£20 million will be invested into towns in southern Scotland to create jobs and drive growth.
Nine towns have published proposals developed by volunteer-led teams. Ideas and business cases are now being defined ahead of funding decisions.
Proposals include a promenade and indoor family attractions in Stranraer and a town centre regeneration project providing social housing and retail space in Galashiels.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes visited MacArts, a music and arts venue being considered for funding in Galashiels.

New regulations to protect tenants from damp and mould are to be laid in the Scottish Parliament.
If approved by parliament, the Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 will introduce new duties on landlords to investigate reports of damp and mould and start any repairs needed within a set timescale.
The regulations are the first set for the implementation of Awaab’s Law in Scotland.

The government has announced a package of £1.5 billion to be invested in cultural organisations over a five-year period.
The money will be invested to save over 1,000 arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England from closure.
The funding is intended to fix urgent capital needs and open up access to culture for everyone, everywhere.

Homes England has entered into a building lease with Vistry for the delivery of 750 homes and a retail convenience store at the former City Hospital site in Birmingham.
Most of the existing hospital buildings will be demolished to build 698 homes, while the former infirmary building will be converted into 52 one and two-bedroom flats.
35 per cent of the homes will be affordable housing, made up of a mix of tenures to satisfy local need.
Patients and staff have been transferred to the Midland Metropolitan Hospital, which opened in October 2024.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that pro-Russia hacktivists are continuing to target UK organisations.
Local government and critical infrastructure operators are being warned to harden the ‘denial of service’ (DoS) defences.
Russian-aligned hacktivist groups are attempting to disrupt operations, take websites offline and disable services.

The government has published a Water White Paper to overhaul the water system and protect households from disruption.
The new white paper sets out clear powers for the new regulator and includes tougher oversight and stronger accountability for water companies. 
A chief engineer will sit inside the new single water regulator, with the task of delivering hand-on checks of water infrastructure.
The regulator will introduce and MOT approach for water company infrastructure, requiring health checks on pipes, pumps and more.

The government has announced a suite of reviews designed to root out wasteful duplication.
Teams will be brought in from across the public and private sector to give their expertise.
The reviews will be launched across bringing healthcare out of hospitals, homelessness, the provision of youth services and the management and maintenance of public sector assets.

The government has launched a new unit within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, to modernise public services.
CustomerFirst will use technology to transform public services, modernise government, and accelerate national renewal across the UK.
The unit will be led by Tristan Thomas, formerly of Monzo, with Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, as first co-chair.
It will test innovative ways to tackle delays and frustrations by partnering with departments to rewire the government services on which millions rely.

Homes England has agreed an SME Accelerator Loan with Yorkshire Homes to develop more homes.
An SME Accerlator Loan is a new type of lending product designed to help small and medium-sized developers build more homes, more quickly.
Yorkshire Homes is a small independent family business based in Yorkshire.
The £3.38 million loan will help to develop a scheme in Thirsk, that will include a mix of 21 affordable and open market homes, and support the firm to purchase land for their next development.

New figures show that more than 2 million bus journeys have been taken by young people across Wales thanks to the introduction of a £1 bus fare in September.
The scheme runs until the end of August 2026 and offers all young people aged between 5-21 years a single fare for £1 and a £3 day ticket.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates took a bus from Llangollen to Wrexham. He said: "It’s fantastic to see so many young people taking advantage of cheaper bus fares.