This Practice Note provides guidance on building the business case for learning and development (L&D). L&D represents a significant investment for any firm. With so many potential solutions on offer, it is essential to establish the business case for any planned L&D activities to demonstrate its contribution to the bottom line. This is necessary to secure initial investment and to demonstrate ongoing value to the business. Any L&D solution must be closely aligned with business goals to justify expenditure. The challenges of building a business case for L&D The key challenge for a business case is that, while the costs of L&D are generally straightforward to identify, the benefit or return on investment (ROI) is often hard to pin down. When things go wrong, it is easy to blame the fact that people have not been trained, but when things are going well it is difficult to establish exactly what the effect of a lack of training has been. It is important to ensure the potential L&D contribution

When you take over a new team, you need to build trust with your new colleagues as quickly as possible in order to get the best performance. You are also inevitably going to encounter conflict and challenge, resolving this quickly and effectively will make sure this doesn’t impact on your results. This Checklist can be used to gain an understanding of how you approach building trust and managing conflict in a team and to identify potential improvement areas. Yes No Need to do more Building trust I am sincere and avoid doing

The legal permission from the authority'>local authority to carry out building works in accordance with the current building standards regulations under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. A building warrant is required in addition to planning permission

The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 (AH(S)A 1991) provides for certain maintenance provisions to be included in every tenancy under it (1991 Act Tenancies), and there are parallel, though not quite identical, provisions in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 (AH(S)A 2003) in relation to short limited duration tenancies (SLDTs) (of up to five years duration), limited duration tenancies (LDTs) (of a minimum period of ten years) and modern limited duration tenancies (MLDTs) (for ten or more years) together know as 2003 Act Tenancies. See Practice Note: Agricultural holdings in Scotland—snapshot. Definition of fixed equipment AH(S)A 1991, s 85 defines ‘fixed equipment’ as including: • all types of artificial works on land, eg drains, bridges, fences, tracks as well as buildings and machinery installed therein of all types • anything grown on the land for a purpose other than use after severance from the land, consumption of the thing grown or the produce thereof, or amenity, eg hedges and shelter belts of trees and bushes • an item

Buildings insurance provides cover for the cost of rectifying, replacing or reinstating any damage caused to the structure of a property (such as the roof, walls, ceilings, floors, doors and windows) if the damage is caused by an insured risk (as this is defined in the relevant insurance policy).

The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has launched a call for evidence as part of the second module of its inquiry into new towns and expanded settlements. This phase of the inquiry will assess whether such developments are a viable solution to housing delivery and if so, how they can be successfully developed. The call follows the New Towns Taskforce’s October 2025 announcement of 12 shortlisted sites identified for potential development of new towns and expanded settlements.

The Built Environment Committee (BEC) has published a report titled 'High Streets: Life beyond retail?', following its inquiry into the future of high streets in towns and small cities. The report acknowledges the decline of retail dominance and advocates for a more diversified approach to high street regeneration, including increasing public services, such as health centres and libraries. It emphasises the need for collaboration between local authorities, communities, and businesses to develop high streets that reflect local needs. The report also recommends improving accessibility, parking, and bus networks to support commercial sustainability, as well as integrating more green spaces in proposed regeneration programmes. The BEC also calls for the government to implement a transparent system for distributing local growth funding and welcomes the planned review of the Business Rates system.

The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has published a report examining how the government’s new towns programme can deliver sustainable, thriving communities rather than simply meeting housing targets. The Committee notes broad support for the programme but emphasises that its success depends on a clear, compelling national vision focused on quality of life, not housing numbers alone. It stresses that new towns should promote inclusive growth, reduce spatial inequalities and serve as exemplars of sustainable living warning that a narrow focus on delivery targets risks undermining these objectives. The report highlights the importance of early, meaningful community engagement including with young people and calls for flexible, phased masterplanning with essential infrastructure such as health, social and transport services together with green and blue spaces delivered from the outset. It further emphasises the need for people-centred placemaking that reflects local identity and avoids uniformity. The Committee also underlines that health and inclusion must be designed in from the start through accessible environments, active travel and community-based healthcare and reiterates its recommendation for stronger central governance through a single national body and a dedicated Cabinet-level minister. It warns that limited planning capacity is a significant delivery risk. Finally, the report stresses that long-term value depends on early, sustained investment, cautioning that cost-cutting at the design and delivery stages leads to poorer outcomes and higher long-term costs, and concludes that the programme’s success will depend on clear leadership, adequate resourcing and a whole-life approach to development.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the British Property Federation (BPF) and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have published responses to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, RT Hon Jeremy Hunt MP’s, Spring Budget 2024 delivered on 6 March 2024.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which outlines the government's planning policies for England, emphasising the achievement of sustainable development through three interdependent objectives: economic, social, and environmental. The new NPPF has also elicited varied responses from built environment industry bodies.

Following the general election results on 5 July 2024, several built environment industry bodies have published reactions. Please see the selected extracts below.

Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report on 4 September 2024, several built environment industry bodies have released their responses. Statements have also been released by the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and Chief Executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, Fiona MacGregor. Please see the selected extracts below.