The University of Gloucestershire and NHS Gloucestershire ICB have agreed funding for a new dental school and treatment hub in a former Debenhams building.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has cleared parliament, meaning anyone born after 1 January 2009 will not be able to legally buy tobacco from shops.
The Commons and Lords have both agreed a final draft of the legislation, meaning it now awaits royal assent.
When it comes into affect, ministers will also have new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including their flavours and packaging.
Furthermore, vaping will be banned in cars carrying children, in playgrounds and outside schools and at hospitals.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has announced Jonathan Walters as its new Chief Executive.
Walters has previously held held several roles at RSH and its predecessor organisations including Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Strategy.
Following an open recruitment process, he will begin the role from the start of May.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: "I would like to thank Fiona MacGregor for her years of leadership in driving up the quality of social homes and holding social landlords to account.

A new independent charity has been set up on the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth to honour her commitment to public service. 
The Queen Elizabeth Trust is one of three related memorial projects to honour her legacy at local, national, and global levels. The others are a national memorial in St James’s Park and a digital memorial.
The King has accepted the Royal Patronage of the Trust, which is inspired by the late Queen’s stated belief that “everyone is our neighbour”.

211 grassroots organisations have been awarded a share of over £2 million in government funding.
The recipients of the Common Ground Award were selected for their work breaking down barriers and creating the opportunities for people from different backgrounds to connect, build trust and find common ground.
The investment will help organisations reach more members of their community, improve facilities and launch new initiatives to provide even more opportunities for people to come together.

The Structures Fund is now open, supporting councils to fix bridges, flyovers and tunnels.
Aiming to make infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather and journeys safer and more efficient, the fund is now open for bids.
Consultants WSP have been appointed to provide free guidance and hands-on support to all applicants, from reviewing cost estimates to helping develop delivery plans. A series of webinars will also be held throughout April and May to help authorities navigate the process.

The Planning Inspectorate has announced that a new digital service will now be the primary route for planning and enforcement appeals.
The new service is designed to make it simpler and faster to submit appeals.
The legacy Appeals Casework Portal (ACP) has now stopped accepting new planning and enforcement appeals.

New research by Vauxhall has found that 42 per cent of councils will have cross-pavement charging available by the end of 2026.  
The research found that 56 tier one councils across England, Scotland and Wales either currently offer or will be making cross-pavement charging available by the end of this year.
Cross-pavement channel charging allows EV owners to safely charge their vehicles from their home by running a charging cable through a discreet, self-closing channel installed in the pavement to their home charging wall box.

The Home Office has published new guidance to support the implementation of Martyn's Law.
The guidance sets out steps for businesses to ensure evacuation routes are in place, staff know how to swiftly implement a lockdown in their building, and staff know how to quickly communicate with their customers were an attack to occur.
For larger premises and events like concerts and sports stadiums, where 800 people or more will be present, further actions will need to be taken. This includes having CCTV, bag search policies or vehicle checks.

Under new reforms to make the council tax system fairer, vulnerable people will have more time and support to settle their outstanding council tax bills.
Changes will be made to the administration of bills, which have not changed since 1993.
Under the current system, missing one monthly payment means people become liable to pay the entire outstanding sum in a single payment just two weeks later. From next year, households will be given 63 days to settle their bill and councils will be required to work with them on a sustainable repayment plan.