Nottingham City Council's Crisis Response

As the dust settles after a difficult period for Nottingham City Council, we can reflect on how their communications strategy helped them navigate the fallout from a major systems outage. 

Across the 11 days of disruption, some key instances of good practice in crisis comms stand out as lessons to learn from. 

 

What happened? 

• In the early hours of 13th March, a “once-in-a-lifetime” power failure at the Council’s HQ brought down core IT systems, causing disruptions to phonelines, appointments, online services and payment systems.  

• On 17th March, the Council confirmed the cause as: “a failure in the electrical safety circuit… preventing backup generators from powering our systems.” 

• One week later, on 24th March, the Council announced that systems were “fully back up and running”. 

Besides the technical and logistical complexity of the recovery, the Council faced the added challenge of managing crisis communications across 11 days of disruption. And it was crucial they got this right.  

 

Good practice #1: Starting with the minimum effective message 

During a crisis, nothing shapes public perception and trust more than communications. A severe disruption can be more palatable than a minor disturbance if the messaging is clear and consistent and expectations are set honestly.  

The real challenge in early-stage crisis comms is finding the right balance between reassurance and realism, without overpromising. The first message sets the tone for everything that follows.  

Nottingham City Council handled this well, issuing a prompt and straightforward first statement on their website: 

“Due to a power outage at the Council’s HQ, we are experiencing some low-level disruption to our services. If you have an appointment at Loxley House with the Council or DWP, this will need to be rearranged – please don’t come to Loxley House.” 

The statement also included practical next-step guidance for different groups of service users, including temporary contact methods. 

A similar message was shared across the Council’s social media channels, with the simple assurance “We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible”. The updates that followed were direct and unequivocal: 
 

“UPDATE 13:50 PM 

❌Loxley House: Appointments are currently cancelled. Do not attend. 

✅Council House: Appointments continue. Cash payments only. 

❌Bulky Waste/Online Reporting: Unavailable.” 
 

The Council’s day-one communications are almost a textbook example of how to share the “minimum effective message”: clear, concise and informative, without speculating or over-committing. At such an early stage, the most important thing you can do is resist the urge to fill in the blanks. Making assumptions about the timeline or the scope of impact – even with good intentions – can create false expectations and erode trust later.  

 

Good practice #2: People first: acknowledging effort and disruption 

On day two of the crisis, Sajeeda Rose, the Council’s Chief Executive, issued a more detailed statement on the Council’s website.  

She began by recognising the extraordinary efforts of staff “working around the clock” to manage the recovery, praising their “resilience”, “patience” and “professionalism”.   

Rose wrote: “I’m extremely proud of how our teams have acted extremely quickly to step up Business Continuity Plans to ensure continued services to our most vulnerable people, as well as our customers. This has meant teams having to adapt at lightning speed.” 

This kind of acknowledgement does more than boost morale – it helps lift some of the pressure from beleaguered recovery teams and sends a clear message that their efforts are valued. 

Importantly, the Council also extended that recognition outwards – acknowledging the disruption felt by service users and setting expectations with honesty and clarity:  

“While we are making progress, we appreciate that this situation has been disruptive. We appreciate the public’s continued patience and cooperation. We will keep you updated as much as we can.” 

Recognising both internal effort and external impact helps build trust, reduce frustration and keep everyone aligned.  
 

Good practice #3: Regular and consistent cross-platform updates  

In a crisis, it’s crucial to maintain regular, consistent communication across the channels still available to you. Visibility and consistency in your messaging help you retain control over the narrative and manage expectations. 

Nottingham City Council moved quickly to issue updates across multiple platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram and its own MyNottingham News website. This cross-platform approach ensured that key messages reached both staff and service users. 

Clarity and consistency became even more important as the incident attracted wider attention. The BBC reported on the outage four times over a two-week period – national coverage and scrutiny that raised the stakes significantly. In that context, Nottingham City Council’s steady flow of updates across multiple platforms ensured it remained visible, credible and in control of the narrative throughout the disruption. 

 

Final thoughts 

Nottingham City Council’s response to the outage in March demonstrates how well-managed communications can be a stabilising force during a crisis. Regular updates across multiple platforms helped maintain public confidence, while clear messaging set expectations and acknowledged both the efforts of staff and the disruption to service users. In a high-pressure situation, they stayed on top of the narrative – something many organisations struggle to do. 

The incident should serve as a reminder that resilience goes beyond infrastructure. It's about preparedness, adaptability and the ability to communicate with clarity when the unexpected happens. Organisations – especially those serving the public – must ensure that risks are continuously reassessed, recovery plans are rehearsed and communications are treated as a core component of crisis response, not an afterthought.