Well, I don't know what H.M. Government is actually doing to protect us, but they spent a lot of taxpayers' money distributing the "Preparing for Emergencies" booklet to every household in the country last year.
You can read it online here (try not to fall asleep):
http://www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk Actually the following spoof website of the booklet is far more entertaining and probably much nearer the truth:
http://www.preparingforemergencies.co.uk [This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 02-16-2005).]