A worldwide Microsoft outage has left public bodies across Scotland unable to receive emails or process online forms, with Police Scotland, NHS Grampian and multiple local authorities among those affected.
The disruption began on Thursday evening and continued into Friday, affecting access to Outlook emails, Teams and the AI assistant Copilot. Microsoft said it was working with “urgency” to resolve the problem.
Stabilisation signs but capacity still low
On its Microsoft 365 status page, the company said: “We are seeing early signs of stabilisation, but service capacity has not yet returned to normal levels and health remains variable as traffic is carefully reintroduced.”
Police Scotland confirmed problems with its email systems and online forms. In a post on X, the force said: “Due to the global Microsoft outage, our online forms are affected, including ContactUs. We are unable to receive any emails, and there may be a delay in responding to any forms sent to us in the last 24 hours as this outage continues.”
NHS and councils affected
An NHS Grampian spokesperson said: “NHS Grampian is affected by the Outlook outage this morning which means that staff and services are currently unable to access e-mails. Telephone lines and all other systems are working as normal.”
Several Scottish local authorities reported the same difficulties. A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council wrote: “Due to a worldwide Microsoft outage, we are unable to send or receive emails at this time, and some of our online forms are not available. If you need to get in touch with us, please contact us by telephone.”
Councils advise telephone contact
East Lothian Council said: “Due to a worldwide Microsoft outage, we are not able to send and receive emails at present. If you need to contact the council, please contact us by telephone. Our main number is 01620 827827. Any parents/carers should telephone their child’s school if needing to get in touch.”
The Scottish Borders Council stated: “Due to a global issue affecting Microsoft we are experiencing issues with various systems, including our emails and some contact forms. If you need to reach us urgently please call 0300 100 1800. If you need to contact a school urgently, please call rather than email.”
The Scottish Government was approached for comment.
