Government to back new public services cyber security plan with £210m in funding

The ‘Government Cyber Action Plan’ published this week centres on the creation of a new 'Government Cyber Unit' and is backed by £210m.

The Government says the plan will lead to "clearer visibility of risks" across government, stronger central Government action on severe and complex risks that no single organisation can solve alone, and faster response to threats and incidents.

It will also establish a "higher resilience across government" by boosting resilience at scale, with targeted measures to close major gaps and protect critical services, the Government claims.

The scheme and funding will seek to support the Government's efforts to digitise public services.

Digital Government Minister Ian Murray said the plan "sets a new bar to bolster the defences of our public sector, putting cyber-criminals on warning that we are going further and faster to protect the UK’s businesses and public services alike".

The Government also announced the launch of a new 'Software Security Ambassador Scheme' which the Government says will help drive adoption of the Software Security Code of Practice, a voluntary project designed to reduce software supply chain attacks and disruption.

The news comes as three London councils - Westminster City Council, Hammersmith Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - were hit with cyber attacks in November 2025.

In an update on the attacks in December 2025, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said attack was carried out "with criminal intent, with data copied and taken away".

Adam Carey