The government has launched a consultation looking for views from social housing tenants and landlords on a proposed rent cap with the aim of understanding how to support households with the cost of living.

The government has announced a £1.14 billion deal for the East Midlands to cover Derbysire, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Nottingham.
The deal includes a guaranteed income stream of £38 million per year over a 30-year period for the region.
The East Midlands combined authority would be one of the biggest in the country, with an area home to around 2.2 million people.
The city and council leaders in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Nottingham have already signed up to work on the deal with the government.

A training course has been launched in the West Midlands with the aim of helping residents understand the impacts of climate change and how they can help tackle it.

Following the recent shootings in Liverpool, the home secretary has announced a £150,000 support package to provide specialist trauma-informed support in schools, and mental health provisions for those closely affected.

Work has begun on the first major contract of the government's Project Gigabit.
The Prime Minister visited North Dorset to see the plans to connect 7,000 hard-to-reach premises under a £6 million contract awarded to Wessex Internet. The expected completion date is 2025, with the first home to be connected by the end of this year. This project covers the rural outskirts of towns, villages and hamlets.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs have announced improved planning guidance with the aim of helping councils consider future flood risk.
The updated planning guidance aims to help councils ensure developments meets strict criteria in places that are at risk of flooding before they are approved.

Talks are being held in an attempt to end the bin strikes in Scotland.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney will meet with unions and council body Cosla.
In Edinburgh, refuse workers are halfway through a two-week strike. Bins in the capital are overflowing. Refuse staff in 13 other areas started their strike on Wednesday. Several more local authorities are set to join the strike on Friday.
It is believed most of the councils involved in the dispute won't have any bin collections until the end of the month.

A Liverpool Council report has revealed that vacant properties across the city are a drain on local resources and should be disposed of.
Changes in policy mean that more than 60 homes the council took ownership of for regeneration purposes are costing the council more money than it will make back.
A briefing to members of the council's strategic development and housing select committee said tens of thousands pounds per year is spent on unoccupied homes. The council is now looking to dispose of the stock.

The Department for Transport has announced funding for for more than 1,000 electric vehicle charge points across the country.
The new pilot will be supported by £20 million of government and industry funding.
The Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme will involve local authorities and industry working together to create new, commercial EV charging infrastructure for residents, including faster on-street chargepoints and larger petrol station-style charging hubs.

Four new London Nature Trails are being launched to provide walking routes to connect nature spaces in London's most built-up areas.