Education Secretary Launches Attendance Improvement Roadmap for Schools
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has unveiled a new attendance improvement roadmap requiring every school in England to meet AI-powered minimum attendance targets. The initiative aims to restore pupil attendance to pre-pandemic levels, after last year saw 5.3 million more days in school and 140,000 fewer persistently absent pupils under the Plan for Change.
The Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE) system will set school-specific goals based on local and demographic factors. Schools will also receive tailored support through AI analysis linking them with high-performing counterparts in similar conditions. Additionally, 36 new Attendance and Behaviour Hubs have been launched to provide one-to-one support for pupils.
Phillipson said every school must take responsibility to ensure children are in class, achieving and thriving. Best practice examples include CHS South in Manchester, which builds strong community ties through family programmes, and King’s Leadership Academy Warrington, which uses enrichment sessions such as gardening and sign language to improve attendance.
The roadmap also tackles barriers such as uniform costs and food insecurity through initiatives like free breakfast clubs and enrichment programmes. Research-backed toolkits will help schools manage critical transition points like the shift from primary to secondary education, ensuring no child is left behind.
Major NHS Reform to Redirect Billions into Frontline Patient Care
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting has announced sweeping reforms to redirect billions of pounds from NHS administrative costs back into frontline patient care. Addressing the NHS Providers Conference in Manchester, he confirmed that unnecessary bureaucracy across NHS England will be cut, saving up to £1 billion annually by the end of the Parliament. These funds will be reinvested to improve patient services, expand capacity, and reduce waiting times.
The move includes halving administrative roles within Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and fully integrating NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care within two years. Approximately 18,000 administrative posts will be abolished. Each £1 billion saved is expected to fund an additional 116,000 hip and knee operations. Streeting emphasized that every penny of the Chancellor’s £29 billion record NHS funding boost must be used efficiently.
The reforms also aim to grant greater autonomy to local leaders, enabling them to focus on preventive health measures through a new “Neighbourhood Health Service” model. Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England CEO, said the streamlining will bring clarity and allow resources to be directed to essential care. The restructuring is part of broader government efforts to reduce waiting lists, enhance technology adoption, and improve productivity across NHS operations.
New Legislation to Prevent AI-Generated Child Abuse Images
The UK government has unveiled pioneering legislation to stop the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in generating synthetic child sexual abuse material. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, led by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and Minister Jess Phillips, introduced measures empowering authorised bodies such as AI developers and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to test and ensure AI models cannot create indecent content.
IWF data shows reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material more than doubled from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025, with depictions of infants (aged 0–2 years) increasing from 5 to 92. The new laws, tabled as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, will allow proactive testing of AI systems to prevent the creation of such content at the source, rather than removing it post-creation.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated that AI safety must be built into technology design, not added later. Jess Phillips added that legitimate AI tools should not be exploited for illegal activity. The legislation also enables testing for safeguards against extreme pornography and non-consensual intimate images.
IWF Chief Executive Kerry Smith welcomed the measures, noting that AI-generated abuse has intensified, with Category A content rising from 2,621 to 3,086 items and 94% of victims depicted being girls. The government will convene experts to ensure testing safeguards protect data, prevent leaks, and support the welfare of researchers.
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to Strengthen Protection of Essential UK Services
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, introduced in Parliament by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, aims to bolster cyber defences for essential services such as healthcare, energy, water, and transport. The legislation, part of the government’s Plan for Change, responds to an estimated £14.7 billion annual cost of cyber-attacks to the UK economy.
Under the Bill, medium and large companies providing IT or cyber services to critical sectors will face new regulatory requirements, including mandatory reporting of significant cyber incidents and stronger system resilience standards. Regulators will have the power to designate critical suppliers and impose turnover-based penalties for non-compliance. The Technology Secretary will also gain authority to instruct organisations such as NHS Trusts or Thames Water to take specific measures during cyber threats.
Liz Kendall stated that cyber security is national security, emphasising that the reforms will reduce NHS appointment disruptions and safeguard essential utilities. National Cyber Security Centre CEO Dr Richard Horne called the Bill a crucial step in building national resilience. The legislation also brings data centres and smart energy systems under regulatory scope, ensuring they meet robust security standards.
The Bill has been supported by leading industry figures, including Darktrace CEO Jill Popelka, techUK CEO Julian David OBE, and Cisco UK & Ireland CEO Sarah Walker, all recognising it as a timely and necessary modernisation of UK cyber laws. It follows recent incidents such as the 2024 Synnovis NHS cyber-attack, which caused over 11,000 disrupted medical appointments and losses exceeding £32 million.