during a system fault appears in the update1. The guide on calling 999 and 112 sets out what happens when a call is made, and the guide on when to call 999 covers which situations warrant an emergency call. The staying-informed hub collects the site's guidance on alerts and numbers.
What happens next
The update does not set out any follow-up action, review or report into the June 999 fault1. It records that the government published a draft Bill on 2 May 2023 which, if passed, will implement Martyn's Law, and that a new Independent Public Advocate for victims of major disasters was announced in November1. The UK Resilience Forum was due to meet for the first time in December 20231.
Calling 999 and 112
When to Call 999
