Weather Warning - Guidance support for VCS

We wanted to share some guidance to support your decision‑making on whether to continue, adapt or postpone planned activities during periods of heat or other adverse weather.

There is no single set of rules or standard wording that applies in all situations — decisions will need to be made on a case‑by‑case basis, taking account of your specific activity, setting and the people you work with.

In making these decisions, we would encourage organisations to consider the following:

• Risk level: Review the current heat‑health alert level and the specific risks associated with your activity (e.g. outdoor exposure, physical activity, venue conditions).
• Ability to mitigate: Consider whether risks can be reduced through practical steps such as changing timings, moving indoors, shortening sessions, or increasing access to water, shade and ventilation.
• Wellbeing and safety: The safety and wellbeing of staff, volunteers and service users should underpin all decisions, particularly where vulnerable groups are involved. 

• First aid and emergency response: Ensure appropriate first aid arrangements are in place, including trained first aiders and clarity on how you would respond if someone becomes unwell (e.g. heat exhaustion or heatstroke).

• Practicalities of delivery: Think about wider factors such as people’s ability to travel safely to/from activities, staff capacity, and whether the environment remains suitable.
• Alternatives to cancellation: Where possible, consider whether activities can be adapted (e.g. remote delivery, rescheduling, alternative formats) rather than cancelled entirely.
• Escalation: As alert levels increase, you should keep plans under review and be prepared to postpone or cancel activities if risks cannot be safely managed.

Ultimately, activities should only go ahead where you are confident they can be delivered safely and appropriately in the circumstances.

Detailed guidance and helpful links:

1. Heat-Health Alert action card for the voluntary and community sector - GOV.UK
2. Register to receive Weather-Health Alerts
3. Weather alert for london | UKHSA dashboard

4. Beat the heat: hot weather advice - GOV.UK

   Communication resources available in different languages, videos, BSL and easy reads

5. Cool Spaces

6. StreetLink - Connecting people sleeping rough to local services

7. Resilience and emergencies | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 

If you are unsure or would like to discuss a particular activity, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at  awilliams1@westminster.gov.uk