Southwark Council is upgrading its laptops to Windows 11, ensuring continued system functionality and security. The upgrade is part of a broader technology initiative across Southwark, Brent, and Lewisham councils, overseen by the Joint IT Committee.

The upgrade addresses the end of Microsoft support for Windows 10 in October 2025. The Public reports pack Tuesday 08-Jul-2025 18.00 Joint IT Committee Brent Lewisham and Southwark.pdfhttps://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/g8315/Public%20reports%20pack%20Tuesday%2008-Jul-2025%2018.00%20Joint%20IT%20Committee%20Brent%20Lewisham%20and%20Southwark.pdf?T=10 presented to the Joint IT Committee on Tuesday 8 July 2025, states that the Windows 11 project is part of a transition strategy to ensure all systems and operations continue without interruptions or security risks linked to unsupported software and hardware. While the report doesn't specify the exact security risks associated with continuing to use Windows 10 after the deadline, it emphasizes the importance of maintaining up-to-date systems.

Chart showing the volume of open calls within STS operational queues over the past year.
Chart showing the volume of open calls within STS operational queues over the past year.Source: Joint IT Committee (Brent, Lewisham and Southwark) papers, 8 July 2025

Southwark's procurement is complete, and the contract was awarded to Insight on 29 May. The hardware is currently stored in the supplier's warehouse, with activities underway to implement a service wrapper. The council presented Windows 11 laptops to colleagues on 8 May and received feedback on 19 May. The focus is now on preparing for User Acceptance Testing (UAT), addressing non-standard applications, configuration, and standardisation tasks.

Brent is also deploying new Windows 11 laptops, with over 1,300 new laptops delivered to staff so far. Lewisham's business case has been approved, and procurement is underway, with the tender closing on 15 July and the award expected the week commencing 28 July.

Regarding the rollout timeline across the councils, the Public reports pack Tuesday 08-Jul-2025 18.00 Joint IT Committee Brent Lewisham and Southwark.pdfhttps://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/g8315/Public%20reports%20pack%20Tuesday%2008-Jul-2025%2018.00%20Joint%20IT%20Committee%20Brent%20Lewisham%20and%20Southwark.pdf?T=10 indicates that the LGA has completed its rollout, with a final session planned for July, followed by project closure. Brent's deployment is in progress, while Lewisham anticipates awarding the contract by the week of 28 July. Southwark is currently focused on preparing for UAT after awarding the contract to Insight on 29 May.

The report pack also noted that biometrics is a feature of Windows 11. Data Privacy Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) have been completed to provide reassurance that this is an optional feature and does not need to be implemented, ensuring data privacy and security during the migration process.

The Agenda frontsheet Tuesday 08-Jul-2025 18.00 Joint IT Committee Brent Lewisham and Southwark.pdfhttps://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/g8315/Agenda%20frontsheet%20Tuesday%2008-Jul-2025%2018.00%20Joint%20IT%20Committee%20Brent%20Lewisham%20and%20Southwark.pdf?T=0 for the Joint IT Committee meeting can be found on the Southwark Council website.