A spokesperson for East Lothian Council confirmed that its teams acted swiftly to enact business continuity plans during Microsoft's worldwide system failure. Communications were established with essential partners, including the police and health services, to ensure the continuation of critical operations. Schools also promptly informed families about arrangements for communication.
Microsoft has cautioned that significant delays in sending and receiving emails may persist as their systems are restored to full functionality. The council's teams will respond to all received emails as promptly as possible. For urgent matters, individuals are advised to follow up directly with the relevant service to confirm receipt of their email.
In a separate measure, the council has extended the application window for garden waste permits by 24 hours. This decision was made to compensate for the outage, which affected the ability of call operators to process payments. Permit applications can now be submitted until 4pm on Tuesday 17 November.
