£50 million has been allocated to transform public transport links in Cornwall through the mid-Cornwall Metro Scheme.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper met with local leaders including St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double at Newquay Station on 27 March. They discussed progress on the major improvement project which aims to better connect residents to employment, business and education opportunities.
It is hoped the first benefits of the scheme will be delivered by May next year and it will be fully complete by the end of 2025.

Following the departure from Government of the Rt Hon James Heappey MP and the Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, the king has approved new appointments.
Heappey has stepped down as armed forces minister and Robert Halfon has resigned as an education minister. Both will be standing down at the next election.
As a result, Leo Docherty MP will take on the role of Minister of State (Minister for the Armed Forces) in the Ministry of Defence and Luke Hall MP will be a Minister of State in the Department for Education.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published a regulatory notice, which found that the London Borough of Lewisham (Lewisham Council) is not meeting the required outcomes of the consumer standards.
RSH investigated after a self-referral and found that there were a range of issues with its homes and services.
The council had carried out fire risk assessments for all relevant blocks, but 5,000 fire safety actions were overdue.

New legislation which aims to keep people in their homes and help prevent homelessness has been published.

The recipients of the latest round of funding from the Cultural Investment Fund have been announced.
26 museums and 34 library services are set to receive a share of more than £33 million.
The funding will be used to support upgrades to museums and public libraries, including vital repairs, renovations and the development of digital infrastructure, in an effort to improve the visitor experience.
It is hoped that critical infrastructure projects will help to boost access, maximise income generation opportunities and increase visitor numbers.

A new guidance document from the Government Property Agency (GPA) has launched with the aim of tackling biodiversity loss across the government estate.

£60.5 million of funding has been announced to support 325 swimming pools and leisure centres across England.
The funding is being used to help improve the energy efficiency of pools and leisure centres. Measures include funding for new heating systems, solar panels, better insulation and other energy saving interventions.
It is hoped that the funding will protect the 58 million annual visits to the facilities and improve the health of the nation.

The government has announced the next stage of the Northern Powerhouse Rail between Liverpool and Manchester, which they say means passengers will benefit from faster journey times, more frequent rail services and better connectivity across the North.

Communities across England are set to benefit from £101 million of funding to provide high-quality walking and cycling routes and improve the quality of local public engagement for new walking and cycling schemes, free e-cycle loans, expanding trials of side road zebra crossings and developing new active travel routes in National Parks.
Active Travel England (ATE) announced that the funding will enable local authorities to deliver walking and cycling schemes and councils will also be able to undertake proper consultation with local communities.

The government has announced up to £295 million of funding for councils in England to introduce weekly food waste collections by 31 March 2026.
The funding will cover new food waste containers for homes and specialist collection vehicles and will be targeted at local authorities that have yet to fully put food waste service in place.
According to statistics over ten million tonnes of food is wasted every year in the UK, with much sent to landfill.