UPDATE FROM DIGITAL SERVICES 5pm 13/11/2026 – Global disruption affecting Microsoft

We are continuing to see good progress with the recovery of Microsoft 365 services, including our email systems. 

Services are becoming more stable, and Microsoft’s focus is now on resolving the remaining problems and getting everything back to normal.

Some users may still experience occasional connection problems or delays in receiving emails, but the overall situation continues to improve.

Whilst this is encouraging, we cannot yet confirm that everything is fully back to normal. Please assume emails sent or expected during the disruption may not have been delivered, and confirm receipt of urgent messages through another channel.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely over the weekend and ask that business continuity arrangements remain in place where critical services are still affected.

There remains no evidence of a cyberattack or any malicious activity.

Further communication will be issued via the appropriate channels should there be any urgent developments over the weekend.  

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Microsoft is currently experiencing a significant global service disruption affecting Outlook. Some users may also notice intermittent connection issues across other Microsoft 365 apps, including Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive.

What does this mean for the Council?

Our email services are currently unavailable. Teams appears to be functioning, although we are continually monitoring its functionality. 

Microsoft are working to restore services. Whilst some recovery has been achieved, further technical difficulties have emerged, and additional measures are being implemented to restore stability. There is currently no confirmed resolution time.

Importantly, Microsoft has stated that there is no evidence of malicious activity or a cyberattack.

Given the potential impact on service delivery, managers are asked to review their business continuity arrangements, particularly where email or other Microsoft services are essential to critical operations. Where disruption is materially affecting service delivery, appropriate business continuity measures should be activated.

We will continue to monitor the situation, engage with Microsoft closely, and provide further updates as developments arise.