The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have convened three climate-focused roundtables with business leaders, climate organisations, and government representatives to accelerate progress on climate commitments ahead of the 29th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29). These roundtables focused on financing the transition to renewable energy, accelerating investment in climate resilience projects, and advancing a global treaty to end plastic pollution.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Great British Energy (GBE) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published the Local Power Plan, which is intended to offer up to £1bn to support locally owned clean energy projects. The initiative is described as the biggest public investment in community energy in the UK and aims to enable communities to own and control their energy, cut bills and generate revenue for community centres, social clubs and places of worship as part of the government’s Pride in Place agenda.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), in conjunction with Great British Energy and the Department for Education (DfE), has announced that the first 11 schools across England have installed solar panels. The initiative, funded by a £180m government allocation, is designed to reduce energy bills for schools and hospitals, saving an estimated £175,000 per year, with future savings to be reinvested in public services such as education and healthcare. Great British Energy is responsible for the rollout of the rooftop solar panels, marking its inaugural project as part of a broader commitment to clean power and local investment in deprived areas. The programme is expected to generate lifetime savings of up to £400m over approximately 30 years, support job creation, enhance green skills among pupils, and alleviate the financial pressures associated with rising energy costs linked to global fossil fuel market fluctuations.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has released the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) statistics, provided by Ofgem, on completed energy efficient installations for the period May 2023 to May 2024. Since the start of GBIS, 12,200 households have been upgraded with 15,200 energy efficient installations. The upgrades comprise of cavity wall (50%), loft (23%) and heating controls (20%) installations. Approximately 10,600 households have been upgraded with only one measure installed and the remainder of the households have one or more measures installed. GBIS is set to run until March 2026 with more than 300,000 households to be upgraded.

The Department for Exiting the EU, the UK government department responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU.

The Department for Education (DfE) has nominated Professor Edward Peck as their preferred candidate to assume the position of chair at the Office for Students (OfS). Professor Peck, brings substantial experience from his leadership at Nottingham Trent University and has worked on student mental health initiatives across the sector. He must now undergo parliamentary pre-appointment scrutiny before confirmation. The OfS chief executive, Susan Lapworth, has endorsed the nomination.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a consultation on draft regulations which would amend some rules of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) in England and Wales.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) has published three reports examining the design of an EU-wide purchasing programme for permanent carbon dioxide removals (CDR). This initiative aims to overcome the current lack of demand, which is hindering large-scale adoption. The first report recommends that the programme should not only purchase removal credits but also strategically invest in diverse types of credits to stimulate market growth and technological innovation. It proposes a blend of funding sources including EU budget allocations, Member State contributions and private investment and suggests aligning with existing schemes like the Innovation Fund to enhance efficiency and appeal.

European Commission Director General for Energy

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) has been performing a study supporting the monitoring of availability of medical devices on the EU market. This has been taking place through the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. The study started in December 2022 and will be running for 36 months, until December 2025. In the context of the study, a dashboard has been developed, which presents an overview of the data gathered from different stakeholders. Comparable data from previous surveys of notified bodies conducted by the European Commission have been integrated in the dashboard. The dashboard also includes further insights and retrospective corrections reported by stakeholders. In addition, the 8th Notified Body survey was released, analysing the availability of medical devices on the EU market as part of the effort to monitor device availability as Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices (MDR) and Regulation (EU) 2017/746 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDR) are implemented.

Dangerous Goods Note: A transport document that gives details about the contents of a consignment to carriers, receiving authorities and forwarders. The DGN is used to accompany hazardous goods in transit. A DGN is used when transporting goods using all forms of transport except air freight, in which case the IATA Dangerous Goods Declaration is normally used. When dangerous goods are transported, the consignment must be accompanied by a document that declares what the dangers of the goods are. By using a DGN, the same standard document is completed for all consignments of dangerous goods, regardless of which port or ICD (Inland Container Depot) they are going to.

Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor