David Goldstone has been appointed chair of the Office for Value for Money.
In his new role, Goldstone will advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury on decisions for the multi-year Spending Review

The Chancellor has delivered Labour’s first budget in 14 years.
Rachel Reeves has promised to rebuild Britain and fix the economy.
The Budget aims to fix the NHS and rebuild Britain, while at the same time, ensuring that working people don’t pay higher taxes from their payslips.
It is hoped that the plans outlined in the budget will boost public investment by over £100 billion over the next five years.
As promised there is no increase in National Insurance, VAT, or Income Tax on working people.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has convened an emergency roundtable with the minister for homelessness and rough sleeping, Rushanara Ali MP, boroughs and leaders from the NHS, local government, homelessness charities and former rough sleepers to officially launch a call for evidence that will inform his plan of action on rough sleeping in London.
The plan of action, which is due to be launched next year aims to establish a shared mission for ending rough sleeping, including the scale of funding required and the best mechanisms for achieving this ambition by 2030.

The UK and Scottish Governments have joined forces to improve the planning process for new clean energy infrastructure in Scotland.
A consultation has been launched on proposed changes which are planned to make the system for considering large energy projects in Scotland more efficient, while also ensuring that affected communities can have their say on proposals at the right time in the process.

The Regulator of Social Housing has published statistics about the social housing sector, which include stock ownership and rents as of 31 March 2024.
The data shows that the sector provides around 4.5 million homes across England, with a net increase of nearly 43,000 social homes since 2023.
There are approximately 24,800 more Affordable Rent homes and 17,300 more low cost home ownership homes. There was also an increase of 700 social rent homes.

The government has announced an investment of £1 billion to cap bus fares at £3.
Under plans made by the previous government, funding for the current bus fare cap was due to expire at the end of 2024. Previously fares were capped at £2.
It is hoped the cap will keep bus travel affordable while ensuring the cap is fair to taxpayers.
According to the government no bus fare will exceed £3 and routes where fares are less than £3 will only be allowed to increase by inflation in the normal way.

The government has announced England's first-ever heat network zones, supporting businesses and building owners to benefit from low-cost, low-carbon heating.

The government has announced £500 million of funding for the Affordable Homes Programme to deliver up to 5,000 new affordable homes.
At the same time, social housing stock will be increased through a new 5-year social housing rent settlement that will give the sector more long-term certainty on funding. Current stock will also be protected by reducing Right to Buy discounts.

New analysis from the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that the future of council housing finances hangs in the balance with rising costs and increasing pressures pushing budgets to the brink.
The research was commissioned by the LGA, the National Federation of ALMOs and Association of Retained Council Housing and carried out by Savills. It explores the cumulative impact of historic and proposed government policies and wider economic factors on the viability of council Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs).

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has launched a new Leaders' Council, which aims to give local government a voice at the heart of government.
The Council will bring together local government leaders and ministers to tackle shared problems and deliver for the communities they all serve.
It is hoped that members will learn about innovations that councils are pioneering.
Launching the Council at the Local Government Association Conference, Rayner said: "The Leaders’ Council will be critical for co-designing policy at the highest levels.