Kim Leadbeater has narrowly won the Batley and Spen by-election, with the Labour candidate defeating her Conservative rival by just 323 votes.
The outcome means that Leadbeater will now represent the seat previously held by her sister Jo Cox, who was murdered there in 2016. The vote was triggered after the previous Labour MP for the seat, Tracy Brabin, became West Yorkshire's first elected mayor in May.

Analysis of UK city climate plans suggests that meeting net zero in London and the UK’s Core Cities could bring up to £330bn of investment into the UK.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a further £6 million of fresh investment in improving green spaces across London.
The £1.2 million Grow Back Greener fund, with £500,000 provided by Thames Water, will offer grants to dozens of community-led projects to help more Londoners access green space in their neighbourhoods. It will focus on the most disadvantaged areas, supporting community gardens, food growing projects, pocket parks and cleaner waterways.

More than twice as many childcare places have been lost during the winter lockdowns than in the first six months of the pandemic.

Lack of clear objectives in the government’s levelling up agenda are set to hinder rather than help communities most in need of support.

Labour has accused the government of having the wrong priorities on housing pushing the dream of homeownership further out of reach for many.

The National Association of Local Councils has again urged the government to make remote meetings a permanent option for local councils.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is seeking views from local government and other bodies on the issue.
NALC entered into extensive dialogue across local government and with rural stakeholders. The outcome was the unanimous agreement with NALC that local councils should be permanently allowed the option of holding remote meetings at a time of their choosing.

The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is being launched to help thousands of adults and children achieve a healthy weight and boost their well-being.

Rough sleeping has risen in London over the past year, despite the government pledging to house everyone during the pandemic.

The government has appointed independent reviewers to undertake assurance reviews into eight councils.