Global Microsoft outage disrupts UK public services
Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 13 Nov, 21:38 · Archive
A global Microsoft outage disrupted police crime reporting, NHS services, schools and councils across the UK on Thursday evening.
A global Microsoft outage started on Thursday evening, affecting services including Outlook, Teams and email systems across the UK and more than 70 countries. Microsoft said the issue did not result from a cyber attack and that engineers were working to restore services, with 'early signs of stabilisation' reported but service capacity not yet returned to normal levels.
Police forces across the UK were unable to receive crime reports submitted online. South Wales Police and other forces directed the public to call 101 for non-emergencies or 999 for emergencies. The outage also affected NHS services, with all health boards reporting delays to receiving, accessing and responding to enquiries. The National Pharmacy Association said there could be delays to prescription processing as a result of email system issues.
Emergency services including North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were unable to receive or respond to emails and enquiries submitted through their websites, though their emergency response services continued. Schools, GPs and businesses globally were also impacted. Welsh councils including Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Rhondda Cynon Taf experienced disruption to emails, though the Welsh Local Government Association said operations remained under control with no significant impact on services.
Other services affected included Newport Bus, which was unable to send or receive emails. The Welsh government said it was monitoring the impact and using contingency arrangements as needed. The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that no DWP payments to customer bank accounts had been affected.
Microsoft reported 'encouraging recovery progress' in Europe on Friday afternoon, with email services 'approaching normal levels' and queues significantly reduced. The company said some users may still experience intermittent issues.
How it is being reported
- DWP gives Friday afternoon payments for state pensions and benefits update after Microsoft outageMajor global outage saw police forces, the NHS, businesses and schools impactedWalesOnline · 13 Nov, 15:44
- Wales' public services impacted by global Microsoft outageSchools, GPs and businesses across the globe have been hit with the outage affecting Outlook and Teams.BBC Wales · 13 Nov, 14:51
- Microsoft outage disrupts UK crime reports and NHS prescription processingGlobal Microsoft outage disrupts UK police crime reports and NHS prescriptions, with Outlook and Teams affected.South Wales Argus · 13 Nov, 11:35
- Microsoft outage disrupts public services across the area - see what's affectedA global Microsoft outage is disrupting public services across Gwent.South Wales Argus · 13 Nov, 09:50
In this story: Microsoft · South Wales Police · NHS · Welsh government · UK · Wales
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