Never Caught OutIndependent UK guide Crisis

Trust

Editorial policy

The rules we follow on every page. If a page breaks one of them, please tell us.

Last updated 1 November 2026

Who we are

Never Caught Out is an independent guide and a small UK publisher. We are not part of, funded by or endorsed by the UK Government, the Met Office, the Environment Agency, any council, energy network or emergency service. More on that.

How we write

  • Calm, practical, plain English.
  • No fear framing, no “collapse” language and no politics.
  • We never describe a place as “safe”. Follow the emergency services and your council on where to go.

Sources

Official sources come first: the NHS, the Met Office, the Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales, Ofgem, the Highway Code, Be Ready, Ready Scotland and NI Direct. Every safety claim links to its source at the bottom of the page. If we cannot find an official source for a claim, we leave it out. We do not publish invented statistics, ratings or prices.

Safety content

  • A carbon monoxide warning appears wherever a stove, heater, barbecue, generator or engine is mentioned.
  • We recommend torches, not candles.
  • We do not give medical or legal advice. We point you to your pharmacist, GP, NHS 111 or the official source.
  • Flood, power and winter-driving advice follows current official wording.

Use of AI

We use AI tools to help draft pages and process data. A person checks every page against the sources listed on it before it is published. Pages marked “First draft” have not had that final review yet.

Live data

Where a page shows data, it names the source and when it was last updated, and links to the official page. If a feed fails, the page says so rather than showing old data as current.

Money

We have no affiliate links or adverts at the moment. If that changes, every commercial link will be labelled Ad, and commission will never decide what we recommend. See our affiliate disclosure. We are planning an optional paid app; safety information will never be paywalled.

Reviews

Safety pages are reviewed at least every six months and after any change to official guidance. Money and rights pages, such as power cut compensation, are reviewed every year when the figures change.

Corrections

See our corrections policy and log.