The Public Catalyst: Issue 4

Catalyst July 2026

The Public

Nationwide Utility Support Across Central and Local Government.

Can Vertical Farming Keep Our Food Economy Above Board?

Also inside this issue: Planning for UK Cyber Security Resilience: Analogue 72 Green Paper.

Finding The Way Forward From Care

Issue #4

Contents Page 2 Introduction from Craig White, Commercial Director of IESE.

Page 3 Innovation & Transformation Transforming Homelessness Locally.

Pages 4-5 Safe & Resilient Services Nationwide Utility Support Across Central and Local Government.

Pages 6-7 People & Communities Finding The Way Forward From Care.

Pages 8-9 Global & Strategic Outlook Can Vertical Farming Keep Our Food Economy Above Board?

Page 10 IESE Spotlight Series Azerbaijan’s CEIS Revolutionises Social Welfare Case Management.

Page 1 1 Cyber Resilience Planning for UK Cyber Security Resilience: Analogue 72 Green Paper.

Page 12 CCoE Passive Scan Report 2026 Find out how to download the FREE Passive Scan Report for your council.

Editorial Contacts The Public Catalyst is produced

by IESE: www.iese.org.uk enquiries@iese.org.uk @ IESE CIC

Editorial by Nicola Quinn Artwork by SMK Design (Aldershot)

Introduction

The Public Catalyst: Social Care Remains Front of Mind As Commercial Director of IESE, the pressures facing social care remain front of mind. In this issue of The Public Catalyst, we explore these challenges through two key lenses: supporting individuals beyond care, and understanding the factors that shape long-term outcomes across the system.

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his edition of our magazine highlights the realities facing care leavers and the importance of accessible support, while also exploring how innovation, from digital services to targeted financial support, can improve life chances and deliver meaningful impact. As shown in Finding the Way Forward from Care, timely intervention and better access to information can significantly improve stability, independence and outcomes for young people leaving care.

Alongside this, we explore how connected systems and better use of data can transform services at scale. Our Spotlight feature on international best practice demonstrates how integrated, data-driven approaches can dramatically improve access, reduce delays, and build trust in public services.

Across the wider issue, a consistent theme emerges: social care does not sit in isolation.

Challenges in housing, employment, energy affordability and food security all shape demand and outcomes. From rising homelessness and its links to poverty and health, to the ongoing cost-of-living and energy pressures facing households, and even the future resilience of our food systems, everything connects.

This interconnectedness is at the heart of this issue. When we recognise the relationship between these pressures, we open the door to more effective, sustainable solutions.

Whether it is building fairer care markets, creating more resilient communities, or investing in innovation, the opportunity lies in taking a whole-system view.

At IESE, our focus is on supporting councils and partners to respond to these challenges in a way that is joined-up, practical and impactful, helping to build a fair, sustainable and high-quality system of support for residents.

As demand continues to rise and pressures intensify across the system, the need for innovation, collaboration and leadership has never been greater. We hope this issue provides both insight and inspiration, and helps to shape a future where public services work better for everyone.

Craig White, Commercial Director, IESE www.linkedin.com/in/ craigpwhite/

Views expressed within are those of the IESE editorial team. The Public Catalyst is distributed to companies and individuals with an interest in reviewing, remodelling and reinventing public services. © Copyright IESE 2026

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The Public Catalyst | July 2026 | Issue #4

Innovation & Transformation

Transforming Homelessness Locally The housing crisis in the UK is reaching worrisome levels, with a recent statement from the UK homelessness charity Shelter stating that over 382,000 people in England alone were homeless in December 2025.

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his figure, snapshot of Christmas 2025, included 175,025 children without a home. This represented an 8% increase on the year prior, with an estimated increase of 28,602 people, demonstrating that 1 in every 153 people experiencing homelessness.

Centrepoint, one of the UK’s leading youth homelessness charities produced a research paper that stated that in the UK it is estimated that around 70% of the annual economic cost of youth homelessness comes from economic inactivity.

A Background to UK Homelessness

How The UK Housing Crisis Contributes to Homelessness

A government report that was produced in December 2025 found that homelessness in the UK is costing taxpayers, with spending on temporary accommodation reaching almost £2.8 billion in 2025 - almost 5 times higher than in 2010. The report looked at how various structural, individual, and interpersonal factors can contribute to homelessness or increase the risk.

There is a substantial lack of housing supply in England, which is widely acknowledged as a primary driver of homelessness, and commentary on how the issue expands beyond the quantity of homes built and extends into an affordability crisis. Many young people who cannot obtain social housing end up in private rentals, which are more expensive. This is also matched by entry-level salaries, unable to match the high cost of private renting.

Poverty, a primary driver of homelessness, is a prime example of how personal and structural factors can increase risk and how these distinct areas of causality can feed into one another.

Some of the structural drivers include:

• Undersupply of social rented housing.

• Restrictions to benefit entitlement.

• Rising living costs.

Reported personal and interpersonal factors include: Mental health challenges (including substance dependency).

Relationship breakdown.

Income levels.

• • •

The Economic Impact Homelessness comes at a stark economic cost. It can drive up significant strain on public services, inflating budgets across healthcare, criminal justice, and social services/temporary accommodation.

• Many homeless individuals will lack a • •

permanent address, frequently leading to chronic condition mismanagement and an overuse of emergency services.

Higher rates of contact with legal and police systems are often driven up, taking up a considerable proportion of law enforcement expenses.

Temporary beds can cost service providers double what is required to subsidise permanent housing options.

Homelessness without a doubt influences employment, as maintaining or even securing employment without a residential address or regular access to sanitation services is next to impossible. Thus, this acts as a barrier for individuals to join the workforce.

The freezing of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) further reduces the housing options for those on benefits. LHA rates set the maximum amount of help that individuals receiving benefits can claim towards housing costs in the private rental sector. Research has indicated that freezing these rates increases the risk of homelessness by breaking the link between housing benefit support and changes in local private rental prices.

What Are the UK Housing Requirements?

A 2024 paper published by Heriot-Watt University examined how many homes the UK would need to build to meet population needs by 2030. It suggests that 350,000 new homes will be needed each year from 2030, including 90,000 for social rent. The government has since committed £39 billion of investment to support further housing development.

Navigating The Private Rental Sector There has been a call for more social housing to be built after a 2024 value-for-money report from the National Audit Office. This report highlighted that there is a notable increase in the number of households that became homeless between 2018/2019 and 2022/23 due to a private sector tenancy ending.

The new legislation around private rental markets that increase renter rights seeks to mitigate some of the factors that can lead to homelessness within the private rental market; however, there is more that the government seeks to address.

Issue #4 | July 2026 | The Public Catalyst

East Ayrshire Council’s Trauma-Informed Housing East Ayrshire Council has demonstrated how local authorities can take targeted action to reduce homelessness in their communities.

Since 2022, East Ayrshire Council has implemented a trauma-informed approach within its housing options teams. This has included dedicated resources to help staff understand and respond to the impact of trauma, alongside NES-accredited training for the whole team.

This shift has changed how the team understands homelessness, highlighting the links between trauma, homelessness, addiction and contact with the prison system.

The council’s commitment to this approach is reflected in a significant reduction in repeat homelessness across the area.

Gravesham Employment Pathway Meanwhile, Gravesham Borough Council have been working on a rough sleeping initiative that functions as a beacon of hope and transformation for the local authority.

Gravesham purchased a large property close to the town centre, offering 10 en-suite bedrooms and 4 emergency overnight crash-pads. The council works with Mind, HM Prisons, and a range of other charities for a multidisciplinary approach to tackling homelessness.

The council offers work opportunities and tailored support and resources to help people who have experienced rough sleeping overcome barriers and start building meaningful careers.

The cases in East Ayrshire and Gravesham show the impact of local authority initiatives on localised homelessness crises. If you and your local authority would like to share the work that you are doing to combat homelessness in your community, please get in touch.

Reference Links https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-planto-end-homelessness/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness https://centrepoint.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/Cost of Youth Homelessness Research Report - Full report 2023.pdf https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/113960635/ Bramley_G._HOUSING_REQUIREMENTS_IN_ENGLAND_ REVISITED.pdf https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ effectiveness-of-government-in-tackling-homelessness.pdf

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Safe & Resilient Services

Nationwide Utility Support Across Central and Local Government The cost-of-living crisis has placed sustained pressure on households across the UK since late 2021, with rising energy prices affecting families, businesses and communities. At the same time, local authorities have been operating within increasingly tight budgets for more than a decade, limiting their ability to respond to growing need. Together, these pressures have created a challenging environment for councils working to support residents through the affordability crisis.

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espite these challenges, local authorities are finding new ways to reduce costs and build resilience in their communities.

Across the UK, councils are investing in green technology and energy efficiency initiatives to reduce reliance on expensive fossil fuels, lower running costs and support residents most affected by rising bills.

The Ongoing Energy Crisis The UK has faced an energy affordability crisis since late 2021 when gas and electricity prices soared, which was fuelled by the reopening of economies following COVID-19. It was reported by the House of Commons in 2025, that 4.5 million households in the UK were experiencing fuel poverty by October 2021. By October 2022, this increased to 6.7 million households, with the average household energy bill being £2,500.

The impact of this ongoing energy crisis has had a detrimental impact on households and businesses across the country, with energy debt

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at a record high and many industries close to breaking point. The UK uses a marginal pricing system, where the wholesale price of electricity is set by the most expensive source needed to meet demand at any given time. This is often gas-fired power, meaning electricity prices remain closely tied to the cost of gas. In 2023,this meant electricity prices were set by the cost of gas for 98% of the time, despite a growing share of power being generated from lower-cost renewable sources.

This creates a costing issue. Although record amounts of the UK’s electricity are now generated from renewable sources, which are typically cheaper to produce because they do not rely on burning fuel, consumers do not always see the full benefit. Instead, electricity prices are often still shaped by the higher cost of gas generation, keeping bills elevated even as cleaner, lower-cost power becomes more prominent.

By early 2025, domestic energy consumer debt was at the highest since records began, with UK prices ranking the highest in Europe. These soaring prices saw many businesses scaling back their production or having to close important facilities, which in turn has had a further detrimental impact on the UK’s economic growth. As of late 2025, the domestic energy prices in the UK were estimated to be 75% higher than they were prior to the pandemic, with the price cap level being at £1,720 for energy per household per year.

The Current Cost of Power As of late 2025, the typical consumer could expect to pay £1,720 per year for gas and electricity. This is lower than the peak of the energy crisis that saw the average household pay up to £2,500 per year from October 2022 to June 2023. Yet, it is higher than the £993 an average household could have expected to pay in winter 2020-2021, which is a ›

The Public Catalyst | July 2026 | Issue #4

Safe & Resilient Services UK Government Action

Average price (pence per kWh)

34 32 30

Global energy crisis

28 26 24

Price cap adjustments

COVID-19 impact

22 20 18 2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Year

UK Domestic Electricity Prices (2019-2024).

massive 73% increase in just 5 years. This highlights the outstanding rate at which households and businesses have had to change the way they budget and manage energy, contributing to the cost-of-living crisis.

Due to the drastic increase in energy costs since 2020 and the subsequent impact on the economy, there have been several support schemes implemented for the general public. Alongside this, inquiries and reviews have been launched to understand the causes of these price increases and identify longer-term solutions to improve energy affordability and resilience.

Government Support Schemes The UK Government currently runs three primary support schemes that assist eligible households with energy costs in winter.

These include:

• The Winter Fuel Payment.

• The Cold Weather Payment.

• The Warm Home Discount.

The schemes above provide payments to vulnerable individuals, including:

• Those who are of state pension age.

• Low-income households.

• Those who receive certain benefits.

There is still a great deal of mismatch between the support provided and the increase in energy costs - for example the Warm Home Discount has increased by £10 since 2011, yet household energy bills have increased by more than £500. This highlights how the value of the rebate is insufficient to support vulnerable people in winter.

In the 2025 energy crisis report, it was recommended to broaden the scope for someone to qualify for the Warm Home Discount to support all those who fit vulnerable persons criteria such as disabled individuals and those who have long-term health conditions, as well as all households in fuel poverty. It was also suggested that the Warm Home Discount should be retargeted using a tiered approach so that funding is allocated based on need and use.

There is considerable risk to individuals who are struggling to pay their energy bills, with consumer debt being at its highest since records began in 2012. A UK Parliament report highlighted that in 2021 there was just over £1.5 billion of domestic consumer arrears and debt across gas and electricity, compared to the £4.15 billion in Q1 2025.

In April 2026, the government published a proposal aimed at reducing the influence of gas prices on electricity costs. The plans seek to address the way gas continues to shape wholesale electricity prices, with the aim of better protecting households and businesses from future energy price shocks.

New plans include the introduction of longterm fixed-price contracts for renewables and immediate action to tax excess profits via the Electricity Generator Levy. This will be achieved by raising the rate from 45% to 55% and extending the duration. This should ensure that a substantial portion of the extraordinary revenue that is generated when gas prices increase is available to the UK government to support households and businesses with the cost-of-living crisis.

London Borough of Barnet’s Home Energy Fix While the UK government works on implementing strategies to ease pressures on the vulnerable, local authorities are also striving provide their communities with relief from cost pressures. In the London Borough of Barnet, the authority has implemented a Free Home Energy Fix as a data-led initiative that provides support for the borough’s most vulnerable residents. The initiative empowers vulnerable residents to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions in their homes.

Delivered in partnership with Groundwork London’s Green Doctor service, it provides practical advice and in-home improvements to help households lower their energy use, cut bills and live more comfortably.

Over the course of 7 weeks, 548 referrals were made by the council, generating savings of more than £125 per property and reducing emissions by 14.4 tonnes.

This programme falls under the council’s plan BarNET ZERO, which outlines the authority’s commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2042. The initiative focused support on residents most likely to be affected by fuel poverty, ensuring help reached those with the greatest need. Priority groups included:

• Those over 60 years of age.

• Adults who are considered vulnerable • •

and those with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

Families with children under 10 years of age and pregnant women.

Households with an income below £21,000.

Green Doctor visits provide practical, in-home support for vulnerable residents.

During each visit, the service identifies areas of energy waste and installs simple improvements, such as LED bulbs and draught-proofing, to help reduce household bills. The initiative also delivers immediate carbon savings, while supporting residents most exposed to the impact of rising energy costs.

Despite the Green Doctor service being available to access for free across North London, the uptake in Barnet was exceptionally low with only 61 households benefiting in 2024 and a minimal 153 since 2022. Barnet decided to roll out a bespoke, borough-wide intervention to transform the underused service into a programme that delivered impact in tackling fuel poverty, climate change, and health. Positive outcomes were seen by late 2025, including:

• 548 Green Doctor referrals, an 800% increase.

• 6,943 webpage visits, from a target of 2,000.

• 1,129 BarNET ZERO subscribers.

Launched in January 2025, the council used behavioural insights and property data to identify individuals most at risk and provide them with free, in-home energy efficiency improvements. This came into force as Barnet was at the precipice of a dual crisis that placed thousands of their residents at risk, including:

The programme cost £42 per household, with a total campaign spend of £23,000.

In return, it delivered estimated household energy savings of £100 to £125 per property, demonstrating a strong return on investment for a relatively low-cost intervention. Overall, this resulted in a total community saving of between £54,800 and £68,500 alongside a substantial carbon emissions decrease of 14,432 kg CO₂e.

in fuel poverty, which accounted for an estimated 40% of the emissions in the borough.

A 10% increase in the energy price cap and the removal of the winter fuel payments for those over the age of 60.

Reference Links https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/ research-briefings/cbp-8730/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/ research-briefings/cbp-9714/ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ cm5901/cmselect/cmesnz/736/report.html

• 15,000 (est) households that were living •

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People & Communities

Finding The Way Forward From Care

Care leavers in the UK face many challenges, with the cost-of-living showing no signs of easing. Meanwhile, the job market for younger people is experiencing significant strain, with nearly 1 million young people classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) by the end of 2025. For those leaving young persons’ care, this is an exceptional challenge to overcome.

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fter the Department for Education (DfE) published a report for the 2023/2024 year, noting that care leavers generally experience worse outcomes than their peers across a variety of areas, this was identified as a longstanding problem that brings high public cost.

Following the 2021 independent government review of children’s social care, an implementation strategy and consultation on children’s social care reform was produced. This followed staggering data around the risks to fulfilment which care leavers often experience. This included statistics that showed at the time of the report: who have been in care comprised 25% of the homeless • Children population.

• Children who have been in care comprised 24% of the prison population. of care leavers were not in education, employment or training, in • 39% comparison to 13% of all 19–21-year-olds.

13% of care leavers progressed to higher education by age 19, • Only compared to 43% of other young people.

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›

Percentage of children who are care leavers

50% 40%

39%

30% 20%

25%

24%

10%

13%

0 Care leavers who end up homeless

Care leavers who end up in prison

Care leavers who are not in education, training or employment

Care leavers who progress to higher education by age 19

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People & Communities Care Leavers Support Since 2014, local authorities have been required to provide financial support to enable young people who are in foster care to remain living with their foster family until the age of 21.

Furthermore, local authorities are also required to appoint a personal adviser (PA) to young people leaving care to help them plan for their futures. This support is available for all those who are leaving care up until the age of 25.

Hippo Digital & DfE: Care Leaver Digital Support Service Innovation in the sector is key to helping care leavers to access essential support and services, and alongside the UK Government’s support schemes and financial assistance, those who are eligible for this support must know how to access it. Hippo Digital and the Department for Education worked together to innovate a service that enables 88,000 vulnerable care leavers per year, aged 16 to 24, to have better access to digital information regarding their available support. This was a project that came from recognition that the poor outcomes faced by this demographic could be mitigated through better access to essential information.

When it comes to additional financial support, care leavers who wish to pursue university studies are eligible to apply for a bursary of up to £2,000. There are specific requirements regarding eligibility for financial support, enabling care leavers to access training, employment, and educational opportunities.

This forms part of the leaving care grant of £2,000, designed to help young people furnish their first home and support their transition to independent living.

In early March 2022, the BBC publicly reported on the findings of King’s College London research on the impact of this financial support for young people. This research concluded that care leavers who were provided with a £2,000 support payment upon leaving care had a reduced likelihood of spending time in hospital or prison and reduced the risk of homelessness.

The project was created to help ensure information is accessible to all care leavers, as statistics showed care leavers face poor societal outcomes, with a third becoming homeless within just two years of leaving care, and a quarter of the prison population having been in care at some point in their lives.

This research was funded by the UK government in 2023, and all participants were required to fill out a survey before 100 were randomly identified to receive this grant.

A follow-up comparison between those who received the grant and those who did not revealed a clear impact and positive effect of this support.

The accessibility issues they found were compounded by the fact that a quarter of care leavers do not have English as their first language, often having arrived in the UK as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, thus adding further challenges to these individuals who need help when leaving care.

Homelessness

Energy

Shortly after going live, the project bore fruit and had a substantial increase in traffic; the previous site generated an average of 1,000 views per month, the new site gets more than 10,000 views per month, showing that the site is reaching more people.

Furthermore, work was conducted with the Ministry of Justice to get the Care Leavers site added onto the whitelists in incarcerated settings, to ensure that those who are in Young Offenders Institutions have access to support information before they leave these settings and help to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

Poverty

Mental Care

Identifiable points of impact included that those who received the financial assistance had a higher likelihood of being in stable accommodation and less likely to be sofa surfing. They were also less likely to have criminal convictions, were less likely to have overnight hospital stays, and were more likely to visit GPs or drop-in clinics.

Hippo Digital and DfE, in collaboration, concluded that the solution would be a new website, a concept specifically crafted to be accessible for individuals with a low reading age. The newly designed website functions as a definitive and easily accessible source of support-relevant information for care leavers in the UK. Consolidating essential support information, eligibility checker flows and a comprehensive list of available helplines for a myriad of critical services ranging from mental health support services to domestic abuse services. This innovative idea provides care leavers with the knowledge they need to understand their legal rights.

Food Banks

Social Care Health

The results of the study also highlighted that those who received this support spent 12% less on dangerous substances than previously.

The findings of this study were very encouraging and showcased the importance of continued support for care leavers and how a one-off support payment can provide a ladder to independence.

These efforts to increase the quality of life and independence in care leavers are specific to those aged between 16 and 25. This is only available for those who are currently or who have been in care, or who have been looked after by an English local authority.

The site is also embedded with groundbreaking multilingual support using Microsoft AI Translate to instantly translate the site content into an impressive 120 languages. This is a feature that ensures that the quarter of care leavers who do not have English as a first language are still able to obtain and understand the vital information they need. The translation service includes contextual meaning, providing high-quality information, whereas beforehand there was little to none.

Budget Crisis

Cost of Living Housing Crisis Hippo Digital and DfE believed awareness of the support available was the barrier that needed to be eliminated. After investigating if this was the case, they found the information surrounding support was not easy to access, particularly for those who do not have English as a first language or who may require printed copies, and there was inadequate signposting to support charities and government systems.

Issue #4 | July 2026 | The Public Catalyst

Considering the work by Hippo Digital and DfE, coupled with the research conducted by Kings College London, we can see that a primary barrier to success for those leaving care has been access to necessary information about the support available to them. In addition, the support available for care leavers, when fully utilised, can have a massive impact on the opportunities these individuals have, and the quality of life they can lead.

The work of these organisations show that innovation and investment in support services is a critical step forward to success after social care.

If your organisation is investing in innovations to help improve life after social care in the UK, tell us about your creative approach at iese.org.uk.

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Global & Strategic Outlook

Can Vertical Farming Keep Our Food Economy Above Board?

In early 2026, news came to a head that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is slowing down at an unprecedented rate.

This aligns with some of the most pessimistic climate projections and raises serious questions about long-term food security and resource sustainability.

What is AMOC? The AMOC maintains and regulates our ocean currents that underpin the predictable and stable climate that we have relied on for 6,500 to 8,000 years – the conditions that allowed civilisation to flourish and seasonal agriculture to develop.

One of the major concerns of AMOC collapse is the loss of climate predictability and the impact this could have on farming.

However, emerging innovations offer reassurance that, whatever climate change brings, the UK can build a more resilient food economy. One of the most promising innovations is vertical farming.

What Are Vertical Farms?

Vertical farms have the potential to help us respond to the pressures of climate change by creating controlled growing environments that are less dependent on outdoor conditions. Crops are grown indoors in stacked layers, using soil-less technology alongside carefully manage lighting, humidity, temperature and nutrients to maximise crop yield.

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over long distances. With food being grown in the UK we can reduce reliance on produce shopped across oceans and continents - a costly practice for everyone involved. This could help keep more value within local food systems while making supply chains shorter, more resilient and more affordable.

Methods can include:

• Hydroponics, where plants grow in • •

nutrient-dense water solutions rather than soil.

Aquaponics, where hydroponics is combined with fish farming, utilising fish waste as a form of nutrient delivery.

Aeroponics, where the roots of the plant are suspended in the air and obtain nutrients through misting.

Vertical Farming and The Future

What Benefits Does Vertical Farming Bring?

Vertical farming has several benefits, particularly in addressing environmental concerns and strengthening food security.

Because crops can be grown all year round in controlled conditions, it could help create a more reliable and resilient food supply.

It eliminates crop losses that stem from seasonal limitations and extreme weather events. By growing in controlled conditions, vertical farming enables higher production volumes without compromising on quality.

Vertical farming also reduces costs and emissions associated with transporting food

Vertical farming is often referred to as ‘future farming’. Population data predicts that a large proportion of the global population will reside in cities in the future. This would require the need for food systems to deliver high-quality, accessible produce at scale, while keeping cost minimal. Vertical farming could help meet this challenge by supporting reliable, high-volume production in controlled environments.

Vertical farming has the potential for further positive environmental impact by freeing up existing heavily farmed land, which in turn prevents further degradation of already unhealthy soils. A recent UN report shows that 40% of the world’s land is already degraded, shifting some production into

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›

Global & Strategic Outlook companies, and public sector entities. Its recognition underscores its relevance on a national and international level to agricultural innovation.

controlled indoor environments could help limit further soil damage while creating opportunities for restoration and recovery.

Local Authority Involvement Several local authorities across the UK, such as Test Valley Borough Council, West Suffolk Council and London Borough of Havering have invested in vertical farming projects.

Their involvement serves as inspiration and shows how councils can play an active role in shaping more resilience local food systems – bringing agriculture, technology and community development together to support food security at a local level.

Vertical farming could play an important role in making fresh, healthy food more accessible, particularly in areas where affordability and availability is already a challenge. By reducing some of the production and transport costs associated with traditional supply chains, it could help open up access to lower cost, locally grown produce. In turn, this could support healthier diets, improve food affordability for lowerincome households, and help reduce some of the long-term health pressures linked to poor nutrition.

Where vertical farming is not practical, councils can still support local food resilience through community growing projects. Vacant land can be used for gardens, allotments or shared growing spaces that bring communities together, improve access to fresh food and help young people learn how to grow their own produce.

These projects can also build confidence and independence, with particular value in social care, education and wider community development settings.

Vertical Farming in Practice at SRUC

This facility provides further benefits to SRUC through renewable energy solutions which are incorporated into its building design, highlighting the multifaceted capabilities of these facilities.

Cultivating Resilience Through Vertical Farming Research, such as that being undertaken at SRUC, enables students and innovative institutions to get ahead in agricultural technology and encourages innovative designs for potential future challenges. to innovate their own ideas around nontraditional farming.

The facility encompasses a six-metrehigh tower with growth trays that allow for the best crop growth conditions. There is the use of specialised lighting, irrigation techniques, and fertigation (fertiliser use) as well as an artificial climate for optimal crop growth.

Not only does this facility open research avenues for vertical farming applications, but in future years it may become a resource for food security. The facility additionally helps students experience the first-hand impact of climate and essential growth parameters on crop success, which will assist agriculture management in the coming years.

The facility based in Edinburgh opened in January 2025 and allows visitors to view the innovative agricultural work taking place here. This vertical farm has received visits from international and local organisations,

As the population grows and the climate changes, food security is an increasingly pressing challenge. The UK cannot afford to become overly reliant on mass food imports, which make innovations such as vertical farming an important part of the conversation about our future food economy.

Having research facilities like SRUC open to students and visitors inspires new thinking and encourages further research in this field. It gives the agricultural experts of tomorrow the opportunity to test ideas, develop more efficient growing methods, and shape approaches that could transform food production in the years ahead.

How is your local authority handling challenges with food and agriculture?

What developments are you using to help communities stay healthy and have access to food? Please get in touch to let us know.

Reference Links https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/ files/2025-05/DDD%20factsheet%20EN.pdf

With regards to trialling vertical farming objectives, one of the most successful locations is run by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in Edinburgh. The vertical farming facility at this location represents an innovative solution to overcome food production and security challenges, supported by the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Government.

The research being conducted at SRUC includes experiments on certain herbs and vegetables, including lettuce, pak choi, amaranth, and basil. This research seeks to look at how lighting impacts growth and biomass. All these experiments are closely monitored and enable students

Issue #4 | July 2026 | The Public Catalyst

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IESE Spotlight Series

Azerbaijan’s CEIS Revolutionises Social Welfare Case Management The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan recognised the need to improve and modernise its social protection system, underpinned by clean, reliable and connected data. This sparked a drive for national transformation that fundamentally reshaped their public policy, modernised their government operations, and improved the daily lives of their citizens. This transformation led to the development of the Centralized Electronic Information System (CEIS) and their e-Social portal.

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he new system centralises over 149 services and connects more than 80 public and private entities. Through the utilisation of AI technology, paired with real-time data checks and automated service delivery, the processing times seen for social welfare claims have decreased by 90% and have improved service satisfaction by 95%.

Addressing the Problem Before Azerbaijan created the CEIS, the country’s social protection system was heavily reliant on paper-based, fragmented processes.

These typically resulted in citizens having to visit several offices, complete repeated forms, and navigate cumbersome procedures.

While this was the case, critical citizen data was fragmented and scattered across databases that were not connected. This fragmentation across services meant that officials could not see the full picture of an individual’s circumstances.

One case study example illustrates the impact of this fragmented system: an individual was recorded as blind in one database, while another showed them working in a physically demanding role as an underwater welder.

With issues like these creating a negative impact on public trust, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan set out to confront these issues and create a way of working that ensured that data could work seamlessly for both citizens and the government.

The Solution The transformation began by establishing a strong institutional and legal foundation for improved data collection. Several laws were highlighted as a relevant basis for secure and effective digital governance.

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From the legal foundation came the internal system, where the Ministry took a crucial step forward by developing the CEIS to serve as the backbone for centralised social data, supporting a population of 10 million people across the country.

The CEIS itself was established under the 634th Presidential Decree, which gave the mandate to unify data across the private sector, public agencies, and the ministry.

Data Quality & Fraud Detection Cleaning data through systematic crosschecks was also a critical part of the solution, as inconsistencies between multiple systems would need verifying and correcting. This process helped uncover errors in pensions and social benefits, including miscalculated survivor pensions and incorrectly recorded pension capital. It also helped identify citizens who were eligible for benefits who has never applied. With further proactive service delivery, it was ensured that these individuals obtained the benefits that they were entitled to.

The use of AI has further strengthened the development of CEIS. Since 2025, Azerbaijan has used advanced AI analytics to identify data inconsistencies and help prevent fraud.

The e-Social portal also supports CEIS by providing a single, unified access point for social services, allowing individuals to access their personal information instantly and track their entitlements and service status.

Connecting Systems, Improving Lives Azerbaijan’s digital bridge has become a catalyst for optimising data management in the country, enabling real-time information exchange and cross-checking across public and private institutions. Originally launched in 2014 to connect state bodies, it has created a unified digital environment where government

agencies can validate records and information.

For providers, operators and insurers, it enables access and sharing of verified data through a single, trusted channel.

Now, the country’s digital bridge enables seamless, widespread data exchange, with 150 information systems supported by the platform as of early 2026. The system also boasts a 99% success rate and has an average of 1.5 million transactions per day. It is now one of the most trusted and stable pillars of digital infrastructure within the country.

This is further reinforced by the ecosystem created through CEIS and the Digital Bridge, which ensures data is not only shared, but consistently cross-checked for accuracy.

As a result of having fully integrated data the following outcomes were achieved:

• the number of fraudulent disability • • • • • •

claims decreased from 614,000 in 2020 to 488,000 in 2023.

Citizen application processing times decreased by 90%.

Service delivery saw improvement with 44 services provided to external organisations.

Service Delivery improvements resulted in 861 workbooks used within the system for analysis.

Query performance increased with 13,190 queries handled.

The average query time was under 8 hours.

Each employee processes an average of 1,100 queries per day.

The impact of improved data collection and sharing has been significant. The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan used data-led innovation to move from a fragmented, manual system to a more citizen-centred and data-driven way of working. Perfectly clean and connected data has not only improved systems and services, but also helped improve lives, turning theoretical ambition into measurable national impact.

The Public Catalyst | July 2026 | Issue #4

Cyber Resilience

Planning for UK Cyber Security Resilience: Analogue 72 Green Paper Planning for whole-of-society cyber resilience in the first 72 hours of severe digital disruption in the UK. The Analogue 72 Green Paper is designed as an evidence gathering tool with premises to be challenged and is intended to connect the arrangement of the Local Resilience Forum, sector regulations and classified national-security plans through a common first-72 hour diagnostic and establish a process through which responders share best practice and channel resources to gaps.

Summary The A72 asks a single demanding question:

“If the UK lost routine digital functionality at a scale to be effectively complete, what societal functions must still work during the first hours and days?”

The UK has a developing policy landscape for resilience including:

• National Security Strategy 2025.

• The UK Government Resilience Action Plan.

• The Cyber Security and Resilience Bills.

• The Cyber Assessment Framework.

• The Local Resilience Forum.

However, these have not collectively, created a tested first-72 hours operating model for a severe digital disruption across social levels and sectors. The 72-hour window is not a statement that everything would be resolved by hour 73, instead it functions as an exercise in discipline.

Why Is This Needed?

The Green Paper has been designed for consultation, evidence gathering, tabletop development and pilot exercise design. The maximum exercise condition considered is a complete digital shutdown, where there is no dependable internet, routine mobile data, cloud access, payment systems, email digital case systems or public websites, digital mapping, and live operational dashboards.

The UK operates in a more contested digital and geopolitical environment than before, yet the National Security Strategy of 2025 describes an era of radical uncertainty and intensifying competition. The nation faced a shocking average of four significant cyberattacks on a national scale per week in the year up to September 2025, with 204 nationally significant attacks handled in the 12 months before August 2025, an increase of 129% on the year prior.

The UK is not isolated in its 72-hour considerations. In Finland, there is a 72hour household preparedness concept, in which it is advised that it should be possible to maintain households without heat, electricity, food and water. Similarly, the EU Preparedness Union Strategy outlines actions for developing guidelines for a 72-hour minimum of self-sufficiency.

Sweden, on the other hand, has developed public crisis and war preparedness guidance that advises household resilience and responsibility. This shows that 72-hour systems are increasingly common in public resilience planning.

The Key Pointers of the A72 The A72 considers the three threat horizons, yesterday’s war, todays war and tomorrows war. Each of these look at the focus, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and severe weather of yesterday’s war, the cyber and cloud dependence of today’s war, and the AI cognitive manipulation or quantum era cryptographic risks of tomorrows war.

Interpretations follow looking at the ways in which these focuses are mitigated and understood to ensure safeguarding of essential services.

A72 also considers the minimum viable functions and the operating model for the first 72 hours. It defines a minimum viable function as one which preserves life, lawful authority, and welfare, as the base minimum.

A72 notes that these functions need to be identified and owned before an incident. It poses questions for specific socially required minimal functioning.

Another key factor considered in the A72 consultation Green Paper is the importance of essential operators. Operator degradedmode services are the minimum services that essential operators could maintain when typical digital systems are not available, are

Issue #4 | July 2026 | The Public Catalyst

under attack or are not trustworthy. These are not business-as-usual operations.

Readiness is Key Public communications are not assumed to be a support activity, but instead a core resilience function. This is essential as public trust can degrade faster than infrastructure can, and without sufficient public knowledge around what has happened, what to do, and where help is provided, rumour and anxiety can take hold.

Furthermore, public bodies need to be competent in deciding spending, obtaining, safeguarding, evidencing and explaining actions where there is no typical digital governance available. Should lawful authority fail or is improvised without records for accountability, then true recovery will be more challenging.

This green paper has been designed to generate evidence through a proposed three link measurement tool set –up, including red-amber-green measurements of readiness levels. Readiness levels are critical in breaking down the primary considerations where improvements are needed to ensure that a 72-hour plan is effective and that services are sustainable in the event of an emergency.

The Message and Purpose The Analogue 72 Green Paper consultation edition highlights the importance of considering the processes and outcomes associated with a whole of society cyber-attack or security breakdown. It highlights the necessary courses of action and implementations that would need to be considered for governing bodies, organisations, and operators to ensure resurgence of stable systems within a reasonable scale for an eventual successful return to normativity.

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For the fourth year running, the Cyber Centre of Excellence has released a FREE annual passive scan report for UK local authorities. authorities The report helps IT teams to assess and remediate vulnerabilities that were found in their council’s security via an IP/domain scan.

Vulnerabilities identified in the reports are publicly available entry points that can be exploited by adversaries.

Within each report, your council receives: score from 1 to 5 against • Afoursecurity key criteria. comparisons of your • Year-on-year vulnerabilities from 2023 to 2026. comparison with regional and • Anational scores.

Download your council’s report today Test what truly protects your organisation today.

Created by the sector, for the sector, the CCoE offers cyber security support at discounted rates to public sector organisations.

Please contact us at enquiries@ccoe.org.uk or visit our website at www.ccoe.org.uk.