Aug 21 Planning for an Emergency; LOCATE

The British Foreign Office have launched a new service designed with a simple goal in mind; to help communicate with family members in case of an emergency such as a forest fire, tsunami, or terrorist attack. The idea is simple you simply login to the government portal, provide emergency contact information, and logout. The service is designed to be used fo anyone travelling away from the UK for any length of time; not just for those of us living abroad.

Of course many of use are concerned about providing personal information, however the LOCATE service is clear that it's used to: "tell us where you’re travelling to so our embassy and crisis staff can provide better assistance in an emergency such as a tsunami or terrorist attack.", and information is protected by the Data Protection Act, and will only be shared with other governmental or law enforcement agencies under court a order.

Here is a list of required fields to register. Note that there are no employment, tax, or residential status questions asked:

• Last Name
• Forename
• Date of Birth
• Passport Number
• Passport issue date
• Nationality
• Destination Country
• Duration in Destination Country
• Intended Arrival Date
• Intended Departure Date
• Overseas Contact details

 

Registration is a simple 5 minute process, detailed as a step-by-step process below. Once you are registered it's only a 2 minute job to log back in and update or add information such as updated contact information, or emergency contacts.

1. Go to the LOCATE portal: https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal/
2. Assuming that you do not have a login already, click "Register here"
3. Review the Terms and Conditions, and click Accept
4. Fill in the Registration form, and click Submit
   
5. You will now receive a confirmation email,
   
6. Check your email, and click the confirmation link in the email. If you do not have an email after 30mintues or so, please check your JUNK and SPAM folders, or try the registrations process again
7. Upon clicking the link, you'll be taken to the login page. Login with the username and password which you submitted in step 4.
8. Now fill in the personal information form. Note the required information is currently as follows:
   • Last Name
   • Forename
   • Date of Birth
   • Passport Number
   • Passport issue date
   • Nationality
   • Destination Country
   • Duration in Destination Country
   • Intended Arrival Date
   • Intended Departure Date
   • Overseas Contact details
9. Review the summary page. Note the additional information you can enter here:
   • Future trips
   • Emergency Contact Information
   • Travelling Family members (e.g. spouse)
   • Employer information
10. Click Log Out to exit. You're done
11. Any any time go back to https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal/ to enter update or add extra information such as contact information and future trips