UNITED KINGDOM - Post-Quantum Readiness Assessment
Year: 2026
Type: report
Abstract: This assessment classifies the United Kingdom according to publicly verifiable evidence of nationalpreparation for migration to post-quantum cryptography, as at 10 August 2026.The classification uses the five-tier framework published in Europe's Post-Quantum Readiness2026: An Empirical Assessment of the EU-27 (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21782641). That reportassessed all 27 EU Member States. This supplement extends the same framework to the UnitedKingdom, which was outside the original population as a non-EU state. The full methodology,including tier definitions, the evidence standard, the anti-conflation rule and the public-evidencestandard, is published in the parent report and is not reproduced here. This document should beread in conjunction with it.The United Kingdom is classified Tier 2 (Active national PQC development, structured governmentpreparation), with high confidence. The UK demonstrates substantive, structured national PQCpreparation led by NCSC (part of GCHQ), including a published national migration roadmap withdated milestones, a government-backed consultancy assurance pilot, sector-specific financialservices guidance, a departmental study of migration readiness across five critical nationalinfrastructure sectors, and active contribution to international PQC standards. The guidanceframework is comprehensive and technically well-articulated. It is advisory rather than mandatory forthe general economy. That distinction determines the tier.
Author: Couzens, Brian
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7202286386