The government is ready to unlock billions of pounds of AI investment and is preparing to announce the first hosts of flagship AI Growth Zones this summer.

Four local authorities across Wales are taking part in automatic voter registration pilots.
The pilots have been established under the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 and will test different approaches to registering voters without requiring formal applications. In this case, they will focus exclusively on the local government register.

The government has announced plans to bring the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the arm’s-length body (ALB) responsible for valuing properties for council tax and business rates into its parent department HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by April 2026.
The move follows the announcement last month that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

London Councils has published a new report on how leasehold properties could be made more energy efficient, which also acknowledges the financial and legal difficulties that are making it difficult for leaseholders and council tenants to receive help. 

London’s sporting events boosted economy by £230 million last year, according to recent data revealed by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

London Councils has warned that the capital’s worsening homelessness crisis presents the “single biggest risk” to London boroughs’ finances and is pushing councils towards bankruptcy.

A major carbon capture and storage network is ready to begin construction in North Wales and the North West of England.
The government has finalised a deal with energy company Eni including £2 billion in supply chain contracts for the Liverpool Bay Carbon Capture and Storage Project.
The project will create a network of clean infrastructure, decarbonising industries like energy from waste, hydrogen and cement production.

Government departments and their arms-length bodies have until the end of May to apply for an exemption from the requirement to switch to a zero emission fleet.
The UK Government has a commitment to convert its fleet of petrol and diesel cars and vans to zero emission vehicles by 2027. This includes government departments and arms-length bodies, including fleets operated by National Highways and the Environment Agency.
Local authorities, Crown Dependencies, devolved administrations, and Overseas Territories are not included in the commitment.

The government has announced plans to bring forward £300 million of funding for Great British Energy.
The investment will go towards domestic clean energy supply chains, in this case domestic offshore wind.
The public investment complements the £43 billion of private investment pledged for clean energy projects since July.
The prime minister will meet with ministers and business leaders in London today for a two-day summit on the Future of Energy Security.

The government has announced that clean energy projects, public transport links, and other major infrastructure will on average be delivered at least a year faster, as planning reforms are accelerated.
Through amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, statutory consultation requirements unique to major infrastructure projects will be scrapped, in bid to cut down the average two-year statutory pre-consultation period by half.