Cyberattack on Council services

Pupils in Hackney are set to learn about Black British history, thanks to a groundbreaking new curriculum, developed by Hackney teachers and council staff. ‘Hackney's Diverse Curriculum - the Black Contribution’ is a new, nine-week lesson plan spanning from Early Years to KS3 and 4 students, and will further the teaching of Black history in Hackney and the UK.  Fittingly announced during Hackney’s Black History Season, the curriculum will enrich the work already being done to teach young people Black British History. The work will also complement the Council’s commitment to being an anti-racist borough as outlined in Hackney’s Black Lives Matter Motion revealed in June 2020.  Hackney's Diverse Curriculum - the Black Contribution will feature a series of modules which catalogue the contributions of Black people across the ages. Modules can be adapted for the needs of students and used by educators at any time. Modules include; When I Grow Up (for Early Years), The Windrush Generation, Activism, Untold Stories, Stories of our Lives, British Identity, Diversity in Science, Windrush; an exploration of British History, and Windrush Past and Present.  Within the Windrush units, students will learn about the announcement of Hackney’s two new public artworks to be revealed in 2021/22. Created by renowned artists Thomas J Price and Veronica Ryan, they will honour Hackney’s Windrush Generation and help young people learn about the power of storytelling through artistic expression.  Artefacts from Hackney’s Museum and Archive will also help bring stories of migration and the origins of Black culture to life.  Notes for editors To find out more visit hackneyservicesforschools.co.ukFor more information please email school.improvement@hackney.gov.ukHackney's Diverse Curriculum - the Black Contribution will be sent via email to all Hackney Schools and will be available upon request by schools outside of the borough. Funded by Hackney Council. The lesson plans are designed for Early years through to KS3 and 4 students. More information on Hackney’s Black Lives Matter Motion More information on Hackney Council’s Black History Season More about the Windrush Artwork 

Hackney Council services are currently significantly disrupted due to a serious cyberattack, and you may experience difficulty contacting us or using our services.  Key essential services, including our coronavirus response, continue to operate, but some of our services may be unavailable or disrupted for some time.  Council staff are working hard to restore services, protect data and investigate the attack with the National Cyber Security Centre, National Crime Agency and external experts.  Residents and businesses are asked to avoid contacting us unless absolutely necessary – but our phone lines remain open for essential help and advice and emergency support. Below is a list of key services that are currently affected. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, and some other services may be disrupted and slower than normal. This list will be updated regularly. Payments We are currently unable to accept some payments including: rents and service charges, council tax and business rates. Direct Debit payments are not affected. If all payment options are unavailable and you are unable to make a payment as a result of this, you will not be penalised. Payments to some adult social care service users may not be paid. The Council is currently unable to make some payments including: Discretionary Housing Payments, certain supplier payments, housing benefit. If you have not received a payment you were expecting and you need support and advice, please contact us.  Housing Non-emergency repairs may take longer than usual – if you have an existing appointment, please contact us to confirm or rearrange it. Emergency and urgent repairs should be reported by calling 020 8356 3691. Applications and licenses We are currently unable to accept new applications to join the housing waiting list, for housing benefit or for the council tax reduction scheme. Emergency homelessness support and advice is available.  We are unable to process licence applications.  Most planning services are unavailable, including planning applications and land searches. Applications for visitor parking vouchers are unavailable. Reporting and ordering Residents are currently unable to report noise complaints. Please note that there may be a delay in responding to other reports and orders across the Council. Data protection Hackney's Data Protection Officer is Nicholas Welburn, who can be reached on nicholas.dataprotection@hackney.gov.uk

Residents can view localised coronavirus data for the borough online and view the local coronavirus control plan. See a list of the new 'high' tier level restrictions here.  If you have coronavirus symptoms, even mild ones, please isolate yourself from other people for 10 days and get a test. If you are asked to self isolate, regardless of symptoms, you must do so to keep from possibly passing it onto others. You can book a test online by downloading the NHS COVID-19 app, or calling 119. Coronavirus symptoms are:A high temperatureA new, continuous coughA loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

Council staff continue to work with the National Cyber Security Centre, National Crime Agency, external experts and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to investigate and understand the impact of the cyberattack on our servers. Our investigation remains at an early stage, and there is limited further information available at this point. We have reported this incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office. We understand that residents will be anxious about the risk to their data, and we are working closely with the ICO, police agencies and other experts. We are committed to sharing further information about this as soon as we can, including what, if any, actions residents may need to take.  We know that residents may be concerned and will have questions. We are learning more about the attack but are choosing not to share any more information at this stage in order to make sure we do not inadvertently assist the attackers. We want to share as much information with residents as possible, and as soon as we are able to safely do so we will. The attack is continuing to have a significant impact on council services and we ask residents to not contact us unless absolutely necessary.