AI’s increasing presence poses a real danger of making an already sizable digital literacy divide worse. Jon Rimmer, CXO at Mercator Digital, says governments and organisations have a responsibility to bridge this gap, explaining both why and how.
Jon Rimmer
New technology is designed – or at least is meant to be designed – to make life easier. In the UK, for example, people can now renew passports online, file taxes through HMRC’s digital service, receive emergency alerts on their phones, and even attend virtual Jobcentre appointments – all in the name of saving time and improving access.
However, for those with low digital literacy, advancements in technology can in fact do the exact opposite, further excluding people who are already marginalised.
Similarly, both older people and those with physical and mental disabilities often encounter accessibility issues that make digital tools frustrating or even unusable. Again, this can be down to equipment and connectivity issues, but lack of confidence or skills to utilise technology also come into play. A survey of people with severe mental illness, for example, found that 42% lacked basic digital skills, such as changing passwords or connecting to Wi-Fi.
While it’s already widely acknowledged that digital exclusion disproportionately affects the above-mentioned groups, even beyond the barriers of access and affordability, 21% of people still say they feel left behind by technology.
These are all high figures that, with the advent of AI, are at risk of rising.
The impact of AI on digital exclusion
AI of course has the potential to drastically improve public services, healthcare, education, and employment. But, if not carefully designed and implemented, it also risks deepening digital exclusion.
For those already struggling to use digital systems, AI adds complexity to interactions. Chatbots and automated interfaces, for example, are becoming increasingly common in settings like healthcare and social services, where human interaction is often essential. These tools can confuse users with low digital literacy or those experiencing mental health challenges, creating yet another barrier between vulnerable individuals and the services they need.
Looking beyond usability, there’s also a deeper structural problem: the data used to train most AI models is inherently biased. These datasets are often pulled from the web, where information has historically been shaped by academic, technical, and hobbyist communities (think Western, white, middle-class, English-speaking men). As a result, marginalised groups are significantly underrepresented, leading AI systems to reflect and reinforce existing social inequalities; a problem further propagated through continued use.
And this is not just theoretical. Take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, where the impact of AI bias was clear as day – an AI system downgraded exam results for 39% of students, disproportionately affecting those from disadvantaged schools.
We’ve seen other examples in healthcare too, with recent research showing that AI systems being developed to diagnose skin cancer run the risk of being less accurate for people with dark skin, simply because the data used is predominantly from those with lighter skin. In this case, it’s a disparity with potentially life-threatening implications.
Four strategies to bridge the digital divide
For me, governments and organisations have a responsibility to address both this bias and the widening digital divide. If not, they risk a huge proportion of the public feeling annoyed, isolated and inadequate – and that’s at best. At worst, there’s a real risk that the needs of the UK’s most vulnerable people are not met; which in turn causes significant implications for education, employment, and health and wellbeing.
With this in mind, below are some practical strategies for ensuring AI-powered services are intuitive, inclusive, and adaptable to different needs:
Embed inclusive research as a foundational step in service design: In order to ensure inclusion from the outset, robust user research is key. When it comes to the design of Government Digital Services, researchers have always held the responsibility of amplifying the voices of marginalised and digitally excluded groups, ensuring that services derived are effective and usable for all. Researchers also play a key role in the ethical and responsible uses of AI, which is something that must continue into every stage of service design. Prioritising researchers’ work here helps uncover the real-world challenges people face, not just assumptions based on the experiences of digital natives.
While there is already a well-established community of researchers across Government, there is always more that can be done to share findings across Departments that will relate more widely than the individual project to which a researcher is assigned.
We also need to continue validating digital services with representative users at every stage of development, using insights from government researchers to shape and test design decisions.
Apply the MASTA framework to AI inclusion:
Motivation: If users don’t see how AI improves their daily lives or work, they’re less likely to develop the skills to use it. As such, it’s important to raise public awareness of how AI and data can be used safely and meaningfully. This education needs to be embedded early in schools and extended to older adults through touchpoints. The NHS, for example, is already doing a great job of this, showcasing the advantages of aggregated data.
Access: For AI technologies to work, they quite often need reliable internet, modern devices, and supporting infrastructure. Without access to these things, existing digital divides will only deepen. The Government must continue to fund or subsidise broadband roll out, providing hubs where people can get access and support.
Security: Security is a big concern for many, but is especially worrisome to those lacking the skills and knowledge of how to stay safe online. That’s why practical training on how to recognise and protect against AI-enabled and general digital scams is key. This guidance should be accessible and relevant to different age groups and communities.
Trust: If people don’t trust that AI is fair, unbiased, and secure, they simply won’t engage with it – so we need a better explanation of how data is derived and used within systems to improve trust in use.
Anxiety: People need help to build confidence with anything new – without this, even well-designed AI tools risk being underused. So again, training and education to improve confidence whilst interacting with digital tools and services is key here. But it’s not just about people; systems and interfaces also need to do their part. Baking in appropriate reassurances at key moments can reduce cognitive overload and performance anxiety. Time and time again, I’ve seen technically confident users demonstrate impoverished skills under stress. Think of the panic that hits when filling out a tax return and wondering, “If I get this wrong, do I go to jail?” Thoughtful prompts, clear feedback, and supportive design cues can make all the difference.
Tackle AI bias and break down silos through smarter collaboration: For Governments to design services that are intuitive, inclusive, and adaptable to different needs, it’s time to approach potential biases in AI head on by understanding where data sets are derived from and actively work to acknowledge, avoid or counterbalance skewed inputs. At the same time, we need to accelerate programmes that reduce silos across government departments, while bolstering security measures to ensure individual and business data is secure. This, of course, is far easier said than done. It’s key to recognise that, unlike start-ups, the government can’t always “move quickly and break things,” but closer alliances with smaller companies can help it quickly learn from their techniques and findings.
Strengthen policy frameworks and funding: While I think we don’t necessarily need brand new initiatives, as some helpful ones already exist, the issue is a lack of attention or/and funding. Service Standard 5 (a UK government digital standard), for example, is already about inclusion, ensuring everyone can use digital services, including people with disabilities, low confidence, or no internet access. But, it’s perhaps time to specifically call out AI in this standard, making sure it’s clear that inclusion must extend to AI-driven services too.
Alternatively, I’d like to see a specific standard on AI and Data within the Government Digital Service Standards to make sure these technologies are designed and deployed in a way that doesn’t exclude vulnerable people. Existing initiatives, like Helen Milner’s ‘Good Things Foundation’, are already working to boost digital skills in underrepresented communities. They just need more support and funding to scale that work and to add a focus on AI resilience.
The bottom line here is that AI doesn’t have to reinforce the status quo, or deepen an existing gap. With thoughtful design, transparent data practices, and meaningful human oversight, AI has the potential to break it entirely.
Cyber threats to the UK public sector are escalating. From local councils and NHS trusts to education providers and policing bodies, public services are being stretched not just by limited budgets and ageing infrastructure but also by a rising tide of cyberattacks that exploit those weaknesses.
While ransomware and phishing grab the headlines, the biggest long-term risk isn’t necessarily the breach itself. It’s what happens after the breach: when sensitive data is exposed, exfiltrated, and exploited, often without anyone even realising until it’s too late.
We need to reframe the conversation. The public sector’s blind spot is no longer malware; it’s data exposure, and the looming threat of quantum computing will only widen that gap unless urgent action is taken.
The real threat isn’t entry — it’s exposure
Most public sector cyber strategies still focus on keeping attackers out. Firewalls, intrusion detection, and endpoint protection are all necessary, but increasingly insufficient. Threat actors are finding ways in, often via third-party suppliers, misconfigured cloud services, or social engineering attacks that bypass even the best defences.
The truth is, a determined attacker will get in. The critical question is: what happens when they do?
In too many cases, the answer is simple — they help themselves to vast volumes of unprotected, sensitive data. Medical records, housing applications, safeguarding reports, benefits claims — the crown jewels of our digital public services — all sitting on servers without adequate data-layer protection.
This isn’t hypothetical. The NHS ransomware attack in 2022 exposed critical patient data. Several councils have faced data breaches linked to supplier vulnerabilities. The public sector is a goldmine for cybercriminals, and right now, we’re making their job far too easy.
The Quantum clock is ticking
Add to this the quantum computing threat, and the picture becomes even more alarming.
Quantum computers, once operational at scale, will be capable of breaking today’s widely used encryption standards. That means encrypted data stolen today can be stored and decrypted in the future — a strategy already being adopted by sophisticated threat actors in what’s known as “harvest now, decrypt later” campaigns.
This delayed detonation threat puts public sector organisations on the frontline. Data that seems safe today because it’s encrypted may be completely exposed in five, ten, or fifteen years. And let’s be clear: councils and NHS trusts hold precisely the kind of long-term, high-sensitivity data that adversaries are targeting.
If the public sector continues to delay action, it is effectively sleepwalking into a quantum-fuelled data breach crisis.
Time to prioritise Data Protection and Risk Mitigation (DPRM)
We need to stop thinking of cybersecurity as an exercise in perimeter control. The real battlefield is data itself. That’s where public sector strategy must evolve with Data Protection and Risk Mitigation (DPRM) at the core.
DPRM is a forward-thinking, data-centric approach that:
Protects sensitive data comprehensively, not just at rest but in transit and in use
Implements access controls based on context and risk, not just static permissions
Reduces the impact of a breach by rendering stolen data inaccessible and unusable
And crucially, prepares for a quantum future, using quantum-safe encryption standards to protect data beyond today’s threats.
Unlike large-scale IT overhauls, DPRM doesn’t require the public sector to rip and replace legacy systems. It’s a layered, complementary strategy that can be introduced across existing infrastructure (cloud or on-prem) and scaled at pace.
This is data protection that adapts to real-world constraints: tight budgets, hybrid working, and fragmented systems. DPRM is about resilience through visibility and control, not complexity and cost.
Budget challenges are no justification for inaction
Yes, public sector budgets are under enormous pressure. But when weighed against the costs of a breach — reputational damage, regulatory fines, service disruption, and legal claims — investing in proactive data protection becomes not just justifiable, but essential.
The reality is that the cost of recovering from a breach is almost always higher than the cost of preventing one. And with GDPR, FOI, and other compliance requirements in force, failing to safeguard citizen data isn’t just risky, it’s unlawful.
DPRM allows organisations to demonstrate accountability, improve audit readiness, and maintain public trust, all while protecting the data that underpins modern service delivery.
This is a leadership moment
The public sector has shown remarkable innovation over the last decade, from open data to digital services, from AI in local government to cloud-first NHS policies. But cybersecurity has to catch up.
It’s time to be bold. Data is the lifeblood of our public services. Failing to protect it is not an option, especially when the solutions are available, proven, and designed to work within existing operational constraints.
Public sector leaders must act now to:
Acknowledge the data exposure threat — it’s already happening, and quantum will make it worse
Prioritise DPRM as a foundational capability, not a “nice to have”
Act now, not later, because the data being stolen today could be your organisation’s future crisis.
Let’s stop patching up the perimeter and start protecting what really matters. Let’s make data protection a pillar of public sector resilience now, and for the quantum-powered future ahead.
Almost half (45%) of school leaders have reported an increase in suspensions and exclusions over the past 12 months, according to a new Browne Jacobson survey.
Philip Wood
In contrast, only 22% have noted a decrease, with the remainder saying there had been no change or they were unsure.
Findings in the UK and Ireland law firm’s summer 2025 School Leaders Survey – which also highlights the issue of deteriorating pupil behaviour – are revealed as schools await publication of the government’s delayed annual national behaviour survey.
These correlate with the latest Department for Education data, which shows suspensions rose by 12% annually to 295,559 and permanent exclusions were up by 2% to 3,107 in the 2023/24 spring term.
Nearly 200 trust and multi-academy trust leaders – including CEOs, executive headteachers, trustees and governors – representing more than 1,700 schools and responsible for almost a million pupils in England, completed the survey during May 2025.
Philip Wood, Principal Associate in the education team at Browne Jacobson, said: “Exclusions and suspensions are near an all-time high, but this is a reflection of underlying issues.
“Principal among them, as highlighted in the survey, is SEND and the balance for schools fundamentally between inclusion and the disadvantages posed to other students by a minority of poor behaviour.
“That behaviour has gotten worse since the pandemic is clearly highlighted by the survey.”
The survey also illustrates that:
Four in five (79%) leaders say pupil behaviour has deteriorated since the Covid-19 pandemic, with a third (33%) reporting it has got significantly worse – compared to only 4% believing it has improved.
Balancing behaviour management with inclusion is regarded as the biggest challenge in managing suspensions and exclusions by 38% of respondents, followed by the lack of alternative options (33%) and a lack of support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) (16%).
Only one in five (19%) leaders believe alternative provision for excluded students effectively supports their educational outcomes, with 55% saying it is sometimes effective and 27% feeling it was rarely or never the case.
Three-quarters (74%) of leaders said alternative provision to permanent exclusion was used but this fell to 58% for managed moves, the other main external alternative. Seven in 10 (71%) also used restorative justice in some form.
Philip added: “A theme of the responses was the difficulties in getting timely support, including the use of cost-effective quality alternative provision, to avoid the need to permanently exclude pupils.
“We hear frequently how there can be a perception – or, in some areas, explicit advice – that permanently excluding a pupil will open access to further support or a timelier consideration of other options.
“This reactive approach doesn’t feel like a sustainable one. Developing a more proactive system characterised by early intervention would be in the best interests of pupils at risk of suspension or exclusion.”
Arcadis-led team brings expertise from engineering, data analysis, and design
Programme includes consultancy services across 26 core competencies including asset operation, road user behaviour, strategic transport planning, sustainability, and more.
Arcadis already delivering award-winning data-centric approach to prevent crashes in Warwickshire
Arcadis, the leading global design and consultancy firm for natural and built assets, is excited to announce that an Arcadis-led consortium has been selected for the Specialist and Technical Services 3 (SPaTS3) framework by National Highways. The consortium includes Carnell, COWI, Deloitte, MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence, and a broad supplier ecosystem.
The SPaTS3 framework offers comprehensive access to multi-disciplinary services for National Highways across England, enabling projects that range from minor assignments to significant and strategic initiatives. This prestigious framework encompasses consultancy services across 26 core competencies, including asset operation, maintenance, assurance and performance, statistics and transport modelling, pavement engineering, road user behaviour, strategic transport planning and policy, and sustainability, among others.
Leigh Jones, UK & Ireland Mobility Sales Director at Arcadis said “Securing a position on the Specialist and Technical Services 3 (SPaTS3) framework is a testament to the strength and expertise of our team and our commitment to delivering innovative, sustainable solutions for National Highways. Through deep collaboration, proactive decision-making, and cutting-edge innovation, we are driving forward solutions that create a safer and more efficient future while supporting the strategic vision of National Highways. “
The Arcadis-led consortium is comprised of industry Carnell, COWI, Deloitte, and MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence, each bringing unique strengths and expertise in design, mobility intelligence, and asset management. Our differentiated offering inclusive of proprietary tools and AI-driven analytical frameworks, brings a unique perspective to solving the complicated challenges for National Highways and the millions of road users they serve every day.
This builds on Arcadis’ commitment to fostering innovative solutions and transformative outcomes across the National Highways network. A recent collaboration with MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence in Warwickshire County Council exemplifies this standard. Along the 36-mile Fosse Way corridor, substandard design, varying road users and other issues produced more than 100 crashes in five years. Arcadis and MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence harnessed cutting-edge data analytics to enhance road safety. The project focused on reducing collision and near-miss hotspots by analysing driver behaviour data, ultimately aiming to save lives. This programme recently received the distinction of being Highly Commended for the CIHT National Road Safety Award. Read more about this successful partnership here.
The Star Performer title is awarded to companies that have shown significant market impact, based on everything from new business wins and expanded service offerings to measurable improvements in customer experience. For Matrix, this marks its first time appearing on the report and the first as a Star Performer.
Roger Clements
“This recognition is a huge milestone,” said Roger Clements, Chief Growth Officer at Matrix. “It reflects the work we’ve put into building something that’s not just smart and scalable but grounded in the real-world needs of our clients. Whether it’s improving how organisations manage compliance, track temporary labour or gain better insight into spend, we’ve always focused on helping them adapt and grow.”
Matrix’s workforce management platform has evolved rapidly over the past 12–18 months, shaped by ongoing input from customers, partners and supplier networks. From helping our customers respond to fast-moving workforce demands to rolling out DE&I dashboards and improving contingent worker engagement, Matrix has been quietly raising the bar.
The company’s tech investments haven’t been about adding bells and whistles but about making everyday tasks simpler and smarter using design thinking, compliance tools and human-centred features that empower users to work more efficiently and confidently.
Ashley Doody, Matrix’s Chief Technology Officer, added: “We’ve been committed to designing a platform that is intuitive, responsive and helpful, especially when the stakes are high. It’s why we’ve centred on using low code as development tooling, in collaboration with OutSystems, so we can stay focused on the application and impact, while our technology partner looks after the rest for us.” Ashley adds “I’m incredibly proud of what our teams have delivered and this recognition from Everest validates our approach.”
For Matrix, being named a Star Performer isn’t a moment to stand still. It’s a signal to push further, working even more closely with clients and industry peers to co-create what’s next for workforce management.
The focus now is on continuous improvement, from enhancing supplier collaboration and safeguarding compliance to surfacing insights that help organisations stay one step ahead.
“This award shows how far we’ve come,” added Clements, “but it also reminds us of what’s still possible. The investments we have made in our platforms will continue, with the aim of ensuring our products meet the real-time needs of our customers, now and in the future. We’ll keep building, keep listening and keep partnering with them to shape a more agile and responsive workforce future for all.”
Pictured from L – R: Charlie Allen, Head of Business Development, Public Sector, Believ/Rokhsana Fiaz, the Mayor of Newham/ Edward Davison, Policy at Uber
The London Borough of Newham, together with EV charging infrastructure partners Believ and Uber, celebrated Clean Air Day 2025 by announcing their 500th on-street charge point, raising awareness of the fight to lower air pollution and deliver cleaner air for all.
The Borough has a hugely ambitious plan to turbocharge the rollout of charge points, with over 1,000 to be operational by April 2026 and 3,000 installed by 2030.
These are in support of the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan, with a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Many residents in Newham do not have driveways or any means of privately charging their vehicles, so the new publicly available charge points, near to their homes, are ensuring greater inclusivity for all current and future EV owners.
800 of the charge points are being fully funded through Uber and Believ, the charge point operator (CPO) that was awarded the contract to install, operate and maintain the chargers. While Believ and Uber are key contributors, Newham also benefits from additional sources of funding for the wider EVCP programme. Site selection for these charge points was informed by requests and feedback from local residents and Uber drivers to ensure the infrastructure is well-located and meets the needs of the community.
Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz OBE said: “We know how popular the existing EV charging points around Newham already are, which is why we want to see a lot more of them across the borough.
“Our Electric Vehicle Charging Point expansion is a great example of our Just Transition Plan in action, as it’s helping residents who’ve made the move to electric and hybrid vehicles save money through lower fuel and parking costs, as well as providing cleaner air for our residents, and lower CO2 emissions as more and more people move away from fossil-fuel powered cars.”
This rollout will support the high number of Uber drivers in Newham and is part of a larger initiative by Uber and Believ, which covers three London boroughs: Newham; Redbridge; and Brent.
Andrew Brem, General Manager of Uber in the UK, said: “Access to reliable charging is one of the most important factors in helping drivers make the switch to electric. We’re continuing to see Uber drivers switch to EVs much faster than the general public, thanks to projects like this that put chargers where they’re most needed. We’re proud to be supporting cleaner, healthier air for everyone living in Newham.”
Guy Bartlett, Believ CEO, says that the project is a great example of the private industry collaborating to accelerate the delivery of cleaner air for all: “This partnership is designed to support the specific needs of Newham Council’s residents, tackle the climate emergency and make electric vehicles accessible to all. The charge points will provide the convenience required for drivers to switch away from fossil fuels.”
Previously untapped insights from large volumes of anonymised diagnostic images could enable ground-breaking research and medical innovations needed to enhance patient care, following a first of its kind technology deployment in the NHS.
Barts Health NHS Trust, which serves one of the largest and most diverse patient populations in the country, has become the first healthcare provider in the NHS to implement Anonymise and Export from medical imaging IT company Sectra. As part of wider activity, it means that researchers will be empowered to shed new light on diseases, tailor treatments, and potentially inform the next generation of healthcare AI.
Anonymise and Export has been implemented within the trust’s existing Sectra enterprise imaging solution, a system widely used by NHS diagnosticians to analyse patient scans. The cutting-edge addition will allow for the seamless export of medical images to a secure data environment, with patient identifiers automatically removed. This removes a previously manually intensive process, releasing time for busy NHS teams, whilst addressing crucial privacy safeguards, and dramatically expanding research possibilities.
The de-identified imaging data will be integrated into the new Barts Health Data Platform (BHDP), which was formally launched in April 2025. The platform brings together different types of health information — such as scans, health records, and lab results — into one secure system that researchers can apply to use.
Steven Newhouse, deputy chief information officer for Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “We are now able to provide researchers and clinicians with access to health and imaging data at a scale we’ve not offered before. With robust safeguards in place, this development supports more efficient, secure research and marks meaningful progress in advancing medical innovation and understanding of disease.”
Deployed with the support of Sectra and the NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, Sectra Anonymise and Export opens new avenues for medical research, paving the way for more comprehensive and insightful studies.
Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, said: “The NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre is delighted to have enabled this groundbreaking advancement in access to medical imaging for research. This system represents a pivotal moment in our field — a true game-changer that unlocks the potential of big data while steadfastly protecting patient privacy. This is an exhilarating time of transformation, and I am proud to be part of this innovative journey.”
Sarah Jensen, chief information officer for Barts Health NHS Trust, added: “The diversity and sheer volume of data being integrated means a significant leap forward in our healthcare data research capabilities. NHS professionals are under pressure as they work to deliver the best possible care for patients. Academics and researchers in continual pursuit of medical advancements, can play a key role delivering innovations urgently needed.
“Now, we can securely and safely provide the data they need on a scale not previously possible, whilst safeguarding confidentiality, and without our busy NHS teams being asked to spend time manually removing identifiable information. The possibilities are immense.”
The technological deployment sets the stage for sophisticated AI-powered analysis of medical images. By leveraging advanced pattern recognition algorithms, that are available within the Azure Cloud that hosts the BHDP, researchers will be able to uncover hidden insights and draw more nuanced conclusions from the extensive dataset.
Jane Rendall, UK and Ireland managing director for Sectra, said: “Healthcare professionals at Barts Health have been at the forefront of innovation with imaging technology for many years – using our platform to diagnose and inform care for a great many patients across East London. This latest initiative takes that innovation to another level, securely and safely harnessing imaging data in ways that could radically change how care is delivered. I look forward to seeing the impact emerge for healthcare and patients alike.”
United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group now operating across the Indo-Pacific, following Mediterranean exercises and Red Sea transit
Key defence partnerships strengthened through naval exercises with India, Australia, US and other partners
Port visits to Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, and Republic of Korea set to boost UK trade and defence cooperation in line with the Government’s Plan for Change
UK security and growth has received a boost as the UK-led international Carrier Strike Group (CSG25) began operations in the Indo-Pacific.
Led by the aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, CSG25 has undertaken a joint exercise with the Indian Navy, deepening the UK’s defence relationship with a key strategic partner ahead of a port visit to India later this year.
The deployment, known as Operation Highmast, includes ships from Canada, Norway and Spain, and has now been joined by a New Zealand Frigate, HMNZS Te Kaha, after entering the Indian Ocean, having passed through the Red Sea.
HMS Prince of Wales off the coast of India whilst on Op Highmast
The task group, which left the UK in April, previously completed exercises in the Mediterranean.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said:
“I am delighted that our Carrier Strike Group and 4,000 Service Personnel, are now operating in the Indo-Pacific region. Working with our Allies and partners, to keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad.
“This isn’t just about hard power; the upcoming exercises and port visits are about building influence and boosting trade opportunities both for defence and other sectors of our economy which will deliver British jobs and growth, and delivers on the Government’s Plan for Change.”
Commodore James Blackmore, Commander CSG said:
“The deployment sends a powerful message that the UK and its allies are committed to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. It’s a privilege to lead our sailors, marines, soldiers and aircrew as we demonstrate warfighting capability.”
Over the next few months, CSG25 will join British Army and Royal Air Force units to participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, the Australian-led multinational exercise involving US and many other regional partners. This major exercise builds towards full operational capability of the UK’s carrier strike capability.
With two F-35B squadrons embarked, the RAF and Royal Navy are set to redefine the landscape of naval air power, in a move to warfighting readiness in support of NATO, while reinforcing Britain’s commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Port visits to Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and the Republic of Korea will showcase British defence capabilities through trade demonstrations and fairs, directly supporting the Government’s Plan for Change through economic growth. A port visit to Darwin, Australia, provides an opportunity to further develop the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the UK and the United States.
The Carrier Strike Group will also host the prestigious Pacific Future Forum in Japan, bringing together defence, security and technology leaders from across the region to discuss shared challenges.
The deployment follows the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad.
Keeping the country safe is the Government’s first priority and is the foundation of its Plan for Change. The strength, capability and global reach of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force, demonstrated through Operation Highmast, is critical to the security and stability of the UK, supporting the delivery of the Government’s five missions.
The cyberattack against Marks & Spencer, which caused damages beyond £300 million and operational disruptions until July, serves as a ‘red alert’ for all public and private organisations. The attack revealed fundamental weaknesses in trust levels and operational stability alongside compromised data protection. The National Crime Agency’s investigation into Scattered Spider shows that even major entities like Harrods and Co-op are vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Claire Agutter
The domain of cybersecurity extends beyond technical challenges managed solely by IT departments. Organisations need to treat cybersecurity as a boardroom priority and leadership challenge while recognising its role as a necessity for public trust. Modern digital ecosystems which support critical sectors such as healthcare and government face comprehensive risks from a single cybersecurity breach.
From Data Theft to Operational Paralysis
Cyber threats have evolved. Modern cyber attacks have advanced from merely stealing data to causing widespread business disruption by locking systems and halting services. The M&S data breach led to extensive disruptions that affected logistics operations, daily customer communications, and business functions.
Business disruption for companies prioritising efficiency and trust results in consequences beyond immediate financial setbacks. The enduring damage to stakeholder trust, public image, and service operations can create devastating effects.
Resilience Is the New Compliance
In response, organisations must shift their mindset. Compliance alone is no longer sufficient. Organisations can establish foundational resilience through frameworks and regulations but need integrated actions across strategy, operations, and cultural alignment to achieve true resilience.
Cybersecurity must become an inherent part of an organisation’s foundational structure rather than a separate addition. Every member, from top executives down to frontline personnel, has a responsibility in defence.
Organisations can develop operational resilience by concentrating their efforts on four essential domains.
1. Leadership, Culture, and Training
Senior leadership should own cybersecurity as a strategic priority and maintain open communication about it throughout the whole organisation. All staff require consistent, practical training to recognise threats and react correctly. Organisations need an environment where transparency and responsibility in cyber risk management become foundational.
2. Third-Party Oversight
Both public organisations and private enterprises depend significantly on external vendors and partners as well as contractors for their operations. Organisations face substantial security risks through third-party relationships unless they maintain proper oversight. Organisations must now treat due diligence, security assessments, and clear contractual requirements as essential building blocks.
3. Robust Response Planning
The effectiveness of handling a cyber incident depends entirely on the rapidness and transparency of the response process. Organisations need to test response plans through realistic simulations, including clearly defined roles, communication strategies, and established escalation procedures. Stakeholders’ trust will only be maintained after a breach through complete public transparency.
4. Smart Investment in Technology
Technology is crucial for resilience building through advanced threat detection and automated response tools. The implementation of technology needs to be strategic and should match the organisation’s particular risk profile and operational requirements. Protection requires more than tools alone because processes and culture are essential elements for effective security measures.
Learning from Crisis
An organisation’s cybersecurity posture directly influences its service reliability and public trust in today’s environment. In public service delivery and commercial operations, consumers demand security in their data and interactions. Organisations now view such failures as shortcomings in leadership and governance rather than mere technical issues.
The M&S attack is more than a headline event because it is an example of organisational failure when resilience measures prove inadequate. This situation requires organisations to assess their cybersecurity measures and integrate protection as a fundamental part of their operational health while refining their strategies.
Modern operational strategies need to prioritise security alongside agility and transparency. Protective measures without innovative approaches cause stagnation, while innovation without adequate protection presents a significant risk. Achieving the correct balance between different elements represents an essential requirement rather than just a wise decision.
Claire Agutter established Scopism and published the SIAM Foundation and Professional Body of Knowledge while being acknowledged as an expert in service management and operational resilience. www.scopism.com
Kymeta achieves multi-band connectivity with four concurrent beams in Ku- and Ka-band frequencies with a single antenna aperture
Leap in connectivity technology unlocks the future of AI in defense, autonomy and edge computing
Opens the door to automatic and seamless satellite roaming synonymous with cellular networks
In a world-first, Kymeta, the company reimagining satellite connectivity, has recently announced a major technological leap: simultaneously operating across both Ku and Ka satellite bands in a single, compact antenna – laying the technical groundwork to enable seamless connectivity across satellite networks.
This breakthrough marks a significant milestone for the satellite communications industry, ending a legacy of siloed satcom limitations. Kymeta has now advanced the ability to interoperate across satellite networks in different bands and different orbits, in a move to make satellite as seamless and ubiquitous as cellular.
Bruno Fromont, Intelsat CTO said: “Transformative technology milestones like this spark a catalytic shift across an entire landscape. Kymeta’s ability to unify Ku- and Ka- band connections through a single mobile antenna is a foundational leap toward combined satellite networks, making communication as seamless and automatic as the cellular networks we use every day. This success is changing the game.”
The ability to connect to both Ku- and Ka-band beams offers immediate and significant benefits – unlocking higher bandwidth, faster data rates, and more bits per second (bps). This also enables continuous connectivity, a vital component toward making advanced AI at the edge a reality. The breakthrough will now allow manufacturers to build the advanced tech of the future where this is a requirement.
This achievement meets the demands of global militaries. The US Space Force vision whitepaper in 2020 outlined the requirement to support multi-bands, orbits, waveforms and a “network of networks to support responsive and agile operations”. Along with traditional C2 (command and control) functions, autonomous applications such as unmanned surface and aerial vehicles (USV, UAV and UGVs) require strong, reliable connectivity to operate and be competitive on the battlefield. This serves as a network hub and backhaul for downstream communication using MANET, mesh and cellular networks that will enable autonomous system operations at scale.
Ian Canning, president and CEO of Eutelsat America Corp + OneWeb Technologies (EACOWT) comments: “The U.S. DOD and defense forces around the globe require increasingly sophisticated, flexible and secure communications, which includes the need for high-performance, multi-band, multi-orbit connectivity from a single antenna. Kymeta’s ESA platform, reflecting their continued investment in innovation, is truly disruptive, and brings multi-orbit and multi-band capabilities into the modern era. I look forward to collaborating with Kymeta to develop world class satellite communication products that will open the door to the resilient communications required in the modern battlefield.”
Relying on a single network connection is insufficient to meet the complex and evolving needs of modern global forces, making multi-band beam switching a strategic necessity. This capability allows for simultaneous and redundant communication links, which are critical for maintaining operational integrity in contested or jamming-prone environments while on the move.
General (ret) Paul J Kern, former Commanding General, Army Materiel Command, currently Senior Counselor, The Cohen Group comments: “Kymeta’s breakthrough in seamless switching between Ku and Ka satellite bands delivers the kind of resilient, always-on communications that advanced military platforms and autonomous systems demand. This is a major step forward in preparing and equipping our forces for the modern battlefield. This capability would have made an enormous difference to my operations in the desert of Iraq.”
The technology was successfully demonstrated and validated at Kymeta on April 22, 2025. This achievement was made possible by Kymeta’s unique metamaterials antenna surface.
Until this point, interoperability in the Ku and Ka bands has been possible only with Electronic Steered Antennas (ESA) using multiple physically separate antennas, which proves problematic due to the size and power usage required to operate. This technological disruption by Kymeta allows connectivity in both bands in one single antenna, giving space efficiency, low power consumption, and low cost (SWaP-C).
Kymeta Chief Scientist, Ryan Stevenson, says: “At Kymeta we’ve never followed convention. What began as novel metamaterials technology is now a proven engineering foundation – first brought to market in 2017, and now central to this groundbreaking achievement. We’ve turned breakthrough physics into a powerful, trusted toolkit. Using this toolkit we have now addressed the most challenging requirement in satellite communications. We have cracked the code on seamless multi-orbit, multi-band connectivity – and have set the standard for next-generation satellite communications.”
How it works
The physical area of Kymeta’s multi-band antenna aperture consisting of four, interleaved sub-arrays – Ku transmit, Ku receive, Ka transmit and Ka receive – allows for simultaneous and independently controlled Ku and Ka full duplex beams from its metamaterials surface. Structuring the antenna in this way, and pairing it with advanced AI algorithms for intelligent routing, enables frequency reuse and alleviates spectrum contention via Kymeta’s narrower receive and transmit beams. These beams are more focused and operate at higher directivity, promoting spectrum efficiency and interference mitigation, such as GEO / LEO beam straying, jamming and adverse weather like rain fade and atmospheric losses.
Further Innovation / Funding
With the success of this innovative advancement, fueled by the company’s VC support and Silicon Valley spirit, Kymeta looks towards its next phase of growth and will be working with strategic investment partners, as well as key government programs, who share the company’s vision to scale this universal transformation.
The NHS is amid a long-anticipated workforce crisis, and few areas are feeling the strain more acutely than general practice. A shortfall of over 4,200 GPs in England is just the start. Despite ministerial pledges and long-term workforce plans, the supply of newly qualified doctors fails to meet demand. Meanwhile, medical schools face rising dropout rates, with 43% of students now considering pausing or abandoning their studies due to financial hardship and burnout (BMA, 2024).
These statistics aren’t just figures in a government report; they represent thousands of students like me. Young people who entered medical school full of purpose only encountered a system that too often depleted rather than supported them.
I began my studies at a respected UK institution on the south coast. On paper, I was on the ideal path; strong academic credentials, a sound support system, and a clear goal of serving as a GP within the NHS. But within months, the cracks began to show. The pressure was relentless. And the cost, both financial and emotional, was overwhelming.
A Different Pathway
Faced with the prospect of abandoning my dream, I started looking for alternatives. That’s when I came across New Anglia University (NAU), a new but fully accredited medical school in Anguilla, a small Caribbean island. I was sceptical. But I was also curious. Could it really be possible to study medicine abroad, at a lower cost, with a better student experience, and still return to practise in the UK? The answer was yes.
NAU’s programme is built for the 21st-century student. With a curriculum designed by clinicians and educators from the UK, US, and Canada, the course is intensive, tech-enabled, and globally recognised. Students complete 20 months of pre-clinical training on campus, followed by clinical rotations in partner hospitals, including in the UK.
Most importantly, NAU’s model is built with student wellbeing in mind. With small class sizes, close mentoring, and an environment that promotes both academic rigour and personal balance, the difference is night and day from what I experienced back home.
Today, my lectures are held in purpose-built labs overlooking the ocean. Our professors know us by name. We are taught not only how to pass exams but also how to care for patients and for ourselves.
A Global Model with Local Relevance
At first glance, this may seem a world away from the NHS. But it’s not. The programme is accredited by international bodies, listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and recognised by both the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and FAIMER. NAU is not an offshore shortcut; it’s a legitimate alternative that complements, rather than competes with, UK medical education.
For government and public sector leaders grappling with GP shortages and overstretched training capacity, the implications are clear: we must broaden our definition of medical education pathways.
NAU graduates can return to the UK for postgraduate training, just like their UK-educated peers. With rigorous preparation, clinical placements aligned to UK standards, and growing partnerships with NHS Trusts, these students are part of a global solution to a local problem.
Cost, Capacity, and Common Sense
The numbers matter. A UK medical degree typically costs up to £12,000 per year in tuition alone, often resulting in totals of around £200,000, including accommodation and living expenses over 8-14 years. NAU, in comparison, offers a faster, four-year MD programme at a fraction of the cost. With student debt soaring and living costs increasing, this is a lifeline for many aspiring medics.
And it’s not just about saving money; it’s about avoiding loss. Every student who drops out of a UK programme is a missed opportunity in the NHS pipeline. Alternative models like NAU offer a pressure valve, one that could be formally integrated into workforce planning.
Imagine if students rejected by UK universities were directed towards accredited international options rather than left behind. Imagine if we saw global education not as a threat to standards but as a partner in national capacity-building.
Meeting Gen Z Where They Are
Generation Z is not afraid to question traditional routes. They value purpose, flexibility, mental health, and value for money. The traditional university model, which is long, expensive, and high-pressure, doesn’t always align with their expectations.
Institutions like NAU are listening. They provide high-quality medical education without compromising on wellbeing or accessibility. For students like me, it’s not about escaping the UK, it’s about finding an environment that supports our growth into competent, compassionate doctors.
A Future Worth Considering
There are lessons here for government leaders, NHS planners, and education policymakers.
First, we must acknowledge that the traditional medical education pathway is financially and mentally unsustainable for many students.
Second, we need to expand our understanding of legitimate routes to NHS employment, including those that start abroad.
Third, we must invest in supporting students throughout their training, wherever they are, because the end goal is the same: a resilient, well-staffed, and compassionate NHS.
Alternative models like NAU will not replace the UK system. But they can relieve pressure, reduce costs, and offer viable options to students who might otherwise walk away.
I’m one of those students who stayed on the path, just not the one I thought I’d be on. And in doing so, I’ve found renewed purpose, greater wellbeing, and a more straightforward route to NHS service.
For the future of British healthcare, that’s a conversation worth having.
Tamara is a British medical student currently studying at New Anglia University, Anguilla. She plans to return to the UK for clinical placements and postgraduate training within the NHS. For more information, visit www.newanglia.com
Richard LaTulip, a Field Chief Information Security Officer at Recorded Future.
Richard LaTulip
The UK’s proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill represents a significant shift in how the nation approaches ransomware and wider cyber threats, with lasting implications for the public sector. As the government aims to tighten rules around ransomware reporting and payments, organisations are set to face stricter expectations for transparency, incident response, and cyber resilience.
Under the proposed legislation, all public sector and critical national infrastructure bodies could be banned from paying ransomware demands. It would also require organisations to report a ransomware attack within 72 hours, sharing details about the ransomware demand, whether the attackers are identifiable, and resilience capabilities.
The public sector ransomware payment ban is designed to turn essential public services into unattractive targets for cybercrime. Public sector suppliers are also being urged to take action, with NHS England asking suppliers to help tackle the “endemic” threat of ransomware attacks, and a voluntary public charter due to launch later this year.
These changes are positive steps towards improving cyber hygiene, but they cannot replace the need for immediate action. Waiting for the UK to take action is not an option, as cyberattacks are already disrupting public services and pose a mounting threat
A key enabler of ransomware attacks is phishing, especially highly targeted ‘spearphishing’ campaigns that trick employees into handing over access credentials. Criminal groups, like the one behind the widely reported Medusa ransomware, use phishing to gain a foothold in networks, and phishing attempts are often the start of a much more damaging ransomware event. However, public sector organisations can bolster their defences through sophisticated threat intelligence.
Rise in phishing
Relentless risks of cyberattacks have seen organisations make cybersecurity a strategic priority. Technology and software will be deployed to enhance security and protect operations against malicious activity. A by-product of this positive intent is that cyber threats adapt. Rather than spending time and resource trying to crack robustly protected networks, criminals prioritise the exploitation of individuals to obtain genuine user credentials. This form of attack is seen as a more effective route for getting past extensive authentication checks, with a belief amongst attackers that employees are the weakest link in a strong chain of security defences.
The phishing threat landscape is evolving and increasingly becoming ‘sprearphishing’, where attacks are much more targeted and seem even more plausible. Extremely personalised attacks will be directed at specific individuals to deceive them into sharing trusted credentials and confidential information.
Sprearphishing will be carried out via channels such as email, SMS and other messaging platforms, and phone calls. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being exploited by criminals to make these personalised attacks scalable and effective.
AI-powered phishing
Generative AI is often used by threat actors to quickly generate thousands of unique, native language lures. Scam emails seem credible, because the language used appears authentic and less suspicious. For example, email copy may deliberately include typical spelling and grammatical errors in a message, and colloquial terms, so that it appears to originate from a plausible, human source.
It’s also possible for AI to harvest and analyse data about the target of the attack, as well as the supposed party that’s requesting information. This is where spearphishing becomes very personalised. An email received from a supposed senior colleague seems genuine, because it’s able to impersonate a trusted source and contains what appears to be real and relevant references.
Criminals are also using the voice generating and changing capabilities of generative AI to impersonate support services such as an IT helpdesk. The AI contacts an employee and tricks them into divulging confidential and sensitive information. It’s an evolution of a social engineering scam, which takes advantage of an employee’s likely frustration with an IT problem and their willingness to quickly fix problems. The AI voice sounds plausible and builds trust.
A key step for preventing spearphishing attacks is to build awareness amongst employees – they need to know what types of risk they are facing, if they are to prove an effective line of defence. Running simulated attacks can help employees to understand the capabilities of AI and show how it is being used by criminals. It also important to strengthen resilience through faster threat identification and sustained intelligence. Monitoring threat actors and spearphishing campaigns can enable organisations to stay ahead of potential attacks.
Impersonated brands
Phishing techniques are also evolving to spoof widely trusted and well-known brands. Genuine organisations like Microsoft and DocuSign provide products and services used regularly throughout the public sector. Employees interact with these types of platforms on an almost daily basis and, in most cases, won’t think twice about how they use them. Criminals know this and prey on it.
Attackers create sophisticated impersonations of trusted platforms, which seem realistic and genuine. Users are misled by these lookalikes, and what is typically regarded as a safe website to share passwords and credentials, becomes a data-capture exercise for criminals. These types of attacks are evolving with more sophisticated domain impersonations, including lookalike domains and homoglyph attacks that evade traditional email filters.
The threat of phishing is growing and evolving, and it will continue to do so as organisations strengthen their defences against ransomware. With the proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill introducing a tougher stance on ransomware payments and incident reporting, the public sector is under increasing pressure to act now.
Legislation alone will not build resilience. Phishing remains one of the most common and effective ways for ransomware actors to gain initial access. To protect essential services, public sector organisations need to prioritise effective threat intelligence.
Building knowledge of the threat landscape can help to prioritise which phishing attacks pose the most realistic risks of a breach and avoid defences becoming overwhelmed. Informed decisions can be made and proactive steps taken to drive preventative action, helping organisations to stay ahead of potential breaches. Threat intelligence can provide valuable insights that reduce vulnerabilities and lessen the effectiveness of phishing, even when it’s extremely personalised.
As inflation, interest rates and the cost of living continue to test the resilience of UK households, the public sector faces a dual imperative: safeguarding its own financial stability while ensuring that the most vulnerable communities aren’t left behind.
Although the annual inflation rate has eased from its peak – hitting 2.6% in April, which is less than expected and the lowest it has been since 2021 – it still remains stubbornly above the Bank of England’s 2% target and households continue to feel the strain of cumulative economic shocks.
Latest figures report that 20.3 million people are now living in financially vulnerable circumstances across the UK, up by 16% from 17.5 million in 2022. While a number of factors are to blame, persistently high energy costs, rent hikes and soaring food prices are three of the core issues. A growing crisis in public sector rental arrears
This financial tension is particularly evident in the social housing sector, where data shows a sharp and sustained increase in rental arrears.
Our recent Rental Arrears Index revealed a sharp and sustained increase in the number of council-owned housing units falling into arrears. As of March 2024, the average local authority reported more than 4,400 social housing units in rental arrears, up significantly from 3,700 in 2019.
This means that, on average, 41% of council-owned units are now behind on rent – compared to just 35% five years ago. At the same time, the average value of rental arrears per council has surged from £1.8 million to more than £3.1 million.
These numbers are not only a barometer of the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on tenants, but a clear signal that the existing rent collection systems used by local authorities are struggling to keep pace with what is now required of them.
Flexibility as a necessity, not a luxury
An economically turbulent few years have exposed the fragility of many household budgets, while also demonstrating how responsive, compassionate policies – such as mortgage holidays and deferred utility bills – can provide vital and much needed relief during times of financial need.
Flexibility is no longer a hopeful request – it’s a baseline expectation. In the private rental sector, three quarters of landlords are supporting tenants with the rise of cost of living, and the public sector must meet this evolving standard.
After all, allowing residents to manage payments in a way that reflects their own unique circumstances reduces the chance of them falling behind on rental payments, improves cash flow and helps prevent more severe outcomes like homelessness or spiralling debt. To deliver this, more flexible digital tools such as managed planned payments, Open Banking, Direct Debit schedules and automated notifications are key for empowering staff to offer informed, empathetic and adaptable solutions. Digital transformation with inclusion at its core
These tools enable real-time visibility, align payment dates with income cycles, and allow quick adjustments when circumstances change. Just as important, however, is how these processes are communicated to tenants.
A personalised, empathetic approach encourages engagement, and by reframing payment as a shared responsibility, local authorities can build trust and cooperation, rather than driving avoidance and escalation.
The UK is now well on the path to becoming a cashless society, but modernising payments is not just a matter of efficiency – it is a matter of access, dignity and fairness. Digital transformation must not come at the cost of social inclusion.
Around 8.5 million people in the UK still lack the basic digital skills required to confidently navigate online services. This includes some of the most financially vulnerable groups – older people, those on low incomes, or residents in rural areas with poor connectivity – who are most in need of public support.
This is why a true transformation strategy must be inclusive by design. No one should be forced into a digital channel they are not equipped to use.
The time to act is now
For too long, the public sector has grappled with outdated infrastructure and fragmented systems. Every day, residents fall further behind on their rent payments because they can’t navigate rigid systems that don’t meet them where they are.
Secure, simple and adaptive payment solutions can empower residents to stay on top of their obligations, rather than feeling overwhelmed by them. They can also free up public sector staff from time-intensive manual processes, enabling them to focus on the human work of service and support.
The public sector doesn’t just have an opportunity to lead. It has a duty to. By embedding agility, compassion and innovation into the way payments are collected, a source of friction can be transformed into a channel for trust, inclusion and stability.
There’s not a council in the country today that’s free from significant financial stress. The LGA says that one in 10 councils has already discussed receiving emergency support from the government. Many more are struggling to secure sufficient financial resources to meet their budgetary obligations, or even to deliver the basic essential services. Yet still local authorities and other social landlords are being asked to spearhead regional economic growth, develop new towns, and pay for fire safety, low carbon and healthy home retrofits too.
Clive Feeney
In many ways, today’s current economic situation is very similar to the post-war years – with the need for significant reconstruction of our housing and infrastructure assets against the backdrop of slow economic growth and challenging decisions regarding spending priorities.
From that history, there are lessons we can learn. Because it was just 20 years after the war that 13 London authorities, from Richmond upon Thames and Harrow in the west to the Corporation of London in the east, came together for the first time to pool resources and to try a new approach to finding the quality building and construction services they needed to revitalise their boroughs.
Their meeting notes show they talked about creating common social and technical standards. Of coordinating industrialised and standards-based build programmes. And of serial contracts for the bulk purchase of components. Contracts that would help create much-needed economies of scale and make these programmes affordable.
This was the creation of London Housing Consortium, now part of the LHC Procurement Group, and almost 60 years since their first meeting, we are still helping local authorities and social landlords to achieve their needs.
Of course, today’s public sector procurement frameworks are much more sophisticated in their ambitions. The introduction of Gold Standard verification for frameworks in the last few years, for example, along with brand new legislation in the Procurement Act and related policy in other parts of the UK, now puts issues like social value and sustainability front and centre.
But let’s not lose sight of the fundamental financial reasons why cooperation and collaboration via framework providers makes so much sense. Heaven knows, the economic drivers are as vital today as they were at the beginning.
Frameworks are created to help buyers – usually called ‘contracting authorities’ or clients – procure goods and services from a list of pre-approved suppliers, with agreed terms and conditions and legal protections. A framework provider, like LHCPG, helps with the process.
For all public sector bodies, frameworks can be one of the most efficient and effective ways to save both time and money across a wide range of construction and maintenance projects.
In our experience, there are five key areas in which frameworks help public sector bodies to save money:
Reducing technical and administration costs, eliminating the need for teams of people (including expensive lawyers and consultants) to repeat tender processes and deal with the day-to-day assessments, technical checks, contracts and paperwork.
Making the procurement process more streamlined and simplified, as so much of the process is standardised, repeatable at scale and optimised for maximum efficiency. This can also lead to quicker project completion which, in the case of retrofit and maintenance work in particular, can have a fast financial payback to a registered social landlord.
Improving value for money, through pre-negotiated terms and conditions, often including discounts, volume rebates or added value services to support local communities. Not-for-profit framework providers like LHCPG also ensure any surplus made during the year is reinvested in the local area. Ours is offered back to our members in the form of a rebate that can be spent on local, community projects that deliver genuine social value – a key driver for today’s socially focussed public sector and a recommendation in the new Procurement Act.
Encouraging collaboration between clients and establishing centralised buying, which delivers those economies of scale I was referring to earlier. Also, collaboration between clients and suppliers so that long-term relationships can be built and best practice agreed, troubleshooting any problems quickly and ensuring a successful project for all.
Providing more efficient access to local SME suppliers who will offer clients a careful balance of the best service, the highest quality work to recognised industry standards, and the most competitive price.
Why make procurement difficult? With construction projects, many public sector bodies may lack the technical knowledge or simply the resources to undertake the full-blown procurement process alone, which is why they often turn to framework providers for support. So, in the face of continued economic challenges, I urge every local authority chief executive and housing team to look afresh at how LHCPG’s Gold Standard-verified frameworks can help streamline processes, minimise paperwork, and leverage collective buying power to secure better prices. By doing so, we can achieve substantial cost savings and deliver significant social value to our communities.
By: Matt Croucher, Chief Commercial Officer at electric vehicle (EV) charge point operator (CPO), Believ, discusses how transport planning professionals can play their part in driving forward EV charging infrastructure rollout, and what the next few years will bring.
Matt Croucher
Tell us a bit about your career, and what brought you to EV charging?
For almost two decades, I worked as transport planning consultant specialising in sustainable transport. I was fortunate to be involved in a broad range of projects, from designing bus stations, to setting up car clubs and monitoring air quality for schools.
I became involved in planning EV charging infrastructure in the 2000s, when the renewable energy industry was growing rapidly, but EVs were still in their infancy. Realising we were soon going to be able to power cars and other vehicles with clean renewable energy, with all the benefits that brings, made it clear to me that electrification was going to be key to the future of any clean transport policy.
Reducing our dependency on private vehicles, and helping the general public to drive less, is a crucial part of sustainable transport planning. Wherever possible, I would always advocate the sustainable travel hierarchy, where walking, cycling and public transport are given priority over driving. However, car usage still makes up 60% of all UK trips, and 78%* of distance travelled, and realistically will always hold a significant share of our journeys nationally, even in the most optimistic future scenarios. The electrification of transport is therefore essential to reducing CO2 emissions by moving away from fossil fuels.
But it wasn’t until I managed an EV project on behalf of Transport for London, and later became the Zero Emission lead for WSP, that EV charging became my career priority. One of my core tasks was to help local authorities, transport agencies or landowners in developing their EV strategies, and in particular, to forecast future infrastructure requirements. It was in this last role that I led the development of a forecasting tool to predict the UK’s charge point infrastructure need and became increasingly specialised in this area.
How has your planning experience influenced your EV charging infrastructure career?
It greatly influenced my choice of employer. For me, Believ stood out because it is hardware agnostic, giving it the flexibility to install any speed of charge point; that appealed to the transport planner in me. It meant we could offer a solution based on the individual needs of the landowner, the site and its average driver dwell times. Getting this right is essential to ensuring charging infrastructure serves existing EV drivers and attracts others to make the transition.
I was also attracted to Believ’s industry-leading backing and the unique relationship it has with its delivery partner, Virgin Media O2. This was important to me because with contracts typically lasting up to 20 years, I knew our partners need confidence that their partners can be relied upon in the long term.
I continue to draw on the transport planning fundamentals in my role as Chief Commercial Officer at Believ, including my focus on understanding travel behaviours, modelling demand and planning transport infrastructure investments. Taking a data-led approach to help us install future-proofed infrastructure.
How long have you been at Believ and what have been your highlights?
I joined Believ in 2022 and was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer in 2024. The new role was designed to strengthen the leadership of Believ’s rapidly growing number of people and teams and ensure we are all aligned to the same commercial goals.
Last year was incredibly rewarding as we saw Believ’s personnel head count and socket numbers double in size, and our private sector team break into new markets. Another major highlight was the successful negotiation of the joint deal with the London boroughs of Redbridge and Newham Councils and Uber to fund and install more than 1,000 charge points across East London. Utilisation has been very high, and it is a great example of private and public industries working together to serve a public need and accelerate the EV charging rollout.
What do the next five years look like for the EV charging industry?
After a period of wide-spread delays in the public sector’s EV charging rollouts, LEVI funding has now been allocated and tenders are out, and we will see around 100,000 charge points commissioned this year. Putting this into context, at the end of April 2025 the UK had 79,654 public chargers installed which provided 114,700 sockets**, so the next couple of years should see a steep acceleration in infrastructure deployment.
This year is proving to be a very significant year for the charge point industry, with CPOs under pressure to deliver on what they promise, and the importance of financial backing, delivery capacity and experience coming to the fore. Drivers will see a very tangible increase in charge point infrastructure visibility – which will be incredibly positive in persuading them to make the switch.
If you had two wishes that would help accelerate the rollout of EV charging, what would they be?
Continued funding by Government to support recruiting local authority EV personnel, not only the officers directly responsible for the EV infrastructure itself, but also across procurement and legal departments – where at present you often see delays and back logs of up to 12 months.
Improved data sharing by DNOs (distribution network operators) to better enable planning and site design. Whilst things are improving, large areas of the network still lack good quality digitised mapping. We can’t build infrastructure without a connection to the power grid, and you see instances where a site is chosen, commercials are agreed and then there is a wait of up to two years for a connection.
Lastly, what EV do you drive? And how do you find the public charging experience?
I have a Cupra Born, which I love. I’ve had an EV for six years now and could never imagine going back; for me it provides a superior driving experience in every way.
The charging experience is sadly still mixed. Most of the time things work and are straight forward, but even if it is only one occasion in ten that there is a hiccup, it can still be very inconvenient and frustrating. While there is still a way to go to achieve country-wide convenience, there are lots of passionate and committed professionals working on it, and I have every confidence that in the not-too-distant future, we will have a first-class charging network. You could say, I believ.
Millions more Brits arriving in the Algarve are set to benefit from eGates ahead of the summer holidays. The change was confirmed by the Portuguese authorities.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Minister for EU Relations, told GPSJ:
“This is great news for sun-seeking Brits heading on holiday to the Algarve this summer. And that is on top of the wider deal we secured which is good for jobs, good for bills and good for borders.”
Millions of passengers from the UK travelled through Faro Airport last year.
The roll out in Faro follows close working with airport authorities in recent weeks. And the Government hopes more countries will follow suit, as it continues to push for EU member states to open the use of eGates at airports.
At the UK-EU Summit last month, the UK and EU made clear that there were no legal barriers to even more EU countries allowing British nationals to use e-gates at airports.
The deal with the EU, agreed on 19 May, delivers on the Government’s core mission to grow the economy, back British jobs and put more money in people’s pockets, and is expected to bring £9 billion to the UK economy by 2030.
And alongside providing further legal clarity to members states on UK access to eGates, the deal will slash red tape for business, protect UK steel from EU rules and tariffs and bring greater control to our borders, with increased data sharing to catch dangerous criminals quicker.
We all want travel to be secure, safe, and easy. But as traveler numbers surge to record highs and governments aim to unlock tourism’s full economic power, border agencies face a critical challenge: how do you handle rising demand without compromising security?
This week, European and global leaders in border security, technology, and policy meet in Tallinn, Estonia, to tackle exactly that.
Andy Smith
Europe’s in-tray is full. From large-scale migration to evolving security threats, the continent’s unique geographic and cultural diversity demands solutions that balance security with the need to keep legitimate trade and travel flowing.
Demand is booming, are borders keeping up?
Travel and tourism are the lifeblood of European prosperity. And they’re only growing. Last year, passenger numbers across Europe soared nearly 10%, with capacity up by more than 9%, according to IATA.
In response, European airports are investing billions to expand and modernize. Governments, too, are stepping in to back infrastructure improvements. But shiny new terminals alone won’t deliver the benefits, not unless border systems evolve alongside them.
From static to smart: why border modernization matters
Border security can’t lag behind. It needs to embrace the same tech-driven advancements shaping traveler expectations and responding to today’s fast-moving threats.
Right now, many passengers face long queues and repeated document checks, with IATA reporting over 70% encounter delays. That’s frustrating for travelers and a strain on agency resources, especially when most people pose no risk.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Digitalized, interoperable, and dynamic borders can transform the experience, letting governments adapt policies and procedures in real time, strengthen security, and boost their country’s appeal as a destination for trade, tourism, and investment.
Integration is the key
Effective border management is never just one agency’s job. It brings together immigration, customs, public health, intelligence, and law enforcement. Siloed systems create gaps and inefficiencies; integrated systems, on the other hand, offer a unified, real-time view of travelers and goods, allowing faster, smarter decisions and keeping resources focused where they matter most.
Creating a better border experience
By using secure digital identities and pre-clearing travelers before they even arrive, border agencies can reduce congestion and speed up processing. And because the border experience shapes a visitor’s first and last impression, improving it also strengthens a country’s global image.
Start small, scale big
The path forward doesn’t require sweeping overnight change. In fact, the most successful transformations often start small, with modular, collaborative approaches.
Digital travel credentials (DTCs) are a prime example. Worldwide, demand for faster, contactless processes is skyrocketing, with over 60% of passengers saying they’d pay for a DTC. In Aruba, a DTC pilot cut border processing time to just eight seconds, while improving data accuracy and compliance.
Immediate wins, long-term gains
Governments can make meaningful progress by tackling immediate pain points now while laying the groundwork for broader transformation. It’s about asking: what can we improve today with minimal disruption, and how does that fit into the bigger vision of a fully digital, integrated, and secure border?
Thoughtful, incremental action builds momentum for larger change.
Building the borders of the future
Borders will always be about managing risk. But by rethinking how people, goods, and information move across them, European governments can create systems that are not just more secure, but also more efficient, adaptable, and aligned with the needs of a fast-changing world. Crucially, these systems can balance the demands of security with the economic benefits of growing travel and tourism.
Andy Smith is Director for Industry & Innovation at SITA, the global air transport industry-owned IT-tech organization that works with over 75 governments— including every G20 nation — to modernize airport and border operations.
The International Border Management and Technologies Association (IBMATA), a not-for-profit international NGO committed to the safe and secure movement of people and goods across international borders, holds its Border Management & Technologies Summit Europe 2025 in Tallinn from 4-6 June.
FourNet’s IntellAIgent uses Agentic AI to transform front and back-office customer service operations in seconds, with personalised, complex, context-aware automations
Digital transformation and customer experience specialists, FourNet, today announced the launch of FourNet IntellAIgent, an Agentic AI platform, designed to enable businesses to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and accelerate AI-driven transformation.
FourNet IntellAIgent is an innovative, artificial intelligence-powered, automation platform which allows organisations to create their own intelligent digital employees (AI Agents).
IntellAIgent is a significant leap forward in contact centre technology, able to think and adapt.
Where traditional automation tools such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) fail, IntellAIgent is able to launch and manage complex tasks using multiple platforms and systems such as appointment scheduling, back and forth with customers on different channels, diary entries, responding to real-time scheduling changes, and CRM updates – all without the need for human intervention.
It uses what is known as ‘Agentic AI’ to make autonomous, complex and dynamic decisions and automate any digital workflow, learning as it goes.
Agentic AI combines advanced machine learning, natural language understanding and contextual awareness to create truly autonomous systems that can handle complex business processes with human-like intelligence. In comparison, traditional automation and rules-driven AI follow rigid pathways and struggle with complexity and unpredictable scenarios.
Unlike traditional automation tools which are based on Boolean logic, linear decision trees and rely on human input, FourNet’s AI Agentsolution operates autonomously, adapting to dynamic business needs, handling complex, unstructured data and personalises every customer facing interaction with context-aware, natural conversations.
Richard Pennington, CEO at FourNet said: “FourNetIntellAIgent marks the next evolution in contact centre technology. Our AI-powered agent can do in seconds what it would take a human agent to do in hours or days, and which Gen AI couldn’t handle.
“As many businesses face tighter budgets with fewer employees, IntellAIgent will help organisations across every sector to do more with less, while coping with rising customer expectations.”
Key features of FourNet IntellAIgent include:
Intelligent Decision Making: IntellAIgent is a tireless, intelligent team member that handles repetitive tasks, makes smart decisions, and learns over time.
Multi-Channel Integration: IntellAIgent seamlessly manages customer interactions across various channels, including voice, email, and messaging platforms.
Real-Time Analytics Integration: IntellAIgent makes data-driven decisions as customer interactions unfold.
300+ pre-built integrations– from CRMs like Salesforce, SAP, and Zendesk to communication platforms such as Twilio, Amazon Connect, and Genesys Cloud, IntellAIgent seamlessly connects to the tools businesses already use. It also integrates with the latest Large Language Models from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic, ensuring cutting-edge AI capabilities.
James Brooks, Practice Lead for AI and Automation at FourNet, added: “Anyone who has witnessed the technology working at such incredible speed through so many tasks cannot fail to be spectacularly impressed. Forget chatbots, forget RPA which require decision trees and human input, IntellAIgent is way more clever, adaptive and efficient – it’s like automation on acid!”
“By deploying an AI-powered agent that can think, act and learn, we are now enabling organisations big and small to deliver superior customer experience in the blink of an eye, while significantly improving their operational efficiency.”
FourNet has today also launched the IntellAIgent Challenge to discover the most complex task IntellAIgent can handle. To find out more, and learn about FourNet IntellAIgent, please visit www.fournet.co.uk
Focusing on delivering great user experiences and driving operational evolution
Appointing Anna Jackson as its new Chief Operating Officer, training and compliance expert, TTC Group, has reconfirmed its focus on delivering the best possible experiences to employees, customers and prospective customers. With a proven track record of driving operational excellence, Anna is perfectly placed to develop group functions to best support the business as it continues to grow its people risk management solutions in the Fleet, Construction and Healthcare sectors.
Anna Jackson
With more than 20 years of extensive leadership experience, Anna has led successful transformations across global operations of varying sizes and complexities. In her new COO role, Anna will work closely with the Managing Directors of each of the TTC Group businesses to drive revenue growth, integrate new acquisitions into the group and develop group functions to support the business plan. She will also drive the adoption of best practices and technology to optimise operations and enhance performance, developing and maintaining TTC Group’s culture as the company evolves across existing and new markets.
Expressing her enthusiasm for joining TTC Group, Anna Jackson commented: “The opportunity to be part of a successful and diversifying business, backed by private equity investment and a clear growth strategy, is incredibly exciting. I am particularly drawn to the chance to drive operational evolution and change programs while fostering a culture of high performance within TTC Group. My experience across various sectors, coupled with my understanding of both large corporate, SME and Private Equity environments, aligns perfectly with the challenges and opportunities at the expanding TTC Group. I am delighted to join the TTC family and play a part in the company’s continued success.”
Dave Marsh, CEO of TTC Group added, “We are thrilled to welcome Anna to TTC Group. Her deep expertise in operational leadership and her genuine passion for creating and building ambitious teams and workplace cultures will be invaluable as we continue to expand and diversify our business. We look forward to seeing how Anna transforms TTC operations to deliver market-leading employee and customer experiences and business growth.”
By Euan Durston, Regional Director and Passivhaus Designer at ECD Architects
Euan Durston
The UK government’s commitment to improving energy efficiency in social housing has taken a significant step forward with the recent announcement of substantial financial support through the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC). This initiative, which provides £150 million in debt facilities for retrofitting, with plans to expand to £250 million in the coming months, represents a watershed moment for local authorities and housing associations striving to meet sustainability targets, while addressing fuel poverty among residents.
As specialists in low environmental impact architecture and retrofit design, our team has identified three crucial pillars that underpin successful social housing retrofits: People, Performance, and Passivhaus principles. Understanding how these elements interconnect can help public sector organisations maximise the potential of these new funding opportunities.
Putting Residents at the Centre of Retrofit Strategies
Retrofitting occupied homes presents unique challenges, requiring thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation. Unlike new builds, these projects must balance technical requirements with the daily needs of residents who cannot be easily relocated during works.
Our recent collaboration with Cambridge City Council to deliver a Net Zero Retrofit for 50 homes, demonstrates the effectiveness of resident-centred approaches. Working with poorly insulated 1930s housing stock, we developed strategies that minimised disruption, while implementing energy performance improvements. Keeping residents informed and involved throughout the process proved essential to project success.
When undertaking deep retrofits in occupied homes, the focus must shift to external interventions wherever possible. For example, insulating at roof rafter level, rather than loft level, and applying external floor insulation rather than removing internal kitchen floors, allows residents to maintain their living spaces with minimal disruption.
Regular consultation between residents, council representatives, and our technical team ensured clear communication about work schedules and expected outcomes. This transparency helped residents understand how improvements would directly benefit them through increased comfort and reduced energy bills.
Evidence-Based Performance Assessment
The new government-backed loans require evidence of how retrofit measures will improve energy efficiency and reduce heating emissions. This makes comprehensive pre-retrofit performance assessment invaluable.
In our Cambridge project, we conducted thorough baseline assessments, including energy bill analysis, EPC certification, and air-tightness testing. Specialist monitoring determined heat loss rates and analysed temperature and humidity profiles to identify condensation and mould risks. This detailed understanding of building performance informed our selection of appropriate technologies and materials.
Post-completion monitoring is equally important, creating a complete picture of performance improvements that can be used for reporting outcomes to providers of funds. This evidence-based approach also identifies components of existing houses that remain serviceable, supporting circular economy principles and reducing project costs.
Understanding the starting point is critical for designing effective interventions. Data-backed designs not only deliver better outcomes, but also strengthen funding applications by demonstrating clear pathways to improvement.
Leveraging Passivhaus Standards for Quality Assurance
The Passivhaus Standard and its retrofit counterpart, EnerPhit, provide internationally recognised frameworks for delivering high-performance, comfortable, and energy-efficient buildings. These standards are increasingly adopted in the public sector because they address multiple challenges simultaneously: improving comfort, reducing energy consumption, minimising carbon emissions, and eliminating common building problems like condensation and mould.
As certified Passivhaus designers, we utilise the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) to model energy performance at each project stage. This iterative process informed our Cambridge retrofit specifications, including external wall insulation, triple-glazed windows, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and air-source heat pumps.
The independent certification process inherent in Passivhaus standards helps close the performance gap between design intentions and built reality. This delivers housing that performs as predicted – a crucial factor when applying for government-backed retrofit loans that require demonstrated improvements.
In essence, the rigour of Passivhaus principles ensures that investments in retrofit deliver genuine, long-term benefits. The focus on building physics and quality assurance throughout construction means these homes will maintain their performance for decades.
Meeting Government Targets Through Strategic Retrofits
With the government targeting Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings of Band C as a minimum for social housing, strategic retrofit programmes are becoming essential for local authorities and housing associations, and the new loan facilities from the NWF provide competitive, unsecured lending that can finance comprehensive improvements, including:
Low carbon heating systems
Enhanced insulation packages
Mechanical ventilation systems
Renewable energy installations
Smart heating controls
These interventions, when approached through our three-pillar framework, deliver homes that are more comfortable, healthier, and significantly less expensive to heat – directly addressing fuel poverty concerns, while meeting carbon reduction targets.
Looking Forward
The expansion of government-backed retrofit funding to potentially £1 billion represents a significant opportunity for the public sector. By focusing on people-centred approaches, evidence-based performance assessment, and trusted standards like Passivhaus, local authorities can make the most of these financial resources.
Our experience with Cambridge City Council demonstrates that even challenging 1930s housing stock can be transformed with the right approach. As the government continues to support social housing improvements, we remain committed to helping public sector clients navigate the technical and practical challenges of large-scale retrofit programmes.
Public sector organisations interested in exploring retrofit options that align with new funding opportunities are encouraged to consider how these three pillars might shape their approach to housing improvement programmes.
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