// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
'Tone deaf at best' - advice to stock up on essentials worries experts and low-income families
Samantha said she carefully budgets each month to be able to afford childcare for 12-year-old Oscar while she works
A single mum has said following government advice to stock up on emergency supplies would mean sacrificing her childcare budget for the school holidays.
Samantha Richards, who works full-time and relies on Universal Credit and her son's disability allowance to cover the bills, said the call to prepare reminded her of the "survival of the fittest".
Last week, Wes Streeting said people should have water, tinned goods, baby food, torches and mobile phone charging packs ready in case of emergency.
But one professor said the guidance "will appear at best tone deaf and at worst almost insulting" to households facing poverty.
The UK government said people did not need to buy everything at once.
The government has drawn up recommendations for households to have three days' worth of bottled water and tinned food to deal with a crisis such as a war, an online attack or a natural disaster.
But not everyone has the disposable income that allows these types of purchases, said Samantha, 47.
"I think the advice is good, but we do want to know what [the government] plan to do in the event of us needing this.
Samantha takes part in Changing Realities, a collaboration between more than 200 parents and carers on a low income from across the UK.