The Department for Education (DfE) has published issue 16 of its statutory guidance on schemes for financing local authority maintained schools for 2025 to 2026. Updated on 27 March 2025, the guidance introduces a new provision allowing local authorities to charge schools' budget shares for unpaid energy invoices where schools have entered agreements with the Secretary of State for energy supply. The guidance, issued pursuant to section 48(4) and paragraph 2A(2) of Schedule 14 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, sets out requirements for financial relationships between local authorities and their maintained schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its subcontracting standard guidance which includes new oversight arrangements documentation for post‑16 providers and updates to the framework and guide for reporting accountants conducting assurance reviews.

The Department for Education updated the statutory guidance 'Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026', clarifying its scope and strengthening expectations for safeguarding practice across agencies in England, with revised provisions affecting practitioners, safeguarding partners and local authorities. The guidance confirms that it applies to all children, regardless of living arrangements, including those in kinship care, adoptive placements and looked-after settings, and extends consideration to unborn children where concerns arise, reinforcing that safeguarding responsibilities are universal. It strengthens leadership expectations by requiring inclusive, anti-discriminatory organisational cultures and emphasising that practitioners must challenge racism and discrimination, while expanding guidance on harms such as coercive control, abuse in intimate relationships, child sexual abuse and teenage relationship abuse. It also clarifies multi-agency safeguarding arrangements by explicitly including looked-after children, strengthening accountability and inspection, and requiring improved data sharing and analysis to identify disproportionality and demonstrate impact.

The Department for Education (DfE), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have launched a new skills hub to address the skills shortage in the construction sector and accelerate homebuilding. This initiative involves the establishment of 32 new Homebuilding Skills Hubs, supported by a £140m industry investment, with the aim of creating 5,000 additional construction apprenticeship places annually, providing fast-track training programmes that can be completed within 12-18 months. The government is collaborating with the Construction Industry Training Board and the National House-Building Council (NHBC) to implement this scheme, strategically placing hubs in areas with the greatest homebuilding needs, as identified by Skills England. All 32 hubs are expected to be operational by 2028. The NHBC is also investing £100m in 12 Multi-Skills Training Hubs, focusing on training in critical areas such as bricklaying, groundwork, and site carpentry.

Department for Transport (see also definition of RMTT)

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have announced that the Civil Aviation Bill is currently undergoing its second reading in Parliament. The Bill proposes a range of reforms to the UK's aviation regulatory framework, including measures relating to airspace modernisation, aviation safety, passenger rights and accessibility. Among its provisions, the Bill would support the redesign of UK airspace, introduce changes to passenger protection requirements in relation to flight disruption and assistance and include measures intended to improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have launched a consultation seeking views on proposals to establish a UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) comprising of a new team of aviation experts who will lead the charge and work with UK airports to improve the way planes fly in, out and over the UK, starting by looking at London’s airspace. The deadline for the consultation is 17 December 2024.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have announced a £165 million growth and housing accelerator fund to support stalled housing and employment sites across England. The fund will provide investment in critical road infrastructure and transport links where funding gaps have prevented development from progressing, particularly on or near motorways and major A-roads.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has published guidance outlining a new harbour revision order (HRO) prioritisation framework intended to manage a significant caseload of harbour order (HO) applications. The framework sets out criteria for determining when HOs can be moved more quickly through the HRO process to obtain a parliamentary laying date.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) have published their response to the March 2022 consultation on ending the sale of new non-zero emission buses (non-ZEBs), coaches and minibuses, along with feedback from related calls for evidence on coach and minibus decarbonisation. The government plans to take forward a measure in the Bus Services (No 2) Bill to prevent the use of new non-ZEBs on local bus services in England from 2030, at the earliest. This restriction will not apply to non-ZEBs registered before the implementation date. The government is also evaluating mechanisms to support the decarbonisation of the coach and minibus sectors.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced a comprehensive reset of the High Speed Two (HS2) project, revising total costs to between £87.7 billion and £102.7 billion. First services between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street are anticipated to begin between 2036–39, while the full route from London Euston to Curzon Street is expected to be completed between 2040–43. To align HS2 with European high-speed networks, the government has reduced the maximum operating speeds from 360 km/h to 320 km/h. This change is projected to yield savings of up to £2.5 billion and shorten the delivery timeline by at least one year.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced the commencement of tunnelling works on High Speed Two (HS2), with the first tunnel boring machine beginning excavation of a 4.5-mile tunnel from Old Oak Common to Euston station. The 1,624-tonne machine, named 'Madeleine', is the first of two that will construct parallel tunnels to Euston. Camden Council has estimated that development at Euston could add £41bn to the UK economy by 2053 and support 34,000 jobs. The government will also establish a new body, the Euston Delivery Company, to oversee delivery of the integrated transport hub, including the HS2 station, redevelopment of the existing station and London Underground upgrades. HS2 is expected to add £10bn to the west London economy over the next decade, with over 33,000 people currently working on the railway construction.