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Stratford-on-Avon District Council can’t send or receive emails today (Friday 13 November) because of a worldwide problem with Microsoft’s services. The council has put a notice on its website asking anyone who needs to get in touch to phone instead, on 01789 267575.
The outage was first reported locally by the Stratford Herald, which says Warwickshire County Council, Warwickshire Police and West Midlands Ambulance Service have also been hit.
What it means if you need the council today
- District council (bins, council tax, planning, housing, licensing): don’t rely on email for anything urgent until the notice comes down. Ring 01789 267575. An email you send now may not arrive, so if you’ve emailed today and it matters, call to check.
- County council (roads, schools, libraries, social care): the Herald reports the county council says some of its systems are affected and replies to enquiries may take longer than usual.
- Police: according to the Herald, Warwickshire Police says it’s having trouble receiving online forms. Forms will still be dealt with, but there may be a delay. If it’s time-critical but not an emergency, call 101. In an emergency, always call 999.
- Ambulance: West Midlands Ambulance Service told the Herald its email is affected but its emergency service is running as normal.
Planning comments and other deadlines that close today are worth sending through the council’s online forms or by phone rather than email. If you’re worried about missing one, ask the council when you call.
When will it be fixed?
It isn’t known yet. The problem is with Microsoft, not the council, and none of the local organisations has given a time for services to return. We’ll update this story when the council’s notice changes.
Bin collections aren’t affected by an email outage; our Stratford bin collection calendar has this year’s dates.
Details checked on 13 November 2026 using the notice on Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s website and the Stratford Herald’s report, the source for the county council, police and ambulance service statements.
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Alex Harrington
Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.
