The government has announced a revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), aimed at restoring the natural environment.
The plan is backed by hundreds of millions of pounds and should lead to cleaner air and water.
The EIP sets out a five-year roadmap to tackle the nature and climate crisis, improve public health, and support sustainable growth.  
It includes action to tackle fine particulate pollution (PM2.5). Under a new interim target, population exposure to PM2.5 will be cut by 30% by 2030, compared to 2018 levels.

The Scottish Government has announced £12 million of funding for schools, libraries and council buildings to help them become more energy efficient and cut carbon emissions.
The Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund will support 10 projects with grants ranging from £41,000 up to £2.5 million for upgrades including better insulation, new windows, solar panels, and clean heating systems.
The upgrades will make buildings warmer, reduce energy bills, and help Scotland reach its target of net zero emissions by 2045.

100 million free school meals have been delivered to London's state primary school children in just over 2 years.

A new system for local plan development is set to launch in early 2026.
The reforms will be introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and aim to strengthen and streamline how local plans are prepared and examined across England.
Fewer than a third of local planning authorities have up-to-date local plans.

The Welsh Government has announced an additional £14.1 million for energy efficiency improvements for social housing.
The funding boost brings total investment in the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) to £107.1 million this year.
Since 2020, the programme has provided 31,000 energy efficiency upgrades to social homes across Wales.
The money can be spent on improvements like insulation, efficient heating systems and renewable energy installations in social housing.

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the Autumn Budget.
Details were revealed ahead of schedule after the Office for Budget Responsibility published their growth forecast early.
The two-child benefit cap within universal credit will be lifted from April 2026. The removal will cost £2.3 billion in 2026- 27 and £3.0 billion in 2029-30 according to the OBR. The cap, which was introduced under the Conservative government has been criticised for driving child poverty.
Energy bills are expected to fall after some levies were removed.

The government has announced that the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be extended to more high-sugar drinks, including milk-based drinks, in order to protect children and health.
The changes will apply the charge to pre-packaged milk-based and milk-alternative drinks with added sugar like supermarket milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks and ready-to-drink coffees.
Some of these products can contain as much added sugar as fizzy drinks.
Plain, unsweetened milk and milk-alternative drinks are not and will not be included.

Mayors across England will be able to use a new levy on overnight stays to invest in transport, infrastructure and the visitor economy.
The levy would apply to visitors’ overnight trips, and it would be up to mayors and other local leaders to introduce a modest charge if it’s right for their area.  
Mayors in cities like New York, Paris and Milan already have these powers and they are commonplace in several parts of the world.
There are more than 130 million overnight visits in England every year.