SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

The UK Government has set out plans for a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill and new voluntary digital identity initiatives, following King Charles’s outline of forthcoming digital legislation in his parliamentary address.

The legislation is expected to be a central part of the Government’s cyber strategy. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will sit alongside a push to increase business take-up of a new Cyber Resilience Pledge and continued work on digital identity services such as GOV.UK One Login.

Legal and industry figures said the package underlined a sustained focus on cyber risk across critical infrastructure, public services and private enterprise. They also warned that businesses should prepare for tighter expectations around governance, reporting and cryptography.

Mark Bailey, Partner at International Law Firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said pressing ahead with the Bill aligned with long-standing policy priorities.

“This inclusion is important but perhaps unsurprising, given that the Government has consistently treated the Bill as a key part of its wider cyber policy agenda. It shows that ministers remain focused on strengthening the UK’s cyber resilience, particularly around critical infrastructure, supply chains and the cyber integrity of individual businesses. Businesses should expect more detailed guidance as the Bill progresses, along with greater scrutiny of incident reporting, governance and supply chain security.”

Mike Baxter, President and Chief Technology and Product Officer at digital security firm Entrust, said the reference to digital identity in the King’s address signalled a further phase in the rollout of online identification systems for citizens.

“We can expect to see the development and deployment of new voluntary digital identity initiatives following the King’s comments today. To succeed, these systems must build trust and, crucially, be designed to work for everyone. GOV.UK One Login provides a strong foundation, but the next step is to ensure any scheme is genuinely voluntary, privacy-first and transparently governed. Only by getting these fundamentals right will digital ID make people’s lives meaningfully easier and more secure.”

“It is encouraging to hear the King restate the Government’s commitment to improving the UK’s defences against cybersecurity threats. However, the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill must go beyond traditional measures to create stronger incentives for post-quantum readiness, including publishing clear cryptographic standards and timelines for compliance.”

Alongside the Bill, the Government is urging organisations to sign a voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge. The scheme calls for board-level oversight of cyber risk, wider adoption of the Cyber Governance Code of Practise, use of the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Governance Training for directors, registration for the NCSC Early Warning service, and Cyber Essentials certification across supply chains.

Signatories must also encourage similar steps among their suppliers and publish a signed declaration on their websites. Officials see the measure as a way to set clear minimum expectations for organisational resilience and create a more consistent security standard across sectors.

Katharina Sommer, Director of Government Affairs and Analyst Relations at NCC Group, said the pledge was already gaining traction across industries.

“The Cyber Resilience Pledge is one of several strands the UK Government is pursuing to increase business engagement, particularly at senior management level, with cyber resilience. While voluntary, it appears to be attracting cross-sector interest. Organisations are engaging with the pledge to ensure they can meaningfully meet commitments that largely continue the UK Government’s recent guidance on what good looks like: the Cyber Governance Code of Practise to strengthen organisational resilience, uptake of Cyber Essentials across supply chains, and sign-up to the NCSC’s Early Warning Service to improve economy-wide awareness and preparedness as the threat landscape evolves.”

“Becoming a named signatory could become a visible sign that organisations take cyber resilience seriously and, over time, a competitive differentiator as awareness of cyber risk grows. There will always be debate over whether initiatives like this are too prescriptive or too high-level, but if a majority of organisations implement the pledge’s elements, we are likely to make progress in raising the cyber resilience baseline as they mature and develop the capability to take more tailored approaches. What the pledge demonstrates, in any case, is that the UK Government is now setting out very clear expectations for how it wants organisations to approach cyber resilience.”

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Chief Information Officers from across the NHS in England have sent the CIO Live Insights Report to NHS England. Lee Rickles of Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and CIO Live Chair Omer Moghraby submitted the document.

The report sets out digital leaders’ views on the pressures facing NHS technology teams and calls for clearer national leadership. It argues that digital work should be treated as central to improving care and that greater alignment is needed across the health service.

Its findings draw on discussions at the first national gathering of NHS Chief Information Officers. Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust said the work was produced in response to the NHS 10 Year Plan and is intended to provide a practical roadmap for strengthening digital delivery across the service.

Main themes include workforce capability, interoperability and reducing duplication between organisations. The report also makes the case for more consistent national design and stronger collaboration between trusts, regions and NHS England.

Rickles is Chief Information Officer at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Deputy Chair of the CIO Live Organising Committee. His experience of digital change in a complex care setting helped shape the report’s focus on staff skills and system interoperability.

National focus

The submission comes as NHS organisations face continuing pressure to modernise data and technology while improving patient care and managing financial constraints. Digital leaders have also had to contend with uneven system adoption, varying local standards and the challenge of linking services across providers.

The report’s central message is that these issues require a more joined-up response from the top of the health system. It says digital leadership should be embedded at every level of national design rather than treated as a separate operational function.

CIO Live, the forum behind the document, brought together senior digital leaders from NHS trusts alongside national and regional NHS figures. Organisers described it as a space for frank discussion and joint problem-solving.

That approach appears to have shaped the report’s tone, which focuses on practical measures rather than broad statements of intent. It presents the concerns of local technology leaders as a collective view from across the service.

One aim is to improve consistency in how digital programmes are developed and delivered. Another is to strengthen neighbourhood-focused delivery, reflecting the wider NHS shift towards more integrated and locally responsive care.

Leadership call

Rickles outlined the purpose of the work in a statement accompanying the report.

“Publishing this report marks an important moment for the NHS digital community. It reflects the real challenges we face every day, but more importantly it sets out practical and collective solutions. The recommendations give us a clear mandate to strengthen collaboration, reduce duplication and ensure digital leadership is embedded at every level of national design. We are proud to have contributed to this work and will continue to champion the principles of shared learning, standardisation and neighbourhood‐focused digital delivery,” said Lee Rickles, Chief Information Officer, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.

The report has now been passed to national leaders for consideration. A three-month scoping phase is due to follow, with implementation planned for the third quarter of 2026.

This timetable suggests the document is intended to feed into formal planning rather than remain a discussion paper. It also points to a structured route from consultation to delivery.

For Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, the submission places one of its senior executives at the centre of a national debate about how the NHS organises and governs digital change. For the wider service, the report adds to pressure for a more coherent approach to leadership, standards and delivery across England’s health system.

Incept has entered into an underwriting agreement with Fortegra for its new UK title insurance product, giving the insurtech backing from a specialty insurer with an established presence in the British market.

The agreement supports Incept’s push into title insurance, a niche form of property cover used in real estate transactions to protect against defects or risks linked to legal title. It will also support policy distribution through the company’s digital portal.

Incept’s platform uses live data from HM Land Registry to generate title insurance policies on demand. Users can obtain all-risks cover within seconds through the online system, which is designed for buyers, sellers and lenders involved in property deals.

Title insurance remains a specialised segment in the UK compared with the United States, but providers have been turning to technology to reduce the manual work involved in property transactions. Insurers and brokers are also looking for ways to improve turnaround times as conveyancing delays continue to weigh on housing market activity.

Fortegra, which operates internationally in specialty insurance, has been expanding its UK presence. The agreement with Incept places it behind a product aimed at a property market where speed, documentation and risk assessment often determine whether transactions complete on schedule.

Mark Figes, chief executive officer of Fortegra Insurance UK, said: “Fortegra’s commitment to innovation and our financial strength make us well-positioned to support Incept’s ambition in the UK title insurance space. Their technology-driven platform represents exactly the kind of forward-thinking proposition we look for in a partner – one that delivers genuine value to the market. We look forward to supporting this exciting next chapter together.”

For Incept, the deal is a significant step in bringing its title insurance offering to market. The company was founded to apply data and automation to property transactions, with a focus on reducing delays and administrative burdens.

Market pressure

The UK property insurance and conveyancing sectors have come under pressure from slowing transaction chains, uneven service standards and falling prices in some lines of cover. Incept’s leadership argues that technology can help address inefficiencies while giving underwriters greater consistency in how policies are issued.

Reema Mannah, founder and chief executive officer of Incept, said Fortegra’s backing was an endorsement of the firm’s approach.

“Fortegra’s support is a real vote of confidence in our platform. The team shares our belief in harnessing advanced technology to improve both the underwriter and client experience. Incept delivers true value, helping to cut through a saturated market where service quality is otherwise being diluted and premium rates are slipping to unsustainable levels. With the support of this world-class underwriter, our goal is to revolutionise how UK property transactions get done.”

The company positions its product as a way to put insurance in place earlier in the transaction process. That could appeal to firms involved in residential and commercial property work, where title issues can emerge late and delay completion.

Digital tools have become more prominent across insurance distribution in recent years, including in specialist lines once handled mainly through manual review and broker-led processes. In property-related insurance, access to cleaner data sources has encouraged more automated decision-making, although many transactions still rely on case-by-case assessment.

Fortegra’s support also gives Incept a recognised underwriting partner as it seeks to win business in a market where insurer credibility matters to solicitors, lenders and transaction advisers. For newer entrants, underwriting relationships can be decisive in moving from a technology concept to an insurable product with broad market acceptance.

Incept says its system is built around direct access to Land Registry information, allowing policy creation to be tied closely to current property records. The company argues that this can reduce friction in a process that often depends on document gathering, legal review and repeated checks between parties.

The partnership brings together a specialist insurer and a newer technology-led intermediary at a time when the property sector is under pressure to shorten timelines without increasing risk.