The government has unveiled plans for council decisions on new development to be clearer, simpler and prepared up to four years faster to help fix the housing crisis.
The changes will include introducing regular assessments to help councils stay on track towards meeting their targets, greater clarity about how plans should be prepared and updated, and using digital tools to increase transparency on available land for new development.

The Education Committee has urged the government to use its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to remove the requirement to apply for free school meals for eligible children from low-income families.

The mayor of London and London Councils have announced their London Growth plan which aims to turbocharge economic growth and boost productivity and prosperity across the capital.

The government has responded to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry's final report, accepted the findings and set out plans to act on all 58 recommendations.
New reforms will aim to ensure that all homes are safe, secure and built to the highest standards. Under the proposals for change, industry will be held to account for failure, with new regulatory measures.

A new report by the County Councils Network (CCN), County Spotlight, has revealed that almost nine in ten of England’s largest councils are using artificial intelligence, yet are held back from rolling out this technology more widely due to a lack of staff capacity, funding, and training.

The A47/A11 Thickthorn Junction scheme in Norwich has received the green light from the government, following over a year of delays.

Trials for contactless rail ticketing are on track for later this year across the North and Midlands, which will use Global Positioning System (GPS) based technology which will track locations on train journeys.

The 2025-26 Scottish Budget has been approved by Parliament, which will invest £21.7 billion in health and social care services.

The Raising the National Plan Commission, a year-long independent inquiry into why play is critical to the wellbeing of children in England, has published its Interim Report, ‘State of Play’.

The Procurement Act has now come into force.
The new laws aim to put growth, small businesses and transparency at the heart of public contract awards.
The new public procurement regime is more open and is designed to drive value for money.
The Act aims to boost growth by slashing red tape for small and medium sized businesses applying for government contracts, combining multiple regulations into one simple set, and publishing procurement data in a standard, open format on a Central Digital Platform.